ON THE VANGUARD

CLEAN
“Everyone who has tzara’at (infectious) sores is to wear torn clothes and unbound hair, cover his lip and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!”
Leviticus 13:45

I recently read that to those who grew up in the church as opposed to in the Jewish tradition, the book of Leviticus sounds almost like a different Bible altogether. I can honestly say this has been the case for me. Growing up Baptist in my early years, and then attending a Non-Denominational Church and college, it wasn’t until about three years ago that I embraced my roots. For me, trying to understand all the details of Leviticus has taken time, and it is still an ongoing discipline for me. With that said, I have been looking over the Torah portion this week in hopes of understanding just what Moses relayed to the people of Adonai.
In order for us to understand better this portion of the Torah, let us start by explaining that the Hebrew term TZARA’AT simply means a serious skin disease which causes one to be ritually unclean. Looking at Leviticus 13:18-46, we learn of different types of skin diseases that possibly would be found on Adonai’s people. It could be that their tzara’at was a result of a burn that never healed correctly, therefore now infected. It could also be a result of another infections issue altogether. Regardless, Adonai had set rules concerning these blemishes. The end result boils down to the priest examining the area and making a declaration of clean verses unclean. For example, if a tzara’at was in a place on the scalp or so, the priest would examine the loss of hair to determine if it was a natural occurrence or a result of the infection. The result of his finding would determine the end result of his declaration, clean or unclean.
It is in verse 42 that we are introduced to the term METSORA as it defines the person. Metsora was the name given to a person who was diagnosed with tzara’at. The true definition would be the title of one who is unclean or impure. In verse 45 we see the instruction for those who fall under metsora. First, the person’s clothing was to be torn, normally torn apart at the seam so as to be re-stitched should the person later be title clean again. More so a sign of mourning than of an unclean person, this simple tearing gave warning to others. The second step was the baring of the head. Again, the bare head in this case was not fully an outward sign of the skin disease, but rather of shame because of the disease. Bare here does not mean bald either, but rather that the man would forsake the typical Jewish head wear, as would the lady her scarf. The third instruction was that the diseased would cover his upper-lip with his hand whenever anyone approached. This, in addition to his own pronouncement of ‘unclean’, was the single indicator that others understood as related to the skin disease. Add these three instructions, as well as the removal of the infected to outside the camp, and having a skin disease wasn’t too fun.
Yet here is where the instruction relates to us today. This diseased person suffered on many occasions for a disease not even his own fault. He suffered excommunication from his family, people, tribe, and from any relationship with Adonai. Only when the priest deemed him clean again was he allowed back into the camp. But this diseased person is us. True, while we may not be suffering from a physical infection of the skin, we too have had the effects of sin mark us as unclean. Because of sin we have been excommunicated from Adonai. It is only because of Yeshua’s sacrifice that we have been made clean again and can re-enter the camp. Isaiah said it well when he spoke that our righteousness is as filthy rags. There is nothing we can do, no medication we can ingest, and no act we can perform to bring cleansing, just as there was none for the diseased. But because of Yeshua’s sacrifice, Adonai as our Priest comes to look us over once again and declares us clean. Oh my friend, how I pray that you have asked Him to be the Savior of your life, so that when you come to Him in your diseased state, He forgives you of your sin and once again calls you, “Clean!”