Leviticus 13-14

Thursday Evening Bible Study

October 29, 2009

Introduction

Leviticus is an instruction manual for the Levite priests.

The main theme is “Holiness”

(Lev 19:2 NKJV) …'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

When the priests first started their work, they ran into a little trouble.

Two of the men, Nadab and Abihu, had been just a wee bit drunk. As a result, they did something stupid, offering something to God that He didn’t want. They died. God pulled Aaron aside and told him that priests should not be drinking and ministering at the same time …

(Lev 10:10-11 NKJV) "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, {11} "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses."

Archaeology has uncovered an ancient manuscript that brings more to light on the subject of clean and unclean. It is the ancient text known as: DeuteroMommy

Laws Pertaining to Dessert

For we judge between the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert. But of the unclean plate, the laws are these: If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert. But if you eat a lesser number of peas, and yet you eat the potatoes, still you shall not have dessert; and if you eat the peas, yet leave the potatoes uneaten, you shall not have dessert, no, not even a small portion thereof. And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.

Leviticus 13

13:1-8 Scabs

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

:2 "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

:2 leprous – tsara‘ath – leprosy; skin disease, mildew or mold

The word is a broad enough term to include several things.

The traditional “leprosy” is more specifically called “Hansen’s Disease”.

Hansen’s Disease is transmitted by droplets from the nose or mouth when in close contact with an untreated person.

The disease is now curable with antibiotics.

Symptoms include skin lesions that are lighter than your normal skin color.

The lesions have a decreased sensation to touch, heat, or pain. As a result people with this disease can injure and loose fingers, toes, etc because they can’t feel them.

Lesions do not heal after several weeks or months.

Medical scholars feel that the things described in this chapter go beyond Hansen’s disease and that it includes other contagious skin diseases such as favus.

We’ll also see this word applied to moldy clothes and houses.

Medical implications

The priest did not function like a doctor, giving medical prescriptions, but more like a public health official, putting people under quarantine.

There were no medical answers to these conditions in these ancient times. These diseases were considered incurable.

The fact that Israel practiced the use of quarantines helped their overall health as a people.

Spiritual implications

There seems to be a sense in the Bible that leprosy is almost a symbol of sin.

When Miriam rebelled (Num.12), God made her leprous

When Gehazi lied and took money from Naaman, he turned to a leper (2Ki.5)

Uzziah the king brazenly walked into the temple to offer incense as if he was a priest, and became a leper. (2Chr.26:19)

These two chapters could be seen as dealing with sin

A person in sin is cut of from fellowship with God and His people.

Like leprosy, sin makes you less “sensitive” to the things of God.

There is a sense that sin too seems incurable.

(Jer 17:9 NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

But God can heal the incurable, He can restore a sinner to His presence.

:3 "The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

:3 deeper than the skin

Some things are just “skin deep”, and not really a problem.

But sometimes, a person’s problems are really a lot deeper, and then we need to be concern.

Sin is more than “skin deep”.

From Wiersbe:

In eighteenth-century England, if you were convicted for stealing, the judge could order the authorities to chop off your right hand. If you were convicted a second time, they could cut off the left hand. I recall reading about a pickpocket who lost both hands but managed to succeed in his career because he perfected picking pockets with his teeth! Even if the authorities had pulled all his teeth, it wouldn’t have solved the problem, because sin is deeper than the skin. Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man” (Matt. 15:19-20).

:4 "But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the sore seven days.

:5 "And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him another seven days.

:6 "Then the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

:7 "But if the scab should at all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again.

:8 "And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.

If the priest was unsure of the diagnosis, then the person was to come back in seven days and be checked again.

Lesson:

Take time for discernment.

Some of the application of this chapter has to do with discerning what is going on in a person’s life.

I think it’s really hard to know a person in a very short period of time.

For those of you looking for spouses, take note.

For those looking to hire somebody, listen up.

We need to also be careful when we put people into important, high-profile ministry positions.

