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Leviticus 11 covers what is clean and unclean in the contact of God’s elect with people. Chapters 12 through 15 then cover man’s uncleanness in various aspects and man’s filthiness in different conditions, including the uncleanness of mankind in birth, leprosy, and discharges.
Leviticus 12 shows that the very source of man is unclean. Chapter 11 tells us to be careful in contacting certain kinds of persons lest we be defiled, but chapter 12 indicates that our birth is unclean. Our uncleanness is from birth. The source of our birth is uncleanness.
In figure, woman represents all mankind. In God’s economy, in His divine dispensation and divine arrangement, all mankind is female. Whereas woman represents all mankind, man represents God and Christ. Christ is the unique male, and all those who are married to Him are females. Hence, the uncleanness within the woman signifies the uncleanness within all mankind. Everyone is unclean, male and female alike.
The uncleanness of the human birth coming out of the woman signifies that the source of all mankind is unclean. Moreover, this uncleanness comes from within mankind. Since the source is unclean, whatever is born of the source is also unclean. We do not become unclean simply by contacting something unclean; we are unclean by birth. We were unclean even when we were in our mother’s womb. We were born in uncleanness and live in uncleanness.
The male signifies the strong ones in mankind. The uncleanness of the male’s birth is for seven days, but the uncleanness of the female’s birth is for fourteen days (vv. 2, 5a). The extent of the male’s uncleanness is less than that of the female, signifying that the uncleanness of the strong ones among mankind is less than that of the weak ones.
The female, being weaker than the male by birth, is doubly unclean in her weakness, as signified by the fourteen days. Hence, the extent of the female’s uncleanness is greater than that of the male.
On the eighth day after birth, the male was to be circumcised (v. 3). This signifies that the flesh of the unclean person should be put aside through the death of Christ so that he might be brought into the resurrection of Christ, not only to be cleansed but also to have a new beginning of life.
To be circumcised is to cut off our natural being, the source of our uncleanness. Actually, our entire being should be circumcised, that is, put to death. This was accomplished by Christ’s death on the cross, and it is applied, executed, and carried out by the powerful Spirit (Col. 2:11 and footnotes, Recovery Version).
Circumcision was carried out on the eighth day. The eighth day is a new start, the start of a new week. In the Bible the eighth day refers to Christ’s resurrection. Death ends the old course, and resurrection begins a new course. In the resurrection of Christ we experience the circumcision which He accomplished on the cross, and we are regenerated so that we may not only be cleansed but also have a new beginning of a new life.
After the completion of the test for uncleanness, a burnt offering and a sin offering needed to be offered (Lev. 12:6-8). This signifies that after our uncleanness by birth is fully dealt with, we need Christ to be our burnt offering, related to not being for God, and our sin offering, related to sin (Heb. 10:5-7).
The burnt offering is a type of Christ living for God on our behalf to satisfy God’s heart. Christ was absolute for God. As the burnt offering, He takes our place; He replaces us. Now we take Him as our burnt offering. In Him we are one with Him, and we also become a burnt offering to God.
The sin offering is a type of Christ redeeming us from our sin of not living for God. We are not absolute for God, and we are sinful in the eyes of God. Thus, we need Christ not only as our burnt offering but also as our sin offering.
Human uncleanness issues from birth and is intensified by sin, which is signified by leprosy.
According to the Old Testament, leprosy is the outcome of man’s rebellion against God’s authority, God’s deputy authority, God’s regulation, and God’s economy. This is confirmed by several cases in the Bible, such as Miriam’s rebellion against Moses, who was God’s deputy authority (Num. 12:1-10); the rebellion of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, against Elisha’s practices (2 Kings 5:20-27); and King Uzziah’s rebellion against God’s regulation concerning the priesthood (2 Chron. 26:16-21).
Although leprosy originates from outside a person’s body with some kind of germs or bacteria, it is caused by these germs or bacteria entering into a person’s body and being mingled with his constitution, thus becoming a disease that comes from within his body, as illustrated by the cases of Miriam, Gehazi, and Uzziah. Miriam became leprous after she rebelled against Moses because he married a Cushite woman. Gehazi went behind Elisha’s back and received gifts from Naaman, a Gentile who was healed of leprosy; afterward, Naaman’s leprosy was transferred to him. Uzziah, as king, could not participate in the priesthood. When he rebelled against this regulation, he became leprous. In these three cases, leprosy first entered into the rebellious ones and then came forth from them.
Leprosy is a disease that is not easily cured and often results in death because it is mingled with man’s constitution.
