Leviticus 21:1

Leviticus 21:1 says, 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:  This law concerned the priests and coming into contact with a dead body and thereby being defiled.  Verse two adds, 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,  Verse three continues, And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.  A priest could come into contact with a dead person if it were his mother, father, brother, or unmarried sister.  Close family was exempt from this rule of not coming in contact with a dead body, just as our close family today is generally dearer to us.  Verse four declares, But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.  The priest had an important role in the nation of Israel as the representative of God to the people. and could not afford to defile himself with the death of just anyone, even a close friend.  Verse five adds, 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.  The priests were not to make a big display of mourning, since they should have know that the person was in a much better place if they were spiritually a part of God's people.  We today, as followers of Christ, should not allow the death of a loved one who is a Christian to cause use to bring dishonor to God by our actions at their death.  Verse six continues, 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. Since the priests made the offerings to God, they were not to profane themselves.  We today, as Christians, are a part of the priesthood of believers and we should never do anything that would prevent us from effectively worshipping and serving God.  Verse seven states, 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.  Then God had a command concerning the marriage of the priest.  He was not to marry a woman who was not sexually moral and was not to marry a divorced woman.  This was to keep the priest spiritually pure.  Verse eight adds, 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.  The priest was to be sanctified in all his actions because he offered the offerings to God.  We, as followers of Christ, need to be spiritually pure in all our actions since we represent God in the world today.  Verse nine continues, And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.  The daughter of a priest who was being sexually impure brought dishonor to her father, the  priest, and was to be burned to death.  I am not sure why the daughter was singled out and not the son as well, but we need to realize that even though he cannot be held responsible, often today the children of ministers do things that some see as a reflection on the ability of the minister to be accepted.  This should not be the case though, since even the children of ministers have free will to follow or reject God.  Verse ten says, 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;  The high priest was not to follow any of the rules of mourning, since he was the one consecrated to offer the sacrifices.  The high priest was held to an even higher standard.  Jesus is our High Priest and He met a higher standard than we will ever be able to accomplish, so we must simply put our faith in Him.  Verse eleven adds, Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;  The high priest wasn't even to go out to mourn his father or mother.  Verse twelve continues, 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.  The high priest was to remain in the sanctuary, just as our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is forever in the sanctuary of God.  Verse thirteen declares, And he shall take a wife in her virginity.  Verse fourteen adds, 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.  The high priest was to marry a virgin of his own people and was not to marry a widow or divorced woman.  Verse fifteen continues, Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.  I believe this would mean that the high priest himself was expected to remain sexually pure.

Leviticus 20:14

Leviticus 20:14 says, And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.  This was still about sexual impurity within a family, this time with a man, his wife and her mother.  In such cases, all three were to be burned to keep wickedness from being in the land of Israel.  Verse fifteen adds, And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.  Verse sixteen continues, And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  In the case of either a man or a woman having sex with a beast, both the man and the woman and the beast were to be killed.  Verse seventeen states, And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.  This was a prohibition against brothers and sisters having a sexual relationship.  If they did they were to be cut off from the people.  Verse eighteen adds, And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.  That pretty much explains itself.  Verse nineteen continues, And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.  Then verse twenty says, And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.  These are further prohibitions against relationships involving incest.  Verse twenty-one adds, And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.  In this case, where a man took his brothers wife, I guess while the brother was still alive, it was an unclean thing and the two were to remain childless.  Some of the penalties were more severe than others, but all had a penalty.  Of course, the ultimate penalty for unforgiven sins is spiritual death, which brings everlasting separation from God.  Verse twenty-two continues, Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.  This was a warning for the people of Israel to keep all of God's laws.  Verse twenty-three states. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.  The people of Israel were warned against following the practices of those who God had driven out of the land, just as we as followers of Christ are not to follow the ways of the world today.  Verse twenty-four adds, But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.  God said He had given them a land flowing with milk and honey, and as Christians, God has prepared for us a land flowing with milk and honey as our everlasting home.  Verse twenty-five continues, Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.  God said that they were to follow His laws concerning clean and unclean animals.  Verse twenty-six says, And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.  God told the people of Israel that they were to be holy, or set apart from the world, because He was holy.  We today as Christians are to be set aside from the world because God is holy and we are His people.  Verse twenty-seven adds, A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.  This is another warning against witchcraft, and it still applies today.

Leviticus 20:1

Leviticus 20:1 says,  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.  When God told Moses to tell the people of Israel this again, or repeat what had already been said before, it just emphasized the importance of what God had to say.  When God tells us something once, it should be enough, but He often has to tell us more than once to get us to listen.  In this case, the people of Israel were warned again not ot sacrifice their children to Moloch, and if they did, they were to be stoned.  Verse three continues, And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.  God said that He would cut the man who did this off from Him because this would defile God's sanctuary.  We today quite often sacrifice our unborn children to the god of self-desire, and I do not believe that God has changed His mind about such actions.  Verse four states, And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:  Verse five adds, Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.  God said that if the people didn't hold the person who did this accountable, that God Himself would do so.  God has not changed, and neither has His word.  Verse six continues, And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.  Then, there is another warning against following after witchcraft.  God said He would turn His face against anyone who did this.  We cannot follow God and at the same time put our faith in anything that is contrary to His will.  Verse seven declares, Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.  Then verse eight adds, And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.  God told the people of Israel to sanctify themselves, or to set themselves apart from the world's rules, and to follow His rules.  They were to be made holy because of their relationship to God and their obedience to Him.  We today as followers of Christ are to be set apart spiritually from the world and are made holy, or acceptable to God, because of our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse nine continues, For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.  Being disrespectful to parents was considered a sin worthy of death.  We might have a much smaller population today if we put to death all those who disrespect their parents, and this is a life long commandment, and not just for the time that we are young children.  We are to respect our parents as long as they live.  Verse ten states, And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  A man and woman who committed adultery were to both be put to death.  Again, our population would shrink today if we carried out this command, though we must remember that these commands were to God's people.  We cannot live by the standards of the rest of the world.  Verse eleven adds, And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  Verse twelve continues, And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.  This was another warning against incestuous relationships, and if they occurred, the people involved were to be put to death.  Verse thirteen concludes, If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.  Having sex with an animal was forbidden, and though we might think this was unnecessary to say, evidently it occurred even then.

