In the Bible leprosy is often used as a picture of sin. In addition to this, leprosy is employed by God as a consequence of sin, further strengthening the connection. If there were a leprous man, God so commanded, “that they put out of the camp every leper…” [Num 5:2] This is one of the chief reasons that leprosy becomes connected to sin: for in the same way, it is our sin which separates us from God. Like the leprous man was not allowed to dwell in the camp with the rest of the congregation, so too sin separates and isolates us from fellowship: fellowship with men and with God. When we were in the world, living in sin, leprous as it were, we were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” [Eph 2:12] Again, speaking of this separation, The LORD says, “but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear you.” [Isa 59:2] And again, “The LORD is far from the wicked.” [Prov 15:29] Thus the separation that leprosy causes in a man, having to be put away from the congregation, and thus from the tabernacle/God’s presence, immediately reminds us of the consequences of sin. Again, in Leviticus, The LORD speaks,
“All the days wherein the plague [of leprosy] shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall [the leper’s] habitation be.” [Lev 13:46]
And regarding leprosy being used as a consequence, remember how Uzziah the king of Judah, despite warnings from the priests and the clear commands of God, which forbade kings from performing priestly duties, went into the temple to burn incense. In Kings we read,
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against The LORD his God, and went into the temple of The LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” [2 Ch 26:16]
And for this sin, “The LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in an isolated house.” [2 Ki 15:5] Furthermore, when “Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married,” and said, “hath The LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?” it is written,
“The anger of The LORD was kindled against them; and He departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow.” [Num 12:1-2, 9-10]
Leprosy was a disease which men feared: for by it one’s life would be, save a miraculous healing, utterly doomed to isolation. Leprosy was in effect a death sentence, and in this, we see another parallel, for it is written, “the wages of sin is death.” [Rom 6:23] The consequence to our sin, the separation from God, (just as Adam and Eve faced in the garden when it says, “therefore The LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden…so He drove out the man…” [Gen 3:23, 24]), is indeed death. As The LORD said to Adam, “…in the day that thou eatest [of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thus sin,] thou shalt surely die.” [Gen 2:17] “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” [Rom 5:12] And again, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” [Ezek 18:20]
Our sin separates us from God. It disallows us from entering into His presence: both now and forever. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?” [1 Cor 6:9] Those who practice sin shall never enter into heaven, nor taste of the blessings God has to offer through Jesus Christ, even as those who continued to be lepers were not allowed into the camp, nor into God’s presence, as The LORD said regarding the priests, “what man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper…shall not eat of the holy things…” [Lev 22:4] Again, as John says by The Spirit,
“Whosoever has been born of God doth not continue to commit sin; for His Seed remaineth in him: and he cannot keep sinning, because He has been born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” [1 Jn 3:9-10]
This is the single, common dilemma that plagues mankind. That all of us “have sinned, and are falling short of the glory of God.” [Rom 3:23] Yes, even if we have not sinned in the same manner as some, or of Adam, yet death and sin reign, and we, like the leper, must be put out of God’s presence. “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, [that is, unto the law].” [Rom 5:14] The glory of God – or rather, the character of God, is the standard to which we are all, Christian and non-Christian alike, falling short. For who is like God? There is no one that has climbed the mountain of His righteousness and stood atop it, glorious in their flawless perfection. We have all come short; yes, and if we are honest, must say we are still coming short. But thanks be to God who gives us victory and freedom through Jesus Christ. For even though we are falling short, yet it is not our righteous deeds nor our ability to keep the law of God, or any law at that, which makes us fit to inherit heaven or be saved. No, there is not one good thing we can do which shall earn us forgiveness or a place at God’s table. And if we are saved, there is not one good deed, not one obedience, which shall earn us more favor from God, or a higher standing in His kingdom. It is not our works which can revive and heal us of our eternal leprosy, but only God’s grace. Just as the disease of leprosy had no cure in those days, and if one were to try they would have fared as the woman who, “having an issue of blood twelve years…spent all her living upon physicians” but “was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,” [Lk 8:43, Mk 5:26] so too our disease of sin bears no cure. No, there is no work of man, or of doctor, or of preacher, or of religious man, which can cure a man of sin. There is nothing we can produce which may save us. As it was with the lepers healed of God and of Christ in scripture, and only ever of God or of Christ, so too a man can only ever experience healing from his sin through Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12] As it is written,
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there is no difference.” [Rom 3:21-22]
And, “therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” [Rom 3:28] Apart from good works, apart from the law, (and only ever apart), a man is saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the singular Messiah who came to “save His people from their sins;” [Mt 1:21] and it is through Him alone we are saved from our chronic disease of sin.
