Of all the functions which, according to the Mosaic ritual, the priest had to discharge, none demanded more patient attention or more strict adherence to the divine guide-book than the discernment and proper treatment of leprosy. This fact must be obvious to every one who studies with any measure of care the very extensive and important section of our book at which we have now arrived.
There were two things which claimed the priest’s vigilant care, namely, the purity of the assembly and the grace which could not admit of the exclusion of any member save on the most clearly-established grounds. Holiness could not permit any one to remain in who ought to be out; and, on the other hand, grace would not have any one out who ought to be in. Hence, therefore, there was the most urgent need on the part of the priest of watchfulness, calmness, wisdom, patience, tenderness, and enlarged experience. Things might seem trifling which in reality were serious, and things might look like leprosy which were not it at all. The greatest care and coolness were needed. A judgment rashly formed, a conclusion hastily arrived at, might involve the most serious consequences, either as regards the assembly or some individual member thereof.
This will account for the frequent occurrence of such expressions as the following, namely, “The priest shall look”; “The priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days”; “And the priest shall look on him the seventh day”; “Then the priest shall shut him up seven days more”; “And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day”; “And the priest shall see him”; “Then the priest shall consider.” No case was to be hastily judged or rashly decided. No opinion was to be formed from mere hearsay. Personal observation, priestly discernment, calm reflection, strict adherence to the written word — the holy, infallible guide-book — all these things were imperatively demanded of the priest if he would form a sound judgment of each case. He was not to be guided by his own thoughts, his own feelings, his own wisdom, in anything. He had ample guidance in the word if only he was subject thereto. Every point, every feature, every movement, every variation, every shade and character, every peculiar symptom and affection — all was provided for with divine fullness and forethought, so that the priest only needed to be acquainted with and subject to the word in all things in order to be preserved from ten thousand mistakes.
Thus much as to the priest and his holy responsibilities.
We shall now consider the disease of leprosy, as developed in a person, in a garment, or in a house.
Looking at this disease in a physical point of view, nothing can possibly be more loathsome; and being, so far as man is concerned, totally incurable, it furnishes a most vivid and appalling picture of sin — sin in one’s nature, sin in his circumstances, sin in an assembly. What a lesson for the soul in the fact that such a vile and humiliating disease should be used as a type of moral evil, whether in a member of God’s assembly, in the circumstances of any member, or in the assembly itself!
And first then as to leprosy in a person, or in other words, the working of moral evil, or of that which might seem to be evil, in any member of the assembly. This is a matter of grave and solemn import, a matter demanding the utmost vigilance and care on the part of all who are concerned in the good of souls and in the glory of God, as involved in the well-being and purity of His assembly as a whole, or of each individual member thereof.
It is important to see that while the broad principles of leprosy and its cleansing apply in a secondary sense to any sinner, yet in the scripture now before us the matter is presented in connection with those who were God’s recognized people. The person who is here seen as the subject of priestly examination is a member of the assembly of God. It is well to apprehend this. God’s assembly must be kept pure because it is His dwelling-place. No leper can be allowed to remain within the hallowed precincts of Jehovah’s habitation.
But then mark the care, the vigilance, the perfect patience inculcated upon the priest lest aught that was not leprosy might be treated as such, or lest aught that really was leprosy might be suffered to escape. Many things might appear in the skin — the place of manifestation — like the plague of leprosy, which upon patient, priestly investigation would be found to be merely superficial. This was to be carefully attended to. Some blemish might make its appearance upon the surface which, though demanding the jealous care of the one who had to act for God, was not in reality defiling. And yet that which seemed but a superficial blemish might prove to be something deeper than the skin, something below the surface, something affecting the hidden springs of the constitution. All this claimed the most intense care on the part of the priest (see verses 2-11). Some slight neglect, some trifling oversight, might lead to disastrous consequences. It might lead to the defilement of the assembly by the presence of a confirmed leper, or to the expulsion for some superficial blemish of a genuine member of the Israel of God.
Now there is a rich fund of instruction in all this for the people of God. There is a difference between personal infirmity and the positive energy of evil — between mere defects and blemishes in the outward character and the activity of sin in the members. No doubt it is important to watch against our infirmities, for if not watched, judged, and guarded against, they may become the source of positive evil (see verses 14-28). Everything of nature must be judged and kept down. We must not make any allowance for personal infirmity in ourselves, though we should make ample allowance for it in others. Take, for example, the matter of an irritable temper. I should judge it in myself, I should make allowance for it in another. It may, like the burning boil in the case of an Israelite (vss. 19-20), prove the source of real defilement, the ground of exclusion from the assembly. Every form of weakness must be watched lest it become an occasion of sin. A bald forehead was not leprosy, but it was that in which leprosy might appear, and hence it had to be watched. There may be a hundred things which are not in themselves sinful, but which may become the occasion of sin if not diligently looked after.
Nor is it merely a question of what in our estimation may be termed blots, blemishes, and personal infirmities, but even of what our hearts might feel disposed to boast of. Wit, humor, vivacity of spirit and temper, all these may become the source and center of defilement. Each one has something to guard against, something to keep him ever upon the watch-tower. How happy it is that we have a Father’s heart to come to and count on with respect to all such things! We have the precious privilege of coming at all times into the presence of unrebuking, unupbraiding love, there to tell out all, and obtain grace to help in all, and full victory over all. We need not be discouraged so long as we see such a motto inscribed on the door of our Father’s treasury, “He giveth more grace.” Precious motto! It has no limit. It is bottomless and boundless.
