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Leviticus Chapter 13
- Leviticus 13:1 And the LORD
spoke unto Moses and Aaron, saying,
- 2 When a man shall have
in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and
it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then
he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his
sons the priests:
- 3 And the priest shall
look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair
in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper
than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the
priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
Now we see our wonderful God making
provision for disease prevention and how to make sure it doesn't
spread. God is good.
Until the coming of the kingdom of Jesus
Christ there had to be a system of government and laws regarding all
aspects of human need. Disease control would have been one of the
necessary things to deal with. God didn't forget that part. God
could have divinely healed all Israel but Israel had too much sin.
Christ had not yet come to heal the sick so a plan to take care of
disease had to be set forth.
Just like a law had to be put in place
against stealing, murder, accidents and such to keep law and order
and to keep the weak from being taken advantage of by the strong,
they had to have laws concerning sickness and disease to protect
them from being wiped out.
- Leviticus 13:4 If the bright
spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not
deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white;
then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven
days:
- 5 And the priest shall
look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his
sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then
the priest shall shut him up seven days more:
- 6 And the priest shall
look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be
somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest
shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash
his clothes, and be clean.
It seems kind of drastic here to put someone
in quarantine like that but if the disease was leprosy, it would
have spread to others so to err on the side of caution was best. Notice
too that only those that had a disease was quarantined, not the
healthy or the family of the one diseased.
- Leviticus 13:7 But if the scab
spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of
the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest
again:
- 8 And if the priest see
that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest
shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.
- 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.
- 18 The flesh also, in
which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,
- 19 And in the place of
the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and
somewhat reddish, and it be showed to the priest;
- 20 And if, when the
priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and
the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him
unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.
- 21 But if the priest
look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if
it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the
priest shall shut him up seven days:
- 22 And if it spread much
abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean:
it is a plague.
- 23 But if the bright
spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil;
and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
- 24 Or if there be any
flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick
flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish,
or white;
- 25 Then the priest shall
look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be
turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a
leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall
pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
- 26 But if the priest
look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright
spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat
dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:
- 27 And the priest shall
look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad
in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is
the plague of leprosy.
- 28 And if the bright
spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be
somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest
shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the
burning.
- 29 If a man or woman
have a plague upon the head or the beard;
- 30 Then the priest shall
see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the
skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest
shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scurf, even a leprosy
upon the head or beard.
- 31 And if the priest
look on the plague of the scurf, and, behold, it be not in sight
deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it;
then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the
scurf seven days:
- 32 And in the seventh
day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the
scurf spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the
scurf be not in sight deeper than the skin;
- 33 He shall be shaven,
but the scurf shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up
him that hath the scurf seven days more:
- 34 And in the seventh
day the priest shall look on the scurf: and, behold, if the
scurf be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the
skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall
wash his clothes, and be clean.
- 35 But if the scurf
spread much in the skin after his cleansing;
- 36 Then the priest shall
look on him: and, behold, if the scurf be spread in the skin,
the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.
- 37 But if the scurf be
in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up
therein; the scurf is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall
pronounce him clean.
- 38 If a man also or a
woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white
bright spots;
- 39 Then the priest shall
look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their
flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in
the skin; he is clean.
- 40 And the man whose
hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.
- 41 And he that hath his
hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is
forehead bald: yet is he clean.
- 42 And if there be in
the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a
leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
- 43 Then the priest shall
look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white
reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the
leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;
- 44 He is a leprous man,
he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean;
his plague is in his head.
- 45 And the leper in whom
the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and
he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry,
Unclean, unclean.
- 46 All the days wherein
the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean:
he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
When the Lord Jesus came the first time, He
brought not only the gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ
to grant eternal life to those that would believe in Him, but He
brought the hope of healing. He had the power to heal disease and
also give that power by way of the Holy Spirit to those that follow
Him. Those gifts were not supposed to die out but unbelief, sin and
doctrinal error will cause that particular gift of the spirit to die
out. Not that God withdrew any gifts but because men limit God by
the state of their faith.
