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 26:16-21).
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 10:14: “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