mh_parser/vol_split/3 - Leviticus/Chapter 14.xml

<div2 id="Lev.xv" n="xv" next="Lev.xvi" prev="Lev.xiv" progress="56.21%" title="Chapter XIV">
<h2 id="Lev.xv-p0.1">L E V I T I C U S</h2>
<h3 id="Lev.xv-p0.2">CHAP. XIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Lev.xv-p1">The former chapter directed the priests how to
convict a leper of ceremonial uncleanness. No prescriptions are
given for his cure; but, when God had cured him, the priests are in
this chapter directed how to cleanse him. The remedy here is only
adapted to the ceremonial part of his disease; but the authority
Christ gave to his ministers was to cure the lepers, and so to
cleanse them. We have here, I. The solemn declaration of the
leper's being clean, with the significant ceremony attending it,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.1-Lev.14.9" parsed="|Lev|14|1|14|9" passage="Le 14:1-9">ver. 1-9</scripRef>. II. The
sacrifices which he was to offer to God eight days after, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.10-Lev.14.32" parsed="|Lev|14|10|14|32" passage="Le 14:10-32">ver. 10-32</scripRef>. III. The management of
a house in which appeared signs of a leprosy, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.33-Lev.14.53" parsed="|Lev|14|33|14|53" passage="Le 14:33-53">ver. 33-53</scripRef>. And the conclusion and summary
of this whole matter, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.54-Lev.14.57" parsed="|Lev|14|54|14|57" passage="Le 14:54-57">ver.
54</scripRef>, &amp;c.</p>
<scripCom id="Lev.xv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14" parsed="|Lev|14|0|0|0" passage="Le 14" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Lev.xv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.1-Lev.14.9" parsed="|Lev|14|1|14|9" passage="Le 14:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.14.1-Lev.14.9">
<h4 id="Lev.xv-p1.7">The Law Concerning Leprosy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p1.8">b. c.</span> 1490.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xv-p2">1 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p2.1">Lord</span>
spake unto Moses, saying,   2 This shall be the law of the
leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the
priest:   3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and
the priest shall look, and, behold, <i>if</i> the plague of leprosy
be healed in the leper;   4 Then shall the priest command to
take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive <i>and</i>
clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:   5 And the
priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen
vessel over running water:   6 As for the living bird, he
shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop,
and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird
<i>that was</i> killed over the running water:   7 And he
shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy
seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the
living bird loose into the open field.   8 And he that is to
be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and
wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he
shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent
seven days.   9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he
shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his
eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash
his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be
clean.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p3">Here, I. It is supposed that the plague of
the leprosy was not an incurable disease. Uzziah's indeed continued
to the day of his death, and Gehazi's was entailed upon his seed;
but Miriam's lasted only seven days: we may suppose that it often
wore off in process of time. Though God contend long, he will
<i>not contend for ever.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p4">II. The judgment of the cure, as well as
that of the disease, was referred to the priest. He must go out of
the camp to the leper, to see whether his leprosy was healed,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.3" parsed="|Lev|14|3|0|0" passage="Le 14:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. And we may
suppose the priest did not contract any ceremonial uncleanness by
coming near the leper, as another person would. It was in mercy to
the poor lepers that the priests particularly had orders to attend
them, for <i>the priests' lips should keep knowledge;</i> and those
in affliction have need to be instructed both how to bear their
afflictions and how to reap benefit by them, have need of the word,
in concurrence with the rod, to bring them to repentance; therefore
it is well for those that are sick if they have these messengers of
the Lord of hosts with them, these interpreters, to <i>show unto
them God's uprightness,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.33.23" parsed="|Job|33|23|0|0" passage="Job 33:23">Job
xxxiii. 23</scripRef>. When the leper was shut out, and could not
go to the priests, it was well that the priests might come to him.
