The Leprous House and The New Stones

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the leprous house

and the new stones

This important subject might at first glance appear to be con-

centrating on something which is negative. In one sense this

may be true– however, it is an integral part of the subject that

is dealt with elsewhere, link to 'the Lord's day'-8th Vision.

The completed spiritual House of God is a work which is still

progressing, and not all materials prove to be suitable for the

Divine habitation through the spirit. Link to 2nd Timothy 2

concerning "vessels..to honour, and..to dishonour..in (the)

great house" of God. The choice as to which class we shall be

found to belong is entirely our own, and the result will be re-

vealed in the Day of Christ when He returns to the earth.

And it is true that when we re-identify with the Truth, though

it may involve a withdrawal process, it is a very positive thing.

References to the leprous house are found throughout the

Bible, and the student will be rewarded with a much deeper

understanding and appreciation of the great events which are

being supervised by "the master of the house" - Mark 13v35.

It is instructive at the outset to realise that 'stone' & 'son' are

from the same Hebrew root word. This points us to the appli-

cation which we should make- cp 2nd Corinthians 6v14-18.

We should realise at the outset that "the plague of leprosy" is

representative of sin,as shown conclusively in Leviticus 13/14,

where we see the detailed instructions set out for dealing with

the various forms of this disease. As Robert Roberts writes :

"A hopeless leper was to be put out of the camp ; a hopelessly

infected garment was to be burnt ; a house to which plague

returned after affected stones had been removed, and the rest

of the house scraped, was to be "broken down". We can

scarcely err in understanding this to mean (what is otherwise

testified) that wickedness is only fatal when persisted in" -

Robert Roberts - 'The Law of Moses' p.253/4.

Whereas the individual aspects of sin are set out in Lev.13 &

14v1-32, the next section includes instructions concerning

how to deal with sin in our relations one with the other, in the

House of God to which believers in the Truth belong. We can

also discern an underlying prophecy which is set out below.

The subject is focalised in Leviticus 14v33-53. This "leprosy"

or "plague" may be a 'dry rot' or similar fungal infection,

which would corrupt the house. A fungus 'Merulius

Lacrymans' has a reddish-greenish colour-cp v37. Whatever

infection is meant, the following process is to be employed in

treating the infection, and we now look at these instructions:

1. If the infection is confirmed, v36, 37, the house is "shut up..

seven days".

2. The priest inspects the house on the 7th day, and if the in-

fection has "spread in the walls", he commands that "the

stones in which the plague is (are) cast...into an unclean

place without the city".

3. All residue of infection is taken away, and "other stones",

which are clean,are used to replace the original ones which

were removed.

4. "And if the plague come again, and break out in the house,

after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath

scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; Then the priest

shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in

the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house : it is unclean.

And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the

timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall

carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place"-

v43,44.

ON THE OTHER HAND

"And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and be-

hold, 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".

ATONEMENT FOR THE HOUSE

The procedure to be followed is set out in v49-53, and

reference will be made to this during the exposition.

Firstly, however, we wish to set out a suggested prophetical

import of the inspections and cleansings of the house, which

will give us a reference frame for these important events.

Note that the initiator of the inspections is termed in v35

"he that owneth the house" - and the owner of the spiritual

house of Israel is God. We can also trace this application in

various other places - link to 'proverbs' p.2...'messages' p.3.

V33-38: THE FIRST INSPECTION & QUARANTINE

Prophetically this points to the work of the prophets, of

whom God testifies in Jeremiah 7v25-

"Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land

of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my ser-

vants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them".

The result of these repeated inspections is shown in v26 -

"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but

hardened their neck: for they did worse than their fathers".

Jesus Christ spoke of the above & later events in a parable -

see Matthew 22v1-6; Mark 12v1-5; Luke 20v9-12.

Also see reference to this parable below.

The effort to identify & limit the spread of the infection was

the purpose of the law. This condemned the sinner, but had

no power to redeem - link to 'grace'. The "house" was to be

"shut up..seven days"- i.e. a complete period.Paul speaks of

those under the law of Moses as "shut up unto the faith

which should afterwards be revealed"- Galatians 3v23. This

principle is applied to all outside of Christ in v22 (the word

translated 'concluded' is the same as that rendered 'shut up'

in v23). It needed the Redeemer to set us free from"the pris-

on house", "the bondage of corruption", Isaiah 42v6,7,22;

61v1 (quoted Luke 4v18); Romans 8v21; Hebrews 2v15- the

endless cycle of sin and death universal since the Fall.

