9 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;

10 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;

11 It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;

13 Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

14 But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.

15 And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

16 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;

17 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.

Today we read how a leprosy would be recognized by the presence of “raw flesh” as opposed to flesh that had “turned white.” Raw flesh seems to be describing open sores, where the outer layers of skin have been eaten away and the open wound is visible. If it were to “turn white,” that would mean scar tissue or new skin grown over, sealing the body back up.

Viewed spiritually, this can be compared to ongoing sin versus a soul that is healing. If, for example, one is actively under an addiction, there will be ugly behaviors ongoing, like the active sores in the body. If the addict is healed, though, there will be scars and ongoing recovery, but the open wound is covered, meaning the impulsive, sinful behavior ceases to rage out of control.

When applied to an entire population, this can be compared to a society caught in a false ideology versus one that is sloughing off those lies. When a society is ideologically captured, the faulty logic spreads from one domain to another, corrupting each institution. When the people return to truth and God, there will be much to rebuild and heal from, but the source of the damage is gone.