We shall now proceed to inquire what was done in every case in which the plague of leprosy was unquestionably and unmistakeably defined. The God of Israel could bear with infirmity, blemish, and failure, but the moment it became a case of defilement, whether in the head, the beard, the forehead, or any other part, it could not be tolerated in the holy assembly. “The leper, in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 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” (vss. 45-46). Here was the leper’s condition, the leper’s occupation, the leper’s place. With rent garments, bare head; and covered lip, crying, Unclean, unclean, and dwelling outside in the dreary solitude, the dismal desert waste. What could be more humiliating, what more depressing than this? “He shall dwell alone.” He was unfit for communion or companionship. He was excluded from the only spot in all the world in which Jehovah’s presence was known or enjoyed.
Reader, behold in the poor, solitary leper a vivid type of one in whom sin is working. This is really what it means. It is not, as we shall see presently, a helpless, ruined, guilty, convicted sinner, whose guilt and misery have come thoroughly out, and who is therefore a fit subject for the love of God and the blood of Christ. No; we see in the excluded leper one in whom sin is actually working — one in whom there is the positive energy of evil. This is what defiles and shuts out from enjoyment of the divine presence and the communion of saints. So long as sin is working there can be no fellowship with God or with His people. “He shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” How long? “All the days wherein the plague shall be in him.” This is a great practical truth. The energy of evil is the death-blow to communion. There may be the outward appearance, the mere form, the hollow profession, but communion there can be none so long as the energy of evil is there. It matters not what the character or amount of the evil may be, if it were but the weight of a feather, if it were but some foolish thought, so long as it continues to work it must hinder communion, it must cause a suspension of fellowship. It is when it rises to a head, when it comes to the surface, when it is brought thoroughly out, that it can be perfectly met and put away by the grace of God and by the blood of the Lamb.
This leads us to a deeply interesting point in connection with the leper — a point which must prove a complete paradox to all save those who understand God’s mode of dealing with sinners. “And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh then the priest shall consider; and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean” (Lev. 13:12-1312And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh; 13Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean. (Leviticus 13:12‑13)). The moment a sinner is in his true place before God the whole question is settled. Directly his real character is fully brought out there is no further difficulty. He may have to pass through much painful exercise before he reaches this point — exercise consequent upon his refusal to take his true place — to bring out “all the truth” with respect to what he is; but the moment he is brought to say from his heart, “Just as I am,” the free grace of God flows down to him. “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer” (Psa. 32:3-43When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. (Psalm 32:3‑4)). How long did this painful exercise continue? Until the whole truth was brought out — until all that which was working inwardly came fully to the surface. “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (vs. 5).
It is deeply interesting to mark the progress of the Lord’s dealing with the leprous man from the moment that the suspicion is raised by certain features in the place of manifestation until the disease covers the whole man “from the crown of the head unto the sole of the foot.” There was no haste and no indifference. God ever enters the place of judgment with a slow and measured pace, but when He does enter He must act according to the claims of His nature. He can patiently investigate, He can wait for seven days, and should there be the slightest variation in the symptoms He can wait for seven days more; but the moment it is found to be the positive working of leprosy there can be no toleration. “Without the camp shall his habitation be.” How long? Until the disease comes fully to the surface. “If the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean.” This is a most precious and interesting point. The very smallest speck of leprosy was intolerable to God, and yet when the whole man was covered from head to foot he was pronounced clean — that is, he was a proper subject for the grace of God and the blood of atonement.
Thus is it in every case with the sinner. God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity” (Hab. 1:1313Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (Habakkuk 1:13)), and yet the moment a sinner takes his true place as one thoroughly lost, guilty, and undone, as one in whom there is not so much as a single point on which the eye of Infinite Holiness can rest with complacency, as one who is so bad that he cannot possibly be worse, there is an immediate, a perfect, a divine settlement of the entire matter. The grace of God deals with sinners, and when I know myself to be a sinner, I know myself to be one whom Christ came to save. The more clearly any one can prove me to be a sinner, the more clearly he establishes my title to the love of God and the work of Christ. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)). Now if I am unjust, I am one of those very people for whom Christ died, and I am entitled to all the benefits of His death. “There is not a just man upon earth,” and inasmuch as I am upon earth, it is plain that I am unjust, and it is equally plain that Christ died for me, that He suffered for my sins. Since, therefore, Christ died for me, it is my happy privilege to enter into the immediate enjoyment of the fruits of His sacrifice.
This is as plain as plainness itself. It demands no effort whatsoever. I am not called to be anything but just what I am. I am not called to feel, to experience, to realize anything. The word of God assures me that Christ died for me just as I am, and if He died for me I am as safe as He is Himself. There is nothing against me. Christ met all. He not only suffered for my “sins,” but He “made an end of sin.” He abolished the entire system in which as a child of the first Adam I stood, and He has introduced me into a new position in association with Himself, and there I stand before God free from all charge of sin and all fear of judgment.
