Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:54-57

54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,

55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,

56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:

57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

Today we finish the two chapters of guidance on how leprosy was to be handled among people, cloth, and houses. A common theme throughout this has been that of corruption, and the physical treatment of it is echoed in the social and spiritual frames as well. We saw how corruption, itself, must be destroyed, but the question was whether it could be removed without destroying the host. Sometimes it could be, and then the host could return to its full status and calling. Sometimes it couldn’t, and then, to contain the corruption, either destruction or quarantine of the host had to occur.

For both a garment and a house, persistent leprosy required complete destruction. But for a person, God did not command that the afflicted person be killed. They did have to be removed, though. They had to become dead to society. And then if they healed and could return to the fold, it was treated much like a rebirth.

Thus, leprosy is a lesson on corruption, purging, destruction, and restoration. It is a pattern that has been imbued throughout the universe, and observing it in any manifestation teaches us about it in all.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:37-42

37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;

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 the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;

40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:

41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

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

As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, leprosy in the house would mean a spreading mold. Of course, identifying and removing mold from a house is a very wise and important thing to do, as otherwise it can weaken the structure and trigger disease. Mold in a house is sneaky, because at first it just seems like a discoloration, but repeated cases of collapsed homes and respiratory illnesses must have awoken even the ancient people to its true threat.

Mold is also difficult to evaluate because what we see of it is not always its furthest extent. Hence the test where the priest waits to see it spread, then has them scrape away the entire area. If the homeowner is lucky, just a replacement of the afflicted area will be enough to eradicate the problem, but as we will see in tomorrow’s verses, if it reappeared, then more drastic actions become necessary.

Mold in a house can be seen as another symbol of infectious ideologies, something that spreads throughout a society, whose color seems a little off. At first appearance it may seem of little concern but could lead to unforeseen structural compromises down the road. A modern-day example of this would be those who believe that the Earth is flat. As in verse 38 from today’s verses, it is wise to have a period of waiting and observing. Perhaps what we find is that this notion does not spread, it does not become mainstream, it does not go deeper in its claims. So far it seems to me that that is the case. It looks like flat-earth theories were mostly a passing fad, with fewer and fewer adherents as time goes on, and this isn’t of serious concern and doesn’t present any threat.

Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this seemingly innocuous trend is but the beginning of a wider culture of reality-denial. Then the mold is likely to weaken the timbers of our home and a society should try to dismantle and replace these cultures, but it may be impossible to do so. It may be that the society is already condemned.

That may seem an exaggerated claim, but we have seen it in the real world. Consider the case of Jonestown in Guyana, where a quirky ideology grew, avoided disbandment, and culminated in the mass suicide of its entire population. In the most extreme cases, a society gone rogue can indeed result in the destruction of the whole.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:33-36

33 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:

36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

In the Old Testament the term “leprosy” is used for any sort of spreading infection. Obviously, a house could not have the same sort of disease that people get in their skin, but it could have a spreading mold. It is interesting that the world is setup such that the “skin” of a house is susceptible to creeping infestation like our skin is, as if God is using both to represent a fundamental pattern of the world.

That pattern, of course, is spreading evil. It is a pattern that shows up in all spheres, where something that is bad, can spread bad elsewhere. Faulty electrical wires take down the whole system, corrupt ideologies compromise an entire nation, a few tumbling stones trigger a rockslide, an infection in the skin spreads as leprosy, and mold in the walls eats the whole thing away. It is entropy. It is blight. It is corruption. It is the endless unmaking force that is in, around, and through all things. A fundamental, defining principle of our fallen world. And so, it takes one who is beyond our world, but also wholly immersed in it, to take that spreading corruption into himself to reverse its effects and let the rest of us go free.

And so yes, just as there are laws regulating leprosy among the people, there are laws for leprosy in the houses and clothing. All of it is under the purview of the Lord’s redemption.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:23-31

23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.

24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and 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:

26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:

27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord:

28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord.

30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.

The sacrifices in today’s verses mostly follow the familiar template for a sin and burnt offering, but in addition to the marking of the ear, thumb, and toe with blood, we have oil being applied to each of those body parts as well. We did, of course, already hear about applying blood to the same body parts of a priest before, and the anointing of his head with oil, but this ritual with the leper is the first we are hearing of oil on the ear, thumb, and toe.

