The house was not merely to be cleansed with the blood of the bird and with running water, but also with “cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet” (v. 52).

The attitude toward leprosy, leading to exclusion from the camp, doubtless has its origin in the peculiar character of the disease. True leprosy was especially associated with death, in which it ordinarily eventuated, and in its later stages was a sort of “living death,” in which various members of the body died and sloughed off. Toward the last the leper was a specter of death, and illustrated in a graphic manner the wages of sin. For this reason leprosy has throughout the ages been considered, among both Jewish and Christian commentators, a symbol of sin and its results.

 One who had been placed outside the camp on suspicion of “leprosy” could call for a priest if he had the slightest indication that he was improving. It was the duty of the priest to go when he was called, but we may suppose that at times he did so with reluctance. Feeling sure that there had been no improvement, he would be tempted to become impatient and reluctant to respond. He needed patience, so as never to lose the feeling of compassion the leper so much needed. He must learn not to shun the leper, but to pity and help him. This is a lesson for the servants of God today. Like the priest of old, the minister of God today must “have compassion” (Heb. 5:2).

Leprosy was not specifically painful, but the dread and horror of it must have vitally affected the whole life of the sufferer. In like manner sin may not be felt so keenly, and a man may hardly be conscious of its malignant nature. Leprosy was corrosive, and penetrated almost unfelt and unseen until it blossomed in ulcers and raw flesh, and wasted away parts of the body. So sin also eats out all spiritual life and beauty, even though outwardly there may be no striking evidence of the condition within. Finally, the disease broke forth externally, and the man became a living skeleton, a mass of loathsome corruption. So sin at last comes to fruition, until the image of God in man is practically obliterated. As leprosy ended in death, so sin ends in death. It would seem, therefore, that leprosy is a disease especially adapted to typify sin in its various features as no other malady could.