Just as I am—without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
How do I know that His blood was shed for me? By the scriptures. Blessed, solid, eternal ground of knowledge! Christ suffered for sins. I have gotten sins. Christ died “the just for the unjust.” I am unjust. Wherefore the death of Christ appropriates itself to me as fully, as immediately, and as divinely as though I were the only sinner upon earth. It is not a question of my appropriation, realization, or experience. Many souls harass themselves about this. How often has one heard such language as the following, “Oh, I believe that Christ died for sinners, but I cannot realize that my sins are forgiven! I cannot apply, I cannot appropriate, I do not experience the benefit of Christ’s death!” All this is self and not Christ. It is feeling and not scripture. If we search from cover to cover of the blessed volume we shall not find a syllable about being saved by realization, experience, or appropriation. The gospel applies itself to all who are on the ground of being lost. Christ died for sinners. That is just what I am. Wherefore He died for me. How do I know this? Is it because I feel it? By no means. How then? By the word of God. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; He was buried and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-43For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:3‑4)). Thus it is all according to the scriptures. If it were according to our feelings we should be in a deplorable way, for our feelings are hardly the same for the length of a day, but the scriptures are ever the same. “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” “Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
No doubt it is a very happy thing to realize, to feel, and to experience, but if we put these things in the place of Christ we shall neither have them nor the Christ that yields them. If I am occupied with Christ I shall realize, but if I put my realization in place of Christ I shall have neither the one nor the other. This is the sad condition of thousands. Instead of resting on the stable authority of the scriptures, they are ever looking into their own hearts, and hence they are always uncertain, and as a consequence always unhappy. A condition of doubt is a condition of torture. But how can I get rid of my doubt? Simply by relying on the divine authority of the scriptures. Of what do the scriptures testify? Of Christ (John 5). They declare that Christ died for our sins and that He was raised again for our justification (Rom. 4). This settles everything. The self-same authority that tells me I am unjust tells me also that Christ died for me. Nothing can be plainer than this. If I were aught else than unjust the death of Christ would not be for me at all, but being unjust it is divinely fitted, divinely intended and divinely applied to me. If I am occupied with anything in, of, or about myself, it is plain I have not entered into the full spiritual application of Leviticuus 13:12-13. I have not come to the Lamb of God “just as I am.”
It is when the leper is covered from head to foot that he is on the true ground. It is there, and there alone, that grace can meet him. “Then the priest shall consider; and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.” Precious truth! “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” So long as I think there is a single spot which is not covered with the direful disease I have not come to the end of myself. It is when my true condition is fully disclosed to my view that I really understand the meaning of salvation by grace.
The force of all this will be more fully apprehended when we come to consider the ordinances connected with the cleansing of the leper in chapter 14 of our book. We shall now briefly enter upon the question of leprosy in a garment, as presented in chapter 13:47-59.
The garment or skin suggests to the mind the idea of a man’s circumstances or habits. This is a deeply practical point. We are to watch against the working of evil in our ways just as carefully as against evil in ourselves. The same patient investigation is observable with respect to a garment as in the case of a person. There is no haste, neither is there any indifference. “The priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days.” There must be no indifference, no indolence, no carelessness. Evil may creep into our habits and circumstances in numberless ways, and hence the moment we perceive aught of a suspicious nature it must be submitted to a calm, patient process of priestly investigation. It must be shut up seven days in order that it may have full time to develop itself perfectly.
“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. He shall therefore burn that garment.” The wrong habit must be given up the moment I discover it. If I find myself in a thoroughly wrong position I must abandon it. The burning of the garment expresses the act of judgment upon evil, whether in a man’s habits or circumstances. There must be no trifling with evil. In certain cases the garment was to be washed, which expresses the action of the word of God upon a man’s habits. “Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more.” There is to be patient waiting in order to ascertain the effect of the word. “And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed ... .thou shalt burn it in the fire.” When there is anything radically and irremediably bad in one’s position or habits, the whole thing is to be given up. “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.” The word may produce such an effect as that the wrong features in a man’s character, or the wrong points in his position, shall be given up, and the evil be got rid of; but if the evil continue, after all, the whole thing must be condemned and set aside.
There is a rich mine of practical instruction in all this. We must look well to the position which we occupy, the circumstances in which we stand, the habits we adopt, the character we wear. There is special need of watchfulness. Every suspicious symptom and trait must be sedulously guarded lest it should prove in the sequel to be a fretting or spreading leprosy whereby we ourselves and many others may be defiled. We may be placed in a position attached to which there are certain wrong things which can be given up without entirely abandoning the position, and on the other hand we may find ourselves in a situation in which it is impossible to “abide with God.” Where the eye is single the path will be plain. Where the one desire of the heart is to enjoy the divine presence, we shall easily discover those things which tend to deprive us of that unspeakable blessing.
May our hearts be tender and sensitive. May we cultivate a deeper, closer walk with God; and may we carefully guard against every form of defilement, whether in person, in habit, or in association!
We shall now proceed to consider the beauteous and significant ordinances connected with the cleansing of the leper, in which we shall find some of the most precious truths of the gospel presented to us.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: and the priest shall go forth out of the camp” (Lev. 14:1-31And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3And 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 14:1‑3)). We have already seen the place which the leper occupied. He was outside the camp, in the place of moral distance from God, from His sanctuary and His assembly. Moreover, he dwelt in dreary solitude, in a condition of uncleanness. He was beyond the reach of human aid; and, as for himself, he could only communicate defilement to every one and everything he touched. It was therefore obviously impossible that he could do aught to cleanse himself. If, indeed, he could only defile by his very touch, how could he possibly cleanse himself? How could he contribute towards, or cooperate in, his cleansing? Impossible. As an unclean leper, he could not do so much as a single thing for himself; all had to be done for him. He could not make his way to God, but God could make His way to him. He was shut up to God. There was no help for him, either in himself or in his fellow-man. It is clear that one leper could not cleanse another; and it is equally clear that if a leper touched a clean person he rendered him unclean. His only resource was in God. He was to be a debtor to grace for everything.
Hence we read, “The priest shall go forth out of the camp.” It is not said, “the leper shall go.” This was wholly out of the question. It was of no use talking to the leper about going or doing. He was consigned to deary solitude; whither could he go? He was involved in helpless defilement; what could he do? He might long for fellowship and long to be clean, but his longings were those of a lonely helpless leper. He might make efforts after cleansing, but his efforts could but prove him unclean, and tend to spread defilement. Before ever he could be pronounced “clean,” a work had to be wrought for him — a work which he could neither do nor help to do — a work which had to be wholly accomplished by another. The leper was called to “stand still” and behold the priest doing a work in virtue of which the leporsy could be perfectly cleansed. The priest accomplished all: the leper did nothing.
