Chapters 12-13

Leviticus 12:2 - John Calvin rightly points out here that she was made unclean by child-bearing not for the act of sex, as some sects of Christianity have supposed. It would do us well to note that sex took place in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned. Unfortunately, the mistaken notion that Christians can only enjoy the conjugal act when procreating still abounds - undoubtedly because some sects still teach that false doctrine.

Leviticus 12:1-5 - We must address the question of why the time of purification is double when a female is born compared to a male. The answer is: No one really knows. The best possible explanation I can find is according to John Gill: On the eighth day, the male child is circumcised. The circumcision the child undergoes lessens the time of purification the mother must endure. With the spilling of the child's blood, the child is bearing half of the purgation. We may suppose then that the actual required time of cleansing is 80, as in the female. But when the male child is circumcised, the time is cut in half. Rather than viewing it the opposite; the time is doubled for the female.
Calvin makes an interesting observation that the male has the distinct privilege of bearing the sign of the covenant of God with Israel in his flesh.

Leviticus 12:7 - By this verse, it appears that the "sin" per se is related to the flow of blood rather than the actually bearing of a child. The language of this verse links making atonement for sin and cleansing from the flow of blood. This suggests that the flow of blood made her unclean and required cleansing.

Leviticus 12:8 - This verse is where the One True and Living God differs from all the other gods of this world. The God of Israel does not despise the offerings of the poor, nor does He require elaborate offerings. By contrast, other religions hold that the better the offering, the better the blessing from the god.

Leviticus 13 - GENERAL REMARKS - Strangely to me, the Lord gives the two long chapters (116 verses) to the subject of leprosy. Whereas other topics are covered much more briefly. It is an interesting study to examine the OT teaching on leprosy, the Rabbinic teaching that developed from the OT, and then how Jesus handled lepers.

Leviticus 13:13 - Why is he clean if he has leprosy all over him? This is astonishing! Gill suggests that he is clean because his body is purging the sickness adequately. If the sores were only localized, then it would be a sign that the body was not purging. Also, the fact that it is white means the sores are on their way out. Verse 15 identifies raw flesh as being unclean and leprous. Some have spiritualized this to say that when a person is aware of their utter and complete uncleanness and sin (covered with sores), it is only then that they have the chance to be declared clean by the Great High Priest (Jesus).

Leviticus 13:37 - Here we see that the priest is confirming something that is already a reality. "He is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean" (NASB). As ministers, our job is often to pronounce things that are already a reality. At other times, the Lord uses ministers to proclaim something not yet a reality. For example, Hannah is praying at the temple to conceive a child. Eli, the priest, comes and says to her, "May the Lord grant the request you have asked of him" (1 Samuel 1:17). Then she conceived. Later, Eli blesses her again saying, "May the Lord give you [more] children..." (vs. 20). And she goes on to have five more children (vs. 21).

Leviticus 13:45 - This is the verse with instructions that we are familiar to us. The leper is to go about crying "Unclean. Unclean." A distance of 6 feet was to be kept, at minimum, from anyone with the disease. In Edersheim's treatment of the subject of leprosy, he mentions one Rabbi who would not eat an egg from the street on which a leper walked. Another Rabbi used to throw stones at lepers to keep them at bay. Lepers were not allowed inside walled cities. To touch a leper was similar to the defilement of touching something dead. (Recall there are various degrees of defilements: Approaching a woman sexually during her cycle, child-bearing, contacting a dead carcass, etc.) This gives more significance to the ministry of Jesus. From the Talmudic Tractate (which is a type of Jewish commentary) of the Sanhedrin (98b), they call the Messiah, and I quote: "'the leper scholar,' as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted." (quoted directly from the Talmud as cited in Edersheim). This quote is very telling. It references Isaiah 53:4. But notice the difference. This Jewish commentary is giving the sense or meaning of the passage. The literal rendering of the passage does not include anything explicit about the Messiah being a leper. However, the word used for "stricken" (NASB) is a particular Hebrew word (consonants are: NGF). That word is used repeatedly to speak of someone who is stricken with leprosy. Now, in the first part of Isaiah 53:4, it speaks of how Jesus carried our sorrow and grief. Later, in verse 5, the Scripture says, "By his scourging we are healed" (NASB). Matthew gives an account of Jesus healing someone, then he writes, "This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases" (8:17) quoting from Isaiah 53:4. Thus divine healing has its foundation in the atonement. Here is the significance of this discussion: The Jews clearly understood that when the Hebrew word NGF was used in Isaiah 53:4, it was to denote "stricken with disease" (or specifically leprosy). This resonates with what the Scripture says later of Jesus' ministry in Matthew 8:17. It also sheds more light what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He was not just bearing sin, but sickness and disease. A purpose was to defeat death. He didn't just deal with the root cause of death, i.e., sin, but also the secondary cause of death: sickness and disease.

Leviticus 13:47-59 - Scripture here indicates that leprosy can be spread through clothing. This fact is acknowledged in modern textbook of dermatology. It is not the only way the disease is spread, as the Scripture also hints in verses 45-46.