Oil is often seen as symbolic of the Holy Spirit, so it could be representative of God’s Spirit impressing the leper’s hearing and actions and walk, though why would the same not be done to the priest? Another thought that occurs to me is that we often see an oily substance come out of our wounds, as well as our blood. Today that oily substance is called serum, and we now know that it is a part of blood. It is the liquid portion that separates out after the cells and clotting proteins form a scab to close the wound. The serum looks like oil and may very well have been interpreted as such by the Ancient Israelites. And it is entirely possible that such blood and oily serum were common sights upon lepers with open wounds and sores. Thus, the ritual application of blood and oil together may be a symbol of both the suffering and the healing of the leper, which suffering tenderized his soul and which healing taught him to rely upon the Lord.

This is a highly specific interpretation, of course, and maybe there are better ones. I do believe that God’s rituals were meant to have many lessons, and perhaps this was one.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:19-22

19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;

22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

We have seen before how the conditions of an offering could be adjusted according to the wealth of the subject. Other things could not be, where the same offering required of rich and poor. The fact that variance was allowed in the offering of the healed leper speaks to the human condition where misfortune befalls us all.

Leprosy was not only an affliction of the poor and the old, but even of the young and the rich. It could even befall a high ranking military leader, such as Naaman. Righteous people could have leprosy, and wicked people could also.

It is woven into our nature to expect good for good, and bad for bad. That expectation is due to our appropriate understanding of justice. And to some extent, there is some truth to it. In general, the righteous avoid a great deal of affliction and stress because of their clean and honest living, while the wicked bring natural negative consequences by their dirty and offensive behavior. But in this fallen world, none of this is absolute. The righteous and the clean-living will still get cancer, still have to bury their child, still be at the mercy of the wicked. So, knowing that virtue alone will not protect us, we often seek further assurances in wealth. And with it many ailments of life may be staved off, but it is still not absolute. Even the rich will have an earthquake destroy their home, develop a crippling disease, or lose much of their estate in a messy divorce.

So, too, rich and poor alike could have leprosy, and their offering requirements for cleanliness would reflect that.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:12-18

12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:

14 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:

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

16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:

17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:

18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.

We are now to phase two of the ritual to induct a former leper back into the Israelite community. This part sounds the most familiar to the other rituals we have heard of. A trespass and a sin offering are a common pairing, so it is no surprise to see them here as well. And of course, this does not mean that the leper was guilty of immoral sins, but that his leprosy had been an embodiment of the fallen world, not of heaven, and he had to be cleansed of that telestial stain.

So far this has been perfectly standard, but then we take a most unexpected turn. In verse 14, 17, and 18 we hear that the priest would take blood and oil, and apply it to the leper’s right ear, right thumb, and right great toe, as well as pouring oil on the leper’s clean-shaven head.

The only other times we have heard of blood being applied to ear, thumb, and toe, and anointing with oil, it was for the priests, to prepare them for their service in the tabernacle. Why would it also be done for a leper, who is certainly not being made into a priest?

When we previous saw the application of blood to the ear, thumb, and toe it seemed to represent consecrating one’s hearing, work, and path to the Lord, and obviously that should also apply to any Israelite who makes restitution with the Lord, yet we don’t see this same act being done for ordinary sin and trespass offerings. Only here for the lepers. So why?

Honestly, I’m probably going to need to think on this for longer, but the first suggestion that came to my mind was because of the sacredness of suffering that the leper had gone through. There is an incredibly sanctifying experience when we pass through deep pain, especially pain that is not due to our own sins. It makes our hearts tender, it makes our souls teachable, and it makes our priorities recalibrate. I have seen and personally experienced how those who suffer, and hold their faith through it, and then return to peaceable living, come back more consecrated than ever before. It is not unlike a priest who is more fully consecrated to the Lord just by his office. I wonder if this ritual was attached to the leper as a mark of respect and appreciation for who he had become by the things that he had suffered.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:8-11

8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

After the little ritual with the birds, the former leper would wholly wash himself. He would wash his clothes, his body, and even shave off all of his hair. He would be like a newborn again.

This born-again symbolism continues as we hear that the leper would wait eight days, then come to the tabernacle to make an offering. We only recently learned how eight days was exactly how long a newborn boy would wait before being circumcised, and afterwards both boy and girl children would be brought to the tabernacle to have offerings made, just like happens here with the leper.

As verse 11 says, the leper is being presented to the Lord at the tabernacle, that he might be welcomed back into the congregation, just as he would have been welcomed the first time at his birth. The leper is being reborn and reinstituted to the Israelite family, just as we are baptized, reborn, and reinstituted back to the family of God.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:4-7

4 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:

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, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

7 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.

