The Spiritual Significance of Colors – White, Part 1

[Study Aired December 21, 2025]

As with every word we have covered, this word ‘white’ also has both a positive and a negative application. Why is that? It is because of what we learned in our last study:

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

I asked Google why the color white cannot be produced by mixing the three primary colors of the natural realm, and this was the answer I was given:

“Primary colors do not mix to make white in paint because of subtractive color mixing. In this process, pigments absorb (subtract) certain wavelengths of light. When you mix primary colors [of the natural realm] (like red, yellow, and blue, or cyan, magenta, and yellow), each added pigment absorbs [subtracts] more light, resulting in a darker color—typically a muddy brown or black—rather than white.” (End Quote)

The fact that the primary colors of the natural realm produce black instead of white signifies this in the spiritual words of scripture:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The three primary colors of the natural realm of what are called “subtractive colors” because they absorb all colors except the one seen by natural eyes. The three primary colors of this natural realm are red, yellow and blue. White cannot be produced by these three primary colors. Instead when combined they produce black. They cannot produce white, which signifies the light of life because they signify this dying, physical, natural realm. Instead they can only produce black and darkness in the eyes and mind of the natural man. That is why the cloud that came between Egypt and Israel was darkness to Egypt, because Egypt signifies our old man.  In the events which transpired between Israel and Egypt at the Red Sea, Christ brings darkness and death to Egypt, which signifies our old man, and the same cloud brings light and  life to Israel which signifies our new man.

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

Something must be given to the Lord’s people which will cause that cloud to give light and life instead of darkness and death. The thing we are given to indicate this life-giving change is the replacing of the sickly and deadly color yellow with the life-giving color green. When yellow is replaced with green as a primary color in the ‘intellectual realm’, (think spirit) we are then given to see the colors which are all hidden in the light passing through a prism. The three primary colors, which signify the work of the spirit in our dying, corruptible bodies of clay, are now red, green, and blue. Replacing yellow with green and combining these three primary colors in the intellectual (think spiritual) realm now produces pure, life-giving white light. Yet this is the same cloud which is producing darkness and death on its flip side, the side of our old, natural, dying, carnal-minded man.

Here is how does this ‘cloud’ appear to those who do not know Christ:

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

God’s Word is “a cloud and darkness to them.” The natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit, because they are foolishness to him. He “cannot hear” Christ because He has not been given ‘ears that hear’:

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? Because ye cannot hear my word.

This is the reason we are given for why the “multitudes” who come to Christ “cannot hear [His] word.”

Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

This spiritual blindness is not unique to the Jews. Spiritual blindness is a human condition, and that is why all of humanity is guilty of the crucifixion of Christ:

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

“They are foolishness to him” means that God’s spiritual Words are “a cloud and darkness” to the natural man, and at the same time, they “give light by night to these”; to those to whom the Father is revealing Himself.

Christ, the cloud, separates His people from Egypt. ‘Egypt’ signifies our natural man. That separation is accomplished by blinding Egypt while simultaneously giving light to His own people. While those with whom God is working can see that Christ creates both light and darkness, they can also understand that it is He who creates both good and evil (Isa 45:7).

Something must occur within the life of the natural man before he can begin to see with spiritual eyes. That event which begins to give our old man the ability to die daily to his old way of seeing the Words of Christ is signified in “the things that are made” (Rom 1:20) by replacing the primary color of deadly yellow with the new life-giving primary color green. This changes everything, and now these three primary colors, red, green, and blue when combined, produce white, which signifies the “light of life”:

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

This all seems to be contradictory to the natural man. The natural man cannot see how “sins as red as crimson” can be “washed white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

It is a total contradiction to the natural man to be told that one can “find his life [only] by losing it.”

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

How is it possible to say that one can only see by acknowledging his blindness, and how is it possible to avoid judgment by being judged?

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

The natural man cannot understand how it is possible to avoid the lake of fire by going through that same consuming fire here and now, and the natural man cannot see how we all avoid the wrath of God by enduring “God’s wrath on the children of disobedience” and “fulfilling the seven plagues of the seven angels” Yet we are told:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

This is the hardest part of “the things which are written therein which we are to keep” for the natural man to understand and believe:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The natural man cannot see that it is God’s elect who must “live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

“Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” certainly includes the words of Revelation 15:8, which unequivocally tell us that “no man was able to enter into the temple (“which temple we are”, 1Co 3:15-16) till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

To the natural man it is contradictory to say that God is the creator of both good and evil. It is contradictory to say that Christ is a cloud which is both light and darkness, but that is why every word of the Word of God has both a negative and a positive application. It is because Christ is the cloud which separates His people from the people of Egypt. It is Christ in us which separates the natural man from the man who is “spiritually minded.” It is because Christ is His Word, and that word is “a cloud and darkness to them, but it gives light by night to these: so that the one comes not near the other all the night.”

How the Natural Man sees the Color White

The natural man sees white only as a type of light and righteousness. He cannot see white as a type of his deceived and diseased condition. Here is the only way ‘white is perceived in the eyes of the natural man:

Mat 17:2  And [Christ] was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

Ecc 9:8  Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

These four verses will serve to express how most of us think of the color ‘white’. We think of white as snow, wool and the light of the Truth. One more verse will serve to demonstrate how this word is used in its positive sense:

Rev 19:8  And to her [Christ’s bride, signifying His elect] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The Spiritually Negative Application of the Color White

This is not how ‘snow’ and ‘white’ are always used in God’s Word. Here are a couple of examples of their negative application:

Exo 4:6  And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

Num 12:9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them [Miriam and Aaron]; and he departed.
Num 12:10  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

Christ appears as “white as the light.”

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Babylon also appears as “an angel of light”:

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

So Satan, too, is ‘white as light”, but it is the ‘white’ of the incurable disease of leprosy. It is incurable because “flesh… cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1Co 15:50). Flesh must begin to be relinquished before we can begin to enter into the kingdom of God.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Many of the verses in the early parts of God’s Word connect the color ‘white’ to the disease of leprosy. We will bring this out later, but let’s begin where the Bible begins and see where ‘white’ first appears. White first appears in the King James Version of the Bible in ‘Babylon’ with all of its white sheep. By ‘Babylon’ I mean in Haran, where Jacob had gone on the other side of the flood, the river Euphrates, fleeing from his brother and looking for a wife. Jacob has served his father-in-law for two of his daughters and was now ready to go back to the land of Canaan:

Gen 30:25  And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Gen 30:26  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
Gen 30:27  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
Gen 30:28  And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
Gen 30:29  And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
Gen 30:30  For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
Gen 30:31  And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:
Gen 30:32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.
Gen 30:33  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
Gen 30:34  And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
Gen 30:35  And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Gen 30:36  And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Gen 30:37  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

In this story Jacob typifies Christ and those in Christ. Christ’s flocks have “some white in them,” but they are “speckled and spotted”, and none of the sheep belonging to Jacob are all white. All of the sheep are brown or speckled. Laban knew that sheep were generally white by nature, just as we are all leprous by nature. Laban actually believed that he had made a tremendous deal and that Jacob would probably get just a very small fraction of the increase of the flocks. However, this is all a parable about what is taking place within each of us. What God is showing us is that we are anything but white in any spiritual sense. At the same time, we are being brought to see that the white flocks of Laban and Babylon are nothing more than the “snow white” of spiritual leprosy. Laban never crosses the Euphrates River to go into the Promised Land, and yet it is very interesting that the Hebrew word for ‘white’ is ‘laban.’

H3835
la ban
law- ban’
A primitive root; to be (or become) white; also (as denominative from H3843) to make bricks: – make brick, be (made, make) white (-r).

The reason I said that “according to the King James Version” the word ‘white’ first appears in the story of Jacob’s time spent in the area of Haran is that, in reality, the word ‘white’ actually first appears in the Hebrew back in Genesis in the story of the building of the Tower of Babylon. It appears in the Hebrew word translated ‘brick’ as in the bricks used to build the Tower of Babel. The Hebrew root for this word translated ‘brick’ comes from the primitive root for the Hebrew word for white. It is:

H3843
lebe na h
leb- ay- naw’
From H3835; a brick (from the whiteness of the clay): – (altar of) brick, tile.

Gen 11:3  And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick [Hebrew: 3843 lebenah] for stone, and slime had they for morter.

The builders of Babel had vastly inferior bricks for stones, and they had vastly inferior slime for actual mortar. Christ is the “stone hewed out of the mountain without hands” (Dan 2:45), and it is His spirit, His doctrines and His Words which are the mortar which unites the “lively stones” of His temple (1Pe 2:5, 1Co 3:15-16). The brick and slime of Babel is all the false doctrines which have produced 45,000 and counting, conflicting and contradicting ‘Christian’ denominations. The Truth, which is the words of Christ and His doctrines (Joh 14:6), is the spirit (Joh 6:63) which keeps those who know the voice of the True Shepherd united as “one spirit with the same mind and the same judgment.”

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and, that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many.

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

So the tower of Babel was apparently built of white brick, but it is the whiteness of leprosy. Here is another Old Testament story which “happened to them and is written for our admonition” (1Co 10:11), which shows the connection between the color white and the incurable and deadly disease of leprosy:

2Ki 5:1  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, [but he was] a leper.
2Ki 5:2  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
2Ki 5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:4  And [one] went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that [is] of the land of Israel.
2Ki 5:5  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
2Ki 5:6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have [therewith] sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, [Am] I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. [Leprosy was considered a death sentence.]
2Ki 5:8  And it was [so], when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
2Ki 5:9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
2Ki 5:10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
2Ki 5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2Ki 5:12  [Are] not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
2Ki 5:13  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bid thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done [it]? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
2Ki 5:14  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean [1Co 1:1-7, 1Co 3:1-4].
2Ki 5:15  And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that [there is] no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
2Ki 5:16  But he said, [As] the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take [it]; but he refused. [Abraham took nothing for delivering the king of Sodom, and John tells us to “take nothing of the Gentiles” [Gen 14:23, 3Jn 1:7].
2Ki 5:17  And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
2Ki 5:18  In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, [that] when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
2Ki 5:19  And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
2Ki 5:20  But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, [as] the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
2Ki 5:21  So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw [him] running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, [Is] all well?
2Ki 5:22  And he said, All [is] well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
2Ki 5:23  And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid [them] upon two of his servants; and they bare [them] before him.
2Ki 5:24  And when he came to the tower, he took [them] from their hand, and bestowed [them] in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
2Ki 5:25  But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence [comest thou], Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
2Ki 5:26  And he said unto him, Went not mine heart [with thee], when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? [Is it] a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
2Ki 5:27  The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. [Leprosy never leaves the carnal-minded and those whose thoughts and affections are on the things of this earth.]