(1 Tim 5:22 NKJV) Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.

(1 Tim 5:24-25 NKJV) Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. {25} Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

You’ll usually be able to tell with enough time what a person is really like.

I find it difficult to recommend marriage to a couple that’s only known each other a few weeks.

Yes, God can do miracles, but why tempt Him?

Take time to make correct decisions.

Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly; many things lie unsolved, and the biggest test of all is that God looks as if he were totally indifferent.

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)

Sometimes we just need to give God a little time to work.

Illustration

In a manufacturing town in Scotland, a young lady began teaching a Sunday school class of poverty-stricken boys. The most unpromising youngster was a boy named Bob. After the first two or three Sundays, he did not return. So the teacher went to look for him. Although the superintendent had given Bob some new clothes, they were already worn and dirty when the teacher found him. He was given another new suit, and he came back to Sunday school. But soon he quit again, and the teacher went out once more to find him. When she did, she discovered that the second set of clothes had gone the way of the first. “I am completely discouraged about Bob,” she told the superintendent. “I guess we must give up on him.” “Please don’t do that,” he pleaded. “I believe there is still hope. Try him one more time.” They gave Bob a third suit of clothes, and this time he began to attend faithfully. It wasn’t long until he became a Christian and eventually even taught in that same Sunday school.

That young student was Robert Morrison, who later became the first Protestant missionary to China. He translated the Bible into Chinese and brought the Word of God to teeming millions.

Don’t be quick to give up on people. Give it some time.

13:9-17 Old Sores and clean sores

The next section talks about when a person has a sore that won’t go away. Sores that don’t heal are considered leprous. Raw flesh is considered unclean.

13:18-23 Boils

The next sections talks about boils and when they are unclean.

Lesson:

Learn from the truth

I don’t know about you, but I would be utterly lost if I was told to be an examining priest, but didn’t have a copy of God’s Word to remember how to examine each type of leprosy.

It’s really no different in our lives as well.

We too can get lost trying to decide what’s right and what’s wrong if we don’t stay in God’s Word, reminded of His ways and His guidelines.

Illustration

During the days that Knute Rockne was coaching Notre Dame, a sports columnist in a South Bend newspaper earned the reputation of being the meanest, most cutting writer in the country. The anonymous writer, who knew Notre Dame well, wrote about the team’s weaknesses. He pointed out the mistakes of individual players. He told about those who were lazy, about those who broke training and didn’t discipline themselves. Of course, this column made the players roaring mad. The truth hurt and players complained to Rockne. He listened with sympathy but said he could not stop the writer. He advised that the only way the players could do so was to go out and play the game so well that they would prove him wrong.

Later it became known that the writer of the column was Knute Rockne himself. As coach of the team he was best acquainted with their weaknesses. The critical column was his ingenuous device to develop a better team.

Sometimes the Scriptures point out things that can hurt our feelings.

Perhaps we’re the one with this little “boil” on our skin. We want to hide it and cover it up. We say that it’s no big deal.

Yet in truth, it could be killing us.

It’s the same with sin. It’s not something to cover up, it’s something to deal with.

13:24-28 Burns

Descriptions of different kinds of burns, and which ones can have become leprous.

13:29-37 Scalps and beards

:29 "If a man or woman has a sore on the head or the beard …

Woman with a beard???

When there is a discoloration in the hair or beard, it might be leprous.

13:38-46 Spots, Bald, and Unclean

White spots and red spots.

Baldness is okay unless there is an infection

:45 "Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'

:46 "He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

It was required of a leper to show to everyone that he was unclean, so that he would not spread his infection.

With the H1N1 epidemic, it’s a good thing to stay away from people while you are infectious. If you have a fever, don’t go to work, school, or church.

Lesson:

Separation from sin.

A leper had to live outside the camp until he was cleansed from his leprosy.

This is because these types of skin diseases were contagious.

Sin is contagious.