“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. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.” In the priest going forth from the camp — forth from God’s dwelling-place — we behold the blessed Lord Jesus coming down from the bosom of the Father, His eternal dwelling-place, into this polluted world of ours, where he beheld us sunk in the polluting leprosy of sin. He, like the good samaritan, “came where we were.” He did not come half-way merely; He did not come nine-tenths of the way; He came all the way. This was indispensable. He could not consistently with the holy claims of the throne of God have bidden our leprosy to depart had He remained in the bosom. He could call worlds into existence by the word of His mouth, but when leprous sinners had to be cleansed, something more was needed. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” When worlds were to be framed, God had but to speak; when sinners had to be saved, he had to give His Son. “In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-109In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9‑10)).
But there was far more to be accomplished than the mission and incarnation of the Son. It would have availed the leper but little indeed had the priest merely gone forth from the camp and looked upon his low and forlorn condition Blood-shedding was essentially necessary before leprosy could be remove. The death of a spotless victim was needed. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)). And be it observed that the shedding of blood was the real basis of the leper’s cleansing. It was not a mere circumstance, which, in conjunction with others, contributed to the leper’s cleansing. By no means. The giving up of the life was the grand and all-important fact. When this was accomplished, the way was open, every barrier was removed, God could deal in perfect grace with the leper. This point should be distincly laid hold of if my reader woud fully enter into the glorious doctrine of the blood.
“And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.” Here we have the acknowledged type of the death of Christ, “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God.” “He was crucified in weakness” (Heb 9; 2 Cor. 13). The greatest, the mightiest, the most glorious, the most momentous work that ever was accomplished, throughout the wide universe of God, was wrought “in weakness.” Oh, my reader, how terrible a thing must sin be, in the judgment of God, when His own beloved Son had to come down from heaven and hang upon yonder cursed tree, a spectacle to men, to angels, and to devils, in order that you and I might be forgiven! And what a type of sin have we in leprosy! Who would have thought that that little bright spot appearing on the person of some member of the congregation was a matter of such grave consequence? But, ah! that little bright spot was nothing less than the energy of evil in the place of manifestation; it was the index of the dreadful working of sin in the nature. And before that person could be fitted for a place in the assembly, or for the enjoyment of communion with a holy God, the Son of God had to leave those bright heavens and descend into the lowest parts of the earth in order to make a full atonement for that which exhibited itself merely in the form of a little “bright spot.” Let us remember this, sin is a dreadful thing in the estimation of God. He cannot tolerate so much as a single sinful thought. Before one such thought could be forgiven, Christ had to die upon the cross. The most trifling sin, if any sin can be called trifling, demanded nothing less than the death of God’s eternal and co-equal Son. But, eternal praise be to God, what sin demanded, redeeming love freely gave; and now God is infinitely more glorified in the forgiveness of sins than He could have been had Adam maintained his original innocency. God is more glorified in the salvation, the pardon, the justification, the preservation, and final glorification of guilty man then He could have seen in maintaining an innocent man in the enjoyment of creation blessings. Such is the precious mystery of redemption. May our hearts enter by the power of the Holy Spirit into the living and profound depths of this wondrous mystery!
“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: and he shall sprinkle upon 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.” The blood being shed, the priest can enter directly and fully upon his work. Up to this we read, “the priest shall command,” but now he acts immediately himself. The death of Christ is the basis of His priestly ministration. Having entered with His own blood into the holy place, He acts as our great High Priest, applying to our souls all the precious results of His atoning work, and maintaining us in the full and divine integrity of the position into which His sacrifice has introduced us. “For every high priest is ordained to offer gift, and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest” (Heb. 8:3-43For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: (Hebrews 8:3‑4)).
We could hardly have a more perfect type of the resurrection of Christ than that presented in the living bird let loose into the open field. It was not let go until after the death of its companion, for the two birds typify one Christ in two stages of His blessed work, namely, death and resurrection. Ten thousand birds let loose would not have availed for the leper. It was that living bird, mounting upward into the open heavens, bearing upon his wing the significant token of accomplished atonement — it was that which told out the great fact that the work was done, the ground cleared, the foundation laid. Thus it is in reference to our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. His resurrection declares the glorious triumph of redemption. “He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” “He was raised again for our justification.” It is this that sets the burdened heart free and liberates the struggling conscience. The scriptures assure me that He rose from the grave without one of those sins upon Him. Nor is this all. The same scriptures assure me that all who put their trust in Jesus are as free from all charge of guilt as He is; that there is no more wrath or condemnation for them than for Him; that they are in Him, one with Him, accepted in Him, co-quickened, co-raised, co-seated with Him. Such is the peace-giving testimony of the scriptures of truth, such the record of God who cannot lie (see Rom. 6:6-11; 8:1-46Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:6‑11)
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1‑4); 2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21); Eph. 2:5-65Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:5‑6); Col. 2:10-1510And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:10‑15); 1 John 4:1717Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)).
But we have another most important truth set before us in verse 6 of our chapter. We not only see our full deliverance from guilt and condemnation, as beautifully exhibited in the living bird let loose, but we see also our entire deliverance from all the attractions of earth and all the influences of nature. The scarlet would be the apt expression of the former, while the cedar wood and hyssop would set forth the latter. The cross is the end of all this world’s glory. God presents it as such, and the believer recognizes it as such. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto Me, and I unto the world” (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)).
