Unclean (Leviticus 13)
Leviticus 13:45 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.
Leviticus 13 contains instructions for how the priests were to identify genuine leprosy so that those with this disease (uncurable at that time) could be separated from society. The impact of infection was as follows: 1) be pronounced utterly unclean, 2) rend his clothes, 3) uncover his head, 4) put a covering on his upper lip, 5) cry “Unclean, unclean!”, 6) be undefiled all the days he has the plague, and 7) dwell alone, outside the camp of Israel.
Leprosy has always been a picture of sin for the following reasons: 1) sin totally and complete corrupts us, 2) sin spreads, 3) sin is deeper than the surface – comes from the very heart of a person, 4) sin breaks out in all sorts of sores and disgusting behaviour, and 5) sin separates us from others. Isaiah 1:4-6 likens sin to the plague of leprosy.
Isaiah 1:4-6 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
The good news is that God can cure even the worst of diseases. Leviticus 14 is the law of the leper’s cleansing, which details the offerings made to celebrate his cleaning. Jesus is the cure for man’s incurable disease of sin. His name means “God saves” because He came to “save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). He was never afraid to touch lepers and had the power to cleanse them (Matt 1:40-45). He cleanses us with His precious blood. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live a holy life. He brings us back into fellowship with God and man. There is a cure. No longer do you have to be Unclean!
1 John 1:7 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.