Leviticus 19:26

Leviticus 19:26 says, Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.  Here the prohibition against eating blood had two other prohibitions added, and that was using enchantments or observing times.  This would be the casting of spells and considering some days more fortunate than others.  We may think of Friday the thirteenth as an example, but we should think of horoscopes and superstitions as well.  God alone is in charge of the world, and not mother nature or a day of the calendar.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.  Matthew Henry says this had to do with attempting to make themselves resemble heavenly orbs, but it had more to do with the reason behind doing this than the actual hair or beard style.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.  This could be viewed as not cutting themselves at all or having tattoos, but once again it goes beyond that to the belief that this would somehow have an influence on the dead.  Once a person is dead, their everlasting fate is determined, and nothing that we do can change that.  Verse twenty-nine states, Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.  This would seem to be a very unnecessary command, but this was done in a lot of heathen worship.  If the people of Israel began to follow these heathen practices then before long the whole land would become full of wickedness.  Verse thirty adds, Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.  The people were to keep the sabbath and to reverence the sanctuary of God.  We today need to keep the sabbath, or the Lord's Day as we observe it, sacred and to reverence God at all times in our lives, since if we are a follower of Christ then our bodies are the temple, or tabernacle, of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-one continues, Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.  There are fortune tellers today, and as Christians, we are to avoid them, just as the people of Israel were.  No one, other than God Himself, can foretell the future, and for a Christian to seek out someone who says they can is simply against God's command.  Verse thirty-two says, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.  The people of Israel were warned against mistreating the elderly, and we know that a lot of that goes on today.  As followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we are not guilty of doing this.  Verse thirty-three adds,  And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.  The people of Israel were warned against mistreating strangers who lived in their land.  This would have been people of a different nationality, and we are not to mistreat or even look down on people of different nationalities today if they are in our land, because in God's eyes we are all equal and all the land is His land.  Verse thirty-four continues, But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.  This goes a little farther in how the people of Israel were to treat strangers in their land and says that they are to be treated as if they were born in the land and loved as a person loved them self.  I believe that God expects the same today.  Verse thirty-five declares, Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.  Then verse thirty-six states, Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.  The people of Israel were not to cheat anyone by using false measurements.  Because God is God, they were to be honest in all their dealings with others, and so should we today as Christians.  We should never attempt to cheat others, because it reflects on our relationship with God.  Verse thirty-seven adds, Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.  The people of Israel were to obey all of God's statutes and His judgments, because He was the LORD.  This has never changed.  We may put the Ten Commandments on all the walls of every building in the land, but unless we write them on our hearts by faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and live by His direction, it will do no good.

Leviticus 19:14

Leviticus 19:14 says, Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.  God warned against mistreating deaf and the blind,  Though I believe this referred to those who were physically deaf and blind, we today should not be a stumbling block to those who are spiritually deaf or blind.  Our actions as followers of Christ should never cause others to doubt God's authority.  Verse fifteen adds, Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.  God warned against treating people differently because of their material worth.  The rich and the poor were to be subject to the same justice, and that was to be based on the righteousness of God.  We today are to be the same as followers of Christ and to treat all people the same based on the righteous of God.  Verse sixteen continues, Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.  I believe that a tale bearer would be a gossip or or one who spread lies, and that at the same time as we aren't to gossip that we are to report it if we see something wrong that has been done to our neighbor.  Verse seventeen states, Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. The people of Israel were told that they were not to hate their brother in their heart, and we know that Jesus told us the same thing about our neighbor and that everyone is our neighbor.  They were told to rebuke their neighbor if they were guilty of sin, but even this was to be done out of an attitude of love and concern.  Verse eighteen adds, Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.  God once again warned the people of Israel against acting out of a grudge in their treatment of their neighbor and to love their neighbor as them self, as already stated.  Even when we have been wronged, we are still to act out of Godly love to those who have harmed us, and allow God to punish them if it is necessary.  This may not even happen in this lifetime, but it will happen.  Verse nineteen continues, Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.   The people of Israel were warned against failing to keep God's laws, and then there were some warnings against intermingling livestock, crops and clothing material.  We today are still to obey God's laws, but the warning against intermingling of livestock, crops and clothing are not a part of the laws that were to be everlasting I believe.  Verse twenty declares, And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.  If a man had carnal relations with a woman who was a bond woman who had not been given her freedom, she was to be scourged.  Matthew Henry says that some believe that both the man and the woman were to be scourged, but in either case this was to be done to preserve the sanctity of marriage.  Vere twenty-one adds, And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.  The man was to bring a trespass offering to the door of the tabernacle for this sin.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.  The priest was then to make an atonement for him with the trespass offering.  Jesus Christ is the only acceptable trespass offering for our sins today.  Verse twenty-three says, And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.  For three years after trees were planted in a foreign land, the fruit was not to be eaten.  Verse twenty-four adds, But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.  The fourth year, all the fruit was to be considered holy to the praise of God.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.  It was to be the fifth year that the people of Israel could eat the fruit of the trees.  Matthew Henry says this could have been to distinguish the people of Israel from the practices of those around them and that it would also teach them patience.  We today need to learn to be patient when looking for the material blessings of God and to use them wisely when they come.

