The Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us that there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. See Luke 4:2727And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. (Luke 4:27).
Although none of these lepers in Israel in the days of Eliseus were cleansed, yet all this time there was a long chapter in the Old Testament giving minute instructions as to exactly the way, and the only way, that leprosy might be cleansed.
Surely it is the same in our day. There are hundreds of millions of sinners in our time, and any of them, or all of them, might be cleansed, if they were but willing to come and be cleansed in God's way.
God introduces the way of cleansing with almost the same words that He used about the way for a man to know he had leprosy. "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying." Lev. 14:11And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, (Leviticus 14:1). These words that tell of the way of cleansing are the very words of the living God, and are true and faithful. Let us listen to them with all our hearts.
Do you remember the day when that swelling, rising or bright spot first appeared, and you were brought to the Priest? Do you remember how unwilling you were to go to Him? Do you remember His sad decision, "You are unclean?" Do you remember the time when first you found out you were a sinner? Perhaps you thought like many, "I am not as bad as a lot of others," but still you knew that the hidden plague that ends in death was there.
But now things have gotten worse. The disease has spread. In those old days you could cover it up with your clothes—but even so you had to go outside the camp, your clothes rent, your head bare, and cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" But still the disease spreads. It covers your face and head, your body, legs and feet—all, all is covered! All is turned white! You are in a sad way indeed! There is not a spot where you could put the point of a pin without leprosy. Truly you are "full of leprosy.”
What happens now? Perhaps a friend meets you outside the camp, sad and weary and discouraged, yes, hopeless. Your friend's eye looks you over: he says, "Come, I will take you to the priest. You are all covered with leprosy. You may be made clean." You reply, "No, there is no hope for me; I am worse than I have ever been. There is not a leper outside the camp as bad as I am. See, I am all covered." "Yes, I see," replies your friend, "and that is the very reason you are now ready to be cleansed. Come away to the priest at once.”
Perhaps you fear that piercing eye that once before has found your spot of leprosy, and banished you outside the camp. Perhaps this fear would keep you away from the priest, but your friend insists, and now he brings you to him. His heart is glad for he knows what is in store for you. Perhaps your heart is filled with shame and fear and dread, as you go along that road to meet the priest.
Have you, dear Christian reader, any unsaved friends or relatives? Have you brought them to the Priest? Have you brought them to Him in prayer? Or have you brought them to hear the gospel preached as you have had opportunity? These are blessed privileges of which you and I are all too slow to avail ourselves. May the Lord give us each one to be more faithful towards our unsaved friends, who in reality are just poor, unclean lepers, far off, outside the camp.
We have a lovely record in John 1:41-4241He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John 1:41‑42) of a man who did this very thing. He found the Lord—or the Lord found him—and what does he do? "He first findeth his own brother Simon." I love that little word "first." It was already long past the "tenth hour:" the day was done: but Andrew did not stop for food or drink or rest, or anything else, but away to hunt for "his own brother." And he found him, and what did he do with him? "He brought him to Jesus." We never hear much of Andrew, but "his own brother" was Simon Peter, and what a blessing Andrew's brother has been to every one of us! What a debt we all owe to Andrew for that evening's work!
And though it is true we do not hear much about Andrew, what we do hear is very, very lovely. This seems to have been a special line of work with Andrew. The next time we see him is in John 6:88One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, (John 6:8), and there he is bringing "a lad" to the Lord Jesus. Again we find him at the same work in John 12:2222Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. (John 12:22), where he is bringing the Greeks to Jesus. Happy work! May the Lord teach every one of us to bring others, one by one, to Himself. It was not until we drew the pictures of the leper that we even realized that the friend who brought the leper to the priest was of so much importance. May we be more like him, unnamed, almost unmentioned, and yet the link in the chain without which the leper could not have been cleansed.
We have seen the leper and his friend hurrying along the road to seek the priest. But, stop! The poor leper cannot enter the camp. He is defiled and unclean. How can he meet that priest? That priest's home is the house of God, the very center of the camp. But the Priest Himself has devised a way, and so we read in verse 3, "The priest shall go forth out of the camp." The great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, went forth out of His glory more than 1900 years ago. He came down to this sad wicked world, and even down here, "He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull." John 19:1717And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: (John 19:17). Yes, the Priest has already gone forth without the gate. (Heb. 13:1212Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Hebrews 13:12).) He sees you, poor defiled sinner, and He has already gone where you are. (Luke 10:3333But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, (Luke 10:33).) He is waiting to cleanse you. "Wilt thou be made whole?" John 5:66When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? (John 5:6). That is the question now. Oh, poor sinner, reply immediately, "With all my heart, I am willing to be made whole.”
“And the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper." Lev. 14:33And 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; (Leviticus 14:3). Those eyes of flame search you once again. Before they searched you to find if there was one spot of leprosy, and the priest had to pronounce you unclean. Now they search you to see if there is one spot without leprosy, and if you truly are "all covered," the priest may pronounce you clean. Then he looked to see if you were entirely clean of this awful plague; now he looks to see if you are entirely covered by it. In the same way, our Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, searches the sinner who comes to Him. Is he truly coming as a poor, lost, ruined, guilty sinner? Has he no good word to say for himself? Is he full of sin? The Priest shall look, and if the sinner is in this condition, then he may be made clean. He is a "sinner that repenteth," and over him there is joy in the presence of the angels of God. (Luke 15:1010Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:10).)
But if there is still a little whole flesh without the plague—if the leper can still turn to his other leper friends, and say, "I am better than you! I have not so much leprosy on me as you have!"; if he still has some goodness of his own in which he can glory—then back to his old place outside the camp he must go. He is not ready for cleansing. The apostle Paul could say, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Gal. 6:1414But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14).