Leviticus 13:47 - Meaning and Application

This is the law about leprosy in a garment, whether it was linen or wool. A garment with this kind of leprosy showed clear signs of it. Its color changed, the cloth wore away, or the pile was eaten off, and this happened in one part of the garment and spread when it was shut up. If washing could not remove it, that is something we cannot fully explain now. Learned writers admit that this was a sign and miracle in Israel, an unusual punishment sent by God as a mark of great displeasure against a person or family.

The procedure was much the same as the one for a leprous person. The garment suspected of being infected was not to be burned at once, even if that would not have been a great loss. No judgment should be made on guesswork alone, but the garment had to be shown to the priest. If, after inspection, a leprous spot was found, the Jews said it was no larger than a bean, then the garment had to be burned, or at least the part with the spot had to be burned (Leviticus 13:52, Leviticus 13:57). If the cause for suspicion was gone, the garment had to be washed and then could be used again (Leviticus 13:58).

The meaning of this law was much the same too. It teaches us how deeply sin corrupts. Sin does not only defile the conscience of the sinner, it also puts a stain on all a person's work and pleasures, on everything he has and everything he does. To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure (Titus 1:15). We are also taught by this to hate even the clothes spotted by the flesh, that is, by sinful corruption (Jude 1:23). Those who use their clothes to feed pride and lust may see them marked as unclean and fit for the fire (Isaiah 3:18-24). But the inward beauty of the hidden person of the heart never fades, and it is never worn out (1 Peter 3:4). The robes of righteousness never wear thin and are never eaten by moths.