Levítico 13
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Levítico 13
Wiersbe - Since disease is an illustration of sin in the Bible, as you read these verses, you will learn a great deal about the “symptoms” of sin. Sin is “deeper than the skin” (Lev 13:3–4, 25, 30–32, 34). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) The word translated “wicked” in this verse means “sick”; the NIV translates it “beyond cure.” Sin is not a surface problem that can be solved with simple remedies, like trying to cure cancer with hand lotion. Sin comes from within, from fallen human nature; unless the heart is changed, there can be no solving of the sin problem. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Rom. 7:18, NKJV). Those who talk about the “innate goodness of man” know neither the Bible nor their own hearts. 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). In Jeremiah’s day, the false prophets were like physicians who lied to their patients and refused to give them bad news. “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). The medical profession today would discipline a doctor who did that, but the practice is perfectly acceptable for humanistic counselors, liberal preachers and professors, politicians, and newspaper columnists. People still believe the “progress myth” that people are good and are making themselves and the world better and better day by day. (Be Holy) Leviticus 13:5 "The priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leon Hyatt - At the end of seven days, he was to be examined by the priest again. If the disease diseased spot had not changed and had not spread, he was to be kept for observation for another seven days. The reason for not waiting a full two week period to begin with was that the disease might have spread and he could be declared unclean at the end of the first week. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) Wiersbe - Sin spreads (Lev 13:5–8, 22–23, 27–28, 32, 34–36, 51, 53, 55, 57; 14:39, 44, 48). True leprosy (“Hansen’s disease”) affects the skin and the nerve endings; as it spreads, it produces nodules and ulcers. The tissues then contract and the limbs become deformed. What begins as one sore gradually spreads and turns the whole body into a mass of corruption and ugliness. How like sin! “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15, NKJV). Our first parents were thieves. Their son Cain was a liar and a murderer. From that small beginning, sin spread so as to corrupt and enslave the whole human race. By the time God sent the Flood, the earth was filled with wickedness, evil, violence, and corruption (Gen. 6:5, 11–13); and things haven’t become any better since then. Scientific progress has made life more comfortable, but it hasn’t made the world less corrupt. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores” (Isa. 1:5–6, NKJV). For nearly fifty years, Alexander Whyte preached God’s Word at Free St. George’s Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, and gained a reputation for exposing the sins of the human heart and bringing them under the scrutiny of the Word of God. “Surgical preaching” people called it. At one time, he had an assistant named Hugh Black who preached at the evening service and was much more liberal and optimistic in his message. The congregation said they were blackened by Whyte on Sunday mornings and whitewashed by Black on Sunday evenings! But when the church has a superficial view of sin, this attitude affects everything the church believes and does. If men and women are basically good and not sinners under the wrath of God, then why preach the Gospel? Why send out missionaries? For that matter, why did Jesus even die on the cross? If people are good, then what they need is counseling and consoling, not convicting; we should give them encouragement, not evangelism. (Be Holy) George Bush -If the plague in his sight be at a stay. Heb. נגע עמד nëga âmad, the plague stand. If the priest, at the week’s end, saw no alteration in the symptoms, as the case remained dubious, he was to prolong the period of separation another seven days, and if at the end of that time the appearance of the affected part continued the same, except that the white spot began to assume a somewhat darkish hue, then he was to pronounce him clean, i. e. free from the plague of leprosy. Still as the very cause that had led to his being suspected showed that there was some degree of impurity in his blood, a slight purification was prescribed, the moral effect of which would naturally be to teach that the very appearance of evil is an adequate ground of humiliation to any one that fears God. (Leviticus 13 Commentary) Leviticus 13:6 "The priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark 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. look. Isaiah 1:16-18. Jn 15:6. 2 Co 2:6, 7. Ga 6:1. James 5:19, 20. pronounce. Isaiah 11:3, 4. 42:3. Ro 14:1. 2 Co 2:6, 7. Ju 22, 23. a scab. Lev 13:2. Dt 32:5. James 3:2. wash. Lev 11:25, 28, 40. 14:8. Ge 35:2. 1 K 8:38, 45. Ps 19:12. Pr 20:9. Eccl 7:20. Isaiah 1:16-18. Jn 13:8-10. 15:3. 2Co 7:1. Gal 6:1. Heb 9:10. 10:22. James 5:19, 20. 1 John 1:7-9) Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt - At the end of the second seven day period, if the spot was not as prominent because some of the pigment had returned and if the spot had not spread, the disease was not tsaraath. The man was to be pronounced clean. This statement clearly shows that the spreading of the disease was a third sign that tsaraath was present, to be added to the two symptoms identified in verse 3. Since this man did not have tsaraath, he had never been unclean. However, since he had been under suspicion of being unclean, he was to wash his clothes to remove any suspicion. No one was to doubt his cleanness. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above The healing of leprosy in some cases is clearly a sign of God's supernatural power as in God's interaction with Moses… Exodus 4:6-7 And the LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. Pronounce clean (02891)(taher) commonly refers to ritual purity or cleanness in the OT. In fact except for Job 37:21 and Mal 3:3, taher almost exclusively of ritual or moral purity. It means to be clean, be pure, innocent, righteous or to make clean or purify. Taher is the antonym of the Hebrew word "tame" (unclean) Those who contracted impurity, tame (adjective) (02931), were not permitted to participate in the rituals until they were purified (Lev 22:4-7). Disqualification might be due to afterbirth (Lev 12:7, 8) or other bodily discharges (Lev 15:13). Priests were to be medical examiners to determine when lepers were 'cleansed" (Lev 14:8ff.). The Septuagint (Lxx) is translates pronounce clean with the verb katharizo which describes cleansing from ritual contamination or impurity (Acts 10:15). Katharizo was used of cleansing lepers from ceremonial uncleanness (Mt 8:2-3, et al) Katharizo is derived from katharos which means