Leviticus 19:1

Leviticus 19:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.  God told Moses to tell the people of Israel that they were to be holy because He was holy.  They could not be holy by their own merit, but only through their relationship to God, just as we can only be holy by our relationship to Jesus Christ today.  Just as God called on the people of Israel to be holy then, through their relationship with Him, He calls on us to be holy today through our relationship with Him.  Verse three continues, Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.  The people of Israel were to respect their fathers and mothers and to keep God's sabbath, and this has not changed, except we celebrate the Lord's day, or Sunday, instead of the sabbath, or Saturday.  Verse four states, Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.  The people of Israel were not to worship idols or to make any themselves.  We today, as followers of Christ, are not to worship any idols and we certainly are not to make any ourselves.  Verse five adds, And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.  Any peace offering made to God was to be made freely.  When we offer anything to God today, beginning with our life through our faith in Christ, we are to offer it freely.  God does not force people to offer anything to Him.  Verse six continues, It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.  Any of the peace offering given to God was to be consumed in two days at the most, and any that was left over was to be burned.  The peace offerings were to be renewed often.  Verse seven says, And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.  Once the peace offering had been given, then it was under God's rules, and if the people of Israel did not obey His instructions, it would become an abomination to them.  When we come to Christ for salvation or give anything to God as a gift, we are to follow His guidance as to what we do with our life or how we use the gifts that we give to Him.  Verse eight adds, Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.  Anyone who ate of the peace offering after the second day was to be considered guilty of sin and was to be cut off from the people of Israel.  If we try to misuse the things that we give to God today, we may not be cutoff physically from the church, but we will be cutoff spiritually.  Once more, if we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will not lose our salvation, but we will certainly lose our effectiveness as witnesses for Christ.  Verse nine continues, And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.  When the people reaped their harvest, they were to leave a gleaning.  I believe that today God does not expect us to use up everything that He blesses us with on our self, but that we are us use part of it to help others.  Verse ten states, And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.  The people of Israel were also to not reap every grape from the vine but were to leave some for the poor and the stranger, because God was their God.  God is still God today, and if we are a Christian, then He is our God, and I believe that He still expects the same of us today.  Verse eleven adds, Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.  The people of Israel were not to steal, deal falsely with one another or lie to each other.  This still applies to us today if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twelve continues, And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.  The people of Israel were not to swear falsely by God's name.  If we make a promise in God's name today and do not keep it, we are profaning His name.  Verse thirteen concludes, Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.  They were not to cheat a neighbor nor to keep an person's wages overnight.  We are still not to cheat our neighbor, which would be anyone, although we do not usually pay people every day. 

Leviticus 18:20

Leviticus 18:20 says, Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.  God now told men once again to not commit adultery with their neighbor's wife, because it would defile them.  We know that Jesus went on to include a man's thoughts in this warning.  Even looking on a woman with lust in one's heat made a man guilty of adultery.  Verse twenty-one adds, And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.  This was a warning against giving their children up to false gods.  Some interpret it as meaning actually sacrificing their children to this false god Molech, who was associated with the sun and some interpret it as meaning to have them pass through fire to show their devotion.  Either way, doing so as part of God's chosen people would profane God's name.  We must be careful today that we do not do anything that would allow false gods into our lives if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-two continues, Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.  This is a warning against homosexuality between two men, but the same is true for two women as well.  Verse twenty-three states, Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.  It would seem to me that this would have not been necessary to say, but unfortunately people do these things.  Verse twenty-four adds, Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:  God again warned the people of Israel to not do any of these things just listed, even if all the people around them did.  We cannot be guided by the things that other people may do, but we must be guided by the word of God under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Verse twenty-five continues, And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.  God said the actions of people could lead to the land itself being defiled.  Verse twenty-six declares, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:  God said that the people of Israel were not to commit any of these abominations, whether they were born into the nation if Israel are were a stranger who had come to sojourn there.  We, as followers of Christ, are called to live by God's word today and to not allow any corrupt thing to become a part of our lives.  Verse twenty-seven adds, (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)  God said the people of the land before them had done all these things and that the land was defiled.  We today cannot expect God to bless us individually or as a nation if we allow these things into our lives.  Verse twenty-eight continues, That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.  I believe that the spewing out of the nations refers to God allowing the people of Israel to defeat them and claim the land.  If the people of Israel did not remain faithful to God, they could suffer the same fate at the hands of other people.  It was their relationship to God that made the people of Israel different.  Verse twenty-nine says, For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.  God warned that anyone who committed any of these acts would be cut off from the people of God, and this remains true today.  Christ fulfilled the law by keeping it totally, but He did not do away with God's laws.  Verse thirty adds, Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.  The people of Israel were to keep the laws of God so that they did not defile themselves before God, for the simple reason that He is God.  Unless we accept the fact that God alone is God, and that there are no other gods, then the rest of this does not matter to us.  We must first accept God through our faith in Jesus Christ, then we must follow God's guidance through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 18:1

