OF MILDEW AND SIN

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"If any clothing is contaminated with mildew—any woolen or linen clothing, any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather- and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest. The priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days. On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mildew has spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a destructive mildew; the article is unclean. He must burn up the clothing, or the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has the contamination in it, because the mildew is destructive; the article must be burned up. "But if, when the priest examines it, the mildew has not spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather article, he shall order that the contaminated article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days. After the affected article has been washed, the priest is to examine it, and if the mildew has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it with fire, whether the mildew has affected one side or the other. If, when the priest examines it, the mildew has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the contaminated part out of the clothing, or the leather, or the woven or knitted material. But if it reappears in the clothing, or in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is spreading, and whatever has the mildew must be burned with fire. The clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mildew, must be washed again, and it will be clean." These are the regulations concerning contamination by mildew in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean." Leviticus 13:47-59

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land, the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, 'I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.' The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. He is to examine the mildew on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house. "If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place. "Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening. Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes. "But if the priest comes to examine it and the mildew has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone. To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean." These are the regulations for any infectious skin disease, for an itch, for mildew in clothing or in a house, and for a swelling, a rash or a bright spot, to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for infectious skin diseases and mildew." Leviticus 14:33-57

Mildew is essentially mold fungi that is always present in the air in the way of spores. When these spores come in contact with something wet or damp, they begin to grow to become the mold or mildew that we dread to see on clothing or in our homes. Unchecked, mold and mildew fungus will spread and result in rotting over time. This was a big problem in Old Testament times since many ancient Israelite writings were done on leather or papyrus parchment, bot highly susceptible to becoming infected with mold or mildew fungi once wet or damp. And it often was damp and or humid in Israel where the rainy season ranged from October through March.

One thing to keep in mind was that living conditions were quite different than today. The people were often exposed to the elements and were living in tents before they reached Canaan where they would finally be able to settle into homes of their own. There weren’t dehumidifiers or dryers or disinfectant cleaners in order to combat the mildew/mold problem. The Lord, as He did with so many other matters, gave firm guidance on the mildew matter.

You’ll notice that the priest once again becomes the one who is entrusted to make the proper judgment on whether the mildew is controllable or not. We saw where the priest doubled as a public health official as well as spiritual leader when we examined the matter of skin diseases.
The Lord provided the following guidance:

"If any clothing is contaminated with mildew—any woolen or linen clothing, any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather- and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest."

The priest would then "examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days" after which time he would reexamine the quarantined item. If the mildew had "spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use" the mildew was considered destructive and the article was considered unclean. The priest was directed to burn up the article to destroy the mildew and prevent any further spreading. Of course, if the examination revealed that the mildew wasn’t spreading then the article was to be washed and then examined for yet another 7 days. If the mildew had not "changed its appearance", it was still deemed unclean and was to be burned. However if the mildew had faded, the priest was ordered to tear out the affected area and the article could still be used unless the mildew reappeared at which time the article was to be burned.

In Leviticus, Chapter 14, the Lord extends the mildew regulations to the home. The people of Israel were about a year away from finally entering Canaan and would be able to settle down into residences vice live the nomadic tent life. Once in the homes, mildew would be a problem if damp conditions existed inside. You’ll notice that the appearance of mildew in the home would render the home unclean and thus everything in it would also be deemed so. This is why the direction was to take everything out of the home, then contact the priest who would enter the home and make a determination. He was to "examine the mildew on the walls" and if it had "greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall", the priest was to "go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days." Then on the seventh day, the priest was to return to reinspect the home. If the mildew had "spread on the walls", the priest was to "order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town." The "inside walls of the house" were to be scraped and the material that was scraped off was to be dumped into an unclean place outside the town." Then repairs to the home were to begin with "other stones" brought in to replace those removed and "new clay and plaster" were supposed to replace the old.

Once all this was done, the priest was required to recheck the home to see if mildew "reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered." If it does, then the mildew was considered "destructive" and the house was to be "torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place." Such was the destruction of mildew. It could lead to complete destruction.

The same thing can be said about sin and its affect on a man or woman. It is an affliction that can be kept in check as long as it is given attention and treated. But unchecked, it can grow out of control, spread and bring us to the point of destruction. Thank goodness the Lord has given us scriptures dealing with sin, just as He did for mildew. Consider these verses:

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." Hebrews 3:12

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:13-15

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Galatians 5:16-17

"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1 John 3:8-9

Thanks be to God for His word because we learn that we don’t have to be destroyed by our sin but can overcome it…not by our own strength but by the Lord’s. For we need to keep ever connected to the "living God" and His will for us…His Son Jesus…and the Holy Spirit. In other words, we can find righteousness spreading throughout us instead of evil as long as we stay connected to any part of the Holy Trinity…Father, Son and Holy Ghost. When we do so, the scriptures assure us we "cannot go on sinning" and we will be "alive with Christ". We’re also assured we can "live forever" if we do "God’s will" and that we will not "gratify the desires of the sinful nature" when we instead gratify the desires of the Spirit.

Friends, this is good news that can lead us to where the Lord wants us to be…clean and useful…reflections of His goodness and holiness. Sin need not have victory over us because Jesus has already won the battle for us. Are you finding yourself struggling with your sin affliction? Repent and turn toward Jesus and you will turn away from the devil and sin. We’re guaranteed it because God’s word said it. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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