The Levitical Pastor #2: Uncleanness in the Camp

"The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “When a person has on the skin of his body a (A)swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous[a] disease on the skin of his body, (B)then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, 3 and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, (C)the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the (D)priest shall shut him up for another seven days. 6 And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption. And (E)he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. 8 And the priest shall look, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease. (Leviticus 13:1-8)

One of the responsibilities of the Levitical priest was to pass judgment on cleanness and uncleanness in the camp. In Leviticus 13 protocol is established for how a priest was to handle cases of leprosy within his priestly jurisdiction. An important thing for readers to remember is that the uncleanness of leprosy has much less to do with medical considerations and more to do with spiritual symbolism. Leprosy, along with shed blood, dead bodies, crushed limbs, etc. are not inherently unclean, but are signs of the presence of sin in the world. God doesn't hate people with disabilities, despite what some ignorant critics might say. We know this by the simple fact that Christ, the eternal God become man, did not shun lepers, (Luke 5:12-16) the blind, (Mark 8:22-26) nor the dead. (Luke 7:11-17) Rather, as the Bible makes very clear, God hates sin, the presence of which results in blood, death, disease, etc.

This teaches us the truth that priests were charged with keeping uncleanness outside of the camp, away from God's people. They were responsible for maintaining the holiness of the camp, as God's dwelling place must be holy. In the same way, pastors and elders are charged with maintaining the purity of their local church. 

Matthew 18:15-20 deals with this issue. Jesus says "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone." But if the Christian brother or sister refuses to listen, even in the presence of two or three witnesses, then the church is called to bring him up for discipline, "And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector." 

We see this play out in a real-world scenario in 1 Corinthians 5. The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church concerning one of their members who is guilty of heinous sexual sin, particularly for sleeping with his father's wife (probably meaning a stepmother, not blood relation). Paul says "When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." 

Just as the priest was to separate the uncleanness from the camp of Israel, so too the pastor and elders are to separate the uncleanness from the local church. This is what we call church discipline, and its most extreme manifestation is when a person must be excommunicated from the church, that is, barred from the communion table and refused fellowship. 

One thing we learn about discipline from Leviticus is that discipline is a gradual process. When a person came to a priest with a potential spot of leprosy, they weren't immediately kicked out of the camp, unless the disease was clearly deeper than the skin. (Lev 13:3) If the leprosy was no more than skin deep, the person was shut up for seven days (Lev 13:4), essentially a probation period to see what would happen. If after the probationary period, the diseased area had not spread and begun to fade, then the person was pronounced clean. If the disease had spread, he was pronounced unclean. 

When a person is caught in a particularly extreme, unrepentant sin, such as the sexual immorality Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 5, the person needs to be disciplined immediately, probably with excommunication. However, let's say a man is struggling with an alcohol addiction. It's causing his family to suffer and needs to be dealt with by the church. The first step is not to excommunicate him, but probably to put him on a probationary period; a time where the man is under direct supervision of the pastor and elders, to see whether he will make progress away from this sin and towards restoration. If after the probationary period, the man has shown clear signs of repentance and a renewed purpose in caring for his family, then the discipline can be eased up progressively. If, however, he remains defiant (if his sin has gone more than "skin deep") and continues in his drunkenness, neglecting his wife and children, then he needs to be brought up on charges, and possibly excommunicated from the fellowship. Paul, quoting from Deuteronomy 22, says that in this scenario that church leaders must "Purge the evil person from among you." (1 Cor 5:13) 

The hope under the Levitical priesthood was that the leprous person would be cleansed from their leprosy, in which case they went through a cleansing rite of sacrifice, shaving, washing the clothes, and bathing their body. After this, they were fully restored to fellowship within the camp. The ultimate goal was not to shun the leper, but to hope and pray for their healing that they could be restored. This is the same hope for the local church today as the pastor and elders carry out discipline, maintaining the peace and purity of the Church.

+ Blessings in Christ +