Leviticus 18:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.  The first thing that God told Moses to do was to remind them that He was their God.  Before we can obey God today, we must first acknowledge that He is our God.  This is not true because of who we are or where we were born, but because of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Verse three continues, After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.  God told Moses to tell the people of Israel that as they weren't to follow the ways of the Egyptians while they were there but were to follow God, neither were they to follow the ways of the people of Canaan.  Verse four states, Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.  God said that they were to keep His ordinances and walk in them.  In this case, the people of Israel were to create their own country and establish their own laws.  We today as followers of Christ must first follow God's laws, though we are told to be obedient to the government unless doing so conflicts with God's law.  Verse five adds, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.  This was not an option; just as obeying God's law today is not an option for Christians.  We must live by God's law first.  The next several verses deal with God's law concerning incest, and there is little to add, so I will simply list them.  Verse six states, None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.  Verse seven adds, The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Verse eight continues, The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.  Verse nine says, The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.  This would have seemed to include half-sisters and maybe even what we would call stepsisters.  Verse ten adds, The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.  This would be grandchildren.  Verse eleven continues, The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Again, I believe this would be a half-sister, who God said would be the same as any of the man's sisters.  Verse twelve states, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.  This would have been an aunt.  Verse thirteen adds, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.  This also would have been an aunt on the mother's side.  Verse fourteen continues, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.  Verse fifteen says, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Verse sixteen adds, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.  Verse seventeen continues, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.  Verse eighteen states, Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.  This was a law against polygamy, especially when it concerned two sisters.  Of course, in God's law, marriage was always to be between one man and one woman.  Verse nineteen adds, Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.  That was God's law then, and I believe that it still applies today.

Leviticus 17:11

Leviticus 17:11 says, For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.  Moses was told why the people of Israel were not to eat the blood of an animal.  Life was in the blood and was used on the altar to make atonement for the sins of the people.  Jesus Christ shed His life blood on ther cross of Calvary to make atonement for our sins, and it is the only way to make atonement.  Verse twelve adds, Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.  This command of God's to not eat the blood of the animal applied to all the people of Israel and anyone who sojourned with them who were not born a part of the nation.  No one today is born into the family of God.  Even then, those who were born into the nation of Israel were really a part of God's people by faith in Him and acceptance of the covenant relationship that they had with Him.  We today are a part of the family of God because of our acceptance of and faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse thirteen continues, And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. Any animal that anyone killed to eat, whether by a natural born person of Israel or a stranger who sojourned with them, was to drain the blood of the animal and cover the blood with dust.  Verse fourteen states, For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.  God again told Moses that the life was in the blood, and that anyone who ate the blood was to be cut off from the nation of Israel.  Today, everlasting life is in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and anyone who is not washed in His blood will be cut off from the family of God.  Verse fifteen adds, And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.  Anyone ate an animal that had died naturally or been killed by by another animal was to wash his or her clothes, bathe, and be considered unclean until evening.  Verse sixteen concludes, But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.  If the person did not wash his or her clothes, then the person was to bear the iniquity of the sin.  Unless we are bathed in the blood of Christ today, we will bear the iniquity of our sins, and this will result in an everlasting separation from God.

Leviticus 17:1

Leviticus 17:1 says,  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying,  This once again tells us that this is God's word, spoken to Moses, to give to the people of Israel.  When we speak to people about God today, we need to make sure that it is His word that we are speaking.  Verse three continues, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,  Verse four concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:  I believe this refers to killing of one of these animals, an ox, lamb or goat, animals of sacrifice, away from the altar.  The person who did kill one of these animals was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle for an offering to God.  Matthew Henry says that after the offering that the rest of the animal was to be returned to the one offering it to be eaten as a peace offering.  He also says that some believe this was only to apply while they were in the wilderness, but since verse seven says this was a statute forever that this doesn't really seem likely.  Anyway, a person who did not bring such an animal to the priest was to be cutoff from the rest of the people.  Verse five states, To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.  This verse seems to imply that this referred to an animal that was sacrificed somewhere other than at the altar and by the priest.  Our sacrifices today must be presented in accordance with God's word.  I don't believe that we can just arbitrarily sacrifice something and claim that we did it for God without first ensuring that it is what He wants us to do.  Verse six adds, And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD.  The priest was to offer the sacrifice to God when the animal was brought to him, just as Jesus, our High Priest, offers the sacrifice for our sins today.  We cannot just offer a sacrifice on our own terms, but must come to God through the blood of Christ.  Verse seven continues, And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. The people were to no longer offer their sacrifices to devils. which would be anything other than God, and this would be a statute forever, as already stated.  We today need to be careful that we do not start sacrificing the things that God has blessed us with to false gods.  Verse eight says, And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,  Verse nine concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. This law was to apply to the people of Israel as well as to those who had begun to live, or sojourn, with them.  Anyone offering a burnt offering without doing so through the priest was to be cutoff from the people.  We today must be just as serious about our relationship with God, which is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and then allowing Him to be the Lord of our life.