Far too many ‘Christian’ ministers have their affections set on “things on the earth” and not “on things above”:

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

The word ‘white’ appears in sixteen different verses of Leviticus 13, all in relation to the connection between the color ‘white’ and the signs of leprosy in either the color of the flesh or the color of the hair upon the flesh. White flesh and white hair upon the flesh are both signs of the incurable disease of leprosy, and leprosy is a physical type of the spiritual condition of the carnal mind.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Here are a few of the sixteen verses which describe the whiteness of leprosy, representing the spiritual type of “the body of this death.”

Lev 13:3  And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and [when] the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight [be] deeper than the skin of his flesh, it [is] a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Lev 13:10  And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;
Lev 13:11  It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

He is ‘white’, but “he is unclean.” He is a “whited sepulchre”.

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

If this verse only means the local Babylonian minister to you and you have never yet come to see that this is, was, and will be dying daily within you, then you are still in Babylon. As with all the other seeming contradictions of the things of the spirit, the only way to “come out of Babylon” is to admit that “dying daily” is “coming out of Babylon… daily.”

We have mentioned both the positive and negative, the light and the darkness of this color white, but we have dealt mostly with the negative application this week. Next week we will deal with the spiritually positive application of the color white in the word of God. What we should be coming to see is that, just as God could create a crooked serpent and a tree of knowledge of good and evil and pronounce it all “very good”, even so we should begin to understand these verses of scripture:

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Ecc 3:11  He hath made every [thing] beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

[Here is the link to the next study in this series.]

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The Spiritual Significance of the Color Yellow

[Study Aired December 7, 2025]

“The holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual with spiritual” (1Co 2:13).

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

We are going through colors in scripture, and we are seeing that colors, when mentioned in the scriptures, all have behind them a spiritual message and meaning. Our color we will examine today is the color yellow. There are two words which are translated as yellow in scripture. The first word is found three times in Leviticus 13:

Lev 13:30  Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow [H6669, ‘tsahob’, yellow] thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

Lev 13:32  And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow [H6669, ‘tsahob’, yellow] hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;

Lev 13:36  Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow [H6669, ‘tsahob’, yellow] hair; he is unclean.

Here is Strong’s definition of this Hebrew word:

H6669
צָהֹב
tsâhôb
tsaw-obe’
From H6668; golden in color: – yellow.

Total KJV occurrences: 3

Here is the verse in Psalms where the other Hebrew word which is translated as ‘yellow’ appears:

Psa 68:13  Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow [H34:22 ‘yaraqraq’- yellowish green] gold.

It is instructive to note that in the three primary colors of a glass prism, the colors which signify the Lord’s work in the spirit realm, the combination of green and red produces yellow.

As with every word in scripture, this word ‘yellow’ has both a positive and a negative application. Today we will concern ourselves mainly with its negative application in the Word of God. The reason for this is that the positive application for this word translated as ‘yellow’ has as its root the Hebrew word for gold. We all know that ‘gold’ is generally given a positive connotation in God’s Word.

Exo 25:17  And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold [H2091, ‘gold or yellow’]: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

Yellow is one of the three primary colors which signify the Lord’s work in the material realm. Those three primary colors are blue, red and yellow.

Here is Strong’s number and definition of the Hebrew word, H6669, ‘tsahob ‘yellow.’

H6669
tsa ho b
tsaw- obe’
From H6668; golden in color: – yellow.

How ‘Yellow’ Is Used In Scripture

Yellow is found in only four verses in scripture. The first three are in Leviticus where yellow is first found in reference to our spiritually dead and dying condition:

Lev 13:29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
Lev 13:30 Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow [H6669 – tsa hob tsaw- obe’] thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it [is] a dry scall, [even] a leprosy upon the head or beard.

Lev 13:32 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow [H6669 – tsa hob tsaw- obe’] hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;
Lev 13:33 He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up [him that hath] the scall seven days more:
Lev 13:34 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, [if] the scall be not spread in the skin, nor [be] in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
Lev 13:35 But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;
Lev 13:36 Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he [is] unclean.
Lev 13:37 But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

Who does ‘the priest’ signify, and what does this scall signify? Here is Webster’s definition of the old English word ‘scall’ which my google spell-check does not even recognize as a word:

Scall
SCALL, n. [See Scald and Scaldhead.]
Scab; scabbiness; leprosy.
It is a dry scall, even a leprosy on the head. Lev 13:30

The priest obviously signifies Christ and His Christ, and the ‘scall’ being a disease obviously signifies sin in the midst of the Lord’s body which must be taken out of His body.

The Spiritual Application of the Color Yellow

Here is the spiritual application of these verses in Leviticus 13 concerning the spread of leprosy in the camp of Israel:

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  [Just as leprosy spreads through out the entire camp]
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

What Is “The Spirit of Truth?”

“The spirit of Truth” is the serum that protects us from the poison of this spiritual leprosy. This phrase ‘spirit of truth’ appears four times in the New Testament. Those four times are very revealing in their connection with our subject, the color yellow and its spiritual meaning:

Joh 14:17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

How Can We Know Whether We Have This “Spirit of Truth?”

1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

“Us” is not just anyone who says that this “us” is their group. The only way you can know who this “us” is, is to realize that this “us” is speaking of those who are faithful to and abide in “the doctrine of Christ”:

1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, [even] the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

Now if “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ” to you means words which are “above what is written” then you are a ship adrift on a raging sea full of dangerous and destructive rocks and mountains just below the surface. You are there without the benefit of the rudder of “that which is written”:

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

It is those who do “that which is written” who can say:

1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We must never play mind games with God. Either we lay down our lives in obedience to Him or we ignore the things He says:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

 If you are not scripturally oriented then you are at the mercy of anyone who points to the heavens and proclaims “Thus saith the Lord” because you have no way to “try that spirit to see whether it is of the Lord.”

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the [“same as the children – Heb 2:14] flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the [“same as the children”] flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. [That Christ “was made sin” was denied from the days of the apostle John.]
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We [Who do the things Christ says] are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

If we ‘do the things Christ says to do’ and if we are grounded only in “that which is written”, then we, too, can say with the apostle John that “he that knows God hears us.”

So the yellow and deadly doctrine of “the immaculate conception” in its many and varied forms continues and is accepted by the church world to this day. What we are admonished to do to avoid deception is about as popular with the church world as any of the other “doctrines of Christ.”

2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house [spiritual “holy place”- priests are not to eat with Levites who are not chosen of God as priests], neither bid him God speed:

Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

How little understood and much despised is this doctrine in the churches of Babylon which teach that today is the only day of salvation through a ten-second sinner’s prayer. All doctrines which conflict both with each other, and with the Word of God, are ‘yellow… leprous… leavened’ deadly false doctrine of “false prophets gone out into the world” and have spread like leaven and leprosy throughout all the camp of Israel. (1Jn 4:1).

The word ‘yellow’ appears one other time in the Bible outside of the book of Leviticus in the book of Psalms:

Psa 68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain [His Words and doctrines], whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it [we] was weary.
Psa 68:10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein [“that which is written”, (1Co 6:4)]: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
Psa 68:11 The Lord gave the word: great [was] the company of those that published [it].
Psa 68:12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
Psa 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
Psa 68:14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was [white] as snow in Salmon.

This is, of course, a positive application of the color yellow, but this is an entirely different Hebrew word. The word translated ‘yellow’ here is:

H3422
yeraqraq
yer- ak- rak’
From the same as H3418; yellowishness: – greenish, yellow.

Here is how this word is translated in the King James Version:

Lev 13:49 And if the plague be greenish [yeraqraq -3422] or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it [is] a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

Lev 14:37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, [if] the plague [be] in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish [yeraqraq] or reddish, which in sight [are] lower than the wall;

The third and last time this word appears in the Old Testament is the verse in Psalms we have referenced above:

Psa 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow [yeraqraq – 3422] gold.

H3422, yeraqraq, which is translated “greenish” two out of three times, comes from the same as H3418. Here is Strong’s definition of H3418:

H3418
yereq
yeh’- rek
From H3417 (in the sense of vacuity of color); properly pallor, that is, hence the yellowish green of young and sickly vegetation; concretely verdure, that is, grass or vegetation: – grass, green (thing).

Here is how this word is translated in scripture:

Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green [Hebrew: 3418 – yereq] herb for meat: and it was so.

Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

We covered this color ‘green’ in detail in our last three studies, but suffice this verse to indicate the significance of the color green at this time:

1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as [green] grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

Seeing this connection between the Hebrew root of the words for yellow, greenish yellow and gold has given me a new appreciation for the old saying that “all that glitters is not gold.”

The Purpose for “Greenish Yellow” in our Lives”

Before the flood mankind was not baptized and therefore could eat only green herbs and survive. Now, after baptism, “every moving thing that lives…” the meat of God’s word, even our enemies, can now be eaten and dealt with as nourishment which just yesterday would have choked us to death.

Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, [is] an exceeding good land.
Num 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.
Num 14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones.

Greenish Yellow is our Trials and Tests in This Life

Our greatest trials ought to be our most nourishing moments.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh [being “under the law], but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: [not by the works of the law].

1Pe 4:11 If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God [“That which is written” (1Co 4:6)] ; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17 For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls [to him] in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Yereq, Strong’s number 3418, comes from 3417 – yarak – which is:

Num 12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam [became] leprous, [white] as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
Num 12:11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Num 12:12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Num 12:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit [yarak-3417] in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
Num 12:15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

Deu 25:9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face [yarak-3417], and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.

This is what happens to all who rebel against God’s Word and who seek to bring their brothers linage to an end. It has the same end as eating with the Levites; both end up dying. That, again is the negative significance of the color yellow.

Lev 7:6 Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it [is] most holy.

Num 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear [it]: but they shall not touch [any] holy thing, lest they die. These [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

How is this applied in our world today?

Col 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

The ‘destruction of the flesh’ is a spiritual statement having to do with the destruction of the “mind of the flesh.”

1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;  with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

“With such an one no not to eat” is the same as “let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again:”

2Co 2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
2Co 2:7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
2Co 2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.

“Punishment… sorrow… love toward him.” That is God’s formula for keeping “the leaven of the Pharisees” out of His church. It is right here in this same chapter of 1 Corinthians:

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

This is not even talking about what we today call ‘the Lord’s supper.” Neither is it talking about keeping the ‘Passover and the days of unleavened bread.’ ‘This is, rather, speaking of keeping fornication (primarily spiritual fornication) out of the midst of the people in whom God dwells.

Conclusion

Yellow signifies the dying condition of our flesh.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it].

This is the negative application of this word describing this primary color.

