To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
The verse gives the purpose of the laws about leprosy as teaching how to distinguish when a person or a house is unclean and when clean, standing at the close of the sanitary instructions in Leviticus 12-14. Leprosy was a horrible disease and a fitting type and object-lesson of sin as a terrible moral disease embracing every evil thing. Like leprosy, sin is widespread, infectious and contagious, incurable by human means and never healing of itself, rooted within and destructive to the soul as leprosy is to the body, contaminating all around it. The fuller meaning of each detail is found in the sacrifice, life and work of Jesus Christ, with all the slain beasts pointing forward to the Lamb of God and the service of the wilderness sanctuary typifying His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary. Real cleansing required first the removal of uncleanness and then cleansing with blood by atonement, which brings cleansing from sin through Christ alone as a thorough cleansing of heart received in faith as His command is obeyed.
Meaning and Procedure of the Law
To teach when it is unclean and when it is clean is the stated purpose of the laws about leprosy, giving the rule for distinguishing leprosy as unclean or clean and for distinguishing what is unclean from what is clean in person or house. The verse belongs to the laws regulating uncleanness and leprosy, the sanitary instructions in Leviticus 12-15 and in chapters 12-14. Those are admirable laws about leprosy and unsanitary houses, including diseases that can spread infection through buildings and contagious or infectious germs that can remain in buildings. The verse stands at the end of that law of cleansing.
As applied to a house, the law required the stones affected with the plague to be removed and the house to be scraped within round about and repaired with new material. When that physical uncleanness was removed the house was still not clean but only prepared to be cleansed according to the law. For a person cured of leprosy the law laid down that he go show himself to the priests and make an offering, after which he is officially pronounced clean. Until that pronouncement the leper must keep quarantine apart from others, standing afar off and warning anyone approaching with the cry Unclean, unclean.
The purification described in Leviticus 14 used hyssop for people and houses. It was part of the complete round of service performed every year in the wilderness sanctuary built by Moses.
Leprosy as a Type of Sin
Leprosy was a horrible disease and a fitting type, picture, prefigurement and mighty object-lesson of sin. It typifies sin as a terrible moral disease embracing every kind of evil thing. The dry details of its laws and regulations become full of new life and a blessing when remembered as types pointing forward to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Sin so prefigured is a dreadful disease from which people need healing, whose cure requires the proud self to die, the old self to be put off, and the new self to be put on.
Like leprosy, sin is widespread, infectious and contagious, incurable by human means and never getting well of itself, rooted within and destructive. Leprosy is a result of sin that pictures outwardly the inward work of sin. It shows what sin does to the soul as it does to the body, so that full cleansing is more than removal of disease.
Like the leper, the sinner contaminates the very atmosphere, introduces pollution where all before was comparative purity, and his society leads others to sin. There is more reason to fear such influence than to fear the infection of the leper. In this connection sin is the transgression of the law and all unrighteousness is sin, showing the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Cleansing by Atonement in Christ
Every detail of the law had its meaning, and its fuller meaning is found in the sacrifice, life and work of Jesus Christ. All the slain beasts pointed forward to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, so that dry details of laws and regulations become full of new life and blessing when remembered as types of Christ. The building, appointments, priesthood and service of the wilderness sanctuary built by Moses was typical of Christ and His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary that Jesus began when He ascended on high, with the complete round of service performed every year typifying in miniature Christ's service which was once for all.
The law requires that physical uncleanness first be removed and the object be made visibly clean so that it would be called clean, to prepare it for its real cleansing with blood by atonement by which it is reconciled or cleansed. For a house this meant the stones affected with the plague had to be removed and the house scraped within round about and repaired with new material, yet when that physical uncleanness was removed the house was still not clean but only prepared to be cleansed according to the law. Then the priest had to take two birds to cleanse the house and cleanse it with the blood of the bird and make an atonement for the house, and then it shall be clean. Atonement, cleanse, reconcile, purify, purge, pardon, sanctify, hallow, forgive, justify, redeem and blot out all signify the same work of bringing into favor with God, and in all cases blood is the means.
That defilement and cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was moral rather than merely physical in the sight of the Lord. The mere removal of physical uncleanness or of desecration by soldiers or wicked priests is therefore not the cleansing the sanctuary was to undergo at the end of the 2300 days. Cleansing from sin comes through Christ, for like leprosy sin is widespread, infectious, incurable by human means, rooted within and destructive. Full cleansing is more than removal of disease, showing the thorough cleansing of heart sought by the penitent, as pictured by the use of hyssop in the purification of people and houses. Its cure requires the proud self to die, the old self to be put off, and the new self to be put on, since leprosy pictures outwardly the inward work of sin and shows what sin does to the soul as it does to the body.
God makes Himself known as the God who heals, yet He demands proper precaution on the part of His people. The command to go show themselves to the priests invokes this law as assurance of healing with the same force as I will; be thou clean, so that healing comes as the command is obeyed in faith even while the marks of leprosy are still present. God's people must not fall away from the cleansing truths given to them in the laws of cleanliness, but must be made clean vessels fit to receive His Spirit.