Leprosy signifies the sin that dwells and does evil in man. The denotation of sin in the biblical sense is rebellion. Rebellion was invented, inaugurated, by Satan. Through the fall of Adam the very leprosy invented by Satan entered into us. “Through one man sin entered into the world” (Rom. 5:12a). This leprosy still remains in us. This is the reason Paul says, “If what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me” (7:20). Having entered into us, this sin, this leprosy, comes forth from within us as sins, offenses, and transgressions. Although sin comes from Satan, who is outside of man, it entered into man’s flesh and became mingled with man’s fallen nature. Hence, it is not easy to be cleared away; rather, it kills man.
Leviticus 13:45-46 speaks of a leper’s open confession of his leprosy to others. This indicates that a sinner should make an open confession of his sin.
Verse 45 says, “As for the leper in whom the infection is, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be let loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry, Unclean, unclean!” Here we are shown several aspects of the leper’s confession of his leprosy.
The tearing of clothes signifies that a sinner admits that he is bankrupt in morality; having his hair let loose signifies that he is utterly lacking in subjection to authority, being unruly and reckless; covering his upper lip indicates that whatever issues out of a sinner is filthy and contagious and that he should not be contacted; a sinner’s crying “Unclean, unclean!” indicates self-condemnation without ceasing.
Verse 46 says, “He shall be unclean all the days during which the infection is in him; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” Dwelling alone outside the camp signifies that, until he clears up his sinfulness, the one who has sinned should stay outside the church and be isolated from the fellowship among God’s people (1 Cor. 5:13).
Leviticus 15 shows that we have a problem of discharges. These discharges are altogether unclean. Furthermore, the uncleanness that issues from us is contagious and causes others to be unclean.
According to the Bible, our body is our embodiment. Our body is our being, our constitution. Whatever comes out of our body, out of our constitution, as a discharge, is unclean and contagious.
“When one who has the discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count seven days for himself for his cleansing; then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water, and he shall be clean” (v. 13). This signifies that we need to deal repeatedly with our outward living and behavior and with our natural life until our natural life is fully terminated. In addition, we need the washing of the Spirit as the water of life in the word of God for us to be cleansed.
“On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before Jehovah at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. And the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make expiation for him before Jehovah for his discharge” (vv. 14-15). Here Christ is typified by the two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One of these birds is a sin offering, and the other is a burnt offering. The function of Christ as the sin offering is to deal with our sinful nature. The function of Christ as the burnt offering is to be our life so that we may live a life that is absolute for God. Only Christ can meet our need in these two aspects. When we have Christ as our sin offering and as our burnt offering, the problem of our discharges is solved.
The Bible uses human birth, leprosy, and discharges to speak concerning man’s uncleanness in various aspects and man’s filthiness in different conditions. The uncleanness of the human birth coming out of the woman signifies that the source of all mankind is unclean.
Moreover, this uncleanness comes from within mankind. We are unclean by birth. We were unclean even when we were in our mother’s womb. We were born in uncleanness and live in uncleanness. The way for us to be cleansed from human uncleanness is by being circumcised. This means that our flesh must be put aside through the death of Christ so that we may be brought into the resurrection of Christ, not only to be cleansed but also to have a new beginning of life. Furthermore, we need to offer Christ as a burnt offering and a sin offering to redeem us from our sin of not living for God and to be one with Him that we may become a burnt offering offered to God.
Our uncleanness not only issues from birth, but it is also intensified by sin, which is signified by leprosy. Leprosy is the outcome of man’s rebellion against God’s authority, God’s deputy authority, God’s regulation, and God’s economy. Hence, leprosy signifies the sin that dwells and does evil in man. The denotation of sin in the biblical sense is rebellion. This rebellion was invented, inaugurated, by Satan. Through the fall of Adam the very leprosy invented by Satan entered into us and remains in us all the time. Having entered into us, this sin, this leprosy, was mingled with our fallen nature as one. Hence, it is not easy to be cleared away; rather, it kills man. A leper has to openly confess his leprosy, indicating that a sinner must make an open confession of his sin. Furthermore, he has to dwell alone outside the camp, signifying that, until he clears up his sinfulness, the one who has sinned should stay outside the church and be isolated from the fellowship among God’s people.
Furthermore, we have a problem of discharges. These discharges are altogether unclean. Moreover, the uncleanness that issues from us is contagious and causes others to be unclean. The way for one who has a discharge to be cleansed is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water. This signifies that we need to deal repeatedly with our outward living and behavior and with our natural life until our natural life is fully terminated. In addition, we need the washing of the Spirit as the water of life in the word of God for us to be cleansed. We also need to experience Christ as the sin offering and the burnt offering to deal with our sinful nature and to be our life so that we may live a life that is absolute for God. In this way the problem of our discharges is solved.