“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom The Lord will not impute sin.” [Rom 4:6-8]
“No man is justified by the law in the sight of God;” and this “is evident: for, [as it is written], the just shall live by faith.” [Gal 3:11] The man who has placed his complete faith in Jesus for salvation from his sin, from both the power and effects of it, is no longer separated from God. He is at once, in an instant, declared and made righteous, and in him, as the scriptures promise, “the righteousness of the law…[is] fulfilled.” [Rom 8:4, 2 Cor 5:21] As a result, that man is reconciled and brought near to God, being freed from the separation that his sin had caused. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies…yet now hath He reconciled in the body of [Jesus’] flesh through death…” [Col 1:21-22] Whereas leprosy, and sin, separated men from God, in Christ we are brought near, for He saves us from our sins and blots them out. Sin is no longer a barrier to fellowship with God for those in Christ; for, “now once in the end of the world hath [Jesus] appeared to the annulment of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” [Heb 9:26] And God says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” [Heb 8:12] And again, “sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” [Rom 6:14] No longer under the law, (for, “we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we used to be held…” [Rom 7:6]), but rather under grace, we are loosed from the effects of sin, loosed especially from separation from God. We have been given victory over every spiritual enemy, including sin, law, and death.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Cor 15:55-57]
And again,
“And having stripped the principalities and powers of their armaments, [Jesus] exposed them openly, leading them in triumphal procession in [His cross].” [Col 2:15]
Praise be to God who gives us the victory in and through Jesus. And praise be to Him who gives us victory over the power of sin, both now and forever. “Thanks be unto God, who is always leading us forth in triumphal procession in Christ…” [2 Cor 2:14] Now, in Christ, whereas we were once separated, dead and doomed to die, we have life.
“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…” [Col 1:21-23]
What a joy it is to be saved. To be loosed from sin, from leprosy of soul. And may we thank God too, for whereas peoples in those days would be fearful of and avoiding those with leprosy, Jesus freely approached us and loved us. See how Jesus, when He “was in a certain city, [and] behold, a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” [Lk 5:12] See how Jesus shows such tender love and compassion, not recoiling in fear or disgust, not shunning the leper, not telling him to keep his distance lest Jesus become ritually unclean; no, but in glorious fashion, as it is written for our encouragement even today, “[Jesus] put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.” [Lk 5:13] In the same way, when we “were dead in trespasses and sins,” [Eph 2:1] Jesus touched us and healed us. He was not afraid of us, nor put off by our condition: but as Jesus told the Pharisees, “they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” [Mt 9:12] And there may be one reading these words today – perhaps you, dear reader – who still holds that burden of sin: of leprosy as it were. You may have thought, for bad doctrine or for bad examples by others, that Christ would not have you; you may have been deceived by the prince of this world, or by your own flesh, that Jesus will not touch you, approach you, heal you, or any other good thing, except you first pretty yourself up and wipe off some of that dirt. But let me encourage you, dear reader – whether you believe in Jesus or not – that Jesus will have you as you are. As He said to the leper, so says He to all of us today who seek salvation or deliverance, “I will: be thou clean.” Do you desire to be clean? To be saved? To get victory over some area of sin? Go to Jesus, for He is willing, and He can make you clean.
Jesus is not too holy to be seen with sinners. He is not too righteous to come down and touch those who have corrupted themselves with foolishness or sin. Jesus is He who came down to earth, who took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh, that He might experience our suffering, and that He might suffer and die for our sins. He inserted Himself into our condition, our circumstances; but He did not come defeated nor to be defeated: but Christ Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Yes, Jesus, in all His splendor, with all His love, and with all of God Almighty’s authority, came to save us. Just as the lepers were forsaken of society, so too Jesus was forsaken for our souls; as He said truthfully from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Mt 27:46] My good man, precious reader – there is an answer to the question uttered by Christ on the cross, “why hast thou forsaken me.” The answer is you. You and I. It was for us – yes, each of us individually – that Jesus was forsaken. As Paul said, so too we can say, “..The Son of God…loved me, and gave Himself for me.” [Gal 2:20] It was Jesus who came down where no one else would or could – who came to dwell with and save sinners, who “was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death…that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” [Heb 2:9] Praise God that we are healed; that we are clean; that through Christ we are “without fault before the throne of God,” [Rev 14:5] and when The Lord looks upon us He says, “thou art all beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in thee.” [Songs 4:7] And regarding this cleansing, Leviticus also has something to say. Just as there are parallels between leprosy and sin, so too between the cleaning ritual of a leper and the cleansing we have experienced in Jesus.
