Skin diseases & contaminated fabrics.

I think I’ll forego any comments on moldy fabrics. I once had the toilet in the apartment above me run and run until my closet was flooded. I had just moved in and most of my clothes were still in boxes or suitcases. And I was out of the country. When I got home… Well, let’s just say that the topic of moldy fabrics and leather goods is a bit sensitive for me.

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So… let me get this straight. The priests have to not only be expert butchers and know all the particulars of how to offer the various sacrifices, they also have to have training in dermatology?

It would seem so.

Keep in mind: this is written to a pre-scientific people. They’re not taking skin samples to a microbiology lab for analysis. A number of very different conditions may fall under these few basic descriptions.

1. A Swelling or Epidural Eruption
   • I would think that pimples fit this description as well as a “welt” from say a bug bite or an allergic reaction. Cellulitis, Shingles, boils and even warts would likely fall in this category.
2. Raw flesh (open sore)
   • This could be from anything – a cut, scrape, picked scab, lesion, even an advanced skin cancer
3. White swelling or pink spot in the place where a sore was.
   • I’m no doctor but I’m inclined to think this may refer to a staph or other kind of bacterial infection.
4. Burns
5. Infected hair follicles
6. Rashes
7. Baldness

So if you had a skin condition, you’d have to go show yourself to the priest. It was kind of like making an appointment to see the family doctor or a dermatologist. He looks you over, consults this chapter of his manual, and writes you a prescription for a week of quarantine.

There are no remedies here. Only descriptions of what qualifies as clean or unclean.

“As for the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his hair must be allowed to hang loosely, and he must cover his upper lip, and he must call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ For all the days during which the infection is on him, he shall be unclean; he must live alone; his dwelling must be outside the camp.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭13‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭LEB‬‬

This is kinda like wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart. 😏

These details shed light on stories like this:

“And as he was entering into a certain village, ten men met him—lepers, who stood at a distance. And they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And when he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were not ten cleansed? And where are the nine? Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭12‬-‭19‬ ‭LEB‬‬

Notice: Jesus was outside the village when he encountered these men. They had to live “outside the camp.” Alone. They practiced “social distancing.” They had to raise their voices because they weren’t close enough to Jesus to be heard otherwise. Perhaps Jesus shouted back cheerfully, “Go show yourselves to the priests!” This is the line that is repeated more than any other in Leviticus 13.

The man who came back was a Samaritan. Why is that significant? Because Samaritans weren’t allowed in the temple – even if they were clean.

What does any of this have to do with us?

Leprosy is a picture of sin because it is a living death. Today we have medical treatments for leprosy. Not then. The skin would slowly decay until eventually patches of it and even limbs would rot and fall off. In Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2, Paul described humans as “dead in trespasses and sins.” I once heard a preacher say it this way: “You were dead in sin. D. E. A. D. Call-the-coroner-dead. You weren’t sick for the weekend.”

The sinner – the one with the living death sentence – needs to show himself to the faithful High Priest, Jesus Christ. Be like those ten guys and raise your voice and cry out to Him. Cleansing the lepers was one of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry. He cleanses the leprosy of sin from the soul.

Showing yourself to the priest also speaks of accountability. I’m not talking about a skin condition now. It may be constant eruptions in your marriage, the infection of pornography, rash spending of money, angry burns, sensitive open wounds, or patches where some part of you has died. The Church is a priesthood. Show yourself to a priest. Find someone wise and trusted. Ask for help. Invite accountability. No where in this chapter are people told to cover it up and act like nothing is wrong.

The priest can help you look into the manual and see if what you have is making you unclean. An outside perspective can help you ascertain if what you have is getting worse and spreading and infecting others or if it’s fading away.

In the next chapter you’re going to see my favorite thing in the whole of Leviticus – the Law of the Cleansing of the Leper. In my opinion, it is THE most prophetic, detailed object lesson among all the offerings and rituals in the Law. It’s a beautiful picture of the One Who was to come and provide the cleansing for the leprosy of sin.