pure, clean, without stain or spot. This Greek word gives us our English words like catharsis which describes emotional or physical purging. Cathartic is a substance used to induce a purging. Cathar was a member of a medieval sect which sought the purging of evil from its members. So the idea of katharizo is to make clean by taking away an undesirable part and thus to cleanse from filth or impurity. Taher is translated in the NAS as -- become clean(2), becomes clean(2), becomes cleansed(1), clean(25), cleanse(15), cleansed(19), cleansing(1), cleared(1), pronounce him clean(6), pronounce the clean(1), pronounce clean(2), pronounces him clean(1), pronouncing it clean(1), pure(2), purge(1), purged(2), purified(5), purifier(1), purify(5), purifying(1), remain(1), unclean*(1). Taher is used in 79v and is especially concentrated in Leviticus - Ge 35:2; Lev 11:32; 12:7f; 13:6, 13, 17, 23, 28, 34, 37, 58f; 14:4, 7ff, 11, 14, 17ff, 25, 28f, 31, 48, 53; 15:13, 28; 16:19, 30; 17:15; 22:4, 7; Num 8:6f, 15, 21; 19:12, 19; 31:23f; Josh 22:17; 2Kgs 5:10, 12ff; 2Chr 29:15f, 18; 30:18; 34:3, 5, 8; Ezra 6:20; Neh 12:30; 13:9, 22, 30; Job 4:17; 37:21; Ps 51:2, 7; Prov 20:9; Isa 66:17; Jer 13:27; 33:8; Ezek 22:24; 24:13; 36:25, 33; 37:23; 39:12, 14, 16; 43:26; Mal 3:3 Leviticus 13:7 "But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. the scab. Lev 13:27, 35, 36. Lev 14:4, 10, 21, 22. Ps 38:3. Isa 1:5, 6. Lk 5:14. 17:14. Ro 6:12-14. 2 Ti 2:16, 17) Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:7-8 - If, after being pronounced clean, the disease should spread in the skin, the man was to be taken back to the priest. If the priest saw that it had indeed spread, he was to know that the malady was tsaraath. The man was to be pronounced unclean. The first decision of the priest did not finally settle the matter if the disease further developed and did indeed become tsaraath. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above George Bush -If the scab spread much. The real leprosy might after all lurk in the system, notwithstanding the rigid examination and the probationary seclusion to which the person had been subjected. If the scab spread subsequently in the skin, the symptom was decisive, and the priest was to give his verdict of ‘unclean’ accordingly; and Maimonides tells us, that if any one were so profane as to neglect his case under these circumstances, and to forbear going to the priest for his judgment, the penalty was, to have his leprosy cleave to him through life. (Leviticus 13 Commentary) Leviticus 13:8 "The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy pronounce him. See on Lev 13:3. Mt 15:7, 8. Ac 8:21. Phil 3:18, 19. 2Pe 2:19 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:9 "When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:9-11 - A more advanced case of tsaraath is discussed here. Three signs of advanced tsaraath are given: a white swollen spot in the skin, white hair in the swollen spot, and an open, raw sore in the swollen spot. Those symptoms are unpleasant but far from the awfulness that has so often been described for the disease in advanced stages. If those symptoms were present, the person definitely had tsaraath. Tsaraath in an advanced stage could be recognized immediately. No waiting period for observation was needed. The statement, “He must not shut him up, because he [is] unclean” does not mean that he was not to be isolated from other people, because verses 45-46 below say that a person with tsaraath was to live outside the camp and was to call out “Unclean, unclean” when other people drew near (see comments on those verse below). They mean it was not necessary for him to be confined for observation because he obviously had tsaraath. The statement that he was not to be “shut up,” shows that “shutting up” did not mean putting him outside the camp. Putting him outside the camp was exactly what was required. The statement means that, without the necessity of waiting, the person in whom the disease was spreading was to be declared immediately to be unclean. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) NET Note - Heb “When there is an infection of disease in a man.” The term for “a man; a human being” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2 and cf. Lev 13:2 above) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above. Andrew Bonar (on Lev 13:9-11) (Spurgeon called his notes on Leviticus "Very precious.") THE RISING - When there is a rising, or tumor, which has the skin white, and the hair in it white, and quick raw flesh also in the swelling, then there is no doubt of the disease being there. “It is a leprosy grown old (בוֹשֶׁנֶה) in the skin.” Not only the flower has died, but also the very soil in which it grew. (Procopius apud Patrick.) These symptoms put the case beyond doubt. Treat the man, then, as unclean. Here we see that the discovery of inward corruption is the strongest reason that can occur for at once pronouncing the man unclean. It is stronger far than any abundance of external marks. And so in God’s view, the existence of corruption in the heart is far worse than all its effects on the life. The fact that the sinner’s soul is long ago corrupt—that it is infected by a leprosy that is grown old—that it inherits depravity and enmity to God,—this aggravates the sinner’s awful state. On bringing out this to light, the judge at once may say, “What need we any further witnesses?” The white rising and the white hair, and the quick raw flesh are traced back to a deep-seated disease within that manifests itself in these forms; so, the foolish talk, the giddy conduct, and the worldly heart are traced back to their source, viz., a nature totally depraved. The proof is complete. The sinner is utterly lost. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” Let him take his true position—out of the camp—among the unclean! (Leviticus 13 The Leprosy - Indwelling Sin - Its Horrid Features) Leviticus 13:10 "The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white , and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, white. Lev 13:3. shall see him. Lev 13:3, 4. Nu 12:10-12. 2Kings 5:27. 2 Ch 26:19, 20. quick raw flesh. Heb. the quickening of living flesh. Lev 13:14, 15, 24. Pr 12:1. Am 5:10. Jn 3:19, 20. 7:7. Ti 3:11 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Notes by Andrew Bonar Five named individuals in OT were leprous: Moses (Ex 4:6; cf. 2Ki 7:3), Miriam (Nu 12:10) = punishment for sin Uzziah (2Ki 15:5) = punishment for sin Gehazi (2Ki 5:27) = punishment for sin Naaman, the Syrian (2Ki 5:1). - See "cure" for leprosy. Moses' sister Miriam was struck with leprosy by God because of her sin (Nu 12:1-9) Num 12:10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 "Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mothers womb!" King Uzziah was struck with leprosy because he became prideful which led to his downfall and prompted him to burn incense on the altar of incense… 2Chr 26:16 But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. 