Leviticus 16:20

Leviticus 16:20 says, And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:  After the holy place, the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar were reconciled, Aaron was to bring in a live goat.  Verse twenty-one adds. 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:  Aaron was to place his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins to the goat.  The goat was to then be sent into the wilderness.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we transfer our sins to Him, and He has already made atonement for them, not just figuratively but literally.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  When the goat was let go in the wilderness, it was seen to be carrying all the sins of the people with it.  This was not just a onetime thing, but when we put our faith in Christ as our Savior, it is but a onetime thing, though we may have to come back and ask for forgiveness for sin that we commit after that to keep Him as Lord of our life.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.  After the scapegoat was let go, Aaron was to wash himself and dress in the priestly garments and offer a burnt offering first for himself then for the people.  When we come together as Christians, we should first make sure that we have confessed our sins to God so that we might be washed clean by the blood of Christ.  Verse twenty-five continues, And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.  The fat of the sin offering was to be burned on the altar.  Verse twenty-six states, And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.  The man who had carried the scape goat into the wilderness was to bathe and wash his clothes, which would at least symbolize removing any trace of sin that might have gotten on him.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.  The remains of the bull and goat sacrificed for the sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned up completely.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.  The one who burned the bull and goat was also to wash his clothes and bathe.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:  God set aside a day in which no work was to be done, either by the people of Israel or the stranger in the land.  We are told this was to be a statute forever, but Christ fulfilled all the law concerning the sacrificial system at His death and resurrection, so we don't observe this day today as His followers.  Still, we do gather together in His name and we should always remember what God has done for us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us.  Verse thirty adds, For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.  On that day, the priest was to make an atonement for them, and as followers of Christ, He has already made atonement for us once and for all time through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse thirty-one continues, It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.  This was to be a sabbath day to them, and they were to examine their soul, or life, to make sure that they confessed all their sins.  Verse thirty-two says, And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:  The priest appointed to serve that day in Aaron's place was to make atonement for them.  Jesus Christ, appointed by the Heavenly Father, makes atonement for all who will put their faith in Him today.  Verse thirty-three adds, And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.  The priest appointed was to make the sacrifices for the tabernacle, the altar and the congregation and this was an everlasting statute.  As stated, these laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and He made the sacrifice that fulfills the law forever.  We only have to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord to be God's people forevermore.

Leviticus 16:11

Leviticus 16:11 says. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:  Aaron was to bring a bull for a sin offering for himself and his house.  Before Aaron could effectively serve the people as their priest, he had to make sure that he had first asked God to forgive his own sins.  Before we can effectively witness to others today, we need to ask God to forgive our sins.  Though Christ died for all our sins for all time, when we allow sin back into our life, we still need to confess and ask forgiveness.  Verse twelve adds, And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:  Verse thirteen continues, And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: Aaron was to also offer an offering of sweet incense to the LORD, so that he would not die.  Unless we offer ourselves to Christ as living sacrifice today, we will die spiritually, being eternally separated from God.  Verse fourteen states, And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.  This is just a continuation of how the sacrifice was to be presented.  When we offer any sacrifice to God today, it must be on His terms and not ours.  Verse fifteen adds, Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:  After Aaron offered a sacrifice for his own sins, then he could offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  We cannot offer a sacrifice for anyone else's sins, only Jesus Christ can, but we do need to call others to Christ once we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse sixteen continues, And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.  Aaron was to make atonement for the tabernacle because of the sins of the people.  Our bodies are our tabernacle, and Jesus Christ makes atonement for us because of our sins, if we put our faith in Him.  Verse seventeen says, And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.  No one was to go into the tabernacle, which represented the presence of God,  until Aaron had offered all the sacrifices.  We today cannot go into the presence of God until we accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse eighteen adds, And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.  Then verse nineteen concludes, And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.  Aaron had to purify everything associated with the sacrifice before it could be used.  Everything that we have today, as followers of Christ, should be sanctified for God's use and His glory.

Leviticus 16:1

Leviticus 16:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;  This would seem to be a look back in time, since the death of Aaron's two sons was before the laws concerning the leprosy and uncleanness were given.  The chronology really doesn't matter, since it all was God's word to Moses whenever it occurred.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.  Moses was to warn Aaron that he was not to come into the holy place without being prepared properly because God would appear before the mercy seat as a cloud.  We should not come to God today without being spiritually prepared, and we certainly should never take God for granted.  Since we as followers of Christ are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we should realize that we are always in the presence of God and should act according to His word.  Verse three continues, Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.  When Aaron came into the holy place, he was to bring a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.   Verse four declares, He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.  Aaron was to be attired in the holy garments when he went in to make the sacrifice.  We today do not have holy garments, but we should still come into God's presence with reverence.  Again, since we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, this means the we should always be reverent to God.  Verse five adds, And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.  Aaron was to take two kid goats and one ram from the people as a sin offering for the people.  Aaron first made a sacrifice for his sins, then he made a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  Before we begin to point out the sins of others, we need to make sure that we have confessed our own sins.  Of course, we cannot make a sacrifice for our own sins, and neither can anyone else, but we must ask for forgiveness from Christ.  Verse six continues, And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.  As just stated, Aaron was to first offer a sacrifice to make atonement for his house and himself, just as we must first deal with our own sins.  Verse seven states, And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Then , Aaron was to make the sacrifice for the people of Israel with the animals that they had brought.  Aaron could not just go and get animals to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people, but they had to bring them.  We today cannot offer a sacrifice for our sins, but must simply present our self to Christ as living sacrifice daily.  Verse eight adds, And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.  Aaron was to cast lots to determine which goat was to be the sacrifice and which was to be the scapegoat.  This was to allow the two to be used under the guidance of God, which the lots represented.  Verse nine continues, And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.  The goat chosen by God to be the sacrifice was to be offered for a sin offering.  God has already chosen the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins today, and that is the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross.  We simply choose to accept or deny this gift of salvation.  Verse ten concludes, But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.  The other goat was to be presented to God as a scapegoat, symbolically representing a taking on of the sins of the people and then the goat was to be turned loose in the wilderness.  We have no scapegoat today, but we have something much greater, and that is a Savior Who not figuratively but literally takes on our sins so that we can become a part of God's family.

