Order in Worship and Service--Part 2

Chapters 12-13 of Leviticus give foundational substance to the truth of original sin, which is man’s most hated subject. All human beings are sinners in a threefold comprehensible sense: (1) They are connected with Adam—“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12 NASB). (2) Adam’s sinful nature is formed in his offspring—“When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth” (Gen. 5:3 NASB). (3) All of Adam’s descendants practice sin—“For all have sinned and they themselves are falling short [present middle indicative verb] of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23—translation). In direct opposition to most educational and religious teaching, man corrupts society instead of society corrupting man.

Leviticus 12 shows that the greatest uncleanness came by the birth of a human child after the flesh. The uncleanness of the mother is emphasized because the source is unclean: “Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!” (Job 14:4 NASB). “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?” (Job 25:4 NASB). “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5 NASB).

Chapter 12 is directly linked with the incidents in the second chapter of Luke, which records events indelibly engraved on the affections of the saints of God. There can be no doubt that circumcision on the eighth day portrayed that Christ in the flesh would shed His blood for the elect under the eye of God. Because everything connected with the order of man after the flesh is unclean, the flesh had to be cut off in circumcision, which symbolized the death of Christ: “And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11 NASB). The verb for “circumcision” (perietmethete, aorist passive indicative second person plural of peritemno) means “you were circumcised.” The passive voice indicates the Colossians had nothing to do with their spiritual circumcision because “…circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God” (Rom. 2:29 NASB).

Purification was needed for the parents, not for the child called Jesus (Luke 2:21-38). No one can connect Christ with the new creation (II Cor. 5:17). He could not be born again. Jesus Christ is connected with eternal generation, which goes back to the eternal God. Sin is attached to men, but not to the God-Man. Eve was made out of man, but she was not the daughter of man. Adam was a man, but he was not a son of man. Jesus Christ is the Son of man as well as the Son of God because He became the descendant of Abraham (Heb. 2:16). He is the Kinsman Redeemer of the elect. A brother could redeem, but a servant could not (Lev. 25:25; Ruth 4:12, 14).

Christ’s generation in time teaches only His human nature, and His human nature touches His Kingship. Jesus Christ is so great He can bring life where death exists. He is the true light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel. David was conceived in iniquity (Ps. 51:5), but Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Children are begotten of man and woman. Only one woman in the power of the Holy Spirit conceived Christ. Therefore, Scripture does not teach that Christ was begotten of a woman, but He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a woman (Gal. 4:4). Christ is the Son of Man from heaven, but the substance of His body was from earth. In the incarnation, Christ was the seed of the woman, but He was of the male sex in order that both male and female might be one in Him. Only the natural mind finds this portion of Scripture tiresome, uninteresting, and unpleasant. Therefore, a spiritual mind is necessary to enjoy and understand spiritual things.

The sinless human nature of Jesus Christ was in view in Leviticus 12. That is why the uncleanness of the mother is mentioned. Israel also had to learn her uncleanness, even though she gave birth to the human nature of Christ. The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 NASB). The human nature of Christ had no subsistence except in the second Person in the Godhead. This raises the human nature of Christ to an infinitely higher level than that of men. Since His human nature has a glorious subsistence, God did what Christ did in human nature.

A lesson most needed by the unsaved and the saved is an understanding of the origin of his physical as well as his spiritual being. The primary reason is the universal teaching that man only needs a suitable environment, education, and good moral influence. However, Scripture teaches that original sin has corrupted the source of life, and the world cannot answer how the unclean source can be made clean. God alone gives the remedy in Holy Scripture.

Original sin has corrupted the mind, heart, and will of man. In regeneration, depraved man is given right knowledge by the illumination of his mind, correct affections because of a new disposition, and a will made willing by his renewal by the Holy Spirit. Becoming the people of God without regeneration is as impossible as becoming children of men without generation. When the Bible speaks of a new heart, it indicates a change in the whole character of man—intelligence, affections, and will.

The Christian must understand that original sin has mixed and incorporated itself with his duties and graces. Therefore, he cannot write without erasing. Some unbelief is mixed with his faith, lukewarmness with his zeal, and pride with his humility. Original sin, as a spring that runs underground, often breaks forth unexpectedly in its fruits. Who would have thought that Noah would have been guilty of drunkenness, Abraham of lying, David of adultery, and Peter of denying the Lord? The only remedy for both sinner and saint is found in the male child of Leviticus 12:2-3, which is fulfilled in Luke 2:7-35. The man (male) child introduces the only One who could perfectly remove the defilement connected with man’s natural birth.