<i>Is any sick? Let him send for the elders,</i> the ministers,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Jas.5.14" parsed="|Jas|5|14|0|0" passage="Jam 5:14">Jam. v. 14</scripRef>. If we apply it
to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it intimates that when we withdraw
from those who walk disorderly, that they may be ashamed, we must
not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brethren, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.3.15" parsed="|2Thess|3|15|0|0" passage="2Th 3:15">2 Thess. iii. 15</scripRef>. And also that when
God by his grace has brought those to repentance who were shut out
of communion for scandal, they ought with tenderness, and joy, and
sincere affection, to be received in again. Thus Paul orders
concerning the excommunicated Corinthian that when he had given
evidences of his repentance they should forgive him, and comfort
him, and <i>confirm their love towards him,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.2.7-2Cor.2.8" parsed="|2Cor|2|7|2|8" passage="2Co 2:7,8">2 Cor. ii. 7, 8</scripRef>. And ministers are entrusted
by our Master with the declarative power of loosing as well as
binding: both must be done with great caution and deliberation,
impartially and without respect of persons, with earnest prayer to
God for directions, and a sincere regard to the edification of the
body of Christ, due care being always taken that sinners may not be
encouraged by an excess of lenity, nor penitents discouraged by an
excess of severity. Wisdom and sincerity are profitable to direct
in this case.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p5">III. If it was found that the leprosy was
healed, the priest must declare it with a particular solemnity. The
leper or his friends were to get ready two birds caught for this
purpose (any sort of wild birds that were clean), and cedar-wood,
and scarlet, and hyssop; for all these were to be used in the
ceremony. 1. A preparation was to be made of blood and water, with
which the leper must be sprinkled. One of the birds (and the Jews
say, if there was any difference, it must be the larger and better
of the two) was to be killed over an earthen cup of spring water,
so that the blood of the bird might discolour the water. This (as
some other types) had its accomplishment in the death of Christ,
when out of his pierced side there came water and blood, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:John.19.34" parsed="|John|19|34|0|0" passage="Joh 19:34">John xix. 34</scripRef>. Thus Christ comes into
the soul for its cure and cleansing, <i>not by water only, but by
water and blood,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:1John.5.6" parsed="|1John|5|6|0|0" passage="1Jo 5:6">1 John v.
6</scripRef>. 2. The living bird, with a little scarlet wool, and a
bunch of hyssop, must be fastened to a cedar stick, dipped in the
water and blood, which must be so sprinkled upon him that was to be
cleansed, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.6-Lev.14.7" parsed="|Lev|14|6|14|7" passage="Le 14:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>.
The cedar-wood signified the restoring of the leper to his strength
and soundness, for that is a sort of wood not apt to putrefy. The
scarlet wool signified his recovering a florid colour again, for
the leprosy made him white as snow. And the hyssop intimated the
removing of the disagreeable scent which commonly attended the
leprosy. The cedar the stateliest plant, and hyssop the meanest,
are here used together in this service (see <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.4.33" parsed="|1Kgs|4|33|0|0" passage="1Ki 4:33">1 Kings iv. 33</scripRef>); for those of the lowest rank
in the church may be of use in their place, as well as those that
are most eminent, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.12.2" parsed="|1Cor|12|2|0|0" passage="1Co 12:2">1 Cor. xii.
2</scripRef>. Some make the slain bird to typify Christ <i>dying
for our sins,</i> and the living bird Christ <i>rising again for
our justification.</i> The dipping of the living bird in the blood
of the slain bird intimated that the merit of Christ's death was
that which made his resurrection effectual for our justification.
He took his blood with him into the holy place, and there appeared
a lamb as it had been slain. The cedar, scarlet wool, and hyssop,
must all be dipped in the blood; for the word and ordinances, and
all the operations of the Spirit, receive their efficacy for our
cleansing from the blood of Christ. The leper must be sprinkled
<i>seven times,</i> to signify a complete purification, in allusion
to which David prays, <i>Wash me thoroughly,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.2" parsed="|Ps|51|2|0|0" passage="Ps 51:2">Ps. li. 2</scripRef>. Naaman was directed to wash
<i>seven times,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.5.10" parsed="|2Kgs|5|10|0|0" passage="2Ki 5:10">2 Kings v.