Leviticus 15:18

Leviticus 15:18 says The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.  Moses speaks about both the man and the woman in this verse, then for the rest of the chapter he speaks to the woman.  Verse nineteen adds, And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.   Then verse twenty continues, And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.  This would be the woman's normal monthly period.  Verse twenty-one states, And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  The woman was to be separated for a week and considered unclean, and anyone touching where she sat or where she lay was to be considered unclean.  Verse twenty-two adds, And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone touching a place where she had sat was to wash himself and his clothes and be considered unclean until the evening.  This only states men, so I am not sure if it applied to women as well or not.  Verse twenty-three continues, And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.  Verse twenty-four concludes, And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.  I believe this means any man having sexual relations with her during this time would likewise be considered unclean for a week.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.  This refers to an abnormal bleeding by a woman.  She would be unclean for however long this went on.  Matthew Henry says this would be like the woman who came to Jesus for healing in the New Testament.  Verse twenty-six says, Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.  This verse and the next verse just repeat was to be done during a woman's normal cycle.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone touching her bed or where she sat was wash his clothes and bathe and to be considered unclean until evening.  Verse twenty-eight continues, But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. If the abnormal bleeding stopped, the woman was still to be separated for seven days.  Verse twenty-nine states, And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  On the eighth day, the woman was to bring two turtle doves or two pigeons to the priest at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse thirty adds, And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.  The priest was to offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to make atonement for her.  We are so blessed that we do not have to make atonement for each perceived sin today, and that physical conditions are not seen as sins that have to be atoned for.  Verse thirty-one continues, Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.  God said this was to be done so that His tabernacle would not be defiled.  Since as followers of Christ we are the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, we need to take seriously God's warning to not defile His tabernacle.  This means that we should be careful about what position we may put ourselves in and what we put into our bodies I believe.  Verse thirty-two says, This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;  Then verse thirty-three adds, And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.  Moses just stated that this was the law concerning men and women with an issue.  

Leviticus 15:1

Leviticus 15:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.  Matthew Henry basically says it didn't matter what this was referring to, but whatever the cause of the condition, it would be leaving stains behind.  Verse three continues, And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.   This continues to refer to his issue, which could be interpreted as a running sore.  Verse four states, Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.  Anywhere the man laid down or sat would be considered unclean, so this would have to be something contagious.  Verse five adds, And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone who just touched the man's bed was to wash his or her clothes and bathe and be considered unclean the rest of the day.  Verse six continues, And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Even sitting where the man sat would make a person unclean, and the one sitting where the man sat was to wash his or her clothes and himself or herself.  Verse seven says, And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Touching the person had the same effect and proscription to make on clean again.  Verse eight adds, And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  This would seem to be a deliberate attempt to infect someone else, and we only have to look at the news today to know that people would still do this.  Verse nine continues, And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.   Even a saddle that the man rode on would be considered unclean.  Verse ten states, And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Touching or carrying anything that the man touched would make the person unclean, and once more that person would have to wash his or her clothes and bathe himself or herself.  Verse eleven adds, And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  If the man with the issue touched someone without washing his hands, that person was to be considered unclean.  Even then, the importance of washing ones hands to prevent the transfer of a disease was recognized.  Verse twelve continues, And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.  Earthen vessels were to be broken if the man touched them, and vessels made of wood were to be washed.  Verse thirteen declares,  And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.  After the man was cleansed of this running sore, he was to wait seven days, then bathe himself, wash his clothes, and be declared clean.  Verse fourteen adds, And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:  The eighth day, the man was to bring a sacrifice to the priest of two turtledoves or two young pigeons.  Verse fifteen continues, And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt.  The priest was to offer one of the birds for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.  Simply being physically clean was not enough, but the man had to be spiritually clean as well, just as we must today.  Verse sixteen states, And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.  I believe this refers to a sexual situation, and it would make the man unclean until evening.  Verse seventeen adds, And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.  Once more, the priest would make an offering for the man, after the man had washed his clothes and himself. 