Then, as to the cedar wood and hyssop, they present to us, as it were, the two extremes of nature’s wide range. Solomon “spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall” (1 Kings 4:3333And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. (1 Kings 4:33)). From the lofty cedar which crowns the sides of Lebanon, down to the lowly hyssop — the wide extremes and all that lies between — nature in all its departments is brought under the power of the cross, so that the believer sees in the death of Christ the end of all his guilt, the end of all earth’s glory, and the end of the whole system of nature — the entire old creation. And with what is he to be occupied? With Him who is the Antitype of that living bird, with bloodstained feathers, ascending into the open heavens. Precious, glorious, soul-satisfying object! A risen, ascended, triumphant, glorified Christ, who has passed into the heavens, bearing in His sacred Person the marks of an accomplished atonement. It is with Him we have to do; we are shut up to Him. He is God’s exclusive object; He is the center of heaven’s joy, the theme of angels’ song. We want none of earth’s glory, none of nature’s attractions. We can behold them all, together with our sin and guilt, forever set aside by the death of Christ. We can well afford to dispense with earth and nature, inasmuch as we have gotten instead thereof the unsearchable riches of Christ.
“And he shall sprinkle upon 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.” The more deeply we ponder over the contents of chapter 13 the more clearly we shall see how utterly impossible it was for the leper to do aught towards his own cleansing. All he could do was to put a covering upon his upper lip, and all he could say was, “Unclean, unclean.” It belonged to God, and to Him alone, to devise and accomplish a work whereby the leprosy could be perfectly cleansed; and, further, it belonged to God, and to Him alone, to pronounce the leper clean. Hence it is written, “and he shall sprinkle,” and “he shall pronounce him clean.” It is not said, “The leper shall sprinkle and pronounce, or imagine himself clean.” This would never do. God was the Judge, God was the Healer, God was the Cleanser. He alone knew what leprosy was, how it could be put away, and when to pronounce the leper clean. The leper might have gone on all his days covered with leprosy, and yet be wholly ignorant of what was wrong with him. It was the word of God, the scriptures of truth, the divine record, that declared the full truth as to leprosy, and nothing short of the self-same authority could pronounce the leper clean, and that, moreover, only on the solid and indisputable ground of death and resurrection. There is the most precious connection between the three things in verse 7: the blood is sprinkled, the leper pronounced clean, and the living bird let loose. There is not so much as a single syllable about what the leper was to do, to say, to think, or to feel. It was enough that he was a leper; a fully revealed, a thoroughly judged leper, covered from head to foot. This sufficed for him; all the rest pertained to God.
It is of all importance for the anxious inquirer after peace to enter into the truth unfolded in this branch of our subject. So many are tried by the question of feeling, realizing, and appropriating, instead of seeing as in the leper’s case that the sprinkling of the blood was as independent and as divine as the shedding of it. It is not said, “The leper shall apply, appropriate, or realize, and then he shall be clean.” By no means. The plan of deliverance was divine, the provision of the sacrifice was divine, the shedding of the blood was divine, the record as to the result was divine: in short, it was all divine.
It is not that we should undervalue realization, or, to speak more correctly, communion, through the Holy Spirit, with all the precious results of Christ’s work for us. Far from it: we shall see presently the place assigned thereto in the divine economy. But then, we are no more saved by realization than the leper was cleansed by it. The gospel by which we are saved is that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” There is nothing about realization here. No doubt it is happy to realize. It is a very happy thing for one who was just on the point of being drowned to realize himself in a life-boat, but clearly he is saved by the boat, and not by his realization. So it is with the sinner that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is saved by death and resurrection. Is it because he realizes it? No; but because God says it. It is “according to the scriptures.” Christ died and rose again, and on that ground God pronounces him clean.
“No condemnation, O my soul!
‘Tis God that speaks the word.”
This gives immense peace to the soul. I have to do with God’s plain record, which nothing can ever shake. That record has reference to God’s own work. It is He Himself who has wrought all that was needful in order to my being pronounced clean in His sight. My pardon no more depends upon my realization than upon any works of righteousness that I have done, and it no more depends upon my works of righteousness than it does upon my crimes. In a word, it depends exclusively upon the death and resurrection of Christ. How do I know it? God tells me. It is according to the scriptures.
There are, perhaps, few things which disclose the deep-seated legality of our hearts more strikingly than this oft-raised question of realization. We will have in something of self, and thus so sadly mar our peace and liberty in Christ. It is mainly because of this that I dwell at such length upon the beautiful ordinance of the cleansing of the leper, and especially on the truth unfolded in Leviticus 14:77And he shall sprinkle upon 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. (Leviticus 14:7). It was the priest that sprinkled the blood, and it was the priest that pronounced the leper clean. Thus it is in the case of the sinner. The moment he is on his true ground, the blood of Christ and the word of God apply themselves without any further question or difficulty whatever. But the moment this harassing question of realization is raised, the peace is disturbed, the heart depressed, and the mind bewildered. The more thoroughly I get done with self, and become occupied with Christ, as presented in the scriptures, the more settled my peace will be.
If the leper had looked at himself when the priest pronounced him dean, would he have found any basis for the declaration? Surely not. The sprinkled blood was the basis of the divine record, and not anything in, or connected with, the leper. The leper was not asked how he felt, or what he thought. He was not questioned as to whether he had a deep sense of the vileness of his disease. He was an acknowledged leper that was enough. It was for such an one the blood was shed, and that blood made him clean. How did he know this? Was it because he felt it? No; but because the priest, on God’s behalf and by His authority, told him so. The leper was pronounced clean on the very same ground that the living bird was let loose. The same blood which stained the feathers of that living bird was sprinkled upon the leper. This was a perfect settlement of the whole affair, and that, too, in a manner entirely independent of the leper, the leper’s thoughts, his feelings, and his realization. Such is the type. And when we look from the type to the Antitype, we see that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ entered heaven, and laid on the throne of God the eternal record of an accomplished work, in virtue of which the believer enters also. This is a most glorious truth, divinely calculated to dispel from the heart of the anxious inquirer every doubt, every fear, every bewildering thought, and every harassing question. A risen Christ is God’s exclusive object, and He sees every believer in Him. May every awakened soul find abiding repose in this emancipating truth.