10</scripRef>. 3. The living bird was then to be let loose in the
open field, to signify that the leper, being cleansed, was now no
longer under restraint and confinement, but might take his liberty
to go where he pleased. But this being signified by the flight of a
bird towards heaven was an intimation to him henceforward to seek
the things that are above, and not to spend this new life to which
God had restored him merely in the pursuit of earthly things. This
typified that glorious liberty of the children of God to which
those are advanced who through grace are sprinkled from an evil
conscience. Those whose souls before <i>bowed down to the dust</i>
(<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.44.25" parsed="|Ps|44|25|0|0" passage="Ps 44:25">Ps. xliv. 25</scripRef>), in grief
and fear, now fly in the open firmament of heaven, and soar upwards
upon the wings of faith and hope, and holy love and joy. 4. The
priest must, upon this, pronounce him clean. It was requisite that
this should be done with solemnity, that the leper might himself be
the more affected with the mercy of God to him in his recovery, and
that others might be satisfied to converse with him. Christ is our
priest, to whom the Father has committed all judgment, and
particularly the judgment of the leprosy. By his definitive
sentence impenitent sinners will have their everlasting portion
assigned them with the unclean (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Job.36.14" parsed="|Job|36|14|0|0" passage="Job 36:14">Job
xxxvi. 14</scripRef>), out of the holy city; and all that by his
grace are cured and cleansed shall be received into the camp of the
saints, into which no unclean thing shall enter. Those are clean
indeed whom Christ pronounces so, and they need not regard what men
say of them. But, though Christ was the <i>end of this law for
righteousness,</i> yet being in the days of his flesh <i>made under
the law,</i> which as yet stood unrepealed, he ordered those lepers
whom he had cured miraculously to go and <i>show themselves to the
priest,</i> and <i>offer for their cleansing according to the
law,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:Matt.8.4 Bible:Luke.17.14" parsed="|Matt|8|4|0|0;|Luke|17|14|0|0" passage="Mt 8:4,Lu 17:14">Matt. viii. 4; Luke
xvii. 14</scripRef>. The type must be kept up till it was answered
by its antitype. 5. When the leper was pronounced clean, he must
wash his body and his clothes, and shave <i>off all his hair</i>
(<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.11" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.8" parsed="|Lev|14|8|0|0" passage="Le 14:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), must still
tarry seven days out of the camp, and on the seventh day must do it
again, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p5.12" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.9" parsed="|Lev|14|9|0|0" passage="Le 14:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. The
priest having pronounced him clean from the disease, he must make
himself as clean as ever he could from all the remains of it, and
from all other defilements, and he must take time to do this. Thus
those who have the comfort of the remission of their sins, by the
sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon their consciences, must with
the utmost care and caution <i>cleanse themselves from all
filthiness both of flesh and spirit,</i> and thoroughly <i>purge
themselves from their old sins;</i> for <i>every one that hath this
hope in him will</i> be concerned to <i>purify himself.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xv-p5.13" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14" parsed="|Lev|14|0|0|0" passage="Le 14" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Lev.xv-p5.14" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.10-Lev.14.20" parsed="|Lev|14|10|14|20" passage="Le 14:10-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.14.10-Lev.14.20">
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xv-p6">10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he
lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without
blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour <i>for</i> a meat
offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.   11 And the
priest that maketh <i>him</i> clean shall present the man that is
to be made clean, and those things, before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p6.1">Lord</span>, <i>at</i> the door of the tabernacle of
the congregation:   12 And the priest shall take one he lamb,
and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave
them <i>for</i> a wave offering before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p6.2">Lord</span>:   13 And he shall slay the lamb in
the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt
offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering <i>is</i> the
priest's, <i>so is</i> the trespass offering: it <i>is</i> most
holy:   14 And the priest shall take <i>some</i> of the blood
of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put <i>it</i> upon
the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon
the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right
foot:   15 And the priest shall take <i>some</i> of the log of
oil, and pour <i>it</i> into the palm of his own left hand:  
16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that
<i>is</i> in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his
finger seven times before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p6.3">Lord</span>:
  17 And of the rest of the oil that <i>is</i> in his hand
shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is
to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass
offering:   18 And the remnant of the oil that <i>is</i> in
the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be
cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p6.4">Lord</span>.   19 And the priest shall
offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be
cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the
burnt offering:   20 And the priest shall offer the burnt
offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall
make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p7">Observe, I. To complete the purification of
the leper, on the eighth day, after the former solemnity performed
without the camp, and, as it should seem, before he returned to his
own habitation, he was to attend <i>at the door of the
tabernacle,</i> and was there to be <i>presented to the Lord,</i>
with his offering, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.11" parsed="|Lev|14|11|0|0" passage="Le 14:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. Observe here, 1. That the mercies of God oblige us
to present ourselves to him, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.12.1" parsed="|Rom|12|1|0|0" passage="Ro 12:1">Rom. xii.
