Subject Twenty-eight

BEING CLEANSED FROM LEPROSY

Scripture: Lev. 14

1. Leprosy
   1. Leprosy typifies man’s sin.
   2. Leprosy is contagious, and it is also hereditary. You have to emphasize the aspect of heredity. Sins come not only from defilement but also through heredity. No one has to learn how to commit sins. You do not have to go to school to learn to sin. Sinning came into you hereditarily just as leprosy comes into man’s body by heredity.
   3. Leprosy comes from within. All sins grow out from within. Use the words of Jesus concerning cleanness and uncleanness in Matthew 15:10-20. Do not think that you have no sin because you never commit any sin outwardly. Actually the sins have been hiding in you for a long time.
   4. Leprosy is a kind of disease not easily cured; likewise sin is something that is not easy to get rid of.
   5. None of the lepers were allowed to come to the tabernacle of the congregation to worship God; they were all fully separated from God. This means that all the sinful people have no way to be close to God.
2. The way to be cleansed—two birds
   1. The meaning of the birds:
      1. A bird is transcendent and spiritual.
      2. The price of a bird is very small.
   2. Killing the first bird and then sprinkling its blood upon the one to be cleansed typifies that Christ died for us and shed His blood to cleanse us. Once a sinner repents, his leprosy can be cleansed immediately. It is by the Lord’s shed blood that man is cleansed before God.
   3. The second bird typifies the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is by His death and the shedding of His blood that all the filth of our sins is cleansed away. But it is by His resurrection that we are delivered from the power of sin. That is why in the Old Testament time they sprinkled the living water and the blood upon the leper and the living bird. They sprinkled not only the blood, but also the living water. This means that man was cleansed by the blood on one hand, and on the other hand he also received the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus, which delivers him from the power of sin. These two birds typify the heavenly Christ who died for us and was resurrected. Now we can easily partake of Him.
3. After being cleansed
   1. Washing the robes: dealing with the filth of the outward deeds—dealing with sins.
   2. Shaving the hair: dealing with man’s vain glory, strength, and ability.
   3. Washing the body: a thorough cleansing and dealing with all the oldness. Now all things are new.