By following this word back to it very root, we arrive right back at a leprous condition where there is no spiritual growth, and the camp cannot move while ‘Miriam’ is in this incurable, deadly, diseased condition.

What is this deadly, “yellow”, incurable condition?

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

We are totally unaware that Adam was created into a “body of this death,” and we all come into this world in “the body of this death,” in a dying condition. We are all, at first, the living dead:

Mat 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Luk 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Remember that there is another word translated as yellow which has a positive application. I repeat: The word ‘yellow’ appears one other time in the Bible outside of the book of Leviticus in the book of Psalms:

Psa 68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
Psa 68:10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
Psa 68:11 The Lord gave the word: great [was] the company of those that published [it].
Psa 68:12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
Psa 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
Psa 68:14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was [white] as snow in Salmon.

What is Christ’s inheritance?

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his [Christ’s] calling, and what the riches of the glory of his [Christ’s] inheritance in the saints,

That is what the scriptures teach. “Christ’s inheritance [is] in the saints.”

Who are these “poor” of Psalm 68:10?

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is, of course, a positive application of the color yellow, but this is an entirely different Hebrew word. The word translated ‘yellow’ here is:

H3422
yeraqraq
yer- ak- rak’
From the same as H3418; yellowishness: – greenish, yellow.

H3422, yeraqraq, comes from the same as 3418. Here is Strong’s definition of 3418:

H3418
yereq
yeh’- rek
From H3417 (in the sense of vacuity of color); properly pallor, that is, hence the yellowish green of young and sickly vegetation; concretely verdure, that is, grass or vegetation: – grass, green (thing).

So we conclude this study noticing that yellow is closely associated with the color green. As any professional painter can tell you, green is the result of the mixing of blue (the things of heaven and of life) and yellow (our dying vessel of clay).

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen; [yellow – dying) vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God (heavenly – blue), and not of us.

Next study we will see the importance of the color black.

Numbers 12:1-16  The Disease of Leprosy

[Study Aired July 17, 2023]

Num 12:1  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 
Num 12:2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. 
Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 
Num 12:4  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 
Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 
Num 12:9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 
Num 12:10  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 
Num 12:11  And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 
Num 12:12  Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb. 
Num 12:13  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Num 12:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
Num 12:15  And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
Num 12:16  And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

Introduction

One of the cardinal sins of a soldier is to try to usurp the power of his commanding officer. In military terms, this can result in mutiny which is punishable by death. Every nation has the Head of State as its commanding officer and is represented by the army chiefs. As the Lord prepares His army for battle, we are to submit wholly to our commanding officer who is Jesus Christ and is represented by the church. Any disobedience against leadership is disobedience against Christ. Chapter 12 focuses on the rebellion initiated by Aaron and Miriam against Moses. It reveals to us the root cause for the rebellion, its effect and the Lord’s recommended way of dealing with such a rebellion. This is what Moses told the people of Israel just before his death:

Deu 31:27  For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?

We have all rebelled against the Lord during our walk with Him, especially when we were in Babylon. We therefore deserve to be put to death, that is, being spiritually alienated from the commonwealth of the Lord’s elect. However, unlike Saul, God has been merciful to us – He has not rejected us from becoming kings to rule the earth at the fullness of time. 

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 

Num 12:1  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 

This marriage of Moses became a bone of contention used by Aaron and Miriam to discredit Moses’ leadership. The Old Testament uses the term “Cush” and “Cushites” to refer to Africa and Africans. During the Old and New Testament period, it was Ethiopia that was most prominent in Africa apart from Egypt. Thus, in most versions of the Bible, the word “Cushite” is used instead of “Ethiopian”. The word “Cush” means “black” and historically, the people of Cush have been dark-skinned. The prophet Jeremiah alluded to Cushites’ skin color when he rhetorically said:

Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. 

There is a biblical connection between the Cushites and the Midianites. We know that Moses’ wife, Zipporah, was a Midianite. 

Exo 2:16  Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

Exo 2:21  And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 

In Habakkuk, there is a connection between Cushan or Cush and the Midianites, which may suggest that Cushan and Midian could be the same people. In that case, Zipporah is the same wife mentioned here in Numbers 12:1, who became the bone of contention.

Hab 3:7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 

Verse 1 therefore highlights racial sentiments underlying the accusation of Miriam and Aaron. Racism has been with humanity right from the beginning, and as we see the day approaching, it is going to get worse. It is only when one is in Christ that the seed of racism is destroyed completely through the destruction of the beast within. The fact that Miriam and Aaron were accusing Moses of marrying a Cushite woman shows that they were carnal, even though Aaron was a leader of the Lord’s people and Miriam was a prophetess. We were all carnal at a certain stage of our walk with Christ and looked at things from a carnal perspective, instead of the viewpoint from the new man after the image of Christ.

Num 12:2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

Carnality brings forth carnality. When we are ruled by the flesh, we become contentious in everything, even in spiritual matters, as we see here in verse 2. In the previous study, we realized the spiritual maturity of Moses when he made the following statement: 

Num 11:27  And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
Num 11:28  And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.”
Num 11:29  But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”

Moses desired that all God’s people will prophesy. In other words, God’s people will become spiritually mature and become like Him. Miriam and Aaron, however, were contending with the leadership of the Lord’s people. We have seen this a lot when we were in Babylon – how church leaders separate themselves to start their own church after a disagreement with leadership. As the Lord will show us later in this episode, the root cause of our rejection of authority is because we are carnal – ruled by the flesh. As a body of Christ, we have also experienced what happened to Moses when periodically, some of our members rebel against authority and leave the fellowship. As we shall see later in this session, being ruled by the flesh is very subtle, especially when we have tasted the heavenly manna. That is what the disease of leprosy is. It starts within us for a long period of time before it becomes obvious when the skin develops spots.

Jud 1:8  Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 
Jud 1:9  But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 
Jud 1:10  But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. (ESV)

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 
Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Gal 5:21  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 

The word “meek” means humble or lowly. Moses’ meekness was very pronounced. In fact, during Moses’ time, he was the meekest person living on earth. The coming of Christ brought about a people whose meekness is after that of Christ, who is the meekest person to have ever lived. 

Php 2:6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 
Php 2:7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 
Php 2:8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  

One of the key aspects of the fruit of the Spirit is to walk in meekness. It is not something we can produce by ourselves – it is a gift from the Lord.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

Num 12:4  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 
Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

As commander of the Lord’s army, the Lord deals swiftly with any act of insubordination. This is because, if delayed, it will become like cancer which will quickly spread through the body.

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

When Diotrephes usurped the authority of Apostle John, then John told the church he would come soon to deal with the issue. 

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 

3Jn 1:14  But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. 

Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 

A prophet is one who speaks the word of the Lord, and his speaking or prophesying is for our edification, exhortation and comfort. In this regard, when we speak the word of the Lord to one another to comfort, edify or exhort, we are actually prophesying.

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

Verse 6 shows us that the Lord speaks to us through visions and dreams. However, these forms of communication are at a lower level when compared with the Lord speaking directly to us (mouth to mouth). 

Hos 12:10  I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables. (ESV)

As seen above, visions are like parables. The reason that dreams and visions are regarded as relatively lower forms of communication is that most of the time, these dreams and visions have to be interpreted before one can understand exactly what they mean. In addition, even if it is interpreted, we do not see the full picture of what the Lord is saying through dreams and visions. That is why Isaiah said that dreams are like visions of the night. In the night, it is difficult to see clearly.

Isa 29:7  And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. 

The highest form of communication with the Lord becomes possible when the Holy Spirit is given to us. That is when we begin to understand clearly what the Lord is saying in the spirit and also the fact that the spirit searches our hearts to know what we need and is able to communicate what we need to the Lord in words that cannot be expressed. This means that even Moses’ mouth-to-mouth communication with the Lord was at a lower level in the sense that the Holy Spirit had not come during his time. We, His elect, are privileged to be able to understand the spiritual interpretation of His words through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joh 16:12  “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 
Joh 16:13  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 
Joh 16:14  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 
Joh 16:15  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 
Rom 8:27  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

It is indeed insightful to note that the Lord regarded Moses as being faithful in the house of God despite his complaints and shortcomings. In a similar vein, we, His elect, will be counted as being faithful in the house of the Lord in the fullness of time in spite of our struggles, failures, doubts, etc. Are you discouraged? Do you have doubts whether you will ever make it when the Lord comes in His glory?  Are you focusing on your failures such that you cannot lift your eyes unto the hill from whence comes the help of the Lord? Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. The Lord will bear you on eagle’s wings and bring you to an expected end. Have faith in Him and not in yourself that whatever the Lord starts, He is able to bring to completion!! This reminds me of the Methodist hymn that we sang a lot when we were in Babylon!! These days the song ministers so much to me. Those before of us wrestled with sins, doubts, and fears, just like what we are going through. However, in the final analysis, they overcame them. This is the song:

Give me the Wings of Faith – by John Wesley Harding

1 GIVE me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
2 Once they were mourners here below,
And poured out cries and tears:
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins, and doubts, and fears.
3 I ask them whence their victory came:
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to his death.
4 They marked the footsteps that he trod,His zeal inspired their breast;
And following their incarnate God,
Possess the promised rest.
5 Our glorious Leader claims our praise
For His own pattern given;
While the long cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heaven.

I think we all have to be reminded of this story of Abraham’s failure when he lied about Sarah being his sister to King Abimelech, and the king took her to his home. The Lord intervened, and as a result, He asked Abraham to pray for king Abimelech, and when Abraham prayed, Abimelech and his family were healed in spite of Abraham’s failure. That is intercession in the midst of failure!! The Lord answered because He did not look at Abraham’s failure at that moment but called Abraham a prophet because he was looking at the finish line – that is, Abraham becoming a prophet. In spite of all that we are going through, the Lord hears our prayers, and He will surely bring us to the finish line!

Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.  

Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 
Gen 20:3  But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 

Gen 20:7  Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

Gen 20:17  Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 
Gen 20:18  For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. 

In verse 8, the Lord is warning us to be afraid of speaking against His elect. Speaking against our brothers and sisters is the same as speaking against the Lord since we are representing Jesus Christ here on earth.

Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Num 12:9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 
Num 12:10  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 
Num 12:11  And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 
Num 12:12  Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb. 

The anger of the Lord is what brings His judgment on our old man. The Lord is always seeking an occasion to judge us, and, in this case, speaking against the Lord’s representative was the occasion the Lord used to judge Miriam. When we are judged, the Lord comes and deals with the root cause of our disobedience, which in this case is the flesh or the beast within Miriam. 