1</scripRef>. 2. When God has restored us to the liberty of
ordinances again, after restraint by sickness, distance, or
otherwise, we should take the first opportunity of testifying our
respect to God, and our affection to his sanctuary, by a diligent
improvement of the liberty we are restored to. When Christ had
healed the impotent man, he soon after <i>found him in the
temple,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:John.5.14" parsed="|John|5|14|0|0" passage="Joh 5:14">John v. 14</scripRef>.
When Hezekiah asks, <i>What is the sign that I shall go up to the
house of the Lord?</i> he means, "What is the sign that I shall
recover?" intimating that if God restored him his health, so that
he should be able to go abroad, the house of the Lord should be the
first place he would go to. 3. When we present ourselves before the
Lord we must present our offerings, devoting to God with ourselves
all we have and can do. 4. Both we and our offerings must be
presented before the Lord by the priest that made us clean, even
our Lord Jesus, else neither we nor they can be accepted.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p8">II. Three lambs the cleansed leper was to
bring, with a meat-offering, and a log of oil, which was about half
a pint. Now, 1. Most of the ceremony peculiar to this case was
about the trespass-offering, the lamb for which was offered first,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.12" parsed="|Lev|14|12|0|0" passage="Le 14:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. And, besides
the usual rites with which the trespass-offering was offered, some
of the blood was to be put upon the ear, and thumb, and great toe,
of the leper that was to be cleansed (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.14" parsed="|Lev|14|14|0|0" passage="Le 14:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), the very same ceremony that
was used in the consecration of the priests, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.8.23-Lev.8.24" parsed="|Lev|8|23|8|24" passage="Le 8:23,24"><i>ch.</i> viii. 23, 24</scripRef>. It was a
mortification to them to see the same purification necessary for
them that was for a leper. The Jews say that the leper stood
without the gate of the tabernacle and the priest within, and thus
the ceremony was performed through the gate, signifying that now he
was admitted with other Israelites to attend in the courts of the
Lord's house again, and was as welcome as ever; though he had been
a leper, and though perhaps the name might stick by him as long as
he lived (as we read of one who probably was cleansed by our Lord
Jesus, who yet afterwards is called <i>Simon the leper,</i>
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.26.6" parsed="|Matt|26|6|0|0" passage="Mt 26:6">Matt. xxvi. 6</scripRef>), yet he was
as freely admitted as ever to communion with God and man. After the
blood of the offering had been put with the priest's finger upon
the extremities of the body, to include the whole, some of the oil
that he brought, which was first waved and then sprinkled before
the Lord, was in like manner put in the same places upon the blood.
"The blood" (says the learned bishop Patrick) "seems to have been a
token of forgiveness, the oil of healing," for God first
<i>forgiveth our iniquities</i> and then <i>healeth our
diseases,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.103.3" parsed="|Ps|103|3|0|0" passage="Ps 103:3">Ps. ciii. 3</scripRef>.
See <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.38.17" parsed="|Isa|38|17|0|0" passage="Isa 38:17">Isa. xxxviii. 17</scripRef>.
Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification the oil
of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; for these two are
inseparable and both necessary to our acceptance with God. Nor
shall our former leprosy, if it be healed by repentance, be any bar
to these glorious privileges. Cleansed lepers are as welcome to the
blood and the oil as consecrated priests. <i>Such were some of you,
but you are washed.</i> When the leper was sprinkled the water must
have blood in it (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.5" parsed="|Lev|14|5|0|0" passage="Le 14:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>), when he was anointed the oil must have blood under
it, to signify that all the graces and comforts of the Spirit, all
his purifying dignifying influences, are owing to the death of
Christ: it is by his blood alone that we are sanctified. 2. Besides
this there must be a sin-offering and a burnt-offering, a lamb for
each, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.19-Lev.14.20" parsed="|Lev|14|19|14|20" passage="Le 14:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>.
By each of these offerings, it is said, the priests shall <i>make
atonement for him.</i> (1.) His moral guilt shall be removed; the
sin for which the leprosy was sent shall be pardoned, and all the
sins he had been guilty of in his afflicted state. Note, The
removal of any outward trouble is then doubly comfortable to us
when at the same time God gives us some assurance of the
forgiveness of our sins. If we <i>receive the atonement,</i> we
have reason to rejoice, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.9" osisRef="Bible:Rom.5.11" parsed="|Rom|5|11|0|0" passage="Ro 5:11">Rom. v.