It is a sign of the mercy of God that a period is firstly given

for an improvement, before sterner measures are taken for

the preservation of the House of God. However it is obvious

that failing a change for the better, there is no other option

than to remove the infected stones and to replace them with

clean stones, so that the building might be revealed in glory.

This is the subject of the following section in Leviticus 14.

THE FIRST APPLICATION OF THE REPLACEMENT

OF THE INFECTED STONES

V39-42: THE SECOND INSPECTION AND

CLEANSING OF THE HOUSE

BC721/605 onwards– the Assyrian and Babylonian

captivities, when the infected nation was taken into

"an unclean place" in the lands of the nations.

During the time of the captivity, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,

and Daniel were some who made preparations for

the next stage of re-building..the time came for the

return from Babylon in BC539.."other stones" were

placed in the spiritual house, when men like Ezra

and Nehemiah led the way in the renewal process.

Their books, together with those of Haggai and

Zechariah, testify to the sterling efforts put forth.

V43-47: THE THIRD INSPECTION AND

CLEANSING OF THE HOUSE

AD30 -70 - again the house became infected- "the

plague (came) again, and (broke) out in the house".

John the Baptist testified against those infected, and

prophesied of their replacement by clean "stones"

who would be "the children of Abraham".

The matter was serious, & the "high priest for ever

after the order of Melchisedec"-Hebrews 6v20;7v21

made an urgent inspection of the house. And when

He saw the corruption in the temple, He acted to

limit the damage, testified against them, & prophes-

ied of the imminent removal of the infected house

into the lands of the Gentiles by the Romans.He also

taught that clean stones would be used in regenerat-

ing the original House of God.

Consider carefully the following:

Matt.3v7-12;23v33-39;John 2v13-17;Luke19v37-46;

21v5,6. - cp "the time of their (thy) visitation"

Jeremiah 8v12 and Luke 19v44.

THE SECOND APPLICATION OF THE REPLACEMENT

OF THE INFECTED STONES

V39-42: THE SECOND INSPECTION AND

CLEANSING OF THE HOUSE

AD30-70 onwards-the infection was confirmed, &

the nation was taken into "an unclean place"- i.e.

the Gentile lands throughout the earth. "Other

stones" which were clean and non-infected were

placed in the spiritual house. These were "lively

(living) stones" suitable for "a spiritual house"

which were built on "the chief corner stone..which

the builders rejected"- 1st Peter 2v5-7.

The parable referred to earlier is applicable also to

this epoch in the later verses,where the rejection of

the "Son" - "the stone which the builders rejected

is become the head of the corner" - resulted in their

dispersal-Mt. 21v37-46; Mk. 12v6-12; Lk 20v13-19.

The all-important question now was, would these

new stones be able to withstand the corrupting in-

fluence of sinful human nature?

The verdict of history is that once again, the same

re-introduction of the will of the flesh has resulted

in renewed infection of this regenerated house.

Those who have recognized this, and desire to re-

main firmly founded upon the "foundation" of "Je-

sus Christ" and "the apostles and prophets" will

"grow unto an holy temple in the Lord..an habita-

tion of God through the spirit" - 1st Corinthians 3v

11; Ephesians 2v20-22. But this is only possible if

they keep themselves from the contamination so ev-

ident about them, even amongst those claiming to

be followers of Christ. It is true that we all need for-

giveness for our sins- "For all have sinned, and come

short of the glory of God"-Romans 3v23. But this in-

disputable fact cannot be used as an excuse to allow

the contamination of sin to continue amongst us.

Infection (natural or spiritual) spreads by contact -

whether such contact is direct or indirect:

cp Haggai 2v13,14; 1st Corinthians 5v6; Galatians 5v9

1st Timothy 5v22;2nd Timothy 2v16,17;2nd John 10,11

& this principle was taught clearly in the sin of Achan

(='to trouble') and his family. Their judgment in

"the valley of Achor(='troubled')" was forever

remembered in Israel - see Joshua 7.

- link to 'fellowship'…'2nd Timothy 2'.

However "the valley of Achor" will yet become

"a door of hope...for my people that have sought me"

says God in Hosea 2v14,15 & Isaiah 65v8-10.

It was necessary, because of the rejection (in the main)

by the Jews, to ( as pre-determined) preach the Gospel

to the Gentiles (nations) - Acts 13v44-49; Col.1v25-27.

