Leviticus 13:40–41

Verses 38 and 39 deal with a case where there were no real symptoms of leprosy at all. Yet if a question was raised, the priest had to examine the person and pronounce him clean. Baldness, whether full or partial, was not to be treated as suspect (vv. 40-41). Yet a bald head might develop a sore. The priest had to examine that too, just as in other cases, with the same care, and reach a decision one way or the other.

But there is also provision against a morbid judgment and despair. Satan knows how to use that for injury and ruin. There is provision too against the more common danger: a scrutiny that is too light and too easy on itself... Grace is as opposed to severity as it is to laxness. It is holy, but neither hard nor careless nor compromising. God is light, and God is love.

Another case comes next, which there was still less reason to confuse with leprosy. Weakness is nothing of the sort. A man's hair might fall off his head in general, or from the parts of his head toward his face. He might be bald, or bald at the forehead. In either case it was no more than weakness. And weakness is not sin, any more than sin should be called weakness, as is too often done. The apostle gloried in his weaknesses, his trials and sufferings. No saint could make light of a single sin; still less could he glory in sins. Whoever does so proclaims himself a leper; and his claim to be a saint is utter delusion.

First I take the man whose hair fell off his head (Lev. 13:40). That hair in Old Testament Scripture is a figure of natural strength will not be disputed by anyone here... Samson lost his hair, and his power was gone: "he did not know that the LORD had departed from him." How far we may get from God without knowing it! His hair gone, his power gone, he was at once easy prey for his enemies, who put his eyes out.

"Go up, bald head!" they cry out to him, because in his person he shows signs of decline, of old age, and of reproach. Yet nonetheless the law declares such a man to be clean and not defiled (Lev. 13:40-41). God should have looked for simple faith from these people. Instead they reject the one who represents the Messiah and bears witness to Him.

There may also be a bald spot — a bald head, or bald forehead (vv. 40, 41). It is a lack of ordinary strength and of natural comeliness shown by someone in Israel, yet he is clean... But leprosy may spring up in any of them: a red spot or a scab, a swelling or a boil, an itch or a bald spot. So if we are unguarded, we begin to give way to the indulgences and weaknesses of the flesh, or the desires of the mind. That can grow into wilful action which calls for the most serious dealing that God can exercise toward man on earth.

It is a serious thing to have a bald head in spiritual things — weakness set in first, then the disease. Weakness in itself is no disease, but it makes a person open to any epidemic. How different the effect of a chill is on a strong man and a weak one! The first shakes it off easily, but it may kill the second.

There can be no doubt that leprosy is one of the most striking pictures of sin the Bible offers. The instructions of this chapter are given to Aaron as well as to Moses, because finding and treating leprosy was the priest's own special work. Note that leprosy, as a picture, stresses not so much the guilt of sin as its corrupting and defiling power.

A man's hair might fall out from his head in general, or from the part of his head toward his face. He might be bald, or bald at the forehead. In either case it was no more than weakness, and weakness is not sin — any more than sin should be called weakness, as people too often do. The apostle gloried in his weaknesses, his trials and sufferings. No saint could make light of a single sin. Still less could he glory in sins. Whoever does so declares himself a leper, and his claim to be a saint is a complete delusion.

There is provision here against a sick self-judgment and despair, which Satan knows how to use for harm and ruin. There is provision too against the more common danger: an examination that is too light and too easy on ourselves... Grace is as much against harshness as it is against looseness. It is holy, but it is neither hard nor careless nor compromising. God is light, and God is love.

In Old Testament Scripture, hair is a figure of natural strength. When Samson had his hair on, neither man nor beast could touch him. Samson lost his hair, and his power was gone. He was at once easy prey for his enemies... It is a serious thing to have a bald head in spiritual things — weakness set in first, then the disease. Weakness by itself is no disease, but it leaves you open to any epidemic. See how differently a chill affects a strong man and a weak one! The strong man shakes it off easily, but it may kill the weak one. With all the troubles around us today, I believe that in most cases the weakness was there first. So it matters very much that we should not lose a hair.

Whether it is a red spot or a scab, a swelling or a boil, a scaly patch or a bald spot, it is possible that leprosy may spring up in any of them. So if we are careless and begin to give way to the indulgences and weaknesses of the flesh, or the desires of the mind, it may easily go on to the kind of wilful acts that call for the most serious dealing God can use toward man on earth. Even in a bald spot leprosy may spring up.

The forehead is a common place for leprosy to show itself. Many people today have the plague of leprosy in their heads and have not the least idea that they are completely unclean. They have their own ideas. They reason things out with their own mind. They trust their own heads instead of the Word of God. Pride, and above all pride of intellect, is the root of the trouble when the leprosy is in the head. We may see a terrible example of this in Uzziah. His pride made him take the place that belonged to the priests alone, and the leprosy rose up in his forehead.

Elisha goes up to Bethel. Children, created to give praise, mock the man of God!... "Go up, bald head!" they cry out to him, because in himself he shows the marks of decay, of old age, and of reproach. Yet the law still declares such a man to be clean and not defiled (Lev. 13:40-41).