Hebrew word for leprosy tsara'at: An attack, from the word meaning "to scourge." Related to the word hornet. Exodus 23:28, Deuteronomy 7:20, Joshua 24:12
"A traditional, general term covering a wide variety of maladies. Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease which destroyed the human flesh." Possible skin disorders covered here: leprosy, Hansen's Disease, different kinds of skin disorders which appeared like leprosy but disappeared; herpes, ringworm, ezema, psoriasis
Sometimes a mark of Divine displeasure as seen in Exodus 4:6, Numbers 12:10, 2 Samuel 3:29, 2 Kings 5:27
NOTE: Items cannot get true leprosy, only flesh can. 13:47 and 14:34 clearly discuss clothing and houses. Therefore, that can't be specific leprosy
Verse 2: Also shows the theme of the chapter; one who has something on his skin, swelling, a scab, bright spot
Verses 3-8: Two different problems described here - Minor because the disorder wasn't severe and isolation was short. Major in verse 7, "spread at all" indicates seriousness
Ritual period of 7 days is common in Leviticus: 8:33; 12:2; 14:8; 15:13, 28; 23:6, 25:4. "7" appears 176 times in this book!
Isolation example - See King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:21
Verses 9, 11, 15: "unclean" Seven times in this one chapter a person is declared unclean. Verses 11, 15, 36, 44, 46, 51, 55
Case 1 in verses 9-17 A swelling of the skin
Case 2 in verses 18-23 A boil on the skin
Case 3 in verses 24-28 A burn on the skin
Case 4 in verses 29-37 Infections on the head
Case 5 in verses 38-39 Bright spots
Case 6 in verses 40-44 Infection on a bald head
Verses 45-46: Consequences of the disease
The rules to this point have stated that people were to be classified as leprous and pronounced unclean but until now we're not told what was to happen to them
Tear their clothes, uncover the hair on the head (disheveled?), cover mustache, cry "unclean, unclean," live outside the camp
See the 10 diseased men with Jesus in Luke 17:11-14
Other examples of Israelites excluded due to disease: Miriam in Numbers 12 and Four Lepers of Samaria in 2 Kings 7
Verses 47-59: Clothing and Garments
Dealing with mold, mildew and fungus
Verse 55: "warp or in the woof"
Only place this is found in the Bible. NIV says, "woven" or knitted. Knitting wasn't invented until the Middle Ages.
A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament says, "Set of threads drawn lengthwise in the loom through which the shuttle bearing the wool is woven."
Meaning...any part of the garment!
Application: A person's uncleanness belonged to that person and only that person
Purge it out! "If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:47
Not every diseased person was sinful but the analogy still holds
Sin contaminates and ultimately destroys those who practice it
Can a person "catch" sin? A sinful environment doesn't make one a sinner. (Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon)
We need to be among sinners (Jesus was), to teach them
Yet it can be contagious. Why did Paul write 1 Corinthians 15:33? "Bad company corrupts good morals
Sin isn't contagious because it can't be inherited (Ezekiel 18)
Sin is contagious if we allow others to influence us
No comments:
Post a Comment