Chapter 13:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Exodus Numbers
Leviticus 13
Concise Complete
Directions to the priest to judge concerning leprosy.
(1-17) Further directions. (18-44) How the leper must be disposed of. (45,46)
The leprosy in garments. (47-59)Verses 1-17
The plague of leprosy was an uncleanness, rather than a disease. Christ is said
to cleanse lepers, not to cure them. Common as the leprosy was among the
Hebrews, during and after their residence in Egypt, we have no reason to believe
that it was known among them before. Their distressed state and employment in
that land must have rendered them liable to disease. But it was a plague often
inflicted immediately by the hand of God. Miriam's leprosy, and Gehazi's, and
king Uzziah's, were punishments of particular sins; no marvel there was care
taken to distinguish it from a common distemper. The judgment of it was referred
to the priests. And it was a figure of the moral pollutions of men's minds by
sin, which is the leprosy of the soul, defiling to the conscience, and from
which Christ alone can cleanse. The priest could only convict the leper, (by the
law is the knowledge of sin,) but Christ can cure the sinner, he can take away
sin. It is a work of great importance, but of great difficulty, to judge of our
spiritual state. We all have cause to suspect ourselves, being conscious of
sores and spots; but whether clean or unclean is the question. As there were
certain marks by which to know it was leprosy, so there are marks of such as are
in the gall of bitterness. The priest must take time in making his judgment.
This teaches all, both ministers and people, not to be hasty in censures, nor to
judge anything before the time. If some men's sins go before unto judgment, the
sins of others follow after, and so do men's good works. If the person suspected
were found to be clean, yet he must wash his clothes, because there had been
ground for the suspicion. We have need to be washed in the blood of Christ from
our spots, though not leprosy spots; for who can say, I am pure from sin?
Verses 18-44
The priest is told what judgment to make, if there were any appearance of a
leprosy in old sores; and such is the danger of those who having escaped the
pollutions of the world are again entangled therein. Or, in a burn by accident,
ver.
24. The
burning of strife and contention often occasions the rising and breaking out of
that corruption, which proves that men are unclean. Human life lies exposed to
many grievances. With what troops of diseases are we beset on every side; and
thy all entered by sin! If the constitution be healthy, and the body lively and
easy, we are bound to glorify God with our bodies. Particular note was taken of
the leprosy, if in the head. If the leprosy of sin has seized the head; if the
judgment be corrupted, and wicked principles, which support wicked practices,
are embraced, it is utter uncleanness, from which few are cleansed. Soundness in
the faith keeps leprosy from the head.
Verses 45-46
When the priest had pronounced the leper unclean, it put a stop to his business
in the world, cut him off from his friends and relations, and ruined all the
comfort he could have in the world. He must humble himself under the mighty hand
of God, not insisting upon his cleanness, when the priest had pronounced him
unclean, but accepting the punishment. Thus must we take to ourselves the shame
that belongs to us, and with broken hearts call ourselves "Unclean, unclean;"
heart unclean, life unclean; unclean by original corruption, unclean by actual
transgression; unclean, therefore deserving to be for ever shut out from
communion with God, and all hope of happiness in him; unclean, therefore undone,
if infinite mercy do not interpose. The leper must warn others to take heed of
coming near him. He must then be shut out of the camp, and afterward, when they
came to Canaan, be shut out of the city, town, or village where he lived, and
dwell with none but those that were lepers like himself. This typified the
purity which ought to be in the gospel church.
Verses 47-59
The garment suspected to be tainted with leprosy was not to be burned
immediately. If, upon search, it was found that there was a leprous spot, it
must be burned, or at least that part of it. If it proved to be free, it must be
washed, and then might be used. This also sets forth the great evil there is in
sin. It not only defiles the sinner's conscience, but it brings a stain upon all
he has and all that he does. And those who make their clothes servants to their
pride and lust, may see them thereby tainted with leprosy. But the robes of
righteousness never fret, nor are moth-eaten.
Chapter 13:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Exodus Numbers
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