18 And they opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and will have no honor from the LORD God." 19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land. Comment: Clearly Uzziah was struck with leprosy for his sin of usurping the role of the priest. This recalls Nadab and Abihu's offering of strange fire at the altar of incense, a sin which resulted in their death! Jesus exercised authority over leprosy… Luke 5:12 And it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 13 And He (Jesus) stretched out His hand, and touched (Greek = touch with implication of relatively firm contact) him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed katharizo in the aorist imperative = command Greek)." And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He ordered him to tell no one, "But go and show (aorist imperative) yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded (Lev 13:2, 14:4, 10, 21-22), for a testimony to them." (Read detailed commentary on these verses) Comment: Jesus' command reminds one of His two quick commands to the raging sea to "Hush, Be still!" (Mk 4:39) Jesus again demonstrated His authority and power to heal from leprosy…(Read detailed commentary on these verses) Luke 17:11 And it came about while He was on the way to Jerusalem, that He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 And when He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? 18 "Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" 19 And He said to him, "Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well." George Bush -If the rising be white in the skin, etc. These symptoms were peculiar to the first form of leprosy mentioned, v. 2, viz. that of the tumor or swelling. If in addition to the whiteness on the skin, and the hair turning white, there was also the presence of quick raw flesh in the swelling, it was an indubitable sign of an old or inveterate leprosy, which had been long seated in the system, and the priest was at once to pronounce him unclean, without the ceremony of a previous shutting up, which was ordered in doubtful cases only. Here the case was too plain to admit of doubt.(Leviticus 13 Commentary) G Campbell
Levítico 13
Wiersbe - Sin defiles (Lev 13:44–46). The word “unclean” is used fifty-four times in Leviticus 13–15. It describes the ceremonial defilement that makes the victim unfit for social life or for participation in worship at the house of God. The Prophet Isaiah confessed that he was “a man of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5), and then he spoke for all of us when he wrote, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa 64:6). Whatever sin touches, it defiles; only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away that defilement (1 Cor. 6:9–11; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5). When you read Psalm 51, David’s prayer of confession, you can’t help but notice how his sins defiled every part of his being: his eyes (Ps 51:3), his mind (Ps 51:6), his ears (Ps 51:8), his bones (Ps 51:8), his heart (Ps 51:10), and his mouth (Ps 51:13–15). His hands were stained with Uriah’s blood (Ps 51:14), and all he could do was throw himself on the mercy of God and cry out, “Wash me!” (Ps 51:2, 7) George Bush on Lev 13:40-44 - Distinction of Leprosy from Baldness - vv40–44. The man whose hair is fallen off his head, &c. ‘Another description of persons, for whose exemption from the charge and hardships of leprosy Moses took care to provide, were those whose heads became bald. Among us, and indeed in any country where leprosy is not extremely prevalent, such persons require no such attention; for nobody would think of accounting a man leprous because his head happened to become prematurely bald, were it even in the days of his youth. As, however, the falling of the hair is sometimes, and in connection with other symptoms, a strong criterion of leprosy, and as there actually is a particular kind of leprosy, which might, perhaps, even then, have been observed to have the peculiarity of being limited either to the fore or hind part of the head, it was not strange that a person who became bald, and more especially if not very far advanced in years, should incur the suspicion of being leprous. Now in such cases, we find Moses giving an explanation, viz. that if no farther symptoms were found than mere baldness, the person was not to lie under the suspicion of leprosy, but to be considered as clean.’—Michaelis (Leviticus 13 Commentary) Leviticus 13:45 "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' his clothes. Ge 37:29. Josh 7:6. 2Sa 13:19. Job 1:20. Isaiah 6:5. Je 3:25. 36:24. Joel 2:13. and his head. Lev 10:6. 21:10. bare. Nu 5:18. Ps 140:7. Pr 28:13. Jn 3:36. Heb 4:13. put. Job 40:4. Ezek 24:17, 22. Mic 3:7. Unclean. Job 42:6. Ps 51:3, 5. Isaiah 6:5. 52:11. 64:6. La 4:15. Lk 5:8. 7:6, 7. 17:12. Ep 5:5 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:45-46 - A person afflicted with tsaraath was to conduct himself as a mourner. Tearing one’s clothes was a familiar expression of mourning or sorrow (Gen. 37:34; 44:13; Num. 14:6; Josh. 7:6; Jud. 11:35; II Sam. 1:11; 3:31; 13:19; I Kings 21:27; II Kings 5:7,8; 6:30; 19:1; 22:11,19; II Chr. 34:19,27; Ezra 9:3,5; Esther 4:1; Job 1:20; 2:12; Isa. 37:1). Loosing one’s hair had previously been mentioned in Leviticus 10:6 as a sign of mourning (see comments on that verse in MESSAGE 11). The word translated “mouth” is a rare word. It was related to the Hebrew word for “lip,” “Mouth” seems to be the best rendering, because a natural sign of mourning is covering the mouth as a sign that the sorrow is so great the person is not able to speak. This same expression is used in Ezekiel 24:17, 22 as a sign of mourning. (SGV and NASB render this word as “moustache,” while RSV, JB, NEV, LB, ABV join KJV in rendering it “upper lip.” ASV translates it “lips,” while DRV and HCSB translate it “mouth.”) Since tsaraath was a symbol of sin, the one having tsaraath was to practice those symbols of sorrow as a sign that sin brings sorrow to the life of one who indulges in it. The one having tsaraath was also to cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” to strangers who approached him. Doing so was to be a symbolic declaration of the fact that sin makes a life morally unclean and close association with a sinful person contaminates the lives of others. As long as tsaraath continued in the body of the one stricken with it, he was to dwell away from his brethren outside the camp. His living alone was a symbol of the fact that sin separates a person from other believers. Sin interferes not only with fellowship with God but also with one’s fellowship with God’s people. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) Andrew Bonar (on Lev 13:45-46) (Spurgeon called his notes on Leviticus "Very precious.") The leper, in this state of declared uncleanness, is the awful type of a sinner under sentence of wrath. His “clothes are to be rent,”† just as in all cases of mourning and woe. This indicated that the leper was now exposed to the full view of God and man in his state of decay and corruption. His “head bare,” also. All coverings are stript off, as in the case of one mourning for the dead. For the leper was counted as dead in his flesh; as we read in Num. 12:12, when Miriam’s leprosy was prayed for, “Let her not be as one dead; of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.” So, also, he “covers his upper lip”—another token of woe. His mouth is regarded as shut; he cannot speak to men any longer, only through the shroud comes the half-suppressed cry, “Unclean, unclean.” The pale, ghastly face—the covering spread up to the sunk and hollow eyes—the unsightly form muffled up from view to hide corruption and putrifying sores—all conveyed the idea of one already cut off from the number of living men, lingering at the gates of death and hanging about its door-posts, impatient for entrance there. He is forced to dwell alone, “as those who have long been dead;” permitted to come only within sight of the camp, but not to enter; tantalized by seeing afar off the happy tents of healthy, holy Israel. He sits without,* in mourning and sadness, pining away in his woe—every vein in every limb running down with putrid blood, his head sick and pained, his countenance disgusting the onlooker by the sallow hue of death, his mind filled with sad remembrances and gloomy imaginations. A gray blister, indicating the rising boil, now and then spots his temples; the hair hangs dry, lank, and sapless on his brow; the nails of his bony fingers are discolored and tainted. He moves his body slowly, tottering along on feet that are nearly powerless, and men “hide their faces from him” (Isa. 53:3) as he draws near. Even the wild Arab, that scours past on his swift steed, starts at the loathsome spectacle and hastens away. The leper himself feels life ebbing slowly; the blood still flows, but it is not with the freedom of health, and the arteries have no longer their full floods, like rushing torrents, but are clogged with thick, clammy, sluggish, moisture. Here is the state of the sinner, not in the second death, but in this world, in his exclusion from the Lord’s presence, and dead in sin. The inner man has lost every principle of holiness; his powers are withered, every sinew shrunk. Any attempts at spiritual motions are slow and lifeless. Streams of putrid impurity burst forth in his soul. His eye has none of the brightness of one gazing on a holy God and a reconciled countenance, but indicates an absence of all that can really cheer or delight. The death-like hue of the whole form proclaims the total departure of the breath of God and the Divine nature. From such a soul, God turns away his face. Nor can the sinner pretend to any fellowship with the saints, or any right to a place in the camp of Israel. Often he sees their joy; he is present in their solemnities, and looks on from afar, and feels his misery deepened by the contrast of these happy multitudes. His own conscience compels him to cry, “Unclean, unclean.” Such was Isaiah’s experience for a time, when, with no more than the remnants and remembrance of his leprosy, he entered the holy sanctuary above. Such is every convinced soul’s experience in the day of the Spirit’s dealing with it; when the High Priest has begun his treatment of the sin-sick soul, compelling it to uncover its head and rend its garment, and, with lips covered up, to take the position of one exposed to death and curse. Yet all this is but the shadow of death. Convictions here, and fears and terrors here, are only faint shadows. Death itself—the second death—which casts this shadow, is behind. And then the leprous soul is eternally loath-some, eternally abhorred, eternally dead and corrupt, eternally excluded from the fellowship of saints, eternally hid from the face of God, and eternally within hearing and sight of happy Israel, though there is a gulf that cannot be passed, between! And none will or can offer sympathy to the eternally exiled man! Oh, leprous soul, a High Priest passes through thy country now, who could deliver thee from thy diseases. Come, come, though thou hast sat alone under thy juniper-tree, apart from men, these many, many days! Come, though in vain thou hast hitherto looked for any abatement of thy disease! Perhaps no man ever cared for thy soul? Perhaps thou hast looked on the right hand, and there was no man that would know thee? Perhaps it is long since refuge failed thee? But a High Priest is in the land, who can deliver thee. He takes thee as thou art; he pronounces thee as thou really art, “Unclean, unclean;” and then he stoops down and says, “Look unto me and be saved?” He passes by; he walks on the outside of the city, where the lepers are sitting, wistfully looking in through its gates, yet not daring to enter; he will soon enter in, and shut its everlasting gates! Invite him near; nay, he is near. “He it is that talketh with thee!” He has blood that cleanses from all sin. His touch is healing; his look is life! But if once in hell, thou art forever and forever miserable. No balm in Gilead is there; no tidings of a leaf of the healing tree! The High Priest that can deliver never passes through that cursed land. Leprosy is eternal there; and therefore wailing and woe never end. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!” (Leviticus 13 The Leprosy - Indwelling Sin - Its Horrid Features) George Bush on Lev 13:45 - Conduct to be observed by Lepers The leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent. The leprous person was required to be as one that mourned for the dead, or for some great and public calamity. He was to have his clothes rent in token of extreme sorrow; his head was to be made bare; the ordinary bonnet or turban being omitted, and to have a covering upon the upper lip; or rather, as the original word ‘upper lip’ is with equal probability interpreted of the whole chin, he was to have the lower part of his face bound around with a bandage, leaving the mouth just freedom enough to make the declaration, unclean! unclean! which uttered from lips thus muffled up, must have been sounded forth in a peculiarly doleful accent. The reason of uttering this cry was to prevent any person from coining near him, lest defilement might be incurred by contact. Therefore the Chal. renders it, ‘Be ye not made unclean! be ye not made unclean!’ and Tar. Jon. ‘Avoid! avoid the unclean!’ In allusion to this it is said, Lam. 4:15, ‘They cried unto them, depart ye; (I am) unclean; depart, depart, touch not.’ In the East lepers are not at this day absolutely interdicted from going abroad, for they are not considered as pestilential. Niebuhr says, ‘I might have seen numbers of them; but whenever I observed any of them meeting me in the streets, I deemed it prudent to avoid them.’ (Leviticus 13 Commentary)
Levítico 13
