Leprosy in the Bible

The first time I heard about leprosy as a spiritual sin due to rebellion was when a rebellion actually happened in the local church where I was recovered into the church life when I was a student fifteen years ago. Later, through the ministry of the word, the truth and spiritual significance concerning leprosy has become clearer and clearer. My appreciation of this subject became so enjoyable when I entered into the in-depth study on the Crystallization-study of Leviticus and when I studied point by point in the Holy Word for Morning Revival. Every day for the past week as I enjoyed the Lord's speaking I could not help but share it to some select group of believers. Finally, what I shared became a whole message; all credit to the minister of the age who ministered the ministry of the word and the publisher, Living Stream Ministry.

Leviticus 13:2-3When a man has a swelling or an eruption or a bright spot on the skin of his body, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. And the priest shall look at the infection in the skin of the body; and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the appearance of the infection is deeper than the skin of his body, it is the infection of leprosy. When the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Leprosy signifies the serious sin issuing from within man, such as willful sin, presumptuous sin, and opposing God with determination (Lev. 13).

As seen in the cases of Miriam (Num. 12:1-10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27), and Uzziah (2 Charon. 26:16-21), leprosy issues from rebellion against God’s authority, against God’s deputy authority, against God’s regulation,and against God’s economy.

In the biblical sense, sin is rebellion; thus, leprosy signifies sin (1 John 3:4). The first case of sin in the Bible was Satan’s rebellion against God; hence, sin as rebellion was invented, inaugurated, by the rebellious archangel Lucifer (Ezek. 28:13-18; Isa. 14:12-15). Eventually, this sin, this leprosy, entered into mankind through Adam, and having entered into man, it issues from within man as many kinds of sins, that is, many manifestations of rebellion (Rom. 5:12, 19a; 7:20). Hence, a leper represents the fallen descendants of Adam, all of whom are lepers; as signs of leprosy, a swelling, eruption, or a bright spot on the skin of one’s flesh signifies man’s outward expressions in unruliness, in friction with others, and in pride and self-exaltation (Lev. 13:2). The condition in Leviticus 13:24-25 signifies that a saved person’s acting by the flesh, that is, his losing his temper, his justifying himself, and his not being willing to forgive others, is a sign of spiritual leprosy.

The Cleansing of the Lepers

Leviticus 14:1-3Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest, And the priest shall go forth outside the camp. Then the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper.

The matter of [the] cleansing [of the leper] is the all-inclusive salvation God has prepared and accomplished for us. Here we see a Christ who is all-inclusive. He has the blood, the Spirit, and everything we need to be cleansed. In Him we have the rich, complete, and extensive provision of God’s salvation. We all need to know this cleansing, this salvation, and experience it in full.

The leper being brought to the priest [in Leviticus 14:2] signifies an unclean person being brought to the Lord. In preaching the gospel we are actually bringing unclean persons, sinners, to the Lord. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 365)

The priest going outside the camp to examine the leper (Lev. 14:3a) signifies the Lord Jesus leaving His original place and humbling Himself to be nigh to the sinner.…

Seeking for Healing and Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy

In Leviticus 14:4-9 we see that the leper who was to be cleansed needed to seek for cleansing before God. This signifies that the one who is sick of the sin of leprosy, although he has been healed by the life within, still needs to have his shortcomings and defilement dealt with before God that he might be cleansed. Cleansing from leprosy requires not only the action from God’s side but also the coordination from our side. As lepers, as sinners, we need to seek for cleansing. Our seeking is our cooperation with God’s grace and love.

Healing and Cleansing

The one who had been healed of leprosy still needed to be cleansed. To be healed is one thing, and to be cleansed is another.

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Two Living Clean Birds

Leviticus 14:4-5Then the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet strands and hyssop be taken for the one who is to be cleansed. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered in an earthen vessel over running water.

These two birds,which are clean and full of life, are types of Christ. Christ is here typified by the bird life, the life that is able to fly in the air above the earth.

Birds

Birds are able to transcend the earth. The birds in verse 4 signify that Christ came from the heavens and that He belongs to the heavens and transcends the earth.

Living

The live birds signify that Christ is full of life. He is living because He is full of life.…

Clean

The clean birds here signify that only Christ is clean and is without any defilement. In this matter, Christ and we are opposite. With us everything is unclean; with Him everything is clean. We are uncleanness, but He is cleanness.

Two

The two birds signify, on the one hand, that Christ died for us that our filthiness might be taken away and, on the other hand, that He rose for us that we might be delivered from our weakness. Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. This is typified by the first bird. Christ rose from among the dead for us that we might be delivered from our weakness by the power, strength, and energy of life. This life is the resurrection life, life in resurrection. It is also the divine life, the eternal, uncreated life of God. We receive this life from the resurrected Christ, who is typified by the second bird. Hence, these two birds signify two aspects of Christ—Christ in crucifixion and Christ in resurrection. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 365-367)

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Cedar Wood, Hyssop, Scarlet Strands, Earthen Vessel Over Running Water, Sprinkling of Blood

Leviticus 14:5-7And the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood and the scarlet strands and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the running water. And he shall sprinkle it on the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean. Then he shall let the living bird go into the open field.

Cedar Wood

Cedar wood (cf. 1 Kings 4:33) signifies the honorable and uplifted humanity of Jesus, which enables Him to be our Savior. 

Hyssop

Hyssop, being one of the smallest plants, signifies that the Lord Jesus was willing to become lowly in His “becoming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7) that He might be near to man and become man’s Savior (cf. Matt. 8:2-3). 

Scarlet

Scarlet, a dark red color, signifies the shedding of blood and also implies kingship (27:28-29).