11</scripRef>. (2.) His ceremonial pollution shall be removed,
which had kept him from the participation of the holy things. And
this is called <i>making an atonement for him,</i> because our
restoration to the privileges of God's children, typified hereby,
is owing purely to the great propitiation. When the atonement is
made for him he shall be clean, both to his own satisfaction and to
his reputation among his neighbours; he shall retrieve both his
credit and his comfort, and both these true penitents become
entitled to, both ease and honour, by their interest in the
atonement. The burnt-offering, besides the atonement that was made
by it, was a thankful acknowledgment of God's mercy to him: and the
more immediate the hand of God was both in the sickness and in the
cure the more reason he had thus to give glory to him, and thus, as
our Saviour speaks (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p8.10" osisRef="Bible:Mark.1.44" parsed="|Mark|1|44|0|0" passage="Mk 1:44">Mark i.
44</scripRef>), to <i>offer for his cleansing</i> all <i>those
things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xv-p8.11" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.21-Lev.14.32" parsed="|Lev|14|21|14|32" passage="Le 14:21-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.14.21-Lev.14.32">
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xv-p9">21 And if he <i>be</i> poor, and cannot get so
much; then he shall take one lamb <i>for</i> a trespass offering to
be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine
flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
  22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is
able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a
burnt offering.   23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day
for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation, before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p9.1">Lord</span>.   24 And the priest shall take the
lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest
shall wave them <i>for</i> a wave offering before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p9.2">Lord</span>:   25 And he shall kill the lamb of
the trespass offering, and the priest shall take <i>some</i> of the
blood of the trespass offering, and put <i>it</i> upon the tip of
the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of
his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:   26
And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left
hand:   27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger
<i>some</i> of the oil that <i>is</i> in his left hand seven times
before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p9.3">Lord</span>:   28 And the
priest shall put of the oil that <i>is</i> in his hand upon the tip
of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb
of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon
the place of the blood of the trespass offering:   29 And the
rest of the oil that <i>is</i> in the priest's hand he shall put
upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement
for him before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p9.4">Lord</span>.   30
And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young
pigeons, such as he can get;   31 <i>Even</i> such as he is
able to get, the one <i>for</i> a sin offering, and the other
<i>for</i> a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest
shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p9.5">Lord</span>.   32 This <i>is</i> the
law <i>of him</i> in whom <i>is</i> the plague of leprosy, whose
hand is not able to get <i>that which pertaineth</i> to his
cleansing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p10">We have here the gracious provision which
the law made for the cleansing of <i>poor lepers.</i> If they were
not able to bring three lambs, and three tenth-deals of flour, they
must bring one lamb, and one tenth-deal of flour, and, instead of
the other two lambs, two turtle-doves or two young pigeons,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.21-Lev.14.22" parsed="|Lev|14|21|14|22" passage="Le 14:21,22"><i>v.</i> 21, 22</scripRef>. Here
see, 1. That the poverty of the person concerned would not excuse
him if he brought no offering at all. Let none think that because
they are poor God requires no service from them, since he has
considered them, and demands that which it is in the power of the
poorest to give. "<i>My son, give me thy heart,</i> and with that
the <i>calves of thy lips</i> shall be accepted instead of the
<i>calves of the stall.</i>" 2. That God expected from those who
were poor only according to their ability; <i>his commandments are
not grievous,</i> nor does he make us to <i>serve with an
offering.</i> The poor are as welcome to God's altar as the rich;
and, if there be first a willing mind and an honest heart, two
pigeons, when they are the utmost a man is able to get, are as
acceptable to God as two lambs; for he requires <i>according to
what a man has and not according to what he has not.</i> But it is
observable that though a meaner sacrifice was accepted from the
poor, yet the very same ceremony was used for them as was for the
rich; for their souls are as precious and Christ and his gospel are