Wiersbe - Sin isolates (Lev 13:46). What solemn words: “He is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” He had to tear his clothes, put a covering on his upper lip, cry “Unclean, unclean!” whenever anybody approached him, and remain outside the camp until either he died or was healed. “Free among the dead” is the way Heman described it in Psalm 88:5. God struck King Azariah (Uzziah) with leprosy, and he had to dwell in a “separate house,” literally “a free house,” which was isolated from everybody else (2 Kings 15:5, NIV). He was free—among the dead! If you’ve done any witnessing, you’ve probably met people who seem to have no concept of the tragedy of sin and the awfulness of hell. “I don’t mind going to hell,” they say rather flippantly. “I’ll have lots of company.” But there is no company in hell, because hell is a place of eternal isolation and loneliness. Like the lepers outside the camp, lost sinners will dwell alone; they will be alone forever. (Be Holy) Leviticus 13:47 "When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, The garment. Ps 109:18. Isaiah 3:16-24. 59:6. 64:6. Ezek 16:16. Ro 13:12. Ep 4:22. Col 3:3. Jude 1:23. Rev 19:8 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:47-48 - Another type of uncleanness was tsaraath in cloth or leather. Some have supposed that the germ causing tsaraath in people also was able to attack cloth and leather. That conclusion is not necessarily valid, especially since people did not know about germs at that time. God knew of germs, but He was speaking in terms that people of that time could understand. Likely tsaraath of cloth or leather was a growth of some kind that caused conditions in cloth and leather that resembled tsaraath in people. Because of the similarity in appearance, people in that time called both conditions by the same name. Tsaraath in cloth could affect woolen or linen cloth. Wool and linen were virtually the only kinds of cloth available at that time. The words translated “woven cloth” and “knitted cloth” are used in the Bible only in this chapter. The meaning of the root of the first is highly doubtful, while the idea of the root of the second is “mixed.” Traditionally, those words have been understood to mean “warp” and “woof,” but those translations give little meaning that is understandable. It is hard to see how an infection could affect only the threads running in one direction. Some have suggested that tsaraath affected only the threads of the warp or the woof of a piece of cloth because the condition was in the thread when it was woven. However, it is most unlikely that a person would use thread already affected by the condition in making a piece of cloth. A more likely understanding of the meaning of these words is that they refer to two different methods of making cloth, such as, weaving and knitting. This view is most likely the correct understanding of the words, and they are translated in that manner above. (KJV and most other modern English translations translate these words as “warp” and “woof.” JB and LB translate these words as “fabric” and “covering.” SGV translates “woven or knitted material.”) Thus, tsaraath could affect cloth or leather and could affect cloth whether wool or linen and whether woven or knitted. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) Andrew Bonar (on Lev 13:47-48) (Spurgeon called his notes on Leviticus "Very precious.") This leprosy in garments is to represent something quite different from leprosy in the man himself. It is to be a type of sin and defilement, not in his person, but in the things around him. Anything round about the man is this garment; the circumstances in the midst of which he is placed, the business he engages in, the comforts that impart a warmth to his person, the occurrences that affect his daily feeling. When Jude (ver. 23) speaks of “the garment spotted by the flesh,” he evidently means the person’s external contact with the world around him; and when the few names in Sardis are commended because “they have not defiled their garments” (Rev. 3:4), reference is made to the allurements and sinful habits of all around them. A clothes-leprosy and house-leprosy may have existed then, though it does not now; just like the case of the demoniacs, in the time of our Lord. And the plague that was called leprosy in garments, was co-relative to that disease in the human subject. It is like (as observed by others) the application of the term “cancer,” to a disease in trees, and of “rot,” to a disease among sheep As the skin of the leper is fretted away, so there is a mode in which garments may be affected analogous to this—when vermin or animalculb settle secretly in the garment, and fret away the threads. Michaëlis mentions, what is called “dead-wool,” that is, wool of sheep that died by disease; and it is found to be bad, losing the points, and ready to be settled in by vermin. Cloth made of it soon becomes very bare, and then full of holes. Such is the literal circumstance from which the type is taken. Learn, reader, to wear no garment that is exposed to corrosive influences. Frequent no company that has a fretting leprosy—unsound at heart, and communicating its unsoundness to you. Withdraw from the wells of Esek and Sitnah (Gen. 26:20, 21), like Isaac, when you feel that there is evil in the situation, and the men who are there. If much prosperity is apt to make you settle on your lees, like Israel (Deut. 8:11) when they had eaten to the full, and walked among their countless flocks, and heaped up silver and gold—then, shake the garment; beware of Atheism; “beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God.” It was of little consequence how goodly the garment appeared. Be not deceived by a fair show. Whether the garment was wrought of material got from the animal creation (“wool”), or from the vegetable world (“linen”); or whether it was composed of a mixture of threads, those in the warp being of wool, those in the woof of linen or flax; nay, though it were a strong garment of skin, or of some manufacture of skin*—whether of simple, primeval strength and roughness, or fashioned into a finer texture—still, if there was the least ground for suspicion, it must be subject to instant examination, however costly and however esteemed for comfort. You must not judge of the innocuous nature of an employment or a possession by its appearance only, nor by its suitableness to your taste, nor by the estimation in which it is held; you must be prepared to admit examination. (Leviticus 13 The Leprosy - Indwelling Sin - Its Horrid Features) George Bush on Lev 13:47 -The Leprosy of Garments - The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in. This leprosy in garments appears so strange to us, that it has induced some to consider it as an extraordinary punishment inflicted by God upon the Israelites, as a sign of his displeasure against sin; while others consider the leprosy in clothes, as also in houses, as having no relation to the leprosy in man. Indeed, the probability is that the term ‘leprosy,’ in this connexion, is not intended to be used in