Before we continue, let us answer the question of why the Lord punished Miriam and not Aaron and Miriam together, since both were guilty of speaking against Moses. We know that a woman represents the church. Thus, Miriam represents the church in the wilderness, including Aaron, and therefore judging Miriam means judging all the people including Aaron. What this means is that speaking against Moses was a common sin among the people of Israel at that time, and the Lord was dealing with the problem among the people of Israel. As we can see, not long afterward came the rebellion of Korah with the key leaders of the assembly, which shows that this sin was plaguing the whole of the people of Israel. In other words, the whole of the congregation was leprous. That is the situation now in Babylon.

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

The speaking against the Lord’s appointed leader (Moses) was only a symptom, but the root cause is that the people had become leprous and the Lord used Miriam’s leprosy to show that the people of Israel were sick. Being leprous spiritually signifies that we are being dominated by the flesh, and this can only be identified by a priest or an elect. This is how leprosy is identified:

Lev 13:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying,
Lev 13:2  When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
Lev 13:3  And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
Lev 13:4  If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:

When there is a rise in the skin of the flesh or there is whitish spot on the skin, then there is the likelihood of leprosy. The rising of the skin of the flesh spiritually means the deeds of the flesh are becoming visible. The negative aspect of the color white is that we are not what we claim to be. This means that the whitish spot on the skin means that we are dominated by the flesh within, but we portray ourselves as angels of light (white).

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

It takes a priest or an elect to identify whether the rise on the skin or the whitish spot is actually leprosy or a temporal disease of the skin. According to Leviticus 13:3, if the hair on the skin has turned white and the plague is deeper than the skin, then it is leprosy. In other words, if we appear to be what we are not (negative significance of white) and our fleshly deeds are becoming obvious, and the beast is still sitting on the throne of our hearts, then we are leprous. On the other hand, if the plague is not deeper than the skin, then it means that it is just a sin of the flesh, and therefore we have to be disciplined until we become whole. The seven days means the complete period of our discipline. That was what happened to Miriam. Aaron asking Moses to pray to the Lord to heal Miriam signifies that when a brother or sister is caught in a fault, we who are spiritually mature must restore the person, but in doing so we must keep an eye on ourselves less we contract his or her disease.

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

In verse 12, Aaron saying that Miriam should not be left as one dead of whom the flesh is half consumed is another way of saying that in disciplining a person who is at fault, we must do it in such a manner that it does not result in the person becoming spiritually dead and alienated completely from the people of God. 

Num 12:13  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Num 12:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
Num 12:15  And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
Num 12:16  And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

We must pray fervently for our brothers and sisters who are overtaken by a fault as we see Moses interceding for the healing of Miriam in verse 13. The fact that Miriam was taken outside the camp for only seven days means that the leprosy was superficial. In other words, she was overtaken by a fault and not that her flesh was dominating her. After one is healed of leprosy, there is the need to go through a purification process in order to be restored back to fellowship or camp. This cleansing process is as follows:

Lev 14:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 14:2  This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 
Lev 14:3  And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 
Lev 14:4  Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 
Lev 14:5  And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 
Lev 14:6  As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 
Lev 14:7  And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 
Lev 14:8  And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

The bird that is killed in an earthen vessel over running water is Christ, who took the form of humanity (earthen vessel) and was killed according to the living word of the Lord (running water) in order to cleanse us. We, His elect, are the living second bird which is let loose into the open field. In other words, in view of the Lord’s mercies towards us, we must live our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord, which is our spiritual form of worship. This entails completing the suffering of Christ through the fiery trials we go through in this life. 

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

In the Bible, the hair on the body is a symbol of our natural strength. Thus, the shaving of all the flesh signifies the cutting off of all our natural strength. This implies that in our service to the Lord, we must not depend on our natural strengths and abilities.

Jdg 16:17  And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

Clothes are a symbol of righteousness. Dirty or torn clothes therefore refer to unrighteousness, which could be the result of contamination or self-righteousness, which is iniquity.

Lev 15:6  And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.

Isa 4:1  And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

Clean clothes (white linen) are the righteousness of the saints, which is imputed by the Lord. 

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The washing of our dirty clothes therefore signifies the truth of the word of the Lord, which cleanses us of all unrighteousness.

What is significant is the fact that the whole of the congregation waited until Miriam was healed before they continued their journey from Hazeroth to the wilderness of Paran. This means that we must carry our brothers and sisters who are weak or overtaken by a fault along and not leave them behind. It also implies that we must carry each other’s burden.

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 
Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

May the Lord help us to conform to His image as He roots out any disease of leprosy within us. Amen!!

2Ki 5:1-10  “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you”

[Study Aired September 15, 2022]

2Ki 5:1  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2Ki 5:2  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 
2Ki 5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:4  And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 
2Ki 5:5  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
2Ki 5:6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
2Ki 5:8  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 
2Ki 5:9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 
2Ki 5:10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 

In God’s word, the condition known as leprosy that Naaman had is typical of the first man Adam who was ‘marred in the hand of the Potter’ and ‘shapen in iniquity’ as we all are (Jer 18:4, Psa 51:5-6). The good news is that what God desires, He will accomplish through His spirit which we are told is greater than him who is in the world, which is all that is within us, the leprous condition of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1Jn 2:16, 1Jn 4:4). All men will be saved from this necessary evil of being in sinful flesh, in other words, and that will be accomplished each man in his order (Psa 51:6, Joh 4:24, 2Sa 14:14, Col 1:27, 1Co 15:22-23).

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. 

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

“The abundance of the things which he possesseth” of Luke 12:15 is typified in this section of scripture by Naaman who represents us in our flesh, our many good works, and yet despite those many wonderful works and titles, “captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour.” God will bring all mankind into remembrance and will never let us forget that we’re leprous in His sight (“but he was a leper“), and only by the life of Christ and the cleansing that His life brings will we become a new creation to the glory of God, in a kingdom that leprous flesh and blood cannot inherit (1Co 15:50).

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

2Ki 5:1  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 
2Ki 5:2  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

This little maid^H5291 represents God’s elect in our early immature stage of our calling when we are taken captive by the false doctrines of this world. We’re subservient to the Nicolaitan spirit within the churches of Babylon that ruled over us (Rev 2:6, Rev 2:15), and so we “waited on Naaman’s wife” who represents a church whose husband is another Jesus, a leprous Naaman who has power to rule over all the earth (Dan 2:39-40).

Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Dan 2:39  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 
Dan 2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Naaman represents the strength we have in our flesh, and so he is described as a “captain of the host of the king of Syria,” who “was a great man with his master, and honourable,” and “a mighty man in valour“, yet unaware, as all flesh is without Christ within them, that every good and perfect gift comes from above and all glory and honor is of the Lord (Jas 1:17). Even with God’s spirit within us we can easily glory in that which God has given us (1Co 4:7) forgetting that “because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria:” (Php 2:12-13) which just further confirms that all flesh is leprous in God’s sight (“but he was a leper“) and it requires constant vigilance on our part to keep under our bodies, “and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (Rom 7:19, 1Co 9:27), becoming conceited and thinking that the works I’ve done should somehow be attributed to my own efforts without completely acknowledging Christ as the one who is working in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Rom 11:11-12, Rom 11:17-18, Rom 11:20, Php 2:12-13)

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

1Co 4:7  For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (Rom 11:20)

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12  Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

This healing of Naaman is typical of us overcoming our flesh, the wood hay and stubble of our life (1Co 3:12-14), but it is also a form of strong delusion when we are delivered from fleshly sins or nations as was the case with Syria only to find out later that we came behind in no gift but were yet carnal (1Co 1:7, 1Co 3:3). All these signs and wonders, these victories that were given in our flesh, deceive the world, keeping them from seeing the only sign we need to know and understand and can’t unless Christ is in the heart of our earth judging our flesh in this life (Mat 12:39-40, 1Pe 4:17).

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 

1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (just because a sign is given does not mean that it is understood for what it is saying)
Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God [Mat 12:40]: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

2Ki 5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:4  And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

In time that little maid within us matures and starts to boldly come before the throne of grace to obtain  mercy in time of need, a time of need for the body of Christ now while we are in this corruptible flesh (Heb 4:16). The maid represents Babylon who we start overcoming by coming out of her and pointing to Elisha “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” Elisha typifies Christ as the only one who can heal Naaman of his leprous condition (Joh 8:36).

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

“And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel” tells us that our witness in this world, our preaching the gospel to all men, is needful and necessary even if those seeds that are sown are only meant to mature at a later time in the lake of fire (Isa 55:11, Php 1:18, 1Co 15:58).

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

Php 1:18  What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

2Ki 5:5  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

Naaman is given command by the king of Syria to, “Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.” These actions are  going to lead to the healing of Naaman’s flesh eventually which is typical of spiritual healing, and so the silver, gold and raiment that represent Christ’s righteousness are juxtaposed against the flesh represented by “ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment”.

Faith without works is dead (Jas 2:17) and it is only when we’re able to receive the command to “go to, go” that our faith will be tried and matured, which is symbolized by the ultimate healing that will come to Naaman when he is sent of the king to go see Elisha (Psa 107:20).

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

2Ki 5:6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
2Ki 5:8  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 

Elisha is essentially saying to the king of Israel, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” The king of Israel’s clothes being rent symbolizes the futility of our flesh that is so easily beset by sin and not able to be anything other than a doubting Thomas until Christ shows us His wounds by which we are healed (Joh 20:27, 1Pe 2:24-25).

Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The king of Israel is us denying the works that God can do through the body saying, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive [The answer is, “Yes, with Christ in us as our hope of glory” (Rom 14:7-9)]

Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 
Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 
Rom 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 

“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me” (Mat 8:26), is another way saying in type and shadow that the king of Israel was denying the faith that as saviors in Christ, we the elect, typified by Elisha, can bring healing to the world. The king was not convinced or persuaded of God’s power at this point (Oba 1:21, Rom 8:38-39).

Mat 8:26  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm [This great calm symbolizes the peace that passes all understanding which God alone can bring to us through Christ. (Php 4:7)].

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It takes “the man of God” Elisha, who typifies Christ, coming to us to reassure us that there is no need to “rent thy clothes” (Joe 2:13). Rather, “Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” We wrestle not against flesh and blood, and this king represents our lack of faith and inability to see that we are more than conquerors through Christ who can and will deliver us from all sin. The struggle we experience in the flesh is very real, as it was for Christ, but through it all we are admonished to remember that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We will be more than conquerors over them through Jesus Christ (Eph 6:12, Rom 8:37).

Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, [Lev 16:21] and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 

[Christ, represented by Aaron, gives us the power to rend our hearts and not our garments as we’re given to confess all our iniquities and learn of how our Father in heaven is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil“]

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

2Ki 5:9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 
2Ki 5:10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 

Naaman comes to the door of Elisha still in the strength of his flesh represented by “his horses and with his chariot“. He is only at the door, and Christ in type and shadow is not yet ruling over him (Gen 4:7). The command comes to Naaman as it does to us to, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, [complete repentance] and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” The flesh that becomes clean and comes to us is the positive use of flesh like the fleshly heart that is spoken of in Ezekiel 36:26 where there is no condemnation in this flesh and bones which represent the body of Christ (Rom 8:1, Eph 5:30).