If they believe God only for the salvation
of the soul, that is all they will receive. That in itself is
actually greater than physical healing because once a person dies
and is resurrected, that is the ultimate healing. There will be no
more pain, sickness or disease then. Yet physical healing and miracles are
available even today by faith in Christ. It is given to show proof
of the gospel that we preach. It is usually seen mostly in countries
and places where the gospel is first preached; for instance to
heathen people who have never heard it before. They have never had
the written word or any gospel preacher previously so they need to
see proof that what the preacher is preaching about repentance and
salvation is really true.
If faith is present though and the church is
all in the same mind and one accord, healing can occur any time.
According to our faith be it unto us. In saying that though, healing as with
all the gifts of the spirit are subject to the will of God and the
working of the Holy Spirit in a believer's meeting. Sometimes
we may see people healed and sometimes we will not. We may not
understand why. Perhaps we need to have determination not to give
up, seek diligently understanding and then submit to the will of
God.
This is why the gifts of healing are not
understood by those that are on the outside looking in because they
assume if we have the gift of healing, we can go and just randomly
lay hands on anyone, but it doesn't work that way. It has to be
the work of the Holy Spirit at a given time and place. We are just
vessels, God does the work. Now we can hinder God by not
allowing Him to use us with the gifts of the spirit but we can't
decide randomly that we want to go and heal someone, but we always
should go and try to pray for the sick because the bible instructs
us to do so. We must always remember God does the healing, we are
just the vessels.
It may not always happen though because
there are many things that hinder, unbelief being the greatest
hindrance. Some things too, we just don't know the answer to.
If a person desires healing and wants to
hold onto some unconfessed sin, that may hinder healing but the
greatest hindrance is plain and simple unbelief. Still I've
seen those that believe not healed and also there have been those
that are healed that do not seem to have much faith. God is the
healer not us, so we must be able to be used of God whether or not
we see visible results instantly.
Since Jesus warns that in the latter days
there will be those that seem to practice miracles and healings even
using His name, that are actually false prophets and false teachers,
we have to be aware of and be spiritually alert to know the
difference.
Listen to the doctrine and watch the fruits
of those that do miracles. We must not accept them blindly. Even if
they use the name of Jesus and claim to do all in the name of Jesus
at some point people may start following the man (woman) blindly
instead of following Christ.
Some will even venture to say that if you
oppose them you oppose Christ and if you disagree, they will quote
the "Touch not my anointed" scripture.
In saying that though, if a man is truly a
man of God and speaks the truth and you reject that truth or if you
physically harm a true man of God or tell lies and slander to
destroy him, you will answer to God. That is touching the anointed
if the person is anointed. But to disagree on scripture and point
out error is not touching God's anointed. We are to always check all
things with the written word. We do not have to follow those that
depart from sound doctrine.
Jesus said that when some will stand before
Him and claim, "Have we not prophesied in thy name, and done
miracles?" He will say, depart from Me, I never knew you."
That doesn't mean that all who pray for the
sick, preach the gospel and do miracles are false, it simply means
that some of them are.
The tares are sown among the wheat. They
look alike until harvest. God provided us with the written word so
that we would not be deceived.
If any minister, pastor, preacher, priest
etc. is afraid of being examined in light of the written word, he or
she needs to get out of that profession.
- Leviticus 13:47 The garment
also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woolen
garment, or a linen garment;
- 48 Whether it be in the
warp, or woof; of linen, or of woolen; 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 showed 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 woolen 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 color, 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 woolen or linen, either in
the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean,
or to pronounce it unclean.
I've read this before but I had forgotten
that garments and even houses can have leprosy. That is interesting.
It reminds me of mold and mildew and how hard it is to get rid of
that stuff.
Since the fall of mankind though we have
troubles and things like this to deal with. We have the hope of the
return of Jesus Christ though to take away all these things and
usher in a kingdom of fairness, peace and victory over disease and
death. DC
Even so come Lord Jesus
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