the same sense in which it is applied to denote a disease affecting the human system, but has rather a figurative import, just as ‘cancer’ is used by agriculturists in reference to a disease of trees, and as, inversely, the word ‘rot’ is applied to a disease of sheep, though primitively used of the decomposition of timber. The language was no doubt intended to intimate that the garment was fretted by a process similar to that which takes place in the skin in a case of real leprosy, occasioned in all likelihood, by a species of animalcula or vermin, which by breeding in the garments must necessarily multiply their kind, and fret the threads, i. e. corrode a portion of the finer parts after the manner of moths, for their nourishment. It is thus that the human skin is affected in the itch, a disease caused by the psora, or itch animal, which is often communicated from garments. This plague of vestments is termed, v. 51, a ‘fretting (or rankling) leprosy,’ a word which is applied in Ezek. 28:24, to a ‘pricking’ or ‘rankling brier,’ and is strikingly expressive of the sensation produced by the irritating effect of the itch in the human subject. We may suppose, moreover, that the metaphorical term ‘leprosy’ was used in this connexion on account of the disgusting ideas which, by association with the human disease, the view of a blemish in clothing, called also ‘leprosy,’ would excite in the mind. So much in respect to the term. As to the fact indicated by it, the inquiries of Michaelis on the subject have brought out the following results, which are well worth transcribing in his own words. ‘The leprosy of clothes is described as consisting of green or reddish spots, that remain in spite of washing, and still spread; and by which the cloth becomes bald or bare, sometimes on the one side, sometimes on the other. This Moses terms dropping or losing the hair; that is, if we are to give the literal truth of the Hebrew text, in a passage which might have its difficulties to a man of learning, if he knew nothing of the manufacture of woollen. These symptoms, too, of leprosy, are said to be found sometimes only in the warp, and at other times only in the woof. To a person who has nothing to do with the manufactures of woollen, linen, or leather, but with books only, this must doubtless be obscure; or, at most, he will be led to think of specks of rottenness, but still without being rightly satisfied. I have not been able to obtain complete information on this subject; but in regard to, wool, and woolen stuffs, I have consulted the greatest manufacturer in the electorate of Hanover; and he informs me, that what he has read in my German Bible, at this passage, will be found to hold good, at any rate with regard to woollen articles; and that it proceeds from what is called dead wool, that is, the wool of sheep that have died by disease, not by the knife: that such wool, if the disease has been but of short duration, is not altogether useless, but in a sheep that has been long diseased, becomes extremely bad, and loses the points; and that, according to the established usage of honest manufacturers, it is unfair to manufacture dead wool into any article worn by man; because vermin are so apt to establish themselves in it, particularly when it is worn close to the body and warmed thereby. When I told him, that in the countries, with a view to which I questioned him, the people, for want of linen and from poverty, had always worn, and still wear, woollen stuffs next the skin, he stated it as his opinion that there the disagreeable effect just mentioned, must take place in a still higher degree than in countries where, according to our German fashion, which would there be a luxury, a linen shirt is worn between the woollen clothes and the body. He added, that dead wool was usually manufactured into sacks and horse-cloths; and he expressed his wish for a statute, in the style of Moses, which should discourage the use of dead wool, or inflict a punishment on those who either sold it, or knowingly manufactured it into human clothing.—I am likewise informed by Hamburghers, that in their neighborhood, many frauds are committed with dead wool, from its being sold for good wool; in consequence of which, the stuffs made of it not only become very soon bare, but full first of little depressions, and then of holes.’—Comment on L. M. Art. 211. (Leviticus 13 Commentary) Leviticus 13:48 whether in warp or woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather, thing made of. Heb. work of. Lev 13:51. Dt 8:11. Jude 1:23. Rev 3:4 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:49 if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous mark and shall be shown to the priest. thing of skin. Heb. vessel, or instrument. Lev 13:52, 53, 57-59. Lev 15:4. it is. See on Lev 13:2. showed unto. Mk 1:44 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:49 - A suspicious sign that tsaraath might be present in cloth or leather was a greenish or reddish coloration. Any piece of cloth or leather so affected was to be taken to the priest for examination. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) Andrew Bonar (on Lev 13:49-59) (Spurgeon called his notes on Leviticus "Very precious.") A garment really infected must be burnt. There must be a final forsaking of every real sin. “If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off;” or if not, “thou goest to hell fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” So hateful to God is every approach to sin. Therefore, even on suspicion of evil, examine anxiously. If there be even suspicion as to a garment, the priest shuts it up—lays it by. So you give over the company you are afraid has an injurious influence on you; you give up the meats about which you are in doubt (Rom. 14:15), or about which your brother is in doubt. If you can really rend out the spotted part, this is well. David’s pride of heart when he numbered the people, must be rent from him by the sharp stroke that cut off 70,000 threads of life. Hezekiah’s pride must be rent off by the sword that is to destroy his people, and carry his wealth to Babylon. Peter’s self-confidence must be torn from him, by his being placed among the other disciples in abasement; “Lovest thou me more than these?” If, however, again the plague break out, the garment is no doubt deeply spoiled. It is to be burnt. Thus, when Israel’s plenty and security—their garment of beauty and confidence—led them to indulgence and sin, the Lord rent off the pieces. But when, at last, the same sin ever returned, then he cast them away into an enemy’s land. But, lastly, if the garment out of which the piece was rent, be found remaining clean, then “let it be washed a second time.” Let Peter, after his recovery from his fall, be warned once more, to impress the special need he has of securing himself against the temptation in time to come. There is to be no doubtful holiness with God. He requires in his people definite and distinct purity. He likes