“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” (vs. 8). The leper being pronounced clean can begin to do what he could not even have attempted to do before — namely, to cleanse himself, cleanse his habits, shave off all his hair. And having done so, he is privileged to take his place in the camp — the place of ostensible, recognized, public relationship with the God of Israel, whose presence in that camp it was which rendered the expulsion of the leper needful. The blood having been applied in its expiating virtue, there is the washing of water, which expresses the action of the word on the character, the habits, the ways, so as to render the person, not only in God’s view, but also in the view of the congregation, morally and practically fit for a place in the public assembly.
But, be it observed, the man though sprinkled with blood and washed with water, and thus entitled to a position in the public assembly, was not permitted to enter his own tent. He was not permitted to enter upon the full enjoyment of those private, personal privileges, which belonged to his own peculiar place in the camp. In other words, though knowing redemption through the shed and sprinkled blood, and owning the word as the rule according to which his person and all his habits should be cleansed and regulated, he had yet to be brought in the power of the Spirit into full, intelligent communion with his own special place, portion, and privileges in Christ.
I speak according to the doctrine of the type, and I feel it to be of importance to apprehend the truth unfolded therein. It is too often overlooked. There are many who own the blood of Christ as the alone ground of pardon, and the word of God as that whereby alone their habits, ways, and associations are to be cleansed and ordered, who nevertheless are far from entering by the power of the Holy Spirit into communion with the preciousness and excellency of that One whose blood has put away their sins, and whose word is to cleanse their practical habits. They are in the place of ostensible and actual relationship, but not in the power of personal communion. It is perfectly true that all believers are in Christ, and as such entitled to communion with the very highest truths. Moreover, they have the Holy Spirit as the power of communion. All this is divinely true, but then there is not that entire setting aside of all that pertains to nature which is really essential to the power of communion with Christ in all the aspects of His character and work. In point of fact, this latter will not be fully known to any until the eighth day — the day of resurrection — glory, when we shall know even as we are known. Then indeed each one for himself, and all together, shall enter into the full, unhindered power of communion with Christ in all the precious phases of His Person and features of His character unfolded from verses 10 to 20 of our chapter. Such is the hope set before us, but even now in proportion as we enter by faith through the mighty energy of the indwelling Spirit into the death of nature and all pertaining thereto, we can feed upon and rejoice in Christ as the portion of our souls in the place of individual communion.
“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” (vs. 9). Now it is clear that the leper was just as clean in God’s judgment on the first day when the blood was sprinkled upon him in its sevenfold or perfect efficacy as he was on the seventh day. Wherein then was the difference? Not in his actual standing and condition but in his personal intelligence and communion. On the seventh day he was called to enter into the full and complete abolition of all that pertained to nature. He was called to apprehend that, not merely was nature’s leprosy to be put away, but nature’s ornaments — yea, all that was natural, all that belonged to the old condition.
It is one thing to know as a doctrine that God sees my nature to be dead, and it is quite another thing for me to reckon myself as dead — to put off practically the old man and his deeds, to mortify my members which are on the earth. This probably is what many godly persons mean when they speak of progressive sanctification. They mean a right thing, though they do not put it exactly as the scriptures do. The leper was pronounced clean the moment the blood was sprinkled upon him, and yet he had to cleanse himself. How was this? In the former case he was clean in the judgment of God; in the latter he was to be clean practically in his own personal intelligence and in his manifested character. Thus it is with the believer. He is, as one with Christ, washed, sanctified, and justified, accepted, complete (1 Cor. 6:1111And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11); Eph. 1:66To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:6); Col. 2:1010And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:10)). Such is his unalterable standing and condition before God. He is as perfectly sanctified as he is justified, for Christ is the measure of both the one and the other, according to God’s judgment and view of the case. But then the believer’s apprehension of all this in his own soul, and his exhibition thereof in his habits and ways, open up quite another line of things. Hence it is we read, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:11Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)). It is because Christ has cleansed us by His precious blood that therefore we are called to cleanse ourselves by the application of the word, through the Spirit. “This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one” (1 John 5:6-86This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:6‑8)). Here we have atonement by the blood, cleansing by the word, and power by the Spirit, all founded upon the death of Christ, and all vividly foreshadowed in the ordinances connected with the cleansing of the leper.
“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. And the priest that maketh 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: 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” (vss. 10-12). The entire range of offerings is here introduced, but it is the trespass offering which is first killed, inasmuch as the leper is viewed as an actual trespasser. This is true in every case. As those who have trespassed against God, we need Christ as the One who atoned on the cross for those trespasses. “Himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” The first view which the sinner gets of Christ is as the Antitype of the trespass offering.
“And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.” The ear, that guilty member which had so frequently proved a channel of communication for vanity, folly, and even uncleanness — that ear must be cleansed by the blood of the trespass offering. Thus all the guilt which I have ever contracted by that member is forgiven according to God’s estimate of the blood of Christ. The right hand, which had so frequently been stretched forth for the execution of deeds of vanity, folly, and even uncleanness, must be cleansed by the blood of the trespass offering. Thus all the guilt which I have ever contracted by that member is forgiven according to God’s estimate of the blood of Christ. The foot, which had so often run in the way of vanity, folly, and even uncleanness, must now be cleansed by the blood of the trespass offering, so that all the guilt which I have ever contracted by that member is forgiven according to God’s estimate of the blood of Christ. Yes; all, all, all is forgiven, all is canceled, all forgotten, all sunk as lead in the mighty waters of eternal oblivion. Who shall bring it up again? Shall angel, man, or devil be able to plunge into those unfathomed and unfathomable waters, to bring up from thence those trespasses of foot, hand, or ear, which redeeming love had cast there into? Oh, no; blessed be God, they are gone, and gone forever! I am better off by far than if Adam had never sinned. Precious truth! To be washed in the blood is better far than to be clothed in innocency.