Paul was concerned about the Corinthian church because they not only tolerated a man living in open sin, but they almost seemed a little proud of the fact.

(1 Cor 5:6-7 NKJV) Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? {7} Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

When you hang around people who are just having a great old time with their sin, unless you’re careful, or dead, their sin will begin to rub off on you.

With the church in Corinth, the issue was with Christians in the church who were openly sinning and it was affecting the whole church.

13:47-59 Leprous Clothes

In the days before washing machines and Tide, you could have a problem develop on your clothes.

If you got some kind of weird spot on your clothes, and it began to spread, you might be in for some problems.

Sometimes the garment had to be burned.

Sometimes the spot had to be torn out.

Sometimes it could just be washed out.

Just get it clean!

Lesson:

Wear clean clothes.

This might be a little awkward of an application, but sometimes some of our choices in clothing fall into the “unclean” category.

I don’t think we need to go overboard in this, I don’t think we need to have women wearing a “burqa”. But it is a good thing when we aren’t dressing to catch the eye of the opposite sex.

Leviticus 14

14:1-32 Cleansing Healed Lepers

:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

:2 "This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest.

In the culture of that day, leprosy wasn't something you got over, ever.

It was a permanent death sentence.

And yet here God gives provision for what you do when something miraculous happens.

Nothing is too hard for Him.

Lesson:

Nothing is too hard for God.

(Jer 32:27 NKJV) "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

When Naaman, the Syrian general who had contracted leprosy, heard about the miracle working prophet in Israel, he had a letter sent to the king of Israel, asking for help.

(2 Ki 5:7 NKJV) And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."

But did that stop God, just because the king of Israel didn’t know what to do?

When Naaman found Elisha, he was told to dip himself seven times in the Jordan river, and when he did, he was healed.

When Jesus walked the earth, one of the miracles we often hear about, what how he healed the lepers.

(Mat 8:2-4 NKJV) And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." {3} Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. {4} And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

The healing would be one testimony to the priests.

The ceremony that the priests were to perform would also be a testimony to the priests.

Whatever it is you're facing, it doesn't matter if it seems impossible to you. It's not impossible with God.

There is no sin that God can’t overcome.

:3 "And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper,

Lesson:

Go to the lost.

This is what Jesus did.

:4 "then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.

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

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

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

The leper, because of his disease, was excluded from both participating in worship in the tabernacle, as well as being excluded from the camp, having to live outside the camp.

These rituals will not only restore the leper back into the fellowship of the camp, but also to the fellowship of the tabernacle.

This first ritual is the one that brings the leper back into the camp.

Suggestions on the meaning -

The slain bird might symbolize the death he had just escaped, and the released bird symbolically carried away the polluting skin disease.

A better idea is the picture it paints of Jesus.

Birds don’t belong in clay jars, they belong in the heavens.

Jesus came down from heaven and took on human flesh, a “clay” pot.

He took on human flesh so He could die for our sins.

The blood covered bird flying free is a picture of the resurrection.

About the cedar wood, scarlet string, hyssop

These same ingredients were included in the burning of a red heifer, to make the ashes of the red heifer, used for the purification from sin. (Num. 19:6)

These also remind us even more of the cross.

Jesus died on a cross of wood, spilled His own scarlet blood, drank vinegar from a hyssop branch.

hyssop

:8 "He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days.

:9 "But on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows; all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.

:8 shave off all his hair

Perhaps this was to show that there were no more leprous sores on the body.

He had to stay outside the tent so people could observe him.

Shaving off all your hair was also something that brought shame.

When David heard of the death of Nahash, king of the Ammonites, he sent messengers to convey his message of grief to the king’s son. But the son thought the messengers were sent instead to spy on him, so he cut off their beards and cut their robes off at the waist.

It was meant to embarrass these men.

Play Tim Hawkins video clip – “Disease in my loins…”

Lesson

Victory through humility

Turning from our sin requires a huge measure of humility.

We are shamed of our sin.