us to make much use of His Holy Spirit, so that our freedom from the world’s snares and the world’s maxims may be plain to every eye. Oh, how holy is our God! How holy in himself! His heart has no other than holiness as its feeling. And when his eye looks abroad on us, it is holiness it searches for. He seeks for holiness in our person, and holiness in our circumstances—a holy people moving amid holiness! Hence it was that when Isaiah was enjoying a truly divine and heavenly gaze of the Lord of Glory, he perceived at once that both the person and his circumstances ought to be holy before such a God. He felt not only “Woe is me because I am a man of unclean lips;” but even had he been himself holy and pure, still, before such a God, how distressing the thought, “I dwell among a people of unclean lips!” Alas! alas! I am a leper myself—“Unclean, unclean!” and my garments have the fretting leprosy also! I dwell among the unclean! There remains yet the mention of an unclean earth. That subject is taken up, chap. 14:33. But it is not mixed up with the person and his garments, because these two may be clean, while still the earth remains unpurified. There is to be a cleansing of our persons and of our circumstances now; but not a cleansing of the land or of its properties till an after period. And, to show this the more, observe that the laws about the person and his garment came into full operation while they wandered in the desert. But those laws that concerned the land—typical of the earth—did not come into operation till they reached Canaan. See chap. 14:34, “When ye be come into the land of Canaan.” We are journeying onward to a pure land, to a new earth; but, meantime, we are carefully to see that our persons and circumstances be pure. No sight is more peculiar, and perhaps more attractive to the eye of angels and of God, than holiness in full bloom, though springing up from the soil of a cursed earth! Such a magnificent plant, with such waste sands, and barren clay, and rocky soil all around! This recalls the image of the Son of Man, when in Nazareth “he grew up before him as a tender plant!” Oh, seek to be holy in heart and life, in circumstances and situation! Breathe holiness from within, and breathe holiness on all around! Send a fragrant gale of holiness along the wild desert; it may slacken the pace of some weary, miserable wanderer, as the spices breathed from “Araby the blessed” delay the ship that passes by. Send up the incense of holiness to the Lord, giving him back his own; and let it be known above that the Spirit who goeth to and fro in all the earth, striving with men, has found a dwelling-place in some souls, and has begun to create a heaven below! (Leviticus 13 The Leprosy - Indwelling Sin - Its Horrid Features) Leviticus 13:50 "Then the priest shall look at the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. look upon. Ezek 44:23. plague. Ge 34:29 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:50-51 - After examining the piece of cloth or leather, the priest was to “shut it up” for seven days. At the end of seven days, he was to examine the article again to see if the condition had spread. “Shut up” in this case can scarcely mean put outside of the camp, strengthening the conclusion that it also does not have that meaning in verses 4, 5, 26, 31, 33 (see comments on those verses above). If after seven days the spot had spread, it was tsaraath. The piece of cloth or leather was unclean. The word translated “penetrating” is found only in this chapter and in Ezekiel 28:24. Its meaning is not known today. Translators have varied much in rendering it in English. (KJV and ASV use “fretting,” meaning “gnawing” or “eating.” DRV uses “fixed.” RSV, SGV, and NASB, use “malignant.” LV, JV use “contagious.” NEB uses “rotting.” HCSB uses “harmful.” All of these renderings are guesses.) Judging from Ezekiel 38:24, it probably means “piercing” or “penetrating,” indicating that the tsaraath had penetrated into the piece of cloth or leather. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:51 "He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy , it is unclean. fretting leprosy. Lev 14:44 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:52 "So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather in which the mark occurs, for it is a leprous malignancy; it shall be burned in the fire. burn. Lev 11:33, 35. Dt 7:25, 26. Isaiah 30:22. Ac 19:19, 20. Col 3:5. fretting leprosy. Lev 14:44, 45 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:52 - The piece of cloth or leather that had been penetrated by tsaraath was to be burned up. Evidently no way was known to rid the cloth or leather of tsaraath. This requirement taught that whenever sin becomes an ingrained habit of a person’s life, the sinner will be destroyed by it. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above
Levítico 13
Wiersbe - Sin is fit only for the fire (Lev 13:52, 55, 57). A defiled garment was to be burned in the fire; it was not to be purified but destroyed. When Jesus spoke about hell, He used the word gehenna, which referred to the garbage dump outside Jerusalem “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44; see Isa. 66:24). Hell is God’s eternal garbage dump prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41) and for those who follow the devil by rejecting Jesus Christ. It’s a lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 21:10, 14–15) where Satan and his associates will suffer forever along with people whose names were not found in the Book of Life because they hadn’t trusted Jesus Christ and been born again into God’s family. The consequences of leprosy were temporal, but the consequences of sin are eternal. The Jews knew no cure for leprosy, but there is a remedy for sin—faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Have you trusted Him? If you have, are you telling others the good news that they don’t have to be lepers and live forever in the fiery garbage dump of hell? (Be Holy) Leviticus 13:53 "But if the priest shall look, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:53-54 - If the spot had not spread after seven days, a second test was to be applied. The piece of cloth or leather was to be washed and “shut up” for seven more days. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:54 then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. wash. Hag 1:6 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:55 "After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the top or on the front of it. after. Ezek 24:13. Heb 6:4-8. 2 P 1:9. 2:20-22. not changed. Je 13:23. Lk 13:6-9. 