Parashah 28: Tazria M'tzora (Person

afflicted with tzara'at)

Parashah 28: M'tzora (Person afflicted with tzara'at) Leviticus 14:1 through
15:33.
Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): 2 Kings 7:3-20.
B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Matthew 9: 20-26; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48;
Hebrews 13:4.

Summary & Overview

TORAH
o
o

Leviticus 14:1 | Purification of Lepers and Leprous Houses

Leviticus 15:1 | Concerning Bodily Discharges

This Torah Portion fall in the season of Passover and is part of the time of
Cleaning the House emphasising the true meaning of Unleavened Bread. This
matches the topic of cleansing the Leper and how the preparation Unleavened
Bread represents the seeking and removal of sin form your life. We will keep
this in mind as we continue our study on the cleansing of tzara'at. Last week we
looked at what leprosy represent to us today and how it can manifest in our
lives. This week we will look at the cleansing process and how the House of
YHVH can be affected by this plague.

Priesthood and Leprosy

It must have been awesome to serve as a
Priest in the days of the Tabernacle where
you get to go into the Presence of YHVH
and get exposure to all the hidden things.
On the other hand, there is the part of this
job description that is not so appealing;
dealing with peoples issues, especially
things revealed in this Torah Portion
where they had to examine peoples skin
diseases in order to declare them clean or
unclean.
Spiritual Application: This shows us two
types of people in a Congregation, one type like to serve YHVH and spend time
in His presence all day long. Their faith is for their own benefit and they do not
care much about people on the outside. Then there are people who are
servants of YHVH who are brave enough to get their hands dirty, who deal with
all the people issues and dynamics within the Congregation.
We all are part of the Body of Messiah and have a part to play. Your faith is
about other people, not about yourself. Its about getting people into the
Kingdom and looking after those already in the Kingdom, serving the Body of
Messiah. We find the opposite in most Congregations; the majority of members
just like to be spiritual entertained and not serve the people within the Body or
reach people in the world.
1

Cleansing the Leper

Lets look at the Commandments for the Priesthood regarding the cleansing of
an affected person. It starts with inspecting the person and what he/she must do
when affected.
Lev 13:45-46 Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn
clothes, let their hair be unkempt,[c] cover the lower part of their face and
cry out, Unclean! Unclean! 46 As long as they have the disease they
remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
First of all, if the Priest inspected them and they were infected by leprosy, they
had to proclaim their unclean state in public, shouting unclean, unclean! as
they left to stay in isolation outside the camp for a period of time.
Q Have you ever wondered what they were doing outside the camp?
Imagine yourself in that persons shoes, going through something like that. It
was probably embarrassing to walk out shouting unclean, unclean! with part of
your face covered. That is exactly what sin does, it embarrasses you when
found out. After you have been humiliated and humbled, you experience a place
of isolation where you did a lot of introspection and repentance. This is where
YHVHs Spirit work in you, to bring all those hidden things to the surface so that
you can deal with them. Sin will embarrass you, humble you, isolate you and let
you search hidden parts inside of you and lead you to repentance with the help
of the Spirit. Lets see what they went through before being accepted back into
the camp.
Lev 14:3-9 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;
4 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: 5 And the
priest shall command that one of the
birds be killed in an earthen vessel
over running water: 6 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: 7 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. 8 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 Priest took two birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop; the one bird was
killed and its blood was mixed with water in an earthen vessel. The live bird,
with the cedar, scarlet and hyssop was dipped into the water and blood.

Then the Priest sprinkled the water and blood mixture on the affected person.
The live bird was then set free and the person was set free back into the
community.
This sound similar to the offerings at the Feast of Yom Kippur or Day of
Atonement where one goat shed its blood and the other goat set free into the
wilderness. This is a picture of Messiah Who shed His Blood and water that
came from his side after the soldier pierced Him to see if He was dead. We will
now look at each of one these symbols to find the deeper meaning behind the
ritual cleansing of the leper.
Bird is the Hebrew word tsippowr that comes from the root word
tsaphar that means to go in a circle, to dance in a circle, to turn
and return. This word is first used in Scripture in Jud 7:3 in the story
of Gideon where YHVH reduced the number of His army from 22
000 down to 300. He reduced their numbers by asking those who
were afraid to turn and return, not to be part of His army.
Spiritual Application: This shows us that the two birds represent
two camps, one who is ready to be used by YHVH in battle and the
other camp is too afraid. The person who had leprosy was of the camp who
could not be used in battle and had to turn and return (tsippowr) or repent in
order to be enlisted back into YHVHs army. The bird that died was a symbol of
the old man or sinful person who died (repented) and is now ready to be set
free and released back into the service of YHVH. This teaches us that someone
with leprosy or sin in their lives cannot be used by YHVH. YHVHs soldiers live
retentive lives and strive towards holiness. They are people who repent
immediately after they have sinned and does not allow sin to fester and grow
strong in their lives. YHVH is not interested in quantity but rather quality, for us it
is all about numbers and we think the more people in the Congregation the
better, but YHVH rather have a few good men than having a very large army
consisting of sick leprous soldiers.
Cedar is the word 'erez that comes from the root word 'araz that
means to be firm, to be stable and this is what YHVH expects from
His people, to be firm and stable in their faith, the opposite of
someone with leprosy or sin in their lives.
Scarlet is the Hebrew word towla that means worm, the
coccus ilicis worm that turns red when it dies. This is a
symbol of the Blood of Messiah that was shed on
Passover so that we can be covered because of our sinful leprous
fallen nature.
Hyssop is the Hebrew word ezwob that was the plant that is used
most of the time in sacred purifications. This was first used in
Scripture in Exo 12:22 in the time of the Exodus where they applied
blood to the doorpost of their homes on the first Passover. Hyssob
was used here to apply the water and blood mixture to the leper
after their leprosy has healed so that they can be declared clean.
This connects the Cleansing Ritual to the Passover symbolism
where the blood on the doorpost caused death could pass over
and set the person free so that he/she could be restored back to
life into the Community.
3