Leviticus 14:33

Leviticus 14:33 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Then verse thirty-four adds, 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;  Verse thirty-five continues, 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:   After the people of Israel got to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, and a person discovered leprosy in their house, they were to come to the priest.  As followers of Christ, if we discover sin in our house, we need to come to our heavenly Priest, Jesus Christ, and confess it.  Verse thirty-six states, 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:  The house was to be emptied and the priest was to go see it.  Verse thirty-seven adds, 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;  Verse thirty-eight continues, Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:  Verse thirty-nine concludes, 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;  If the priest saw evidence of the plague on the walls of the house, then he was to shut it up for seven days, then come and look at it again.  Verse forty says, 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:  If the plague had spread, then the stones of the house were to be taken away outside the city.  If we find sin in our lives today, we need to remove it as far away from us as possible.  The Holy Spirit will make us aware of any sin that gets into our life.  Verse forty-one adds, 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:  Verse forty-two continues, 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.  The rest of the house was to be scraped and the stones that were taken away were to be replaced.  Just as the plague of leprosy was taken seriously then, we need to take sin seriously today.  Verse forty-three states, 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;  Verse forty-four adds, 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.  If the plague had returned, then it was to be declared fretting leprosy and the house was to be declared unclean.  Verse forty-five continues, 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.  In this case, the whole house was to be taken apart and taken out of the city into the unclean place.  It is much better that we lose everything we have materially than to allow sin to continue to contaminate our life.  Verse forty-six declares, Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.  Not only was the house to be destroyed, but anyone who went into it was to be declared unclean.  Verse forty-seven adds, And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.  Everyone who had slept or eaten in the house was to wash their clothes.  Verse forty-eight continues, 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.  If the priest went into the house after it had been replastered and there was no evidence of the plague, then the house was to be pronounced clean.  Verse forty-nine states, And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:  There was a sacrifice to be made by the priest, just as Jesús, our High Priest, is a sacrifice for all our sins today.  Verse fifty adds, And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:  One of the birds of the sacrifice was to be killed.  Verse fifty-one continues, 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:  The living bird and the things associated with the sacrifice were to be sprinkled with the blood of the dead bird, which was then to be used to cleanse the house.  Verse fifty-two says, 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:  The priest was to cleanse the house with the blood of the sacrifice.  Being physically clean was not enough, but the house needed to be spiritually clean as well.  We may remove things form our lives today that would lead us to sin or are even a sin already, but until we confess our sins to God and ask His forgiveness, we cannot be spiritually clean.  Verse fifty-three adds, 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.  The living bird was to be set free outside the city, and atonement would be made for the house, and it would be pronounced clean.  Verse fifty-four continues, This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,  Verse fifty-five states, And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,  Verse fifty-six adds, And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:  Then verse fifty-seven concludes, To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.  This was the law of leprosy to determine if a person or place was contagious.  If we allow sin into our lives today, we can be certain that we are in danger of affecting others if we do not take it seriously and allow God to remove it from our lives.

Leviticus 14:10

Leviticus 14:10 says, 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.  The next several verses deal with the offerings after a person is pronounced clean of leprosy, and will just be looked at briefly.  Verse eleven adds, 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.  The priest was to present the man and the things of the offering before door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse twelve continues,  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:   Verse thirteen states , 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:  The priest was to slay the lambs for a trespass offering, a wave offering, a sin offering and a burnt offering.  Verse fourteen adds, 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:  The priest was to use some of the blood to purify the leper.  Verse fifteen continues, And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:  Verse sixteen says, 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:  Verse seventeen adds, 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:  Next, the priest was to consecrate the oil, then he was to begin applying it to the man.  Verse eighteen continues, 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:  After putting some of the oil in his hand on leper's ear, hand and toe. the rest of the oil was to be poured over his head, signifying cleansing from head to toe, I would assume.  Verse nineteen states, 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:  The priest would first make the sin offering, because before a person can be clean before God, he or she must first have his or her sins forgiven, which is why we must first come to Jesus Christ as our Savior to have our sins forgiven before we can make Him Lord of our life.  Verse twenty adds, 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.  The priest would then offer the burnt and meat offering and the man would be declared clean.  I believe this would be both physically and spiritually clean.  Verse twenty-one continues, 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;  Provision was made for the poor to be able to offer an acceptable sacrifice, just as people today have the ability to offer the only acceptable sacrifice to make them right with God, which is faith in Jesus Christ as one's Savior and Lord.  Economic status never matters.  Verse twenty-two says, 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.  Verse twenty-three adds, 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.  The leper was to bring these to the door of the tabernacle on the eighth day.  Verse twenty-four continues, 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:  Verse twenty-five states, 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:  The first part of the offering was the same, the lamb killed for the trespasses of the person.  We all have the same offering for our trespasses and that is the blood of Christ shed on the cross.  Verse twenty-six adds, And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:  Verse twenty-seven continues, And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD:  Then verse twenty-eight says, 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:  Then verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  This part of the sacrifice was also the same.  Verse thirty continues, And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;  Verse thirty-one states, 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.  Instead of another lamb, the priest was now to offer the turtledove or pigeon for the sin and burnt offering.  The person was only required to bring what they could afford, and so are we today after our sins are forgiven.  Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  This was to apply to those who could not afford to bring two lambs, but in either case the person was to be declared clean.

Leviticus 14:1

Leviticus 14:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:  God told Moses that there was to be a ritual or procedure for the leper after he was pronounced clean.  I believe this would have been for the benefit of both the leper and the people.  He would no longer be isolated and they would no longer need to fear being in contact with him.  Verse three continues, 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;  First, the priest had to go out to the leper and make sure that he was clean or healed.  The leper could not go to the priest, so it was good that the priest could come to him.  Matthew Henry points out that the priest was not made unclean by coming in contact with the leper, and I believe we can equate this to Jesus not being made unclean when He comes in contact with the sinner.  We can also apply it to our reaching out to the lost of the world when they cannot or will not come to us.  Verse four declares, 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:  The priest was to prepare to offer a sacrifice for the leper.  Verse five adds, And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:  One of the birds was to be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.  Matthew Henry equates this mingling of the water and the blood with the piercing of Jesus' side when water and blood came out.  Verse six continues, 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:  The other bird and all that was to be associated with the sacrifice was to be dipped in the blood and water of the bird that had been killed.  Verse seven concludes, 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.  The priest was then to sprinkle the one cleansed of leprosy seven times with the blood and water and then let the living bird go, then the person was to be pronounced to be clean.  We don't have to be sprinkled by the blood of Christ seven times to be cleansed of our sins, but only once.  Still, once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are called on to make the fact public and to follow Christ in baptism.  Verse eight says, 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 one pronounced clean was to then wash himself and shave off all his hair, and we would have to assume this applied to the women as well.  The person could then come back into the camp but was to stay outside their tent for a week.  They still weren't just free to mingle totally.  Verse nine adds, 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.  After a week, the person was to shave off all their hair once again.  Today, when we are spiritually cleansed by the blood of Christ when we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  We do not have to wait.  We are immediately made clean.

