Leviticus 14-15

February 4

Leviticus 14-15

The priest is not a doctor; he is more like a health inspector. When someone has a skin disease she/he no longer reflects the perfect glory of God. The priest does not have some potion or words to remove the disease. The person must depend on God to heal them. Until they are healed, they are removed from the community of worship. The priest inspects the person to see if they are indeed healed. Imperfections such as skin disease were a sign of the brokenness of humanity. The separation from the community revealed the consequences of sin.

Everywhere the people looked they could see the physical representation of the spiritual world. The tabernacle was set up in the center of the camp. God’s presence was in the holy of holies. Only the priest could go into the holy of holies, into the presence of God. The people lived with the reminder that God was with them wherever they went. But those deemed unclean were pushed outside the camp. They could not live with the rest of the people; they could not join the community in worship. The unclean cannot stand in God’s presence.

When Jesus showed up He brought healing and restoration; not only of disease, but of relationships. Jesus came and touched the unclean lepers and healed them of their disease, but even more important, He restored them to their place in the community. In Mark 1:40-44, a leper came to Jesus and Jesus healed the man. Jesus told the man to go to the priest and make the sacrifice prescribed by Moses. Leviticus 14 prescribes the sacrifice.

During the sacrifice, one bird dies, “the wages of sin is death,” just as those without God’s provision for salvation die. The other is set free, “the gift of God is eternal life,” just as those with God’s provision for salvation are set free from the wages of sin.

The priest could not heal, but Jesus does. The priest could not restore, but Jesus does. The priest could only observe what God had done in the lives of His people. Do people observe God’s work in your life?