Staying shaved outside the tent - confessing to others that we have sinned and letting them get up close enough to see that it’s true … requires humility.

Yet this humility is part of what brings victory over sin.

Humility restores us to fellowship.

:10 "And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil.

:11 "Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

This next ritual is the one that brings the leper back into the fellowship of the tabernacle.

:12 "And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

:12 log of oil – a pint of olive oil

:13 "Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.

:14 "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 who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

:14 blood … ear … thumb … toe

If this sounds familiar, it's because it's the same thing the priests did when they were ordained.

They were to be cleansed by blood, from head to toe.

It seems as if the cleansed leper were almost being treated as a priest now.

Of course he couldn't literally be a priest in Israel unless he was a descendant of Aaron, but it's interesting to see the parallel.

Lesson:

Cleansing makes you useful

When you’ve been cleansed from something as horrible as leprosy, you are now in a place to better minister to others.

Being useful to God requires that you know what it's like to have been a sinner, and to have been cleansed.

You can't get by pretending that you've never sinned.

You can't get by being caught in sin.

One who's been there and been cleansed will hopefully have compassion on those caught in sin.

Illustration

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

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

:17 "And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering.

:17 oil … ear … thumb … toe

And now, just as the priest, the cleansed leper is anointed with oil.

Everything in our lives ought to be touched with the Holy Spirit.

:18 "The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

:19 "Then the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering.

:20 "And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

14:21-32 Poor lepers

We have the same ritual repeated for a poor leper who could not afford the lambs in the regular ritual. Instead, a poor person was allowed to use pigeons or turtledoves.

14:33-53 Leprous Houses

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

:34 "When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession,

:34 leprous – tsara‘ath – leprosy

What we call leprosy today (“Hansen’s disease”) isn't something that a house gets.

What we’re going to see here is stuff like mold and mildew.

Today, certain kinds of mold are very unhealthy. Everyone inside gets sick the house gets sick.

:35 "and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, 'It seems to me that there is some plague in the house,'

:36 "then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house.

Before the priest arrives, you want to get everything out of the house that you might need to take to the motel in case the priest declares your house off limits.

:37 "And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall,

Sounds like some of those scary movies they are releasing now around Halloween.

:38 "then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.

:39 "And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house,

:40 "then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city.

:41 "And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city.

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

The idea is that if something in the house has this bad mold in it, you remove that part of the wall and replace it with good stuff.

14:43-48 Extreme measures

It’s possible that after you’ve replaced the bad stuff in the house, that the mold problem might come back.

If the stuff comes back, you might need to completely destroy the house and haul off all the debris to the dump.

14:49-53 House Cleansing

The house would go through the same ceremony as the first one for the leper, with the two birds, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop.

14:54-57 Leprosy summed up

:54 "This is the law for any leprous sore and scale,

:55 "for the leprosy of a garment and of a house,

:56 "for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot,

:57 "to teach when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy."

Lesson:

Clean house!

Get your house in order.

Fix what needs to be fixed, don’t let the plague spread any further.

Tear down what needs to be torn down.

Jesus said,

Your life, your family, your home.

What is it going to be built on?

How is it going to be maintained?

Will you take whatever steps are necessary to have a “clean house”?

Or will you find yourself becoming “unclean” by the way you’ve built your house?

Are you willing to tear down the house if necessary?

(Mat 5:27-30 NKJV) "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' {28} "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. {29} "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. {30} "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Jesus wasn’t advocating that we literally cut off our hands or poke out our eyes.

His point was that we needed to take sin seriously.

Whatever it takes to stop, do it.

If it means removing a wall in the house, do it.

If it means tearing down the house and starting over again, do it.

Introduction

Leviticus is an instruction manual for the Levite priests.

The main theme is “Holiness”

(Lev 19:2 NKJV) …'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

When the priests first started their work, they ran into a little trouble.