1 Co 7:20, 24. Titus 3:5. color. lit. eye. it be bare within or without. Heb. it be bald in the head thereof, or in the forehead thereof. Lev 13:43 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:55 - At the end of the second seven-day period, if the coloration of the spot was as bright as ever, it was tsaraath, even if it had not spread. The cloth or leather piece was unclean and was to be burned. The word translated “boring inside” occurs only here. It seems to mean that, though the spot had not become larger, it was growing inside the cloth or the leather. It does not seem to mean that the infection had eaten a hole in the piece of cloth or leather, because all other descriptions show the malady to have been a coloration growing on a piece of cloth or leather. It seems rather to mean that the tsaraath had grown deeper into the cloth or leather. The words translated “[whether it is] on its bare back side or on its shaved front side.” mean literally “in his bald back side of his head or in his bald front side of his head.” Translators and interpreters have struggled to explain those words. (KJV, AS, and RV translate these words as “within or without,” BBE as “inside or outside,” CJB as “on the inside or on the outside,” LITV as “in its inside or in its outside,” MSG as “the back or the front,” NASB as “on the top or on the front of it,” and HCSB as “on the front or on the back.” CEV omits these words altogether.) It may be that they are words added by mistake by an ancient copyist, perhaps by inadvertently picking them up from verse 42. The identical words occur in verse 42 in some ancient manuscripts, though in most manuscripts a slight difference occurs in that they omit the word “his” in verse 42. No manuscripts omit these words in verse 47, so they may have been an idiomatic expression that referred to the bare inside of a piece of leather and to the hairy outside from which the hair had been removed in processing the leather. They are translated in that manner above. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:56 "Then if the priest looks, and if the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the warp or from the woof; rend it out. Ep 4:25 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:56-57 - If at the end of the second seven-day period the coloration was not as bright, then another test was to be applied. The affected part was to be torn from the piece. It was not removed to prevent the tsaraath from spreading in the piece, because if it had been known that the spot was tsaraath the piece would have been destroyed immediately. Instead this action was another test to determine if the piece was affected by tsaraath. After cutting out the spot, if the coloration reappeared in the rest of the garment, it was tsaraath. The piece was unclean. It was to be burned. Evidently tsaraath could not be removed from cloth or leather. No cleansing ceremony was provided for cloth or leather affected by tsasraath. Instead they were to be destroyed. The destruction of the piece taught that, when sin becomes ingrained in the life of a believer, it will destroy that life. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:57 and if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire. shalt burn. Isaiah 33:14. Mt 3:12. 22:7. 25:41. Rev 21:8, 27 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries See notes by Andrew Bonar above Leviticus 13:58 "The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has departed when you washed it, it shall then be washed a second time and will be clean." be washed. 2Kings 5:10, 14. Ps 51:2. 2 Co 7:1, 12:8. Heb 9:10. Rev 1:5. 7:14. the second time. Ac 19:1-5 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:58 - If at the end of the second seven-day period the coloration was gone, the spot was not tsaraath. The words “that you washed” refer to the washing mentioned in verse 54. It had been washed and then observed for a second seven-day period. If the color had disappeared, the piece of cloth or leather was clean. It had never been unclean, but it had been under suspicion. Like the clothing of the man in verse 6, it was to be washed again to remove any suspicion, and it was clean.(Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above Naaman the leper - 2Kgs 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean… 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Leviticus 13:59 This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean. pronounce. 1 Co 5:3-5. Rev 19:8 Leviticus Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Leon Hyatt on Lev 13:59- This verse is a summary statement, stating that the passage above gives the principles that were to govern recognition of tsaraath and uncleanness from tsaraath in woolen or linen cloth whether woven or knitted and also in articles made of leather. Comparison with other summary notes (see references cited in comments on Lev. 11:46-47) indicates that it was written by Moses as he compiled the messages of Jehovah, rather than that it was a part of the message that was spoken by Jehovah. After examining this passage, it is possible to speculate on the nature of tsaraath in cloth and leather. Many have supposed that it was a form of mold or mildew. Since the Sinai desert and that whole area of the world are extremely dry and since mold and mildew thrive only in much dampness, this explanation seems unlikely. Also, mold and mildew are greenish but not reddish. So, the descriptions of this chapter do not fit mold or mildew. It seems more likely that it was a type of fungus growth, since fungus growths can thrive in dry conditions and are more penetrating and persistent. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) Leon Hyattt - Application. When a Christian allows sin to come into his life, he becomes morally unclean. His sin separates between him and his Christian brothers and sisters and between him and God. It also brings sorrow into his life. When it becomes an ingrained habit, it destroys his physical life. Though he is saved forever, he can suffer great damage if he allows himself to participate in sin. The Christian must make every effort to avoid contact with sin and to keep it out of his life. A Christian must also take care to prevent articles that belong to him from being used for sinful purposes. He should not allow cloth or leather clothing that belongs to him to be worn to a bar. a casino, a pornographic movie, or to any other place where sinful deeds are practiced. Allowing his clothes, his car, or any other possession to be used in some sinful activity damages his reputation and makes him more susceptible to participating in sinful deeds himself. If he makes the mistake of allowing his possessions to be misused, he should ask God for forgiveness and rededicate them to God through prayer and through making a commitment never to make that mistake again. (Message 16 - Leviticus 13:1-59) See notes by Andrew Bonar above The Leprosy Removed “BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HATH QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST: (BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED;) AND HATH RAISED US UP TOGETHER, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS: THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARDS US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS.”—Eph. 2:4–7.-note