Leprosy in the House

Lev 14:34 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;
The Sages teach that leprosy come on your
body because of your mouth, then it can come
on your clothing because of pride and if it
comes on the house because of a hidden
blessing to the people inside that house. The
context of this verse is about gifts YHVH gave
His people, part of possessing the land of milk
and honey, they got leprosy in their houses.
What happened was when Israel overcome
the Canaanites, they lived in the houses that
were already build. When leprosy appeared on
the wall, they ripped the stones out in order to get rid of the leprosy and replace
it with new stones. When they removed these leprous stones, they sometimes
found hidden treasure behind it. If it wasnt for the affliction of the house, the
people in the house would never have received that blessing or treasure.
Spiritual Application: We learned last week that leprosy was given to Israel by
YHVH as a gift and when you embrace that gift, it will turn what you perceive
to be a curse, into a blessing. If YHVH does not reveal to you what is wrong
with your tongue, your actions or your house (family), then you will keep on
living with that curse, caused by your fallen nature and that sin will become part
of your personality. People are not born to be evil, YHVH has a greater plan for
each one of us. Some people choose to live their lives in a fallen nature,
saturated with sin and that defines who they are and not what YHVH
intended them to be.
Behind every sin in your life there is a hidden blessing or treasure, that
comes from your Father, that He wants to give to you if you deal with
and remove that sinful habit. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and
every bad situation has a hidden treasure behind it, revealing who you
can be and what YHVH wants you to become. Your greatest gift is
sometimes covered and hidden behind sin and this is Satans plan to keep
you bound up behind that sin so that you will never blossom and walk in the
purpose and gifts YHVH planned for your life.
Q What is the area in your life the enemy has control over?
The sin you struggle with the most is normally
related to the area in your life where there is the
strongest gifting. The Enemy is trying to keep
you in a leprous state so that you will cover that
sin with something else so that you will not be
exposed. One sin normally covers another sin,
like a lie cover hidden actions. Face your fears
and deal with those sins and ask YHVH to help
you through the cleansing process so that you
can prosper in that area of your life. There are so
many attacks on the people of YHVH to try to stop their gifting and calling.
4

You must not hide if this is true in your life, deal with it before it destroys you.
Confess your sin because hidden sins hides hidden callings or treasures in
your life.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one
another, and pray for one another so that you may be
healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can
accomplish much.
Most people feel embarrassed to ask someone to pray
with them if they have sin in their lives. For you to get
rid of sin you have to bring it to the light. Sin will fester
and become greater and greater as you keep on
covering and hiding it and you will decay spiritually.
You need to invite YHVH as ask His intervention in your life before the sin
becomes too great for you to handle.
It is good to confess your sin to YHVH in private through prayer but James
advise us to confess our sins to one another. This is the best way to bring the
darkness into the light and the best way to do this is to find someone who is
older and wiser than you, someone you can trust, so that he/she can pray with
you and can get it out in the open.
This verse does not mean to confess someone elses sin to one another, that is
called slander and you will bring a plague into your life. Be aware of this so that
you will not speak against your brother or sister who have confessed their sin to
you in confidentiality.

Removing Rejected Stones from the House

Lev 14:38-40 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the
house, and shut up the house seven days: 39 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; 40 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:
Elders within a Congregation have 2
jobs; one is to feed the sheep, the other
is to protect the sheep from unhealthy
infected people as well as from wolves
dressed in sheeps clothing. The
challenge is to discern whether it is a
sheep with a mild condition of leprosy
and when it is a wolf in sheeps clothing.
Last week we have looked at the
different kinds of leprosy and the more
serious untreatable case was the leprosy of the head or the mind. Paul gives us
very clear guidance how to deal with such people and when to remove and
reject them from the Congregation or Fellowship.

1 Cor 5: 1-11 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among

you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles,
that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have
not rather mourned, that he that has done this deed might be taken away
from among you. 3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit,
have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath
so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Master Yshua the Messiah, when
ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Master
Yshua the Messiah, 5 To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction
of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Master Yshua.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new
lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our Passover is sacrificed
for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with
the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with
fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or
with the covetous, or swindlers, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs
go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep
company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous,
or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or a swindler; with such an one
no not to eat.
Paul mentioned six types of leprous stones that needs to be removed and cast
outside the City or Congregation. These are people who calls themselves
Brothers but have some of the following traits:
1. Fornicator or immoral person: The word in Greek is the word pornos
and that is where the English word
pornography got its meaning from. This
is anyone who indulges in sexual
immorality acts like sex before marriage,
sleeping around, married person cheating
on their spouse, pornography and
homosexuality. Paul lists this as the
number one problem because it is a
hidden sin that becomes an addiction and
lifestyle that eventually destroys relationships. How many Pasters and
Churches have you heard of that has been destroyed or affected
because of this? People who practice these deeds needs to be removed
from eth Assembly and not be tolerated because it will spread and affect
others within the Assembly.

2. Covetousness: This is the Greek word pleonekts that means to

claim more than ones due, eager to have
more, greedy of gain. This is someone
who always wants more and sometimes
at the cost of someone else. This not
necessarily only applies to food,
possessions and money, but also to
people or followings, trying to make
themselves the centre of attention. This
relates to social circles and to spiritual
groups where someone wants to be on the stage, in the limelight and
want to be seen. Another form of this is when they play Mr. or Mrs.
Know-it-all whose greed is with attaining knowledge and you cannot tell
them something because they are the go-to-person if you want to know
anything. When you want to share something you have learned, they
shut you down and tell you something they know from their wealth of
overweight knowledge. Covetousness applies to spiritual leaders as
well where they fall into this trap of counting people, seeking a larger
Congregation than other Congregations. It sin is rooted in a competition
spirit that always compete against everyone else in order to possess
more, get more attention, have more followers or have more money or
things than needed. Paul advises us not to fellowship with such people
and not to keep company with them.
3. Idolaters: Comes from the Greek word eidolon that means idol, image
or likeness and has to do with worshipping any deity other than YHVH.
There is a warning in Scripture that is you become like the one you
worship. Young people today imitate Hollywood stars
and music stars, dressing like them, trying to look like
them and act like them. They adore and worship these
famous people to such a point that they become like
them. This is the opposite of what YHVH asked us to
do, to worship Him and become like Him.
This also has to do with people who get caught up with
things that becomes obsessions and this obsession takes
up the place for YHVH in your life. Like the big rocks in a
jar, put YHVH first and then there will be enough time for
the things you need and want to do.
Then there is the trap of entertainment. A lot of people
fall into this trap where they spend all their time money
and energy on being a-mused or entertained. Muse means to think or
to consider something thoughtfully. A-Muse is the opposite of muse and
means not to think and watching movies, television or being on your
Facebook all day is good example of this form of idolatry. People loose
themselves in the world of entertainment because they cannot deal with
reality and eventually becomes an addiction. Believers having this
problem only want to be entertained by the music in the church and the
message and rarely mean anything to anybody. People that worship
themselves, someone else or things other than YHVH and who wants to
bring in this kind of Spiritual Entertainment worship needs to be
removed from the Assembly.
7

4. Railer or reviler: This is someone who attacks others verbally. In 1 Cor

4:12 Paul uses this word as the opposite of
to bless someone and falls into the
category of cursing someone. People will
normally use a weapon when they are
violent and want to hurt someone, a reviler
will use their tongue. This kind of person
will shout you down and give you a piece of
their mind without listening to reason or
trying to talk things out. They will abuse
others verbally and always have the last say. In a family setup they are
the abusive parent who communicate with violent words and threats and
cause emotional scars within their children. Within the Congregation they
are the ones that always argue a point and can never find common
ground, always trying to argue their point in order to be right. This is a
very dangerous type of leprosy and will contaminate the peace within the
Congregation and needs to be removed.
5. The Drunkard: This is not only someone who is under the regular
influence of alkanol or a substance. It is
the Greek word methysos and means
to be so full of something so that you
lose focus and rationality. If someone in
the Congregation has an addiction, they
need help and support. If they do not
want to be helped or fail to corporate,
they need to be excommunicated. There
is another problem that creeped into
churches today and that is when people
seek to be drunk in the presence of G od or drunk in the Spirit. This is
where they become emotionally overwhelmed and do things that you
normally will not expect in a church. There is no such thing to be drunk in
the spirit, the Word teaches us to be filled with the Spirit and not become
drunk with wine. One of the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit is SelfControl and is the opposite of becoming drunk, lose focus and rationality.
There are examples in Scripture where people fell in the presence of
YHVH, He then told them to stand up before He talked to them. The
Spirit of YHVH will help you to become Holy and not becoming drunk or
do all sorts of weird stuff that is not a great testimony for someone in the
world.
6. Swindler or Thief: This word comes from the Greek root word harpaz
that means to snatch away and is
found in Matt 13:19 in the Parable of the
Sower where the evil one will snatch
away the seed from the ones who do not
understand it. This is someone in the
Congregation who does the work of the
evil one and who snatches away the
truth from the ones who are still learning.
John 10:12 uses this word in the context
of wolves among sheep.
8