Two of the men, Nadab and Abihu, had been just a wee bit drunk. As a result, they did something stupid, offering something to God that He didn’t want. They died. God pulled Aaron aside and told him that priests should not be drinking and ministering at the same time …

(Lev 10:10-11 NKJV) "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, {11} "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses."

Archaeology has uncovered an ancient manuscript that brings more to light on the subject of clean and unclean. It is the ancient text known as: DeuteroMommy

Laws Pertaining to Dessert

Leviticus 13

13:1-8 Scabs

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

:2 "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

:2 leprous – tsara‘ath – leprosy; skin disease, mildew or mold

The word is a broad enough term to include several things.

The traditional “leprosy” is more specifically called “Hansen’s Disease”.

Hansen’s Disease is transmitted by droplets from the nose or mouth when in close contact with an untreated person.

The disease is now curable with antibiotics.

Symptoms include skin lesions that are lighter than your normal skin color.

The lesions have a decreased sensation to touch, heat, or pain. As a result people with this disease can injure and loose fingers, toes, etc because they can’t feel them.

Lesions do not heal after several weeks or months.

Medical scholars feel that the things described in this chapter go beyond Hansen’s disease and that it includes other contagious skin diseases such as favus.

We’ll also see this word applied to moldy clothes and houses.

Medical implications

The priest did not function like a doctor, giving medical prescriptions, but more like a public health official, putting people under quarantine.

There were no medical answers to these conditions in these ancient times. These diseases were considered incurable.

The fact that Israel practiced the use of quarantines helped their overall health as a people.

Spiritual implications

There seems to be a sense in the Bible that leprosy is almost a symbol of sin.

When Miriam rebelled (Num.12), God made her leprous

When Gehazi lied and took money from Naaman, he turned to a leper (2Ki.5)

Uzziah the king brazenly walked into the temple to offer incense as if he was a priest, and became a leper. (2Chr.26:19)

These two chapters could be seen as dealing with sin

A person in sin is cut of from fellowship with God and His people.

Like leprosy, sin makes you less “sensitive” to the things of God.

There is a sense that sin too seems incurable.

(Jer 17:9 NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

:3 "The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

:3 deeper than the skin

Some things are just “skin deep”, and not really a problem.

But sometimes, a person’s problems are really a lot deeper, and then we need to be concern.

Sin is more than “skin deep”.

From Wiersbe:

:4 "But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the sore seven days.

:5 "And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him another seven days.

:6 "Then the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

:7 "But if the scab should at all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again.

:8 "And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.

If the priest was unsure of the diagnosis, then the person was to come back in seven days and be checked again.

Lesson:

Take time for discernment.

Some of the application of this chapter has to do with discerning what is going on in a person’s life.

I think it’s really hard to know a person in a very short period of time.

For those of you looking for spouses, take note.

For those looking to hire somebody, listen up.

We need to also be careful when we put people into important, high-profile ministry positions.

(1 Tim 5:22 NKJV) Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.

(1 Tim 5:24-25 NKJV) Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. {25} Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

You’ll usually be able to tell with enough time what a person is really like.

Take time to make correct decisions.

Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly; many things lie unsolved, and the biggest test of all is that God looks as if he were totally indifferent.

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)

Sometimes we just need to give God a little time to work.

Illustration

That young student was Robert Morrison, who later became the first Protestant missionary to China. He translated the Bible into Chinese and brought the Word of God to teeming millions.

Don’t be quick to give up on people. Give it some time.

13:9-17 Old Sores and clean sores

The next section talks about when a person has a sore that won’t go away. Sores that don’t heal are considered leprous. Raw flesh is considered unclean.

:9 "When the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest.

:10 "And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling,

:11 "it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

:12 "And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks,

:13 "then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned white. He is clean.

:14 "But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.

:15 "And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.

:16 "Or if the raw flesh changes and turns white again, he shall come to the priest.

:17 "And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the sore has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. He is clean.

13:18-23 Boils

The next sections talks about boils and when they are unclean.

Lesson: