“If the disease breaks out again in the house after he has removed the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been plastered, then the priest shall come and examine it, and if the disease has spread in the house, it is a malignant leprosy in the house; it is unclean. He shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them outside the city into an unclean place” (vv. 43-45). This signifies that after the dealing, if additional serious sins break out, the whole church should be torn down. This is most pitiful. If the situation of a church reaches the point where it cannot be cured, healed, then it will be necessary for that church to be terminated.
“Moreover, he who goes into the house all the days that it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening” (v. 46). This signifies that with him who touches the defiled things, the old day should be ended and there should be a new beginning.
Whenever there is a problem in the church life, the leading ones should endeavor to have something new in the experience of Christ that the church may have a new start. Such a new start is able to rescue the diseased church from its problems. However, if we pay attention fully to the problems, there will either be more problems or the problems will be intensified. Thus, there is the need of much seeking, through prayer and fasting, of new experiences of the Lord, experiences that will be a rescue of the diseased church life. This means that we should try our best to end the old day of the diseased church life and to help the church to have a new beginning.
“And he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes” (v. 47). This signifies that those who do not have a positive service in the church in which there is a problem and those who only enjoy the supply in that church should also be dealt with in their living and behavior.
Leviticus 14:47 speaks of those who lie down and eat in a diseased house. Lying down in a diseased house signifies that one is not positively involved in the church service. If we are involved seriously in the church life, we shall not have time to lie down. Lying down is an indication that one is indifferent to the church life or that one is not positively in the church service. Eating in a diseased house signifies that one cares only for the supply and enjoyment in the church life. Such a person likes to have a good time in the church. He comes to the meetings not to serve but to eat, to enjoy. He has no intention of doing anything in the church service.
Here in verse 47 we can see two of the categories of saints in the church life: those who come to the church to lie down, to rest, and those who come to the church to eat, to receive the supply and to have enjoyment. Although these saints are not positively engaged in the church service, having no heart for this, they are good at criticizing others. They do not speak in the meetings, but they criticize those who do. As they rest in the church and enjoy the supply, they find fault with others. These saints need to wash their clothes. This means that by washing they need to cleanse their conduct and behavior.
We need to ask the Lord to be merciful to us that none of us will be those lying down or caring only for our eating. We all should be those who serve in the church.
“But if the priest comes in and examines it, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, for the disease has been healed” (v. 48). This signifies that if no sin is spreading after the renewing of the church with the new experiences of the Lord’s gracious works, the church is clean and has no problem. I have seen this a number of times in the past. In each case there was a healing, a rescue, mainly by the new experiences of Christ.
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