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at these last verses in this chapter of Kings (2Ki 5:11-27), which have a strong emphasis on the truth that it is only in Christ and with the body of Christ that we can be healed and washed of all our iniquities.

2Ki 5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 
2Ki 5:12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 
2Ki 5:13  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 
2Ki 5:14  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 
2Ki 5:15  And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 
2Ki 5:16  But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 
2Ki 5:17  And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. 
2Ki 5:18  In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. 
2Ki 5:19  And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. 
2Ki 5:20  But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
2Ki 5:21  So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? 
2Ki 5:22  And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. 
2Ki 5:23  And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. 
2Ki 5:24  And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. 
2Ki 5:25  But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. 
2Ki 5:26  And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? 
2Ki 5:27  The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. 

Who is cleansed?

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

[Study Aired August 11, 2020]

Luk 17:11-19 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

In our last study we reviewed how leprosy is cleaned. Leprosy represents sin, especially the sin of self-righteousness. Leprosy, therefore self-righteousness, is cleansed by patience, washing, burning and sacrifice. This study will show us who is cleansed in this age.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls. 

Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. 

Heb 13:10-16 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 

The above story in Luke 17 tells us that all ten were cleansed, but only one returned to give thanks for being cleansed. The Samaritan was the only one to glorify God. Christ asked the questions “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”

There are three numbers mentioned or inferred by Christ. One which represents “unity”, nine which represents “God’s judgement”, and ten representing “completeness of the flesh”. Here are links to those studies.

Spiritual Meaning of Numbers – Number One
Spiritual Meaning of Numbers – Number Nine
Spiritual Meaning of Numbers – Number Ten

This story tells us part of the process of the judgment of the world. Who are those in this age that are cleansed and give glory to God? Remember all ten were cleansed but only one turned back, gave thanks, and glorified God. 

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Paul speaks a “great mystery”. He is describing “Christ and the church” also known as the “body of Christ”, the “head and the body” and as the “church of the living God”.

Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 how we are cleansed and a sacrifice we must give in order to continue in the Christ.

Eph 5:22-33 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. 

In Colossians chapter 1, Paul describes the significance of what Christ is showing us in our story above.

Col 1:1-29 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. 

During the cleansing process of the leper and his house, waiting seven days is part of the cleansing. This represents our patience and time of longsuffering during tribulation.

Luk 8:9-15 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. 

Rom 5:1-9 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Eph 4:1-6 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Now anything that cannot be saved must be burned.

2Sa 23:1-7 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 

Psa 140:9-10 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 

Pro 6:20-26 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 

Joh 15:1-10 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

A sacrifice must be given, but what is the true sacrifice we must give?

Psa 116:16-17 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. 

Joh 15:11-17 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Heb 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 

Here once again are the verses in our study. 

Luk 17:14-19 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Earlier in the chapter the apostles said, “Increase our faith.”

Luk 17:5-6 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

We saw in our two previous studies that during the offerings of the leper, the only offering that was not mentioned was the peace offering. This Samaritan stranger, however, did perform this offering in type and shadow. Here is the peace offering commandment.

Lev 7:11-15 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. 

Finally, the Samaritan represents us, the priests of God. After being cleansed we must ensure we remain undefiled.

Lev 21:1-24 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:  But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel. 

I will end this study with the following scriptures of hope.

Joh 16:25-33 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

[Study Aired August 4, 2020]

Luk 17:11-19 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

In our last study we reviewed what leprosy is and how it is confirmed. Leprosy represents sin, especially the sin of self-righteousness. Also, we saw that it is the priests who are given the ability to recognize the leprosy. We are the priests of God. In the body of Christ, the elders have been given the charge to seek out the ‘leprosy’ within the body of Christ. This study will show us how to be cleansed of this sin. Steven presented a study of Leviticus chapter 14:1-32 on how the Leper is cleansed that we reviewed. Here is the link: Awesome Hands – Part 118 Spiritual Leprosy

I will highlight a few things in that study, and then we will look at the second step of the cleansing process, which is the cleansing of the house.

Laws for Cleansing Lepers

Lev 14:1-7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 

There is a process involved for a priest of God and the infected to go through in order for a leper to be cleansed. In verse 7 the priest pronounces the infected as CLEAN, but that is only the beginning of the work which must be done in order to implement the steps needed to fully cleanse the leper.

Notice, “becoming clean” is a process of continuously cleaning yourself in different ways and different levels of cleanliness. A passage of time also requires the application of cleanliness again.

Lev 14:8-9 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. 

Several times now we have read that “that he may be clean” and “he shall be clean” after having read that he is already “pronounced clean”. So, why are the next steps needed?

There are seven days required so far in order for a leper to “tarry abroad out of his tent” or to have “seven sprinkles of blood” to be pronounced clean, so what can be gathered on why we are being given specific periods of time in order for certain steps to be quantified?

Knowing that the number 7 represents the completion of judgment, we can see that when we consider leprosy is a fleshly disease, there must be a connection between the offerings being made for the leper, the blood involved in the cleansing and the completion of judgment on the flesh.

The connection is that these animal sacrifices are always done for a “lawless and disobedient people”, but the sacrifice that covers us in blood is only the BEGINNING of our walk, and it is still an absolutely crucial and required one.

1Tim 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Heb 12:23-24 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Lev 14:10-20 And on the eighth day he [the restored leper] shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 

Take note that in these sets of verses all the offerings made are offered by the “restored” leper, except for the peace offering. Even more revealing is that the trespass offering is done differently here with lepers.

Namely, the animal in the trespass offering did not need to have value that was as high was normal when a sin was committed. The trespass offering is waved by the priest, whereas normally this is not the case since the offeror normally waved it. Also, oil was presented with the trespass offering.

These details might be a bit perplexing if we only see this as a physical leper. However, we know that the physical things we see are representative of spiritual realities. Though the leper does not necessarily commit a trespass in order to need to offer a trespass offering, we know the Lord requires this offering. This should tell us that there is more going on than meets the eye, so to speak.

Lev 14:21-22-32 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing. 

All this shows us that there is a proper process of becoming free of our self-righteousness. We must be examined and once we discover self-righteousness, there must be sacrifice. Eventually we will be able to apply this following Psalm to ourselves.

Psa 26:1-12 A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD. 

We are to examine ourselves, but as we know, it is actually the Lord examining us.

1Co 11:26-28 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

Here is the second part of the cleansing of leprosy – the cleaning of our houses.

Lev 14:33-34 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; 

Notice the Lord puts the plague of leprosy in our house.

Lev 14:35-44 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house. And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.

Christ spoke the following parable giving us a clue as to what the plague of leprosy and house represent.

Luk 11:24-26  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Lev 14:45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

Our house must be broken down because of our rebellion of the self-righteousness of our old man constantly trying to convince us we are in control.

Isa 30:8-14 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

Lev 14:46-48 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

Our self-righteousness is removed by being washed. Our stony heart will be removed.

Eze 36:22-27 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Once again it takes sacrifice to complete the cleansing.

Lev 14:49-53 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. 

Lev 14:54-57 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

This is to teach us when we are unclean and when we are clean. All this is what we experience first in order to rid ourselves of the leprosy within us. In turn, it is teaching us how to rule the rest of mankind in the ages to come.

Rev 2:26-27 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

[Study Aired July 27, 2020]

Luk 17:11-19 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Tonight’s study will focus on the “ten men that were lepers” and “Go shew yourselves unto the priests”. The number ten deals with the “completeness of the flesh”. Here is a link to the spiritual significance of the number ten.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Number Ten

Leprosy is a symbol of sin or lack of understanding of the doctrines of Christ. The flesh of Christ, His body, must be healthy to understand the doctrines of Christ in order to overcome the world and its carnality.

Pro 4:1-2 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Joh 7:16-18 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

2Jn 1:9-11 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

We need to review Leviticus 13, 14 and part of 22 to understand how leprosy is diagnosed and how it is cleansed.

The leper is sent to the priest or one of the sons of the priest and they will determine if there is a leprosy present.

Lev 13:1-3 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Aaron and his sons represent the elders of the church. The priests examine the spot in the skin. In spiritual-speak the elders review the suspected lack of understanding that is within the member(s) of the body of Christ.

Lev 13:4-6 If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days: And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more: And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

After determining there is no leprosy, seeing this is just a sore, the priest pronounces him clean, but he must still must wash his clothes. In other words, only part of the body has succumbed to this sin (lack of understanding), and they have their understanding corrected by the “washing of the water”. Notice there are two seven-day periods during which the priest shut up the leper.

Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Now the scab is spread throughout the body and is pronounced unclean. This leprosy (sin of the body) is now spreading throughout the whole congregation.

Lev 13:7-8 But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again: And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

Lev 13:9-11 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest; And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising; It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

What is an “old leprosy”? It is mixing the old law with the new not understanding there has been a change in the law.

Heb 7:11-12 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Mat 9:16-17 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Next, the “leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and it is all turned white” tells us that the sin or lack of understanding that was in part of the body has been exposed and corrected.

Lev 13:12-13 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh; Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

Psa 51:6-7 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The following section of Leviticus 13 shows us there are many things that can cause us to be unclean and the changes of the skin can show us the leprosy has been cleansed. The unclean person is considered contagious and therefore must be separated from the congregation.

Lev 13:14-15 But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

As we all know, flesh is corrupted and cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Gen 6:11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Gal 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

If the raw flesh is changed to white, it becomes clean.

Lev 13:16-17 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest; And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.

Psa 19:12-13 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous (proud) sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

1Jn 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world [in our leperous flesh], the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

Just because there is some healing, does not mean the leper is completely clean.

Lev 13:18-20-22 The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed, And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest; And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

Several times, as part of the process of determining if the leper is clean or unclean, they are shut up for seven days up to fourteen days. This represents a time of maturity or lack thereof.

Lev 13:21-22 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

Now a new symptom is added to the diagnosis – Burning.

Lev 13:23  But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. 

Lev 13:24-25 Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white; Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. 

Lev 13:26-27 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

Lev 13:28  And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning. 

This burning has a negative and a positive meaning – One causing death (lack of understanding) and the other saving life (understanding).

Num 26:60-61 And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD.

Psa 118:18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. 

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

There is another part of the body that can be affected – The head.

Lev 13:29-30 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard; Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard. 

Lev 13:31-34 And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin; He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

Lev 13:35-36 But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

Lev 13:37-41 But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean. If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots; Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean. And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.

