Leviticus 13:9-17: a reflection

9“When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest; 10and the priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is already unclean. 12“If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest, 13then the priest shall examine him. Behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean. 14But whenever raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean. 15The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. 16Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest. 17The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean of the plague. He is clean.

This part of the law gives detailed instructions for the priest to examine a person with a serious skin disease and to declare whether they are clean or unclean. It can feel remote and clinical to us, but behind the procedures lies a concern for the whole community and for the person afflicted. The condition had to be brought into the open, examined by the priest, named honestly, before anything could be done. Nothing could be hidden or ignored.

There is a picture here of how sin works and how it must be handled. Like the disease in this chapter, sin spreads, defiles, and cannot be dealt with while it stays concealed. It has to be brought into the light, exposed to the one appointed to examine it, honestly named for what it is. The elaborate care of these laws reflects a God who takes seriously what corrupts his people and who provides a way for it to be identified and, ultimately, cleansed.

The gospel completes the picture these laws could only sketch. We have a great high priest, Jesus, to whom we can bring what defiles us, not to be pronounced hopelessly unclean but to be cleansed. The lesson for you is the same one the leper had to learn: do not hide the disease. Bring your sin honestly into the light before Christ, name it truthfully, and let the one true priest deal with it. What is confessed can be cleansed; what is hidden only spreads.

Lord, like a disease that must be brought into the light, my sin cannot be healed while I hide it. Give me the honesty to bring it openly to Christ, my great high priest, rather than concealing it. Thank you that you do not pronounce me hopelessly unclean but offer to cleanse me. What I confess, you can heal; so I bring it to you now. Amen.