Hey, what does this spot look like to you?

When I recently told a friend that I’ve been studying the book of Leviticus for the past couple of weeks, my mock-appreciation for his mock-sympathy was sincere. No doubt, this book of God’s instructions on sacrifices, priestly duties, purity and holiness can be a dull and tedious read.

Still, among all the minute details are some pretty intriguing revelations, if we keep our eyelids open long enough to find them. One example is the laws on women and childbirth in chapter twelve where I was first surprised to find just eight verses. That’s hardly noteworthy, but more interesting is the discovery that boys are cleaner than girls, at least according to how long it took for the mother to be clean after giving birth to each. (I don’t make this stuff up!)

But it’s another example among these purity laws God gave to Israel to set them apart from other nations that I’m exploring here. Flipping from chapter twelve to thirteen, I felt like I landed in the middle of a very big leper colony because, compared to chapter twelve’s eight verses, the 116 verses in the next two chapters are all about leprosy. Wouldn’t that keep you awake, too? Maybe not, but I was committed and because it’s clearly a deep subject, I had to dig into leprosy to find some useful nuggets. (I just shivered a bit at that visual, also.)

Here’s the deal—some people had leprosy back then and some people have leprosy today, but they’re not exactly the same thing. Today’s version, known as Hansen’s Disease, is a bacterial infection that affects the skin and nerves. The Leviticus version of leprosy was a broader spiritual affliction coming from a Hebrew word meaning “a mark or a striking; or touched” and God’s people saw it as His marking a person because of a particular sin.

Just like Hansen’s disease, Israel’s leprosy still needed to be treated. Because it was a spiritual infliction, even if with medical consequences, a suspicious mark on your body required a priest’s diagnosis instead of a doctor’s. As he inspected the person, he looked for the following to determine if the mark was leprosy or a scab:

• A mark (or, sore) that was “deeper than the skin”

• Evidence of the mark spreading

• The presence of raw flesh

In its simplest Old Testament description, a leprosy diagnosis stigmatized a person as “struck by the justice of God” and sent them into isolation for “cleansing.” Fortunately, we don’t see that kind of leprosy today, or do we…?

There is still sin, God still doesn’t like it, and we will be isolated from Him if our sin is not cleansed. That sounds more like the Old Testament spiritual leprosy than Hansen’s Disease. If it does still exist, then, it seems we could diagnose it like those priests did by looking for the following:

• A mark “deeper than the skin” that settles in our soul

• Evidence of the sin spreading, and moving us into other sins

• Raw flesh, in the sense of combating the healing Word of the Spirit

Granted, these are abstract signs rather than the physical conditions the priests looked for, but that does not deny the condition. Instead, it only means we need to look that much closer to find evidence of our spiritual leprosy.

If we find that evidence, it affects us like it did the Israelites of Moses’ time. We are “stigmatized” by our sins in the eyes of others, if they see it and if it’s a social taboo like theft, abuse of others, adultery, etc. But our sin also isolates us from Christ and “stigmatizes” us in God eyes, at least in the sense of that word’s definition— “to be seen as worthy of great disapproval.” He still loves us, of course, and provides a way for us to return to Him, just like He did for His people in Leviticus:

“Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away…” (Acts 3:19).

Cleansing for the spiritual leper (i.e., sinner) today may be much easier than what the Israelites endured. For one thing, Peter’s words in Acts put it in our hands rather than a select group of priests. But even if it still sounds daunting, the Good News is that Christ can heal us just like He healed the leper in Matthew 8:1-4:

A leper came to him …saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Do you see the remedy in this passage? The leper didn’t say, “if you can,” but “if you will.” He knew Jesus could heal him, just not if He would, and because he knew He could, He did. We still need to perform the self-inspection for spiritual leprosy and diagnose what we find by claiming, confessing and repenting. But to be fully cleansed, we need to know that Christ can heal us because of His actions on the cross and then ask Him to do so.

That would be a great place to end this message, if not for one more twist. In verses 12 and 13 (still in Leviticus 13), we find out how the Israelites knew when their cleansing was complete. The gist of what God says there is this, “If the leprosy covers from head to foot, the priest shall pronounce him clean.”

So, let’s get this straight. A person has suspicious spots, the priest inspects him, he gets diagnosed as a leper, goes into isolation and then, when his body is fully covered with spots… TA DA!, he’s pronounced clean? Oh, God and His mysteries… But it doesn’t need to be mysterious. (Interjected prayer: Thank you, God, for the resources that help us study your Word, so that we may reconcile things we don’t understand.)

Here’s why it doesn’t have to be a mystery. Sin is at its worst when hidden, especially if from the sinner themselves because they contaminate the soul in secret. It being uncovered, then, is a good thing. But being like marks that cover a whole body and can spread no more, our exposed sin is treatable, and we can be made clean.

The good news is, at least I don’t have to wait twelve months between “spiritual” check-ups.