Lev 13:42-45 And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

The leprosy in the head is a symbol of having “another Jesus…another  spirit” or “another gospel”.

2Co 11:1-4 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Lev 13:46  All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

1Co 5:1-6 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

There is another thing that must be checked for leprosy. It is the garments which are worn.

Lev 13:47-57 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment; Whether it be in the warp, or woof [woven or knitted material]; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin; And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest: And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days: And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean. He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire. And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more: And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without. And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof: And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

Lev 13:58-59 And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean. This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

Garments represent “righteousness”.

Psa 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

In our next study we will review chapter Leviticus 14 to see how we can cure the disease of leprosy.

Psa 129:1  A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: 
Psa 129:2  Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. 
Psa 129:3  The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. 
Psa 129:4  The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. 
Psa 129:5  Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. 
Psa 129:6  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up: 
Psa 129:7  Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. 
Psa 129:8  Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD. 

This opening statement of Psalm 129 “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth” is repeated a second time in verse two as a witness (Rev 11:8, Col 1:24) to a very significant point about how God has worked and is working in the lives of those who have been ordained from the foundation of the world to be His kind of first fruits who are the first to trust in the living God (Eph 1:11-12) and who are being ripened through a series of fiery trials that produce that trust which causes us to lie dead (Rom 6:11) “in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (2Co 1:9, 1Ti 4:10, 1Pe 4:1-2).

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things [including our trials Rom 8:28] after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ [Eph 2:10].

[God has predestined the elect “according to his purpose“ and to “his glory” to be the first who trusted in Christ]

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves [we lie dead in the street (Rev 11:8)], that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (Eph 2:6, we die daily and are raised daily through a process… and that is why it says after 3 days and a 1/2 in Revelation 11:11 “the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them”. The three days is the process of judgment and the half reminds us that we are the other half of Christ’s ministry who fill up what is behind of His afflictions (Col 1:24). Together the whole ministry of Christ is fulfilled through Christ and His Christ 3.5 + 3.5=7=the whole.]

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach [as we lie dead in the street 2Co 2:16-17), because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. [Christ is not exclusively the saviour of the church Christ’s body, but the elect trust/believe today and suffer reproach for that belief today (Php 1:29, Joh 6:29)]

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; [we suffer so we can fulfill his preordained will for us (1Jn 2:16-18) and we know it is the last times because we have identified where the anti-Christ, the man of perdition, resides and is being destroyed by the brightness of his coming 2Th_2:8-9 and this is all happening so…..]
1Pe 4:2  That he [we] no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world [1Co 15:50], the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 
1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists [1Jn_2:18]; whereby we know that it is the last time [understood both inwardly and outwardly (2Ti 3:13-17)].

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. [Notice the context of these verses when John is talking about who the anti-Christ is, who denies “the Father and the Son” (1Jn 2:18-23, Joh 17:3)]
2Ti 3:14  But continue (Joh 8:31-32) thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

[Timothy was not of Paul or Apollos but he was persuaded that Christ was working in his elders and knew that he was to continue in the things which he was assured of in his own mind, that were being taught with the mind of Christ Heb 13:17, 1Co 2:15-16].

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works [2Ti 2:21].

Those trials and much tribulation (Act 14:22) are the needful building blocks in our sojourn in Christ which prepare us to be faithful in the larger trials we are promised we can endure through Him (Mat 20:22-23, Php 4:13). Each and every one of those turbulent moments of our life have been ordained by God and for His purpose written from the foundation of the world to build us up in our most holy faith (Jud 1:20-21) so we can lay down our life as living sacrifices who have learned the importance of being faithful in the little things over a period of time so we can as mature sons be faithful “also in much” (Eph 1:4-10, Jas 1:18, Rom 9:28, 1Pe 4:12, Luk 16:10).

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue [Joh 8:31-32] in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Mat 20:22  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 
Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. [Christ was confirming and exhorting the disciples in this example to “continue in the faith” (Act 14:22), and there are two groups being spoken of here: those whom the Father has prepared to sit “on my right hand”, the elect, who are given the power “on my right hand” to rule; and the rest “and on my left” who do not have that honor of ruling and reigning under Christ (1Co 6:3, 1Co 15:23-25)].

Php 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 

Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved [Rom 8:9, Mat 7:22]
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

[We keep ourselves in the love of God by being sanctified or washed by the blood of the lamb and by being blessed to know that it is the inside of the cup that God is working with in His people today as He burns up any preeminence or conceit in our hearts by the power of God’s holy spirit, that is our hope! (Jud 1:21, Mat 23:25, Rom 11:18-21, Col 1:27, 1Jn 3:2-3)]

Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: [Psa 2:12]
Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Luk 16:10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [In other words nothing is least in Christ, but we will learn this over time if that is God’s will for us (Mat 5:18, 1Co 4:6-7)].

No one will see Christ or be able to say “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” unless the Lord is indeed working in that life and fulfilling the contextual verses (Mat 23:34-39) surrounding that statement in Matthew 23:39. God’s elect have been ordained from the foundation of the world to be able to see and say “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” and that has been made possible through the many things we have been through and endured through Christ who has demonstrated that the gates of hell cannot prevail against His body (Mat 16:18-19).

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [Jas 5:7-10, 1Co 10:10-11].

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 
Jas 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door [Psa 2:12].
Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example^G5262 of suffering affliction, and of patience [Luk 21:19].

1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

[320,000 men in 1Corinthians 10:8 and 250 men of renown in Numbers 16:2 are both numbers that are multiples of 5 that represent grace and faith that was a type and shadow event being applied to these men who died in the earth, revealing that if God is working with us in this age we cannot become that new creation unless a seed fall into the ground and die (Joh 12:24). They were sacrificed (1Co 10:8, Num 16:2) to show us what must happen to our own old man today].

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye [Psa_2:12], as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples^G5179: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 
Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

[The world will not see Christ with spiritual understanding until God’s word is sent to them to heal them, and that is why they will say “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Joh 20:21)]

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Christ was telling Peter you are going to go in the name of the Lord because you are going to be built upon me the Rock, and when you are converted you will strengthen the brethren.]
Mat 16:19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Psa 129:1  A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: 
Psa 129:2  Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. 

As we just read, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” even though it is through a lifetime of much tribulation that we must go through in order to be established, strengthened and settled in the Lord (1Pe 5:10).

Going on to perfection is a process or “song of degrees” meaning it is a step-by-step process that requires the Israel of God (Gal 6:16) to say and acknowledge “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth” so that in the same breath we can also be reminded “yet they have not prevailed against me” or “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”

Psa 129:3  The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. 
Psa 129:4  The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. 

The imagery in these verses reminds us of how the Lord uses the outside world to break us down and prepare our hearts so that we can be easily entreated and made ready to receive Christ as we receive the words of eternal life that He has (Joh 6:68) and that are likened unto a seed (Luk 8:15) made ready to be received because of “plowers [who] plowed upon my back” and “made long their furrows” (Isa 53:5, Col 1:24, Gen 30:37-38, Luk 23:31).

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. 

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Gen 30:37  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 
Gen 30:38  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. 

Luk 23:31  For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? 

However, verse 4 goes on to say “The LORD is righteous“, because although He allows wicked men to fulfill their role in our lives, and our own iniquities chasten us within for the day of evil within us (Jer 2:19, Pro 16:4), he is righteous, and at the appointed time “he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked” within and without. It is at an appointed time to demonstrate that God is in charge of the whole process of delivering us from sin, and He is working it all out for the greater good of all of humanity.

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

Psa 129:5  Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. 
Psa 129:6  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

We are turned back when we are confounded, and we are confounded when we are ashamed of the gospel (Rom 1:16, Luk 9:26), and that is the same as hating Zion, or the body of Christ (Oba 1:21) that is the church clothed in that gospel (Eph 6:15). If Christ is in us we won’t hate our own body, but rather will love and nourish it (Eph 5:29-31).

Without the shield of faith which is the gift of God that is given to the body of Christ (Mat 13:11, Rom 3:27), we would not be able to quench the fiery darts of Satan that have been perverting the gospel from the foundation of the world. Those words (“fiery darts”) of the devil are sent to try us as we mature and become approved through Christ who gives us the power to overcome the wicked one (1Jn 4:4) who tries to bring wickedness into the house of God but will not prevail (Mat 16:18).

The symbolism of “the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up” is another reminder for us that only by the grace of God will anyone of us endure to the end by being nourished on meat and being blessed to go beyond the milk of the word or “the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up“. The disciples were in the upper chamber with Christ (Mar 14:15) the night he was betrayed, and the word they received had to “withereth afore it groweth up“. All the disciples forsook him that night because they were not yet mature enough to follow through and do what God required of them (as He does all of us) to do through the power of God’s holy spirit, that being to receive His word in a good and honest heart as we obediently lose our life through Christ. It takes the communion we have with each other in Christ, which was being expressed that night of Passover in type and shadow, to mature us beyond the milk or grass that feeds our beast and prepares us for the slaughter.

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [because we share in the communion of Christ’s suffering (Col 1:24)]
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psa 129:7 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
Psa 129:8 Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

We cannot come in the name of the Lord if we do not have the fruit in our lives that demonstrates we are his ambassadors (Mat 3:8, Luk 6:43-45), and those who have Christ in them do not acknowledge the disobedient who have rejected the words of Christ. We don’t say “The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD” because that blessing is not on them. The actions or inactions of the unbelieving have proven to us who it is God has made (is making, the fruit seen) approved in the Lord (1Co 11:19).

We love our enemies as Christ said we ought (Luk 6:27-31), and pray for those who falsely accuse us and speak all manner of evil against us, knowing that God already knows those who are His. If they are of us, they will be grafted back into the body of Christ because He is able to do that. That grafting in is accomplished by fulfilling what is written in Leviticus chapter 14 as we carefully examine “the plague of leprosy in a house” that God put there for our maturing so we can learn how to discern good and evil. If that plague is stayed it is of the Lord, and if that plague is not stayed that also is of the Lord, to be stayed for later in the lake of fire, or great white throne judgment. We acknowledge that “I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession”, the evil that visits the city, and so we need to obey God’s commandments in Matthew 18:15-17 every jot and tittle in order to stay that plague (Joh 6:44, Rom 11:21-23, Lev 14:33-57, Amo 3:6).

Luk 6:27. But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Luk 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luk 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Lev 14:34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

“Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” because that blessed person of the Lord has been blessed to be able to read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy of Jesus Christ which destroys that plague in our own house and keeps us dying daily so that it does not manifest and defile many.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat [one false doctrine] sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected [type of God’s rejected anointed]: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears [Rom 2:4]
Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

[We no longer know Christ after the flesh but in the spirit where we hear the sound of seven trumpets and the voice of the true Shepherd (2Co 5:16, Rev 8:1-2, Joh 10:3-4)]

Heb 12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: [Rom 2:4]
Heb 12:20 (For they could not endure [it was not given to them to endure] that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Heb 12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. [Luk 11:49-51].