But God could not rest satisfied with the mere blotting out of trespasses by the atoning blood of Jesus. This in itself is a great thing, but there is something greater still.
“And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 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, and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: and the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand, he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord” (Lev. 14:15-1815And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 16And 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: 17And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: 18And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord. (Leviticus 14:15‑18)). Thus, not only are our members cleansed by the blood of Christ, but also consecrated to God in the power of the Spirit. God’s work is not only negative, but positive. The ear is no longer to be the vehicle for communicating defilement, but to be swift to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. The hand is no longer to be used as the instrument of unrighteousness, but to be stretched forth in acts of righteousness, grace, and true holiness. The foot is no longer to tread in folly’s paths, but to run in the way of God’s holy commandments. And, finally, the whole man is to be dedicated to God in the energy of the Holy Spirit.
It is deeply interesting to see that the oil was put upon the blood of the trespass offering. The blood of Christ is the divine basis of the operations of the Holy Spirit. The blood and the oil go together. As sinners we could know nothing of the latter save on the ground of the former. The oil could not have been put upon the leper until the blood of the trespass offering had first been applied. “In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” The divine accuracy of the type evokes the admiration of the renewed mind. The more closely we scrutinize it, the more of the light of scripture we concentrate upon it, the more its beauty, force, and precision are perceived and enjoyed. All, as might justly be expected, is in the most lovely harmony with the entire analogy of the word of God. There is no need for any effort of the mind. Take Christ as the key to unlock the rich treasury of the types, explore the precious contents by the light of Inspiration’s heavenly lamp, let the Holy Spirit be your interpreter, and you cannot fail to be edified, enlightened, and blessed.
“And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness.” Here we have a type of Christ, not only as the bearer of our trespasses, but also as the One who made an end of sin, root and branch; the One who destroyed the entire system of sin, “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” the propitiation for the whole world. As the trespass offering, Christ put away all my trespasses, as the sin offering, He met the great root from whence those trespasses emanated. He met all, but it is as the trespass offering I first know Him, because it is as such I first need Him. It is the conscience of sins that first troubles me. This is divinely met by my precious Trespass Offering. Then as I get on I find that all these sins had a root, a parent stem, and that root or stem I find within me. This likewise is divinely met by my precious Sin Offering. The order as presented in the leper’s case is perfect. It is precisely the order which we can trace in the actual experience of every soul. The trespass offering comes first, and then the sin offering.
“And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering.” This offering presents the highest possible aspect of the death of Christ. It is Christ offering Himself without spot to God, without special reference to either trespasses or sin. It is Christ in voluntary devotedness walking to the cross and there offering Himself as a sweet savor to God.
“And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean” (vs. 20). The meat offering typifies the man Christ Jesus in His perfect human life. It is intimately associated in the case of the cleansed leper with the burnt offering, and so it is in the experience of every saved sinner. It is when we know our trespasses are forgiven, and the root or principle of sin judged, that we can according to our measure by the power of the Spirit enjoy communion with God about that blessed One, who lived a perfect human life down here, and then offered Himself without spot to God on the cross. Thus the four classes of offerings are brought before us in their divine order in the cleansing of the leper — namely, the trespass offering, the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the meat offering, each exhibiting its own specific aspect of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Here closes the record of the Lord’s dealings with the leprous man, and oh, what a marvelous record it is! What an unfolding of the exceeding hatefulness of sin, the grace and holiness of God, the preciousness of Christ’s Person, and the efficacy of His work! Nothing can be more interesting than to mark the footprints of divine grace forth from the hallowed precincts of the sanctuary to the defiled place where the leper stood with bare head, covered lip, and rent garments: God visited the leper where he was, but He did not leave him there. He went forth prepared to accomplish a work in virtue of which He could bring the leper into a higher place, and higher communion than ever he had known before. On the ground of this work the leper was conducted from his place of defilement and loneliness to the very door of the tabernacle of the congregation, the priestly place, to enjoy priestly privileges (comp. Ex. 29:20-21,3220Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. (Exodus 29:20‑21)
32And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 29:32)). How could he ever have climbed to such an elevation? Impossible! For aught he could do, he might have languished and died in his leprosy, had not the sovereign grace of the God of Israel stooped to lift him from the dunghill to set him among the princes of His people. If ever there was a case in which the question of human effort, human merit, and human righteousness, could be fully tried and perfectly settled, the leper is unquestionably that case. Indeed, it were a sad loss of time to discuss such a question in the presence of such a case. It must be obvious to the most cursory reader that naught but free grace reigning through righteousness could meet the leper’s condition and the leper’s need. And how gloriously and triumphantly did that grace act! It traveled down into the deepest depths that it might raise the leper to the loftiest heights. See what the leper lost, and see what he gained! He lost all that pertained to nature, and he gained the blood of atonement and the grace of the Spirit. I mean typically. Truly he was a gainer to an incalculable amount. He was infinitely better off than if he had never been thrust forth from the camp. Such is the grace of God! such the power and value, the virtue and efficacy of the blood of Jesus!
How forcibly does all this remind us of the prodigal in Luke 15! In him, too, leprosy had wrought and risen to a head. He had been afar off in the defiled place, where his own sins and the intense selfishness of the far country had created a solitude around him. But, blessed forever be a Father’s deep and tender love, we know how it ended. The prodigal found a higher place, and tasted a higher communion than ever he had known before. The fatted calf had never been slain for him before the best robe had never been on him before. And how was this? Was it a question of the prodigal’s merits? Oh, no! it was simply a question of the Father’s love.