Right away, we can see that the ritual for a person cleansed of leprosy is very different from the sort of offerings we have seen thus far. This isn’t our standard sin and burnt offering, but something that seems to have far more of a narrative to it. The actions that take place with the birds tell a story of two beings, one that is consigned to death and another that goes free.

Let us look at each step in turn. First, one of the birds is killed, but specifically in an earthen vessel over running water. An earthen vessel would mean something like a clay pot, not a woven basket. This earthen vessel immediately suggests a body. Our theology speaks of us having a spirit that resides within a terrestrial body, a tabernacle of clay in which is the breath of life. So, the bird is the life within that body.

And the body with that life within it is held over running water, such as a stream or a creek. Running water is living water, self-purifying and good for drinking and washing. It is the Spirit of God. This suggests that the life within the mortal body is attuned to the Spirit of God, it has the babbling of the living brook echoing within its clay walls.

If it wasn’t obvious already, this is all a symbol for Christ. Jesus Christ is the good bird who descended from heaven into an earthen vessel, a mortal body, and who there remained attuned to the Spirit of the Father. And just like the bird, Jesus was slain while in this form.

And into the blood of that sacrifice is dipped the second bird, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. Wood, like what the cross was made of. Scarlet cloth, like the robe that the Roman guards dressed Jesus in to mock him. Hyssop, like what carried the vinegar to Jesus’s lips in his last hour.

And what of the second bird? Well, that is us. That is the leper. That is the poor sinner. That is the weak and the broken. We are dipped into the blood of the sacrificial Savior, then released over an open field. It is our spirit redeemed and freed, saved by the blood of Christ’s sacrifice. It is the leper’s body redeemed from its infection and freed from its disease.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 14:1-4

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

3 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;

4 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:

In the last chapter we heard all about the ways that a priest would diagnose a person with leprosy, and how such a person would have to then live in semi-quarantine, but today we hear what would happen when the leprous person was healed. The term “leprosy” in the Bible seems to cover a broad array of skin infections, and some of them would heal after some time. The leprous person, having been declared ritually unclean, would now need a ritual to be brought back into the fold, returned to full clean status with all his brothers and sisters.

An interesting bit of information comes in verse 3, where we learn that the priest would go out of the camp to where the leper lived. Obviously, this is because the leper needs to be cleansed before he can come into the midst of the people where the tabernacle is.

There is in this an obvious representation of the prodigal son who leaves the fold to embrace his sins, who then has a “come to Jesus” moment and returns to the faith that he had abandoned. And as in that story, the priest/father goes out to meet him while still afar off and brings him the rest of the way home. Even today, we see how a wayward soul trying to return may not immediately feel one with the community of the Lord, and requires some sort of ritual to fully bring him in. He needs something that feels like God coming into his heart, a place of shame and guilt, to claim him. Perhaps this ritualistic God-claiming occurs today when the sinner makes confession to a priest, or takes communion, or some other significant act that represents putting off the unclean sinner and taking on the cleansed disciple.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 13:47-59

47 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;

48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;

49 And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

50 And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:

51 And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.

52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

53 And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;

54 Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:

55 And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.

56 And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

57 And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

58 And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

59 This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

We conclude this chapter with an examination of what to do if an infestation is found within a garment. The garment might be made from the skin of an animal, or from flax that has been spun into linen, or wool from a sheep. Given its organic nature, it was susceptible to spreading disease, just like human skin. In this case, there were two stages of testing. The first was to see if the discolored spot spread. If it did, the garment was destroyed. If it didn’t, the spot was cleaned. If the cleaning had no effect, the garment was still destroyed. If it did have an effect, then the discolored section might be cut out and patched, or if it appeared perfectly clean it could be used without modification.

Throughout this chapter we have compared the presence of leprosy to the spreading of dangerous ideologies and trends in society. In today’s verses, the corruptible garment may well represent a man-made creation that has gone astray. Like a leaking nuclear reactor or an internet filled with pornography, things that we make with our own hands are just as susceptible to spreading corruption that harm us. As with the garment, we can consider whether the creation can be cleaned or patched or salvaged, but if not, it must be destroyed.

This concludes the preliminary instructions regarding the treatment of leprosy in man and garment. In the next chapter we will learn some more about the rituals and offerings to be made for the sake of a leprous person, and we will continue to consider what symbolic meaning that might have more broadly for our day.