In Lev. 14:33-57 we see the leprosy in the house, which signifies the sins and evils in the church; there may be leprosy in the church, and the Lord wants to heal it for the church to be the house of the living God in reality.
The disease of leprosy is a very ugly and horrible thing, which in the old times disfigured people and had them ostracised from the society.
The Lord chose to liken the disease of leprosy to the problem that we have before God; we are sinners and rebellious, and there’s sins in our behavior (typified by the garments) and in our very being (typified by the flesh).
In Lev. 14 we see the way ordained by God to cleanse the leprous person, garment, or house, and the details mentioned in this portion apply to us in the spiritual realm.
The leprous person had to offer some offerings (typifying Christ as the reality of all the offerings), wash (typifying the washing of the water in the word), and shave his hair (typifying the application of the cross of Christ to the self and the natural life), and he was cleansed.
It is very interesting that the Bible doesn’t talk about a cure or a therapy that can heal this disease, but it talks about thorough examination of the priest and a thorough cleansing and dealing.
Our flesh can be leprous, our behaviour can be leprous, and the church can have leprosy. We are very grateful to the Lord for the ministry of the age which interprets and properly applies the word of God to our situation.
According to the Lord’s ordination, there is a priest (a God-appointed sent one or sent ones) who can examine the situation, and the priest gives the verdict; if the person, garment, or house has leprosy, it is to be isolated, but when the leprosy is healed, there’s a process of cleansing and reintegration into the people of God.
These matters in Leviticus are not just types, stories, laws, and ordinances, but they are very real and experiential, being applicable to our situation today.
In God’s eyes, all sinners are leprous, and the Lord came to touch us, sympathise with us, and heal us, so that we may be His people, the citizens of the kingdom of the heavens.
Again and again in the gospels we see the Lord encountering one or more lepers, and He was filled with compassion and healed them.
The Lord is willing to cleanse us, but we need to come to Him, believe into Him, take Him as our only solution, take Him as our replacement before God – the reality of all the offerings, confess our sin and rebellion, and apply the precious blood of Christ.
Also, we need to cooperate with the Lord to allow His cross to deal with the difficulties of our self and the natural life.
God’s Prescription to Deal with Leprosy in the House, the Sins and Evils in the Church
In Leviticus 14:33-57 the house typifies the church as our real home, and the leprosy in the house signifies the sins and evils in the church. The house is a type of the church, our home.
The priest who comes to examine the house to see the situation signifies the Lord or the apostle coming to examine; this kind of examination, however, is not a matter of condemnation but rather, it is a kind of grace for healing.
God doesn’t want to expose the evil situation and condemn; He wants to come in and deal with the leprosy in the house so that healing may come in by His grace.
Whether it is the flesh of a single leper or the leprosy in the house, the person has to be brought to the priest or the priest had to come; the serving one of God has a role, and he or them represent God, being His deputy authority; their coming and observation is with grace for healing.
Lev. 14:39-40 shows that there’s a complete period of time for observation, after which time, if the stones in the house are still leprous and the leprosy has spread, then those stones and the stones around it had to be removed and put outside the city in an unclean place.
This signifies that, after the observation of a complete period of time, if the problem of the church still persists and is spreading, the believer or believers involved in the problem should be removed from the fellowship of the church and can be considered unclean, like the outsiders (see 1 Cor. 5).
This is done to stop the spread of the disease and to eliminate the disease.
Paul speaks of this in Rom. 16:17 where he says that we should turn away from those who make divisions and cause stumbling among the saints. And in Titus 3:10 Paul says that a factious man, after a first and second admonition, we should refuse and reject.
There are times even in the Lord’s recovery when the condition of the church is abnormal, and the local church may be so leprous that a local church is non-existent, that is, no longer a church in the eyes of God, and its testimony was terminated….
The key thing we need to realize here is that leprosy is a contagious disease and is infectious. Even today we can physically get bacterial leprosy by means of sneezing or airborne particles.
It is very important that the leprosy in the house would be completely dealt with and removed, that is, the infected persons need to be removed or put aside, and the situation has to be observed for a complete period of time until that problem is really healed.
