“Unclean, Unclean!” Leviticus 14
A LEPER is a person who has a dreadful disease which doctors cannot cure except, perhaps, sometimes when treated before it spreads. First it may be only a small spot in the skin, spreading slowly.
God told Moses to tell the priests to watch carefully a person who seemed to have such a spot, and keep him shut away from others, until certain. If it proved he was a leper, he must live by himself, away from the rest of the camp of Israel; wear torn clothes, go bare headed; and cover his upper lip. If any one came near him he must warn them by calling out, “Unclean, unclean”, so they would not touch him and take the disease also.
But if the spots did not spread, or the leper was cured, God said for the priests to take two birds (the Bible margin says sparrows, which were common); one, he should kill over running water; the other, dip in the blood of the dead bird. He should sprinkle the Marl with the blood, and say he was clean of his disease. Then the live bird was let free to fly away to the fields.
There are still lepers in some lands, and kept by themselves, and to be much pitied.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth He cured a leper by speaking the words, “I will; be thou clean”, and also touched him. Another time he cured ten lepers just as quickly, and told them, to go to the priests of Israel to offer the sacrifices (Matt. 8:2-52And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, (Matthew 8:2‑5); Luke 17:11-2011And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. 20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (Luke 17:11‑20)).
But there is something which Jesus did not cure by speaking—that was sin. We all have sin in us. We say and do wrong, and when we do, if not sorry for it and confess it, but instead deny it, then the sin spreads on us like the leper’s spot. And if we get another to sin with us, sin spreads to them also.
To cleanse His people from sin, Jesus died, as the one bird gave its blood for the leper. But Jesus was raised from death, as the live bird was set free to fly away. So the Lord Jesus is now alive in heaven.
ML 08/08/1937