Scripture: Leviticus 14
Observation: Verses 7, 20 and 35
He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean...
The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him...
So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean...
The process for dealing with leprosy is very detailed and strict. Leprosy was the most feared disease of this time period. It is debilitating, painful, and it disfigures its victims. If a person somehow was healed from it there was essentially a three step process to be completely restored. They had to be made clean, had to be atoned, and their
house had to be cleared.
In the New Testament, leprosy is often used as a metaphor for sin.
Application
When fighting sin I need to be thorough. If I have sin in my life it is not enough to simply stop doing it (although that is the first step). I must also atone for it, which is to say I need to get to the root of it and weed that out as well. Sin is a problem, but the desire for sin is the deeper problem. On top of that, I need to clean my house as well. If I am living in a sinful environment, then sooner or later I am going to find myself being tempted back into it. Leprosy is contagious, and so is sin. If I am living in it, sooner or later it is going to destroy me.
Prayer
God thank you that you offer forgiveness for sin. Thank you that you also empower me to live free from sin, you wash me clean from sin. You are both the cure and also the cure-er.
Jesus
Jesus died, which symbolizes that he took the penalty of my leprosy/sin. But he also resurrected from the dead, meaning he has power over it. This means I have no excuse to go on sinning as though I still have the disease. He has taken it, taken its punishment, and beaten it, and he offers me the full cure, cleaning, atonement, etc...