If the situation is not removed and the leprosy in the house is not terminated, that is, the problem is not healed, then the persons involved may even have to be removed from the fellowship. We need to tell the Lord Jesus,
Lord, have mercy on us and keep us in the realm of life, enjoying You as life and taking the way of life. Save us from divisions, factions, or causing stumbling for the saints. Lord Jesus, keep us in the fellowship of the Body and in the sweet flow of life in the Body of Christ. Keep us in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, and keep us enjoying Your grace until any problems are swallowed up in life and the church is healed. Amen, Lord, bring healing in the church, and heal the saints and all the situations, so that we may be the church as the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth!
The Renewing of the Church with New Experiences and New Saints for the Church to be Healed
When some stones that were infected with leprosy were removed from the house, some new stones were put in their place (Lev. 14:42); this signifies that the Lord brings in new believers (1 Pet. 2:5) to fill the gap, when some are being put aside for a while.
Then, the house had to be re-plastered with other plaster, signifying the renewing of the church with new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works. All this is needed for a new start in the church life.
The Lord’s prescription for the leprosy in the house is the total scraping away of the infected stones, and the re-plastering of the house completely, after some new stones were put in to fill the gap.
All this refers to the new believers which the Lord brings in, and the new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works, which are needed for a new start in the church life.
The way the Lord deals with the leprosy in the house is not by applying a band-aid or lotion, or by doing some local surgery on the problem; rather, He quarantines and isolates the stones that are infected, and He brings in new materials to fill the gap, and He gives new experiences of the Lord’s grace so that there would be a new start in the church life.
This is the experience that some of the local churches had; there was a certain infection, a disease, which was examined by the Lord’s sent ones, and the situation was very much prayed for and cared for.
However, because the situation didn’t improve but a particular person or group of persons even spread more disease around them, and there were turmoils, there was a quarantining of those who were involved, and new believers were brought in by the Lord’s mercy, and new experiences of the Lord’s grace were found.
Praise the Lord, who knows the real situation, and who comes in to heal the leprosy in the house in His way!
However, if the leprosy returns even after the removing of the infected stones, the bringing in of new stones, and the re-plastering of the house, then the house had to be broken down (Lev. 14:45).
This signifies that, if the situation of the church reaches the point where it cannot be cured, healed, that church should be terminated.
This is what the Lord told the church in Ephesus, that if they don’t return to the first love and do the first works, He will come and remove the lampstand from them (see Lev. 2:5). This is very serious.
The outward shell of the church may remain, people may still meet in a certain place and go through some routines, but the inward testimony is absent, it is gone.
May the Lord make all the churches in His recovery clean churches, filled with clean people, so that we all can partake of and enjoy God, living a rejoicing life in the church life.
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. Praise the Lord!
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 (see Lev. 14:48-53; Heb. 9:14; 10:22; 1 John 1:9; Titus 3:5; John 14:2, 23).
Lord Jesus, renew the church and renew all the saints with new experiences of Your gracious works so that the church would be clean and with no problem. May the whole church be cleansed with the eternally efficacious blood of Christ and His eternal and living Spirit so that the church would be fully clean to be the mutual dwelling of God and man. Amen, Lord, bring in healing and renewing in all the local churches, and may all the local churches be full of clean people who partake of God, enjoy God, live a holy life, and rejoice in the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 44 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Leviticus (2), week 5, The Cleansing of Leprosy.
- Hymns on this topic:
# I would cease completely / From my efforts vain, / Let Thy life transform me, / Full release to gain; / Build me up with others / Till in us Thou see / Thy complete expression / Glorifying Thee. (Hymns #841)
# Lord, may Thy blood now cleanse me, / Wash all my sins away, / That with Thy Holy Spirit / Thou may anoint, I pray. / My service, I confess, Lord, / Is failure-full and weak; / The filling of Thy Spirit / To live for Thee I seek. (Hymns #280)
# Oh, purify us, Lord, by speaking in our heart; / Thy living, spoken word this washing will impart. / Increase Thy speaking, Lord, and cleanse our every part. / Oh, purify us, Lord, we pray. / Oh, purify us, Lord, today; / Wash all our natural life away. (Hymns #1135)
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