The quality of our building will be "revealed by fire;

and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort

it is"- Ephesians 2v13. Infected material will perish.

Even as late as AD1847 onwards, renewed efforts by

sterling men were made to replace the infected stones

with those which were clean. However once again the

vast majority have become re-infected, necessitating

the separation of faithful disciples from this evil -

link to 'messages' - page 3 for prophecies relative to

these last days.

They are now building the House, but enemies of the

Truth have striven mightily to deny entrance to the

ones wishing to participate in this noble enterprise.

However, they cannot succeed, for our loving Heav-

enly Father has provided the "keys" to allow those

wishing to enter into this great work to do so. Any

attempt to deny them entrance cannot succeed -

for the Scriptures have been made available to all.

2nd Timothy 3v16-see 'foundation'-'statement'. And

any attempt to frustrate this great work is doomed

to fail, as on one notable occasion expounded here.

We now await the third and final inspection of the

leprous house renovated with new stones by the min-

istry of Jesus Christ, His apostles, and those who

have followed, throughout nearly 2000 years.

There is "a time to cast away (unclean) stones" - but

also "a time to gather (clean) stones together"...

Ecclesiastes 3v5. This noble work continues today.

"But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house

are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing

of the hope firm unto the end" - Hebrews 3v6.

The "casting away" of the leprous Jewish stones will

soon be followed by the "receiving" of clean ones, as

both a national & an individual "life from the dead" -

- see 'the time of the end'.

Romans 11v15,25-27 cp Ezekiel 37v1-14,20-28.

V43-47: THE THIRD INSPECTION AND

CLEANSING OF THE HOUSE

This, the final inspection of the spiritual House of

God, is almost due to take place-link to 'prophecy'.

Soon "Jesus..an high priest for ever after the order

of Melchisedec"- Hebrews 6v13-7v28 will return to

examine the "living stones" which have been placed

in the House of God. Sadly, some will have allowed

"a fretting leprosy" v45-unrestrained"sinful flesh"*

to continue in themselves &/or in their associations.

But those within whom the word of God has dwelt

richly will be pronounced as clean, and invited to

enter that eternal House which shall abide for ever-

John 14v1-3 - link to 'the Lord's day'-8th Vision.

*Romans 8v3-8

ATONEMENT FOR THE HOUSE

We noted earlier that a specific formula was set out

for the cleansing of the house in Leviticus 14. We do

not have the time to go into this in minute detail- it

has been dealt with by others quite adequately, but

let us notice one prominent feature. Two birds are

used in the cleansing process. One is slain, and the

blood used to "sprinkle the house seven times".

The other bird is "dip(ped) in the blood of the slain

bird" & is afterwards "let go..out of the city into the

open fields"*. Thus is made "an atonement for the

house"- see v48-53. Note one important fact:

THIS ATONEMENT WAS ONLY AVAILABLE IN

THE CASE WHERE "THE PLAGUE HAS NOT
SPREAD IN THE HOUSE"- v48.

In this case alone "the priest shall pronounce the

house clean, because the plague is healed".

(*the "Lord Jesus" was "brought again from the

dead..through the blood of the everlasting cove-

nant" Hebrews 13v20-as pre-figured by the 2 birds-

cp the 2 Passover/Firstfruits lambs & the 2 goats)

- link to 'feasts'

It is highly significant that the Lord Jesus Christ,

"Who was delivered for our offences (cp the slain

bird)..was raised again for our justification (cp the

freed bird, which 'rose on the wings of the spirit')"-

Romans 4v25. He was "esteem(ed)" as "stricken" -

Isaiah 53v4,8 (= the same and related words in the

Hebrew to the word translated as the "plague" of

leprosy, both of a person and a house in Leviticus

13 and 14). But Isaiah tells us that it is

"WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED"-v5.

The Hebrew word for "healed" is also used for

the healing of the leper and the leprous house.

LET US, IN THE FEW DAYS LEFT TO US,

TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS GRA-

CIOUS PROVISION - SO THAT WHEN THE

HIGH PRIEST APPEARS, WE SHALL BE

PARDONED FOR THE LEPROUS FAULTS

WE ALL HAVE BY THE NATURE OF THIS

"SINFUL FLESH" - Romans 8v3….

"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver

me from this body of death? I thank God

through Jesus Christ our Lord"-

Romans 7v24,25mg.

"God (has) condemned sin in the flesh"-

Romans 8v3.

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