Dear reader, let me ask, Can you ponder over the record of God’s dealings with the leper in Leviticus 14 or the Father’s dealings with the prodigal in Luke 15, and not have an enlarged sense of the love that dwells in the bosom of God, that flows through the Person and work of Christ, that is recorded in the scriptures of truth, and brought home to the heart by the Holy Spirit? Lord grant us a deeper and more abiding fellowship with Himself!
From verse 21 to 32 we have “the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.” This refers to the sacrifices of the eighth day, and not to the two birds alive and clean. These latter could not be dispensed with in any case, because they set forth the death and resurrection of Christ as the alone ground on which God can receive a sinner back to Himself. On the other hand, the sacrifices of the eighth day, being connected with the soul’s communion, must in some degree be affected by the measure of the soul’s apprehension. But whatever that measure may be, the grace of God can meet it with those peculiarly touching words, “such as he is able to get.” And not only so, but the two turtle doves conferred the same privileges upon the poor, as the two lambs conferred upon the rich, inasmuch as both the one and the other pointed to the precious blood of Christ, which is of infinite, changeless, and eternal efficacy in the judgment of God.
All stand before God on the ground of death and resurrection, all are brought into the same place of nearness; but all do not enjoy the same measure of communion, all have not the same measure of apprehension of the preciousness of Christ in all the aspects of His work. They might if they would, but they allow themselves to be hindered in various ways. Earth and nature, with their respective influences, act prejudicially. The Spirit is grieved, and Christ is not enjoyed as He might be. It is utterly vain to expect that if we are living in the region of nature we can be feeding upon Christ. No; there must be self-emptiness, self-denial, self-judgment, if we would habitually feed upon Christ. It is not a question of salvation; it is not a question of the leper introduced into the camp — the place of recognized relationship. By no means. It is only a question of the soul’s communion, of its enjoyment of Christ. As to this, the largest measure lies open to us. We may have communion with the very highest truths, but if our measure be small, the unupbraiding grace of our Father’s heart breathes in the sweet words, “such as he is able to get.” The title of all is the same, however our capacity may vary, and, blessed be God, when we get into His presence, all the desires of the new nature in their utmost intensity are satisfied, all the powers of the new nature in their fullest range are occupied. May we prove these things in our soul’s happy experience day by day!
We shall close this section with a brief reference to the subject of leprosy in a house.
The reader will observe that a case of leprosy in a person or in a garment might occur in the wilderness, but in the matter of a house it was of necessity confined to the land of Canaan. “When ye 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...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: 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; then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.”
Looking at the house as the type of an assembly, we have some weighty principles presented to us as to the divine method of dealing with moral evil, or suspicion of evil, in a congregation. We observe the same holy calmness and perfect patience with respect to the house as we have already seen in reference to the person or the garment. There was no haste, and no indifference, either as regards the house, the garment, or the individual. The man who had an interest in the house was not to treat with indifference any suspicious symptoms appearing in the wall thereof, neither was he to pronounce judgment himself upon such symptoms. It belonged to the priest to investigate and to judge. The moment that aught of a questionable nature made its appearance, the priest assumed a judicial attitude with respect to the house. The house was under judgment, though not condemned. The perfect period was to be allowed to run its course before any decision could be arrived at. The symptoms might prove to be merely superficial, in which case there would be no demand for any action whatever.
“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, 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.” The whole house was not to be condemned. The removal of the leprous stones was first to be tried.
“And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered; 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. 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.” The case was hopeless, the evil irremediable, the whole building was annihilated.
“Moreover, he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.” This is a solemn truth. Contact defiles! Let us remember this. It was a principle largely inculcated under the Levitical economy, and surely it is not less applicable now.
“And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest Shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.” the removal of the defiled stones, and so forth, had arrested the progress of the evil, and rendered all further judgment needless. The house was no longer to be viewed as in a judicial place, but being cleansed by the application of the blood, it was again fit for occupation.
And now as to the moral of all this. It is at once interesting, solemn, and practical. Look, for example, at the church at Corinth. It was a spiritual house, composed of spiritual stones, but, alas! the eagle eye of the apostle discerned upon its walls certain symptoms of a most suspicious nature. Was he indifferent? Surely not. He had imbibed far too much of the spirit of the Master of the house to admit for one moment of any such thing. But he was no more hasty than indifferent. He commanded the leprous stone to be removed, and gave the house a thorough scraping. Having acted thus faithfully, he patiently awaited the result. And what was that result? All that the heart could desire. “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.... In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (comp. 1 Cor. 5 with 2 Cor. 7:1111For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Corinthians 7:11)). This is a lovely instance. The zealous care of the apostle was amply rewarded; the plague was stayed, and the assembly delivered from the defiling influence of unjudged moral evil.
Take another solemn example. “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith He that hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is; and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” (Rev. 2:12-1612And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Revelation 2:12‑16)). Here the divine Priest stands in a judicial attitude with respect to His house at Pergamos. He could not be indifferent to symptoms so alarming; but He patiently and graciously gives time to repent. If reproof, warning, and discipline prove unavailing, judgment must take its course.
These things are full of practical teaching as to the doctrine of the assembly. The seven churches of Asia afford various striking illustrations of the house under priestly judgment. We should ponder them deeply and prayerfully. They are of immense value. We should never sit down at ease so long as aught of a suspicious nature is making its appearance in the assembly. We may be tempted to say, “It is none of my business,” but it is the business of every one who loves the Master of the house to have a jealous, godly care for the purity of that house, and if we shrink from the due exercise of this care, it will not be for our honor or profit in the day of the Lord.
I shall not pursue this subject any further in these pages, and in closing this section shall merely remark that I do not doubt in the least that this whole subject of leprosy has a great dispensational bearing, not only upon the house of Israel, but also upon the professing church.