the same to both. Let not us therefore have <i>the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jas.2.1" parsed="|Jas|2|1|0|0" passage="Jam 2:1">Jam. ii. 1</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xv-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.33-Lev.14.53" parsed="|Lev|14|33|14|53" passage="Le 14:33-53" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.14.33-Lev.14.53">
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xv-p11">33 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xv-p11.1">Lord</span>
spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,   34 When ye be come
into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and
I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your
possession;   35 And he that owneth the house shall come and
tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me <i>there is</i> as it
were a plague in the house:   36 Then the priest shall command
that they empty the house, before the priest go <i>into it</i> to
see the plague, that all that <i>is</i> in the house be not made
unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
  37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, <i>if</i>
the plague <i>be</i> in the walls of the house with hollow strakes,
greenish or reddish, which in sight <i>are</i> lower than the wall;
  38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of
the house, and shut up the house seven days:   39 And the
priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and,
behold, <i>if</i> the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
  40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the
stones in which the plague <i>is,</i> and they shall cast them into
an unclean place without the city:   41 And he shall cause the
house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the
dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
  42 And they shall take other stones, and put <i>them</i> in
the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and
shall plaster the house.   43 And if the plague come again,
and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the
stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is
plastered;   44 Then the priest shall come and look, and,
behold, <i>if</i> the plague be spread in the house, it <i>is</i> a
fretting leprosy in the house: it <i>is</i> unclean.   45 And
he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber
thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry
<i>them</i> forth out of the city into an unclean place.   46
Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut
up shall be unclean until the even.   47 And he that lieth in
the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house
shall wash his clothes.   48 And if the priest shall come in,
and look <i>upon it,</i> and, behold, the plague hath not spread in
the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall
pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.   49
And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood,
and scarlet, and hyssop:   50 And he shall kill the one of the
birds in an earthen vessel over running water:   51 And he
shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the
living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in
the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:   52
And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with
the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar
wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:   53 But he
shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields,
and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p12">This is the law concerning the leprosy in a
house. Now that they were in the wilderness they dwelt in tents,
and had no houses, and therefore the law is made only an appendix
to the former laws concerning the leprosy, because it related, not
to their present state, but to their future settlement. The leprosy
in a house is as unaccountable as the leprosy in a garment; but, if
we see not what natural causes of it can be assigned, we may
resolve it into the power of the God of nature, who here says, <i>I
put the leprosy in a house</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.34" parsed="|Lev|14|34|0|0" passage="Le 14:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>), as his curse is said to
<i>enter into a house,</i> and <i>consume it with the timber and
stones thereof,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.5.4" parsed="|Zech|5|4|0|0" passage="Zec 5:4">Zech. v.
4</scripRef>. Now, 1. It is supposed that even in Canaan itself,
the land of promise, their houses might be infected with a leprosy.
Though it was a holy land, this would not secure them from this
plague, while the inhabitants were many of them so unholy. Thus a
place and a name in the visible church will not secure wicked
people from God's judgments. 2. It is likewise taken for granted
that the owner of the house will make the priest acquainted with
it, as soon as he sees the least cause to suspect the leprosy in
his house: <i>It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the
house,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.35" parsed="|Lev|14|35|0|0" passage="Le 14:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>.
