Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1972

• 2 min. read • grade level: 5

Leviticus 13:29-44²⁹If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard; ³⁰Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard. ³¹And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days: ³²And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin; ³³He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more: ³⁴And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. ³⁵But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; ³⁶Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean. ³⁷But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean. ³⁸If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots; ³⁹Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean. ⁴⁰And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. ⁴¹And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean. ⁴²And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead. ⁴³Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; ⁴⁴He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. (Leviticus 13:29‑44)

THE NEXT case is where leprosy appeared in the head or on the beard. The presence of black hair indicated normal health, but if the hair was yellow and thin it showed the evil disease was active, and the priest must pronounce the man unclean.

If, however, the priest saw the sore to be on the surface, though no black hair was in it, there was hope. The man was shut up for seven days and then if there was no spreading and no yellow hair, the hair was shaved off and the man shut; up again. Finally if the priest on looking found no further spreading of the sore, he declared the man clean. He was therefore to wash his clothes and be clean.

Leprosy in the head is a common yet serious form of leprosy. In his thinking natural man, fallen and far from God, is all wrong. He trusts his own thoughts and intellect rather than listen to the Word of God. How many have been ruined through pride, and spiritual pride is the worst of all.

We remember perhaps the story of King Uzziah whose heart “was lifted up to his destruction.” He went into the temple to burn incense, which only the priests of the Lord were to do. We read that “the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar.” And he was driven from the temple, a leper until the day of his death. (Read 2 Chronicles 26:16-21¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. ¹⁷And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men: ¹⁸And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honor from the Lord God. ¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. ²⁰And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. ²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. (2 Chronicles 26:16‑21)).

Pride is a terrible plague. God hates pride. May each one of us seek grace from the Lord to humble ourselves and to be delivered from it.

Then in verses 38 and 39 one might have “bright spots, even white bright spots” and the priest was to look very carefully to see if it might be leprosy. However, it might prove to be only a “freckled spot"; the man was clean. Grace does not judge harshly nor lightly either. God would have us to be neither hard nor careless.

In verse 40 we have the case of a man whose hair might have fallen out and he became bald. He was not pronounced unclean. One might have an infirmity or weakness, but an infirmity is not sin. The Lord knows all about us. He knows all our weaknesses and infirmities and deals with us in grace. How precious this is! He tells us in John 10:14¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:14): “I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep.”

However, if it was a “white reddish sore,” then it was leprosy risen up in his head and he was declared “utterly unclean.” His was a hopeless case.

ML-02/20/1972

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