Leviticus 13:45

Leviticus 13:45 says, 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 person who had leprosy was to make sure that everyone knew that he had it, not only by physical signs, but by crying out that he or she was unclean.  Verse forty-six adds, 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. The entire time he had leprosy he was to live alone outside the camp.  All this was done to keep the leprosy from spreading.  We today as followers of Christ should do all that we can to keep sin from infecting us, but we are called on to be in the world as we do.  Verse forty-seven continues, The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;  Verse forty-eight states, Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;  Verse forty-nine adds, 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:  If there were green or red stains in a garment, no matter what it was made of or where it was at in the garment, it was to be considered leprosy and was to be shown to the priest.  Again, the priest was the one who would make the determination, just as Jesus Christ, our High Priest, makes the determination of what is sin in our lives today.  Verse fifty says, And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:  Verse fifty-one adds, 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.  The priest was to keep the garment for seven days, then if the infection had spread, he was to declare the garment unclean.  Verse fifty-two continues, 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.  If the garment was found to be unclean, it was to be burned.  Unless we are cleansed by faith in the blood of Christ today, we are spiritually unclean and are destined for the everlasting fire of hell.  Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord though, we are spared from this fate forevermore.  Verse fifty-three states, 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 verse fifty-four adds, Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:  After seven days, the priest was to again examine the garment, and if the infection had not spread, then he was to have it washed.  It still wouldn't be declared clean.  Verse fifty-five continues, 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.  If after being washed and stored for seven days the infected areas had not changed color or spread, it was to be declared leprosy and burned.  Verse fifty-six says, 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:  Verse fifty-seven adds,  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.  If the affected area had changed color, then the priest was to cut the affected area out of the garment, and if the infection still appeared, the garment was to be burned.  Verse fifty-eight continues, 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.  If the infection was no longer in the garment. it was to be washed a second time and be declared clean.  When it comes to sin in our lives, if we are washed by the blood of Christ, He cleanses us of all sin.  Of course, we may allow sin back into our lives, but we are forgiven of all our sins for all time when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but we may still suffer from the consequences of sin in this world.  Verse fifty-nine concludes, 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.  Moses then stated that this was the law of the plague of leprosy as to whether a garment was clean or unclean.  Leprosy did not just affect the person, but also their clothes or possessions and could contaminate those around them, just as sin does with a person today.  We must take it seriously. 

Leviticus 13:29

Leviticus 13:29 says,  If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;  This is the first time a woman is mentioned as having leprosy and it concerns having it in the hair.  Of course, we would assume that the beard applied only to the men.  Verse thirty adds, 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.  A scall is an eruption of scaly skin on the scalp.  Once again, the color of the hair and the depth of the sore were to be used to determine if it was leprosy, and if it was, the man or woman was to be pronounced unclean.  Verse thirty-one continues, 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:  If it couldn't be determined that it was or was not leprosy for sure, then the priest was to shut the person up for seven days, just as with sores in other parts of the body.  We today could say that sin is sin, no matter where it is found in the body, but we don't have to wait seven days to know if it is or not, and when we are guilty of sin, even if it is only in our thoughts, we are spiritually unclean.  Verse thirty-two states, 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; Then verse thirty-three adds, 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:  After fourteen days, if it still was not determined that it was leprosy, then the hair was to be shaved, except for the infected area, and the man was to be quarantined for another seven days.  This does not say the man or woman, but since both were mentioned at the beginning, I would suppose it applied to both.  Verse thirty-four continues, 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.  When the week passed, the priest was to look at the place again, and if it had not spread or deepened, the person was to be proclaimed clean and wash their clothes.  He or she would have still gone through the three weeks of isolation, just as someone who did have leprosy would have, but the people took the spread of leprosy seriously, just as we should take the spread of disease, and especially the spread of sin, seriously today.  Verse thirty-five adds, But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; Verse thirty-six continues, 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.  If the infection had spread, the priest did not even need to look at the color of the hair, because the person was still unclean.  Verse thirty-seven concludes, 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 the infection had not spread, and the hair had not changed color, then the person was to be pronounced clean.  In either case, the person would have gone through a lot of isolation and possibly humiliation by this time, but it was done for the good of the people of Israel as a whole.  Verse thirty-eight says, If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;  Verse thirty-nine adds, 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.  Again both men and women are mentioned, and it is once again stated that there could be infections that were not leprosy, and if the priest determined that it was not leprosy, then the person would be pronounced clean.  We today cannot condemn people for doing something that we consider a sin without first asking God if it really is a sin in His eyes.  Even then, we should not condemn the person, but only their actions.  Verse forty continues, And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.  I assume this means a man whose hair had just fallen out and was naturally bald.  Verse forty-one states, 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.  If only the part of a man's hair toward his face had fallen off, the man was to be considered clean.  Verse forty-two adds, 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.  If there was a white reddish sore on the bald area, then leprosy had sprung up.  Verse forty-three continues, 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;  Then verse forty-four concludes. He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.  The priest was to pronounce the man unclean if the infection was determined to be leprosy.  Jesus Christ, our High Priest, will continually examine our lives and determine if we are spiritually unclean, and if so, I believe He will let us know.