Sin, where that reigns in a house, is a plague there, as it is in a
heart. And masters of families should be aware and afraid of the
first appearance of gross sin in their families, and put away the
iniquity, whatever it is, far from their tabernacles, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.23" parsed="|Job|22|23|0|0" passage="Job 22:23">Job xxii. 23</scripRef>. They should be jealous
with a godly jealousy concerning those under their charge, lest
they be drawn into sin, and take early advice, if it but seem that
there is a plague in the house, lest the contagion spread, and many
be by it defiled and destroyed. 3. If the priest, upon search,
found that the leprosy had got into the house, he must try to cure
it, by taking gout that part of the building that was infected,
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.40-Lev.14.41" parsed="|Lev|14|40|14|41" passage="Le 14:40,41"><i>v.</i> 40, 41</scripRef>. This
was like cutting off a gangrened limb, for the preservation of the
rest of the body. Corruption should be purged out in time, before
it spread; for <i>a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. If thy
right hand offend thee, cut it off.</i> 4. If yet it remained in
the house, the whole house must be pulled down, and all the
materials carried to the dunghill, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.44-Lev.14.45" parsed="|Lev|14|44|14|45" passage="Le 14:44,45"><i>v.</i> 44, 45</scripRef>. The owner had better be
without a dwelling than live in one that was infected. Note, The
leprosy of sin, if it be obstinate under the methods of cure, will
at last be the ruin of families and churches. If Babylon will not
be healed, she shall be forsaken and abandoned, and (according to
the law respecting the leprous house), they shall not <i>take of
her a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations,</i>
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.9 Bible:Jer.51.26" parsed="|Jer|51|9|0|0;|Jer|51|26|0|0" passage="Jer 51:9,26">Jer. li. 9, 26</scripRef>. The
remainders of sin and corruption in our mortal bodies are like this
leprosy in the house; after all our pains in scraping and
plastering, we shall never be quite clear of it, till the earthly
house of this tabernacle be dissolved and taken down; when we are
dead we shall be free from sin, and not till then, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Rom.6.7" parsed="|Rom|6|7|0|0" passage="Ro 6:7">Rom. vi. 7</scripRef>. 5. If the taking out the
infected stones cured the house, and the leprosy did not spread any
further, then the house must be cleansed; not only aired, that it
might be healthful, but purified from the ceremonial pollution,
that it might be fit to be the habitation of an Israelite. The
ceremony of its cleansing was much the same with that of cleansing
a leprous person, <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.9" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.49" parsed="|Lev|14|49|0|0" passage="Le 14:49"><i>v.</i>
49</scripRef>, &amp;c. This intimated that the house was smitten
for the man's sake (as bishop Patrick expresses it), and he was to
look upon himself as preserved by divine mercy. The houses of
Israelites are said to be <i>dedicated</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.20.5" parsed="|Deut|20|5|0|0" passage="De 20:5">Deut. xx. 5</scripRef>), for they were a holy nation, and
therefore they ought to keep their houses pure from all ceremonial
pollutions, that they might be fit for the service of that God to
whom they were devoted. And the same care should we take to reform
whatever is amiss in our families, that we and our houses may serve
the Lord; see <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p12.11" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.2" parsed="|Gen|35|2|0|0" passage="Ge 35:2">Gen. xxxv. 2</scripRef>.
Some have thought the leprosy in the house was typical of the
idolatry of the Jewish church, which did strangely cleave to it;
for, though some of the reforming kings took away the infected
stones, yet still it broke out again, till by the captivity of
Babylon God took down the house, and carried it to an unclean land;
and this proved an effectual cure of their inclination to idols and
idolatrous worships.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xv-p12.12" osisRef="Bible:Lev.14.54-Lev.14.57" parsed="|Lev|14|54|14|57" passage="Le 14:54-57" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.14.54-Lev.14.57">
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xv-p13">54 This <i>is</i> the law for all manner of
plague of leprosy, and scall,   55 And for the leprosy of a
garment, and of a house,   56 And for a rising, and for a
scab, and for a bright spot:   57 To teach when <i>it is</i>
unclean, and when <i>it is</i> clean: this <i>is</i> the law of
leprosy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xv-p14">This is the conclusion of this law
concerning the leprosy. There is no repetition of it in
Deuteronomy, only a general memorandum given (<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.24.8" parsed="|Deut|24|8|0|0" passage="De 24:8">Deut. xxiv. 8</scripRef>), <i>Take heed in the plague of
leprosy.</i> We may see in this law, 1. The gracious care God took
of his people Israel, for to them only this law pertained, and not
to the Gentiles. When Naaman the Syrian was cured of his leprosy he
was not bidden to show himself to the priest, though he was cured
in Jordan, as the Jews that were cured by our Saviour were. Thus
those who are entrusted with the key of discipline in the church
judge those only <i>that are within;</i> but <i>those that are
without God judgeth,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.5.12-1Cor.5.13" parsed="|1Cor|5|12|5|13" passage="1Co 5:12,13">1 Cor. v.
12, 13</scripRef>. 2. The religious care we ought to take of
ourselves, to keep our minds from the dominion of all sinful
affections and dispositions, which are both their disease and their
defilement, that we may be fit for the service of God. We ought
also to avoid all bad company, and, as much as may be, to avoid
coming within the danger of being infected by it. <i>Touch not the
unclean thing, saith the Lord, and I will receive you,</i>
<scripRef id="Lev.xv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.17" parsed="|2Cor|6|17|0|0" passage="2Co 6:17">2 Cor. vi. 17</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>