Spiritual Leprosy

I’ll like to share with you an Old Testament example that symbolizes in a physical way, our spiritual condition. The example relates to the cleansing of a leper and is recorded in Leviticus 13-14. Here is what happened.

When a person suspected he had leprosy, he had to go to the High Priest to be examined. Leprosy was a deadly blood disease. It was an internal condition that was hereditary and contagious. It had no human cure. The leper might live a long time without realizing his condition. But then he would die, passing on the leprosy to his children, grandchildren and the generations after. The leper suffered something more tragic than just the physical suffering. A person who had leprosy was declared ceremonially defiled. He was separated from the camp, forced to dwell outside, away from the presence of God in the place of rejection. This means that the leper was not only diseased but also considered to be unclean.

But when God healed a leper, he had once again to be examined by the High Priest. If the High Priest pronounced him clean, he was also to be ceremonially cleansed and allowed back into the camp and to the presence of God. As part of the cleansing rituals, the healed leper would make a sacrifice to God. The High Priest would take the blood of the sacrifice and smear it on the tip of the person’s right ear, right thumb and right big toe. THIS SIGNIFIED THAT GOD HAS MADE HIM WHOLE AND RECONCILED HIM UNTO HIMSELF THROUGH THE BLOOD. Through the specific applying of the blood to these parts of the body, the leper was to: listen to God’s voice (ear), do His will (thumb) and walk in His ways (toe).

Then the High Priest took some oil and applied it on the blood of the person’s right ear, right thumb and right big toe. The purpose of applying the oil was to show that the person was sealed as God’s property forever. The application of the oil expressed the person’s willingness to listen to God’s voice, do His will and walk in His ways.

At this point, the High Priest had applied the blood and the oil and the leper had been cleansed and reconciled to God. But then the High Priest did something interesting to the left-over oil he had in his hands. He took the oil and poured it upon the cleansed leper symbolically anointing him with power so that he can LISTEN TO GOD’S VOICE, DO HIS WILL AND WALK IN HIS WAYS.

Now let’s see what this has to do with us. In the Bible, leprosy is a picture of sin. Like leprosy, sin is an internal condition. It is the Adam like nature within each of us. Adam passed it down to us and we pass it on to our children from one generation to the next. WE ARE ALL SPIRITUAL LEPERS. We all have a deadly spiritual disease for which there is no human cure. It is not only hereditary, but it is contagious because we cause others to sin. We can live a very long time without realizing our spiritual condition.  But eventually it kills us because the penalty for sin is death. (Rom. 6:23)

Because of our sins, we are separated from God and like the leper in the Bible we all need healing and cleansing. We need to be reconciled to God. God’s provision for cleansing is the blood of Jesus Christ. He is our great High Priest who pronounces us clean at the cross.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb. 4:14) 

The blood of the sacrifice in the cleansing ritual pointed to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus has made us whole and reconciled us to God. Therefore, we are to listen to His voice, do His will and walk in His ways.

The oil in the ritual was symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, our High Priest, has given us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in you, sealing you as God’s property.

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”(Eph 4:30)

The Holy Spirit works in you the willingness to listen to His voice, do His will and walk in His ways. But just as the High Priest in the Old Testament had some extra oil, so Jesus desires to pour out a great measure of His Spirit upon you, anointing you with power so that you can listen to God’s voice, do His will and walk in His ways. In other words, He wants to fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you can minister to others. You may think, “What ministry”? God desires that all Christians be able to say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19NKJV). That’s the ministry.

Have you been cleansed and reconciled to God? If yes, praise God! You can now walk in the fullness of His grace and power through the Holy Spirit working in you. If No, come to Jesus for your cleansing. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9KJV) Take this moment now to pray and receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Be blessed.