Leprosy, like sin, is tenacious. It will not only inflict individuals; it can get into homes, too. Have you ever had a house inspection? It isn’t just done for new construction; it also occurs when we buy a used residence. The inspector checks for everything from termite damage to roof rot, and from leaky gas […]
Suddenly all these healed lepers! And just when this rabbi from Nazareth claims Messiahship! When we began this study of the subject of leprosy nine lessons ago, I mentioned that some of the verses in Leviticus 13 and 14 would be like time-release capsules. I suggested the application of them wouldn’t take effect until the […]
“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who like me His praise should sing?” (H.F. Lyte) If you thought after the last lesson that a person who had been declared healed of his leprosy was now free to carry on life as usual, you’ve got another thing coming. Not yet! For seven days, the person was back in […]
Like floor plans and elevations, sometimes we need more than one view to get the whole picture. Let’s face it—miracles are hard to draw. For example, how would you illustrate this verse: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I […]
Like Naaman the Syrian, you could be young, rich, powerful—but if a leper, it all meant nothing. When word came to the priest that someone appeared to have been healed of leprosy, “the priest shall go out of the camp, and…examine him” (Lev 14:3). The priest must go to the person; they couldn’t yet come […]
Imagine the joy of a once-leprous sufferer when the priest “shall pronounce him clean” (Lev 14:7)! Leviticus 14, although the subject is still leprosy, is a very happy chapter. In it, God anticipated the day when people, formerly leprosy patients, would be declared clean! Thus the chapter begins, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, […]
The unwelcome sensation of pain is actually our friend, warning us that something needs help. Until quite recently, it was thought that the hands and feet of people with leprosy disintegrated as a direct result of the disease. That was until Dr Paul Brand, son of missionary parents to southwest India, returned in 1946 to […]
We must constantly be on guard for the tell-tale signs of sin’s effect in ourselves and those we love. Ninety-six times in Leviticus chapters 11-15, the word unclean is used. Thankfully, its opposite, clean, which is God’s objective, also occurs 49 times. This was the desire of the man “full of leprosy” who met Jesus […]