Luk 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, [“Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”] and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

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Awesome Hands – Part 118

“Spiritual Leprosy”

July 5, 2017

Spiritual leprosy is a topic that isn’t very complicated to grasp, but it is a topic which has components which are very hard to recognize and counter in our lives. While physical leprosy is easy to detect, it is spiritual leprosy that needs a “trained eye” to discern.

In our study today, we are continuing down the path of discovering the awesome hands of the Lord and how He works in our lives to reveal that we all, in our given time, have been given spiritual leprosy. However, our High Priest is able to recognize it and is also able to provide the steps needed to cleanse ourselves.

Our verses for consideration today are found in the fourteenth chapter of Leviticus.

Cleansing a leper

The first thing to know about leprosy is that it can be healed. Otherwise, the Lord would not have made an entire chapter to be recorded to show us that there is a process for leprosy to be healed. Many people in ancient times believed this disease to be incurable.  Today, even modern medicine can treat physical leprosy, and depending on the severity, it can be cured with antibiotics.

However, spiritual leprosy is a disease that will produce spiritual death in us if we are not careful to examine and exterminate that source of the issue.

Remember, leprosy is a FLESH disease, and as such it is to be viewed as something that is produced by the old man in us. Why am I making this comparison? Just as that old serpent was given “dust” as his nourishment, those who are “of your father the devil” also find that “dust” or “the things of the flesh” are their nourishment.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Psa 44:25  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

We are going to look over most of the chapter in Leviticus 14 in order to know what leprosy is and how to combat it. Specifically, this study will concentrate on how to CLEANSE leprosy once it is recognized for what it is.

Lev 14:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 14:2  This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
Lev 14:3  And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
Lev 14:4  Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Lev 14:5  And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
Lev 14:6  As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7  And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

Notice that there is a process involved for a priest of God and the infected to go through in order for a leper to be cleansed. In verse 7, the priest pronounces the infected as CLEAN, but that is only the beginning of the work that must be done in order to fully implement the steps needed to fully cleanse the leper.

Notice, “becoming clean” is a process of continuously cleaning yourself in different ways and different levels of cleanliness. That passage of time also requires the application of cleanliness again.

Lev 14:8  And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
Lev 14:9  But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

Several times now we have read that “that he may be clean” and “he shall be clean” after having read that he is already “pronounced clean”. So, why are the next steps needed?

Notice, there are seven days required so far in order for a leper to “tarry abroad out of his tent” or to have “seven sprinkles of blood” to be pronounced clean, so what can be gather on why we are being given specific periods of time in order for certain steps to be quantified?

Knowing that 7 represents the completion of judgment, we can see that when we consider that leprosy is a fleshly disease, there must be a connection between the offerings being made for the leper, the blood involved in the cleansing and the completion of judgment on the flesh.

The connection is that these animal sacrifices are always done for a “lawless and disobedient people”, but the sacrifice that covers us in blood is only the BEGINNING of our walk, but it is still an absolutely crucial and required one.

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

1Pe 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Now that we can see the connection to judgment of the flesh, and the covering of ourselves by the blood of Christ, what then is needed to continue in this process of cleansing? The first set of cleansing steps allowed the leper back into the camp, but not back into his HOUSE/TENT. Now, we must take care of the house.

Lev 14:10  And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
Lev 14:11  And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 14:12  And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:
Lev 14:13  And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:
Lev 14:14  And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
Lev 14:15  And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:
Lev 14:16  And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:
Lev 14:17  And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:
Lev 14:18  And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.
Lev 14:19  And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:
Lev 14:20  And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

Notice in these sets of verses that all the offerings made are made by the “restored” leper except for the peace offering. Even more revealing is that in the trespass offering is done differently here with lepers.

Namely, the animal in the trespass offering didn’t need to have value that was as high as normally when a sin was committed. The trespass offering is waved by the priest, whereas normally this is not the case since the offeror normally waved it. Also, oil was presented with the trespass offering.

These details might be a bit perplexing if we only see this as a physical leper. However, we know that the physical things we see are representative of spiritual realities. Though the leper doesn’t necessarily commit a trespass in order to need to offer a trespass offering, we know the Lord requires this offering. This should tell us that there is more going on than meets the eye so to speak.

Lev 14:21  And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
Lev 14:22  And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
Lev 14:23  And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.
Lev 14:24  And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:
Lev 14:25  And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
Lev 14:32  This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

What understanding and knowledge then can we take away from this physical plague sent to the flesh of the one who is infected? What can we learn, more than what we’ve already touched on, about leprosy in it’s spiritual form and application?

Mat 8:1  When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mat 8:2  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:4  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Then in Mark we see the story given more details:

Mar 1:40  And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mar 1:41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Mar 1:42  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Mar 1:43  And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
Mar 1:44  And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Mar 1:45  But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Leprosy is a plague of uncleanness. That is why the leper asked to be cleansed, and out of Jesus’ own mouth we see that He gave the leper cleanness.

In practical application today, we know that we are sent into the world just as Jesus is, because as He is so are we.

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.
1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

If loving God is equivalent to showing God the love of God, doesn’t this extend to our brothers?

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

This may sound controversial when you first hear me say it, but whosoever is BORN OF GOD overcomes the WORLD. Who overcomes the WORLD? How do we know who it is that overcomes the WORLD?

Let the scriptures say so:

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, EVEN OUR FAITH.

Therefore, faith is BORN of GOD. It is a GIFT. Therefore, the faith given to us by God, born of God, overcomes the world.

What is in the world? What does the world consist of that needs to be overcome?

2Jn 1:5  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Act 17:29  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

I ask again what is in the world, the world which we are all OF naturally?

1Jn 2:9  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn 2:10  He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11  But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
1Jn 2:12  I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

"Steven, you’re quoting random scriptures but not answering your own question", you may be saying.

The buildup is intense! I write to you all how it is spiritual leprosy is dealt with and CURED.

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

You might now be asking yourself how spiritual leprosy is connected to these verses at all. After all, leprosy is not mentioned at all here. However, it is indeed buried below the surface when connected with “all that is in the world”.

When we are told the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and that the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as you love yourself, we should take heed on how it is we do this. When we know that the scriptural definition of what the love of God is to keep His commandments, then we can start to connect the spiritual dots with how it is we identify and cure spiritual leprosy.

Leprosy in the flesh is a physical disease that separated the leper from all of society. It was a death sentence which lasted many years most times in isolation. This is the same for spiritual leprosy. Just as with physical lepers, spiritual lepers need a priest.

We are all being raised up as kings and priests in training, and we all have Jesus as our High Priest. Therefore, as He is a priest, so are we priests. As such, when someone comes to us or is made known to us to have something pertaining to the WORLD that needs to be dealt with, there is a weapon at our disposal that allows as to OVERCOME the spirit of leprosy.

Leprosy in the spirit will always be something that pulls on our flesh in some way and all that is in the world pertaining to our carnal mind. As we love God with all we have, we too must love our neighbor by keeping the commandments of God.

We do this by BELIEVING that the Lord is Faithful to heal us. We ask for healing, believing it will happen, and one day in the Lord’s timing, it WILL HAPPEN. Obviously, we yearn for it to happen now in this present aion, but we say nevertheless thy will be done as well.

1Jn 2:29  If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Tit 3:1  Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Tit 3:2  To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Tit 3:3  For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit 3:4  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Tit 3:6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit 3:9  But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Tit 3:10  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

This is how we love one another and offer to help minister to the cure of spiritual leprosy.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 24 Discussion

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Isa 6:1- What Is The Lord's Temple?

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

This is the only verse we will be discussing in our study today, but I want to read this verse with the next two verses for the purpose of revealing the majesty and the spiritual significance of the timing of this vision and the spiritual significance of the Lord's throne, the spiritual significance of His train and the spiritual significance of the temple which was filled by His train.

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 

It was "in the year King Uzziah died" that Isaiah saw this vision of the throne of God. In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah "saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims". Next week, Lord willing, we will discuss what these seraphims are, and why we have seraphims here is this one chapter. But in our study today we will have time only to discuss the Biblical meaning of something Isaiah spoke of but did not himself understand. Isaiah did not know the spiritual meaning of the 'throne' upon which the Lord sat, nor did He understand the spiritual definition of the Lord's train or the Lord's temple, which was filled by His train.

All we will have time to discuss today is the spiritual significance of Isaiah being given this vision "In the year...Uzziah died", and the revelation given us by the holy spirit, through the pen of the apostle Paul, which settles once and for all, what is "the Lord's... throne... upon [which He is] sitting" and exactly where that throne and the temple housing that throne are spiritually located.  Lord willing, we will also see the great spiritual significance of being given this revelation of the Lord's throne, and the spiritual significance of being given the calling to be the Lord's temple, and the function of being in the Lord's temple. Then, once we see all of this, we will know what we will have to give account of as the temple in which the Lord dwells.

We will begin with:

Why Isaiah was given this vision in the year Uzziah died

When we consider closely this question, we discover that King Uzziah was generally considered to be a good king as kings of Judah go. King Uzziah is said to have "[done] that which was right in the sight of the Lord":

2Ch 26:3  Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
2Ch 26:4  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did.
2Ch 26:5  And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. 

Because he was a righteous king, the Lord blessed Uzziah and made him a very strong king. But like Job and like King Solomon before him, after he became a very strong king he also became proud, and like Korah, King Uzziah, in his pride, also wanted to assume the function of the priesthood, even though he knew the service of the priesthood was given only to the sons of Aaron. When Uzziah presumptuously attempted to take over the function of the priesthood, the true and faithful priests were given to withstand him and to cast him out of the temple. It was at that very moment that God Himself struck King Uzziah with leprosy which followed him to his death. It was just at that time, "in the year that King Uzziah died", Isaiah was given this great vision of the "high and exalted... throne of God", reflecting the good work of those priests who had kept the integrity of the Lord's house.

Here is the story of what brought about the leprosy which followed King Uzziah to his death:

2Ch 26:16  But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
2Ch 26:17  And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: 
2Ch 26:18  And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. 
2Ch 26:19  Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. 
2Ch 26:20  And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. 
2Ch 26:21  And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. 
2Ch 26:22  Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
2Ch 26:23  So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Like Korah and the 250 renowned elders of Israel who sided with Korah and who perished with Korah, King Uzziah committed the sin of being presumptuous against the Lord's order. This is what the scriptures say of that particular sin:

Psa 19:13  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

"Dignities" are those the Lord places as our leaders, both physically and spiritually. The sin of presumptuousness completely disregards the Lord's order declaring "the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them". That may indeed be true, but it does not change the fact that the Lord has and keeps order in His creation and in His house.

Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 

King Uzziah symbolizes the leprous 'king' who is sitting on God's throne "in the temple of God showing [himself] that he is God", and his story symbolizing that "man of sin... the abomination that makes desolate", being cast out of the temple by those who are faithful priests of the Word of God.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

We do not see this man of sin sitting on the throne of God within our hearts, this abomination that makes desolate, until the time appointed for him to be consumed with the spirit of [Christ's] mouth. So Isaiah tells us:

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

The death of Uzziah is like the death of Jacob in Egypt. Joseph's ten brothers lived in mental torment until after their father, who typifies our old man, died in Egypt. Until that day Joseph's ten brothers who had sold him into Egyptian slavery were never delivered from the torment of believing Joseph was intent upon getting his revenge upon them. In this story of Joseph the death of Jacob typifies the death of the old man within us all. Jacob, like King Uzziah, could not bring himself to believe that he needed to bow down before God's elect, and Uzziah saw no need to submit to a priestly function which only the sons of Aaron were ordained to perform before God.

Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

The lesson for all of us is that we will never see the throne of God or enter into His temple until after the death of our proud, self-righteous, rebellious, carnal-minded old man.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat [our old man] fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Now let's ask and answer the questions:

What and where is the throne of God?

"The invisible God", who is omnipresent, does not sit on a literal throne. But He does 'sit upon' a spiritual throne within a 'spiritual house', a spiritual temple, and this is what that spiritual temple is, and where that 'temple' and that 'throne' is spiritually located:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

This is such an important point that Paul repeats this message to these Corinthians in his second epistle to the Corinthians:

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

If "God... dwell[s with]in us, where then do we dwell? The answer to that question is a Truth which few are given to hear and receive, simply because it is physically impossible. Nevertheless this is the spiritual Truth of location of the spiritual temple in which Christ and His Father dwell:

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

It is not one person in a million who appreciates the significance of being "the temple of God" or of being the 'house' in which He dwells. It is of utmost importance that we come to appreciate just how significant it is to be God's home and the place of His dwelling.

We all know how comfortable we are within our own homes. We love to go on trips to be with friends or to see the wonders of nature. But the one thing that is even better than taking a trip to be with those we love, or to appreciate the wonders of this world, and that 'one thing' is coming home again to our own house, our own home and our own bed and our own familiar living quarters. That is what we are to our God, if He is dwelling within our hearts and minds. We are His own familiar living quarters in which He is most comfortable.

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We can better appreciate what all of this means if we understand why Aaron and His sons, the high priest and his priest sons, were commanded to "come out from among them" (2Co 6:17). When performing the service of the Lord and His house, Aaron and his sons were to separate themselves from the camp of Israel and keep themselves and the temple and the things of the temple from being defiled by the people and the things of the court of the people. They were commanded to be separated from and undefiled by the people and the things of the camp of Israel.

This is what God admonished Aaron and his sons, and this "is written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1Co 10:11):

Num 4:5  And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:
Num 4:6  And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
Num 4:7  And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: 
Num 4:8  And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.
Num 4:9  And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:
Num 4:10  And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.
Num 4:11  And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
Num 4:12  And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:
Num 4:13  And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
Num 4:14  And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.
Num 4:15  And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

It was only Aaron and his sons who were permitted to enter into the temple and to handle "the instruments of ministry". "[Those] who served the tabernacle" were forbidden to so much as touch the things of the ministry of the temple, and they were also forbidden to eat with the priests, the sons of Aaron.

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

"Different and strange doctrines" are the "meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein". What Paul is telling us is that those "sons of Kohath", those Levites who were given to carry the things of the temple but were never given to so much as touch "the instruments of ministry", were also prohibited from eating with the sons of Aaron because the Kohathites, who were not permitted to eat with the priests, nor to touch "the instruments of ministry in the sanctuary" are the symbol of those who are "carried about with different and strange doctrines [partakers of] meats which have not profited them..."

The spiritual mantra of these spiritual 'Kohathites' is "Unity in the essentials, tolerance in the nonessentials, and love in all things". Their doctrine is this:

Num 16:3  And they [Korah and company] gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Believing there are 'nonessential words' "proceeding out of the mouth of God" is the very definition of being "carried about by every wind of doctrine". The sons of Aaron had an altar at which the Levites who served the temple "[had] no right to eat". The sons of Aaron were commanded to eat only in the holy place before the golden altar. No one else was permitted to eat in the holy place, which was and still is within the temple of God. It mattered not that they "served the tabernacle" and were working near the tabernacle in the court of the people; they still "[had] no right to eat [at the] altar... within the tabernacle".

The holy of holies, the ark of God, the mercy seat, the cherubims and "all the instruments of ministry" are all within the tabernacle and are completely off limits to "[those] which serve the tabernacle". So it is with us if we are in Christ and He is in us:

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

That verse of scripture is one very despised doctrine, which will not be found on the table of devils.

Now we are able to see what we are told Isaiah could not see or understand.

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets [including Isaiah] have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

This all sounds so 'elitist' and so 'exclusionary', and while God's elect are "meek above all men which [are] upon the face of the earth", yet in spiritual matters they must keep themselves pure and undefiled by all the things which are upon the face of the earth. Our Lord's throne is "high and lifted up". It is not down on the earth with those who are carnal minded, except to dwell within us. His throne is in heaven, and 'heaven' and 'His throne' are "high above the earth" in the hearts and minds of His people, if indeed Christ is dwelling within us.

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

If He has truly taken up residence within us, then we are His heavenly "spiritual house":

Psa 11:4  The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Notice what we are told here in 1Pe 2:5. We are told that we are both the house of God, and at the same time we are "an holy priesthood", the priests who minister in and minister to the house of God. That is what we are, and that is what we do because that is what Christ is, and that is what He does:

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Christ lives within us, making us His place of abode. He tells us we are "Jesus of Nazareth" (Acts 22:8). At the same time He ministers to us.

We are not naturally born of the spirit of God. We are by nature "of [our] father the devil" (Joh 8:44), and we just naturally usurp the throne of God in 'heaven':

2Th 2:4  Who [our old man within us] opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he [we] as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

But if we are granted to become the "spiritual... house of God... ", then that "house of God" is where "judgment must begin" (1Pe 4:17). If judgment has begun within our lives, then in time we are granted in this age to be brought to our wits' end (Psa 107:27). Only then, after being brought to our wits' end, will we be brought to our desired haven (Psa 107: 30).

Did you know that we are told what that 'desired haven' is? Yes, we are told what and where that "desired haven" is. What we are told is that place of rest is Christ, that place of peace of mind, that haven, is Christ, into whom we are 'brought' and into whom we must 'enter'. Christ alone can give us rest. He alone is "the Lord of the sabbath", and He is also the "sabbath [which] remains... to the people of God".

Let's read it with our own eyes:

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest [into Christ]. 
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus [Greek: Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest [Christ and His doctrine] to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

As the scriptures reveal, God does not just naturally dwell within us, but "each in his own order" (1Co 15:23) will experience the destruction of that "man of sin [who] sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is [his own] god", and he will be "destroyed with the brightness of [Christ's] coming":

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

And where are we when Christ enters into us? When Christ enters into us, we enter into Him:

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

God has a pattern by which His tabernacle, and "all the instruments of the ministry" within His temple, is measured and that pattern must, in time, be followed in every detail.

Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Exo 25:40  And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. 

Here is the New Testament anti-type of that prophecy:

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. 

"Lightnings... voices... thunderings... an earthquake, and great hail." In other words, there was judgment beginning at the house of God. We are the temple of God. We are those who worship therein, and Christ's doctrines are our 'meat' which we 'eat' at our altar, our 'table' at which 'they who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat'. If we permit them to eat at our altar, at our table (1Co 10:21), then we are in reality eating at their altar, and we are partaking of their false doctrines, and we do not measure up to the pattern "which was shown [us] in the mount".

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. 
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Christ and His doctrines are "the ark of His testament". His doctrines are the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and the earthquake, and the great hail which will wipe away the refuge of all the lies and false doctrines of "the table of devils... [of] different and strange doctrines" which we are forbidden to eat.  We have all partaken of "the refuge of lies" in our own time, and we must never again permit those lies to abide at our altar or be placed upon our table:

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the [living] waters shall overflow the hiding place.

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

Isaiah saw the Lord "high and lifted up" with his train filling the temple. His "train" is His clothing, and we are told the Lord's clothing is linen:

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

Dan 12:6  And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

What is the spiritual significance of linen? This is what the linen is. This is the spiritual significance of the Lord's train which fills His temple:

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Isaiah himself confirms that "the fine linen is the righteousness of saints:

Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Righteousness is inseparable from righteous doctrine, and unrighteousness is inseparable from false doctrines.

The "altar" at which we eat is located within the tabernacle, within that temple. If we tolerate false doctrines within the temple of God, upon "the Lord's table", then we are offering our Lord "the sacrifice of fools", and we simply will not long be His 'temple'. If we "partake... of the table of devils", then we will not long be "partakers of the Lord's table".

We have seen that God's throne is within His temple, and we have seen that we are that 'temple'. In other words we are in Christ, Christ is in us, and we are all within His Father, and we must be very careful to:

Ecc 5:1  Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Ecc 5:2  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

What we are being told throughout the Word of God is that there are no "nonessentials" within the Words that proceed out of the mouth of God". Rather, we are to "try the spirits to see whether they are of God" (1Jo 4:1), and when we find any spirit, any doctrine, failing to measure up to "the pattern shown [us] in the mount", failing to measure up to the pattern Christ left us, then we are to "purge out... the old leaven" and "live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God":

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Eze 20:38  And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

That "Christ IS come in the flesh" is, was, and will be true, and what John is very clearly and very boldly telling us is this:

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Lest any of us miss the message of these verses and who "we" and "us" are, the meaning is made clear, and it is all reiterated in these words:

1Ti 3:14  These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

We are "the house of God", but we are not that house as individuals, outside of or apart from the other "spiritual stones" which make up the Lord's "spiritual house".

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Only corporately are we the house and the body of Christ.

1Co 12:12  For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. (ACV)

John does not tell us in 1 John 4:6, 'I am of God, he that knows God hears me'. The holy spirit inspired John to say "WE are of God: he that knows God hears US; he that is not of God heareth not US. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." We are not the house of God as individuals independent one of another:

Only when we see that we are the house of God and that He dwells in us as a body with many members, will we able to:

Isa 6:1  [See] the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train fill[ing] the temple.