When a leper was cleansed from leprosy, The LORD commanded,
“He shall be brought unto the priest: and the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 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. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and thy 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.” [Lev 14:2-7]
In addition to other rituals and sacrifices that were to be done, as well as a period of waiting, The LORD also said,
“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.” [Lev 14:14]
And as it was with blood, so too with oil, “the priest [was to] put [the rest of the oil that was in his hand] upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot…” [Lev 14:17]
There were other procedures to be followed besides these; however, we shall just mention two, and pluck out some details regarding them, showing how they picture our salvation that has happened in Jesus.
First, let us draw our attention to the birds. It was commanded that “two birds alive and clean” were to be taken; “the priest [was to] command that one of the birds be killed,” and the other bird, which was still alive, was to be taken with the other effects and dipped “…in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water…and [then]…let…loose into the open field.” These birds represent us and Christ. The bird that was killed represents Jesus, and the bird anointed with the blood of the slain and set free represents us. Just as that bird was splattered in the blood of the slain bird, a choice made by the priest, (and not left open to random chance or lots), so too it was The Lord’s sovereign choice to give Himself up and die for us. He is both priest and bird in this case. On the former, He is our High Priest who chose Himself to be slain, willingly taking our deserved death upon Himself. And as for the latter, He is the sacrifice given up for us, and by whose blood we are set free, even as the living bird was let loose into the field. Jesus says, “No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” [Jn 10:18] Jesus willingly, of His own accord, gave up His life. From the garden, where “Jesus…knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth,” to the cross where He said, “it is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost,” through and through Jesus was in control, “who gave Himself a ransom for all, the testimony in His own time.” [Jn 18:4; 19:30, 1 Tim 2:6] And because of His sacrifice we are set free, as it was prophesied, “by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water;” [Zech 9:11] and as we shall one day sing to Him, The Lamb, “thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” [Rev 5:9]
And second, the matter of the blood and oil being put upon the ear, hand, and foot of the cleansed man. Earlier in the giving of the law, The LORD had commanded certain treatment to be performed in order to consecrate the priests. He said,
“Then 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 thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot…and thou shalt take of the…anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons…” [Ex 29:20, 21, Lev 8:23-30]
There was only two ways to receive this special treatment and ritual: that is, the anointing of blood and oil upon the ear, hand, and foot. One: to be born into the priesthood as a Levite, or two: to be healed of leprosy. In Israel the priests were among the most highly regarded and respected. For example, when king Saul ordered his servants to kill the priests, despite it being an order from the very king himself, “the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of The LORD.” [1 Sam 22:17] It was a respected and feared position. And the position of leper was very much, as we have seen, the opposite. They were shunned; outcasts; the lowest of the low. What an incredible thing it is then, that the cleansed leper should have such a glorious and warm treatment. It is similar to us; for before Christ we were as those in Jesus’ parable – “[those in] the streets and lanes of the city…the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” [Lk 14:21] – yes, we were those whom Christ pulled up from the dunghill to set among His royalty, as it is written,
“Who is like unto The LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people.” [Psa 113:5-8]
For we have been made “unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth;” [Rev 5:10] by the blood of Jesus, through His mighty sacrifice and our continued belief therein, by His merit and righteousness and no good of our own, (praise God!) we have been set free and joined everlastingly to Jesus as “joint-heirs with Christ” and “heir[s] of God through Christ;” we have been given the treatment of priests and of royalty, though like the lepers we have not been born into such lineage nor deserved such grace. [Rom 8:17, Gal 4:7] We are like blessed Mephibosheth, who though he was lame in both legs and could not offer king David a single, solitary thing, yet David, desiring to “shew the kindness of God” [2 Sam 9:3] restored the land of his father to him and invited him into the palace as his very own son to “eat bread always at [his] table,” [2 Sam 9:7, 10] to which things Mephibosheth said, “what is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?” [2 Sam 9:8] Truly, we are “not worthy of the least of all [The LORD’s] mercies, and of all the truth which [He] hast shewed unto [us].” [Gen 32:10]
Blessed are the cleansed lepers. Blessed are those who have had their sins washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Blessed are those that have their “names…written in heaven;” [Lk 10:20] “blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” [Rev 19:9] Have you, dear reader, had your sins cleansed? Have you experienced the healing of your leprosy as it were? Or does that plague of sin still haunt you and afflict you? Today is the day. Today may you be set free. Whether you have never come to Christ, or whether you would come afresh, may you be set free today by the glorious, everlasting, ever-powerful blood of Jesus, and may that leprous plague no longer separate you from sweet fellowship to God.
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