The verse gives the purpose of the laws about leprosy as teaching how to distinguish when a person or a house is unclean and when clean, standing at the close of the sanitary instructions in Leviticus 12-14. Leprosy was a horrible disease and a fitting type and object-lesson of sin as a terrible moral disease embracing every evil thing. Like leprosy, sin is widespread, infectious and contagious, incurable by human means and never healing of itself, rooted within and destructive to the soul as leprosy is to the body, contaminating all around it. The fuller meaning of each detail is found in the sacrifice, life and work of Jesus Christ, with all the slain beasts pointing forward to the Lamb of God and the service of the wilderness sanctuary typifying His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary. Real cleansing required first the removal of uncleanness and then cleansing with blood by atonement, which brings cleansing from sin through Christ alone as a thorough cleansing of heart received in faith as His command is obeyed.
Meaning and Procedure of the Law
To teach when it is unclean and when it is clean is the stated purpose of the laws about leprosy, giving the rule for distinguishing leprosy as unclean or clean and for distinguishing what is unclean from what is clean in person or house. The verse belongs to the laws regulating uncleanness and leprosy, the sanitary instructions in Leviticus 12-15 and in chapters 12-14. Those are admirable laws about leprosy and unsanitary houses, including diseases that can spread infection through buildings and contagious or infectious germs that can remain in buildings. The verse stands at the end of that law of cleansing.
As applied to a house, the law required the stones affected with the plague to be removed and the house to be scraped within round about and repaired with new material. When that physical uncleanness was removed the house was still not clean but only prepared to be cleansed according to the law. For a person cured of leprosy the law laid down that he go show himself to the priests and make an offering, after which he is officially pronounced clean. Until that pronouncement the leper must keep quarantine apart from others, standing afar off and warning anyone approaching with the cry Unclean, unclean.
The purification described in Leviticus 14 used hyssop for people and houses. It was part of the complete round of service performed every year in the wilderness sanctuary built by Moses.
Leprosy as a Type of Sin
Leprosy was a horrible disease and a fitting type, picture, prefigurement and mighty object-lesson of sin. It typifies sin as a terrible moral disease embracing every kind of evil thing. The dry details of its laws and regulations become full of new life and a blessing when remembered as types pointing forward to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Sin so prefigured is a dreadful disease from which people need healing, whose cure requires the proud self to die, the old self to be put off, and the new self to be put on.
Like leprosy, sin is widespread, infectious and contagious, incurable by human means and never getting well of itself, rooted within and destructive. Leprosy is a result of sin that pictures outwardly the inward work of sin. It shows what sin does to the soul as it does to the body, so that full cleansing is more than removal of disease.
Like the leper, the sinner contaminates the very atmosphere, introduces pollution where all before was comparative purity, and his society leads others to sin. There is more reason to fear such influence than to fear the infection of the leper. In this connection sin is the transgression of the law and all unrighteousness is sin, showing the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Cleansing by Atonement in Christ
Every detail of the law had its meaning, and its fuller meaning is found in the sacrifice, life and work of Jesus Christ. All the slain beasts pointed forward to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, so that dry details of laws and regulations become full of new life and blessing when remembered as types of Christ. The building, appointments, priesthood and service of the wilderness sanctuary built by Moses was typical of Christ and His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary that Jesus began when He ascended on high, with the complete round of service performed every year typifying in miniature Christ's service which was once for all.
The law requires that physical uncleanness first be removed and the object be made visibly clean so that it would be called clean, to prepare it for its real cleansing with blood by atonement by which it is reconciled or cleansed. For a house this meant the stones affected with the plague had to be removed and the house scraped within round about and repaired with new material, yet when that physical uncleanness was removed the house was still not clean but only prepared to be cleansed according to the law. Then the priest had to take two birds to cleanse the house and cleanse it with the blood of the bird and make an atonement for the house, and then it shall be clean. Atonement, cleanse, reconcile, purify, purge, pardon, sanctify, hallow, forgive, justify, redeem and blot out all signify the same work of bringing into favor with God, and in all cases blood is the means.
That defilement and cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was moral rather than merely physical in the sight of the Lord. The mere removal of physical uncleanness or of desecration by soldiers or wicked priests is therefore not the cleansing the sanctuary was to undergo at the end of the 2300 days. Cleansing from sin comes through Christ, for like leprosy sin is widespread, infectious, incurable by human means, rooted within and destructive. Full cleansing is more than removal of disease, showing the thorough cleansing of heart sought by the penitent, as pictured by the use of hyssop in the purification of people and houses. Its cure requires the proud self to die, the old self to be put off, and the new self to be put on, since leprosy pictures outwardly the inward work of sin and shows what sin does to the soul as it does to the body.
God makes Himself known as the God who heals, yet He demands proper precaution on the part of His people. The command to go show themselves to the priests invokes this law as assurance of healing with the same force as I will; be thou clean, so that healing comes as the command is obeyed in faith even while the marks of leprosy are still present. God's people must not fall away from the cleansing truths given to them in the laws of cleanliness, but must be made clean vessels fit to receive His Spirit.