All of this signifies that in order to cleanse us from our leprosy, the Lord lowered Himself to become a man of high standard but of low status that He might do the will of God and shed His blood on the cross for our redemption, thereby being glorified in His resurrection and becoming the honorable and high King (Phil. 2:5-11).

Earthen Vessel and Living Water

The earthen vessel signifies the humanity of Jesus (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7), and the living water signifies the living and eternal Spirit of God (John 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1); the bird being killed in an earthen vessel over living water signifies that through His death in His humanity the Lord Jesus offered Himself to God through the eternal and living Spirit who was within Him (Heb. 9:14).

Hebrews 9:14How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Sprinkling of Blood

The sprinkling of the blood of the slain bird on the leper who was to be cleansed signifies that the blood shed by Christ was sprinkled on us, the sinners (1 Pet. 1:2), and this sprinkling connects us to Christ, the Redeemer; the sprinkling of the blood seven times signifies the completeness of the cleansing of the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9).

Leviticus 14:6-7a…signifies that the Lord’s perfect redemption not only causes man to be cleansed objectively in his position, but also causes man to experience subjectively in the Holy Spirit the Lord’s suffering in shedding His blood in His noble, high, and lowly humanity, and to experience His death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification. All these matters are implied in the type. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 368-369) 

The Process of Cleansing from Our Spiritual Leprosy: Washing Clothes and Shaving Hair

Leviticus 14:8-9And the one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but he shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

This signifies that, on the one hand, a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to experience Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension and, on the other hand, he needs to bear the responsibility himself to deal with and cut off all that is of his old 9living and natural life. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 371)

The leper has to “shave off all his hair…and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean” (v. 9). The hair, which is something grown out from a man’s body, signifies the difficulties within ourselves. Therefore, shaving the hair means dealing with the difficulties of our own self.This is the work of the cross in dealing with our being. After one passes through the dealing of the cross, his whole being is cleansed in a practical way. This kind of dealing is not once for all; it must be repeated again and again to become thorough.

The shaving of the hair of the leper for his cleansing signifies dealing with the difficulties of the self, which is the enemy of the Body; *the razor signifies the cross* (Lev. 14:9).

Hair

The hair of the head signifies the glory of man; everyone has his boasts in certain areas; some boast of their ancestry, some of their education, some of their virtues, some of their zeal in their love for the Lord; almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, and to make a display before man.

Beard

The beard signifies the honor of man; people esteem themselves honorable with regard to their position, their family background, or even their spirituality; they always have a superior feeling that they are above others. The eyebrows signify the beauty of man; we have naturally good and strong points, which did not issue from the experience of God’s salvation but from natural birth.

Body

The hair of the whole body signifies the natural strength of man; we are full of natural strength, natural methods and opinions, thinking that we can do this or that for the Lord and that we are capable of doing all things.

When all the aspects of the self are dealt with through the “razor” of the cross, and when we have nothing and are nothing, we shall be clean (cf. Phil. 3:7-11). We should utterly reject the self by doing everything through the cross and by the Spirit to dispense Christ into one another for the sake of the Body of Christ.

The leper’s shaving of his entire body, washing his clothes, and bathing his flesh a second time after waiting and watching seven days (Lev.14:9) signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to bear the responsibility for dealing with every part of his natural life and daily walk; this shows that if we deal with our sin and our sinful self seriously, in a definite, thorough, and absolute way, we shall be clean.

The Process of Cleansing Our Spiritual Leprosy in the Church

The house in Leviticus 14…typifies the church as our house, our home, and the leprosy in a house signifies sins and evils in the church (vv. 33-48).…[Verse 36b] signifies that the Lord or the apostle comes to examine. This kind of examination is not a matter of condemnation; rather, it is a kind of grace for healing.…[Leviticus 14:39-40] signifies that after the observation of a complete period of time, if the problem of the church is still spreading, the believer or believers involved in the problem should be removed from the fellowship of the church and be considered unclean, like the outsiders (cf. 1 Cor. 5). This means that when the church is sick of a certain disease, the elders should first observe the situation. If the problem is becoming worse, the source of the problem—the believer or believers who have become involved in the disease—should be removed from the fellowship, the communication, of the church in order to stop the spread of the disease and to eliminate the disease. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 385, 387-388)

Remove

Leviticus 14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take out the stones on which the infection is and throw them away outside the city into an unclean place.

Romans 16:17 Now I exhort you, brothers, to mark those who make divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them.

Titus 3:10 A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse.

The removing of the infected stones after seven days (Lev. 14:40) signifies that after the observation of a complete period of time, if the problem of the church is still spreading, the believer or believers involved in the problem should be removed from the fellowship of the church and be considered unclean, like the outsiders; this is done to stop the spread of the disease and to eliminate the disease (Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:10).

Replace

Leviticus 14:42 And they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

Putting other stones in the place of the removed stones (Lev. 14:42a) signifies using other believers (1 Pet. 2:5) to fill in the gap.

Renew

The replastering of the house with other plaster (Lev. 14:42b) signifies the renewing of the church with new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works; this is needed for a new start in the church life.

Break Down

Leviticus 14:45 And he shall break down the house, its stones and its timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall bring them outside the city into an unclean place.

The breaking down of the house after the infection of leprosy returns (v. 45) signifies that if the situation of the church reaches the point where it cannot be cured, healed, that church should be terminated (cf. Rev. 2:5).

Healed and Cleansed

Leviticus 14:48 But if on the other hand the priest comes in and looks, and if the infection has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the infection has been healed.

If no sin is spreading after the renewing of the church with the new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works, the church is clean and has no problem; the whole church needs to be cleansed with the eternally efficacious blood of Christ and His eternal and living Spirit so that the church is fully clean to be the mutual dwelling of God and man (Lev. 14:48-53; Heb. 9:14; 10:22; 1 John 1:9; Titus 3:5; John 14:2, 23).