The Leprosy of Sin: Lessons from Leviticus 13-14

Leviticus 13-14

13:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

13:2 When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests:

13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

13:4 If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that has the plague seven days:

13:5 And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

13:6 And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

13:7 But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he has been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again.

13:8 And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

13:9 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest;

13:10 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;

13:11 It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

13:12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that has the plague from his head even to his foot, wherever the priest looks;

13:13 Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that has the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

13:14 But when raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean.

13:15 And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

13:16 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed to white, he shall come to the priest;

13:17 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that has the plague: he is clean.

13:18 The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,

13:19 And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be showed to the priest;

13:20 And if, when the priest sees it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

13:21 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

13:22 And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

13:23 But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

13:24 Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burns have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;

13:25 Then the priest shall look on it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: why the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

13:26 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

13:27 And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

13:28 And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.

13:29 If a man or woman have a plague on the head or the beard;

13:30 Then 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 scale, even a leprosy on the head or beard.

13:31 And if the priest look on the plague of the scale, 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 has the plague of the scale seven days:

13:32 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scale spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scale be not in sight deeper than the skin;

13:33 He shall be shaven, but the scale shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that has the scale seven days more:

13:34 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scale: and, behold, if the scale 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.

13:35 But if the scale spread much in the skin after his cleansing;

13:36 Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scale be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

13:37 But if the scale be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scale is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

13:38 If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;

13:39 Then 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 grows in the skin; he is clean.

13:40 And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

13:41 And he that has his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.

13:42 And 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.

13:43 Then the priest shall look on it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appears in the skin of the flesh;

13:44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.

13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bore, and he shall put a covering on his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

13:47 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woolen garment, or a linen garment;

13:48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woolen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;

13:49 And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be showed to the priest:

13:50 And the priest shall look on the plague, and shut up it that has the plague seven days:

13:51 And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.

13:52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woolen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

13:53 And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;

13:54 Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:

13:55 And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his color, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bore within or without.

13:56 And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

13:57 And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: you shall burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

13:58 And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatever thing of skin it be, which you shall wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

13:59 This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woolen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

14:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

14:2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest:

14:3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

14:5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

14:7 And he shall sprinkle on him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

14:9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

14:10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

14:11 And the priest that makes him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

14:12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:

14:13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:

14:14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot:

14:15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:

14:16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:

14:17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering:

14:18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour on the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.

14:19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

14:20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering on the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

14:21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;

14:22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

14:23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.

14:24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:

14:25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot:

14:26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:

14:27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD:

14:28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

14:29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD.

14:30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

14:31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD.

14:32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertains to his cleansing.

14:33 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

14:34 When you be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

14:35 And he that owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seems to me there is as it were a plague in the house:

14:36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

14:37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;

14:38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:

14:39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;

14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:

14:41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

14:42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house.

14:43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he has taken away the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered;

14:44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean.

14:45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

14:46 Moreover he that goes into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.

14:47 And he that lies in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

14:48 And if the priest shall come in, and look on it, and, behold, the plague has not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

14:49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

14:50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:

14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:

14:52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

14:53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

14:54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scale,

14:55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,

14:56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:

14:57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

Leviticus 13-14 describe the physical reality of leprosy as a profound and vivid illustration of the deep-seated, deadly nature of sin which permeates the human soulMH 70.1+1. This condition highlights the necessity of divine intervention for cleansing, as human power is entirely insufficient to remove the stain of iniquity5T 639.1+1.

Leprosy as a Symbol of Sin

• A Living Death: Leprosy was considered the most dreaded and loathsome disease because of its contagious nature and its ability to reduce a healthy body to a spectacle of corruption2SP 227.2+2.

• The Finger of God: Among the Jews, leprosy was often regarded as a direct judgment for sin, earning titles like "the stroke" or "the finger of God"HLv 169.1+1.

• Internal Defilement: Just as physical leprosy starts within and manifests outwardly, the "leprosy of sin" represents a heart that is leprous with selfishness, pride, and unbeliefST March 14, 1892, par. 8.

• Total Corruption: Scripture describes the sinner’s condition as having no soundness from the sole of the foot to the head, but only wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores Isaiah 1:5-6MH 70.1.

The Priest and the Process of Cleansing

• The Duty of Examination: Under the Levitical law, the priest was the designated official who performed the examination to pronounce a person clean or unclean2SP 227.2+1.

• Lessons in Parables: The various washings and sprinklings required for the cleansing of the leper were intended as "lessons in parables," teaching that the inward heart must undergo a work of regeneration and purification through the Holy Spirit4BC 1176.8+2.

• Certification of Health: A healed leper could not return to society or his family without the explicit testimony of the priest, which involved offering the specific gifts Moses commanded as a testimony to the community Matthew 8:4HLv 170.5+1.

• Abolition of Types: While these rites were significant, they were typical of a greater reality; with the death of Christ, the Aaronic priesthood and the necessity for typical sacrificial offerings ceased forever12MR 389.2+2.

The Great High Priest and Spiritual Healing

• The Only True Mediator: We are not to take our sins to a human priest for absolution, but to Christ, our great High Priest, who is the only true mediator between God and man5T 639.1+1.

• Healing Without Defilement: When Jesus touched the leper, He did not receive defilement; instead, His healing virtue cleansed the sufferer, showing that His presence is the only remedy for the leprosy of sinMH 70.1+1.

• The Fountain for Sin: Christ has opened a fountain for the house of David for sin and uncleanness, providing medicinal properties that heal both physical and spiritual infirmities Zechariah 13:1CH 209.2+1.

• The Requirement of Faith: Just as the leper had to fall at the feet of Jesus in faith, we must renounce all self-dependence and rely entirely on the blood of Christ for the purification of the soul6BC 1071.10+2.

The Call to Holiness

• Separation from Defilement: Modern believers are urged to "touch not the unclean thing" and to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit 2 Corinthians 6:17-18+1ST July 8, 1908, par. 5.

• Inward and Outward Purity: Heaven is a place of absolute holiness, and nothing that defiles—whether it be the "leprosy" of a selfish spirit or physical uncleanness—can enter the gates of the city of God Revelation 21:27GC88 474.3+1.

• Reflecting the Divine Character: The goal of the gospel is to remove every deformity and "leprosy of sin," restoring the moral image of God so that we may reflect His character2SM 32.3+2.