Discipline is the subject of Leviticus 13. Certain symptoms must be carefully observed. Leprosy rendered an Israelite unfit to occupy his tent or partake in the privileges of the tent of meeting. All unrighteousness is sin, but every sin is not always leprosy. Leprosy describes the deep-seated desire to fulfill the will of the flesh. Others cannot see the neglect of private reading, meditating, and praying. However, other sins lead the assembly to detect things that make them suspicious. For instance, anyone who loses interest in assembly meetings becomes suspicious to the assembly. This became a problem with the Hebrew Christians (Heb. 10:25).

Of all the functions of the priests, none demanded stricter adherence to the Divine Book than the discernment of leprosy. This accounts for the frequent admonitions to the priest to look, inspect, shut up, isolate, and quarantine the suspicious person. In chapters 13 and 14, the words “look” or “inspect” occur 30 times, and the words “shut up,” “isolate,” or “quarantine” occur 11 times.

The responsibility of the priests was to make a distinction between the holy and profane and the clean and unclean. Therefore, they were responsible to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes of the Lord (Lev. 10:10, 11). The statutes refer to what qualifies a positive source of satisfaction and strength for the priesthood and family. The “holy place” has a sanctuary reference (Lev. 10:13), and the “clean place” refers to the purity of the assembly (Lev. 10:14). To “eat the sin offering” (Lev. 10:17) refers to estimating sin according to God’s estimation of sin and the death of Christ foreshadowed by the offering, which was necessary to put away sin. There must be righteous indignation against sin and willingness to deal with it judicially in the assembly. Christians may judge evil and draw away from it in a priestly way without making it their own. Making it their own is in the sense of association with them in the assembly. Discipline should be exercised in the spirit of those who have made it their own in confession before God. When Christians make it their own, their spirits are made free from undue harshness and hardness. Only then can they act in the Spirit of grace. God bears with confessed weakness, but He cannot support pretension.

Leprosy is the breaking out of sin in the flesh, which calls for priestly discernment (Lev. 13:1-8). It is an internal disease that can be prevented only by God’s grace. From small beginnings the whole life of the leper is developed. A look of the eye, a desire of the heart, a thought of the imagination, a touch of the hand, or a single word of compliance is often the beginning of an awful manifestation of leprosy (sin). The spreading of evil was a bad sign (Lev. 13:9-11). This was a more definite case. There was no need for delay in pronouncing it leprosy. A long secret history was often behind an open outbreak (Lev. 12:12, 13).

A burning inflammation, which denotes anger, personal feelings, etc., is mentioned in verses 18-23. These things should go like the morning mists before the sun (Eph. 4:26; II Thess. 3:11; I Tim. 5:13). When Christians keep anger and bad feelings to themselves, it is leprosy. They must not make any allowance for personal anger and bad feelings in themselves.

The burning fire of verses 24-28 is a type of prolonged ill feelings. The bright spot is the fact that the leprosy is no deeper than the skin. The bright spot in the assembly in Ephesus was that she left, but did not lose, her first love (Rev. 2:1-7).

Head leprosy is worse than bad morals (vv. 29-46). Only in connection with leprosy in the head is the man pronounced “utterly unclean” (v. 44 KJV), “shall surely pronounce him unclean” (v. 44 NASB), and “the priest must pronounce [publicly] him unclean” (Owens). This shows that the will of the flesh takes form in thoughts and teaching. This is the most serious form of leprosy. The “woman” is used in this instance because many women have been used to initiate false cults. (See Jer. 18; 23; Acts 20:28-35; II Pet. 2; Jude.)

Leprosy in a garment refers to sinning in circumstances such as occupation, habits, or associations (Lev. 13:47-59). Christians must guard against evil in their ways as well as in themselves personally. If the leprosy was only a spot, the garment was washed and was clean, which is a type of Christ cleansing the assembly by washing of water with the word (Eph. 5:25-27). Washing expresses the action of the word of God on evil ways. Without washing with the word, the Christian has no fellowship (John 13:11-15). If the spot spread, the garment must be burned because it was the plague of leprosy. The burning refers to judgment.