These people are doing the enemys work where they oppose the Truth by
interrupting the message with arguments and questions that are sowing
confusion amongst new believers. They are normally very passionate
regarding their views and sounds very convincing. People like this is the
worst kind and have leprosy of the mind and should be removed as soon as
possible because they will break up a Congregation or Fellowship.
There are three additional passages Paul taught that are stones that need to be
removed. People having these attributes should not be tolerated within the
Congregation and you should withdraw yourself from such a person.
7. The Tithe Seeker: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our
Master Yshua the Messiah, that you
withdraw yourselves from every
brother that walks disorderly, and not
after the tradition which he received of
us. 7 For yourselves know how ye
ought to follow us: for we behaved not
ourselves disorderly among you;
8 Neither did we eat any man's bread
for nought; but wrought with labour
and travail night and day, that we
might not be chargeable to any of you:
2 Thes 3:6-8
The context of this passage is in regards to working; anyone who can work
but do not, are walking disorderly, not working to earn their living. Paul set
the example of someone who do ministry work and does not rely on the
charity of the people. Money will always place a stumbling block in the way
of spreading YHVHs Word. People who earn a living by preaching the
Gospel is causing leprosy on the stones of the House of YHVH. A lot or
ministers of the Word today preach Tithing to support their ministries but
this is not the example Paul set for the Church in the absence of the Temple
and the Priesthood. Some people may be of different view on this but we
have to try to imitate the First Century Church example not to fall into the
trap of creating a Business selling the Gospel. You should withdraw yourself
from people like this and not follow someone who is not earning their won
wage.
8. Strange Doctrine Teachers: As I asked you to abide still at Ephesus, when
I went into Macedonia, that you
might charge some that they teach no
other doctrine, 4 Neither give heed to
fables and endless genealogies, which
minister questions, rather than godly
edifying which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the goal of the commandment
is love out of a pure heart, and of a
good conscience, and of sincere faith:
1 Tim 1:3-5
Strange doctrines are based on the Truth but connects to many rabbit trails,
introducing fables and manmade interpretations that lead people away from
the basic Scriptures.
9

They use multiple verses out of context to weave together a beautiful

picture and concept they want to convey, but normally contradicts Scripture
elsewhere.
The other issue is when people dwell on things that are not important, like
for instance genealogies, conspiracy theories, even spending too much
time on the Hebrew Aleph-Bet. Teaching these things out of balance,
spending too much time on it will take away the opportunity to teach the
basic Scripture and truth as presented. Going through the Torah Cycle or
studying the Books of the New Testament adds more value that knowing
about what the Pope is up to and why we should not trust the
Government. These topics are fruitless and you should not get entangled
within a group that makes these their main discussion points. These
stones are affected and cause leprosy in the House of YHVH and should
be removed.
9. People who argue over the Word: People like this is similar to the
Reviler we have looked at previously.
Tit 3:9-11 But avoid foolish questions, and
genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about
the Torah; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10 A man that is a heretic after the first and
second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he
that is such is undermined, and sins, being
condemned of himself.
It is profitable to have good discussions regarding
the Word, even discuss differences but if it leads to disputes and arguments,
then it is vain and worthless. People like this normally live and talk Torah all the
time, saying the right things but they believe to be the Sword of the Spirit
incarnate and cause divisions, bashing people over the head with the Truth.
They are normally abrasive and dominating claiming to hear form YHVH
directly. This is one of the greatest abominations in the eyes of YHVH causing
discord among the Brethren. Dont tolerate this behaviour in the Congregation
and remove them to leave after the second warning. You will know a person by
their fruit, if they are building up the Kingdom or causing divisions and disputes,
breaking down the Kingdom and House of YHVH. Remove these leprous
stones as soon as possible.
Any Congregation or Fellowship is a House and if there are any of these
leprous stones found in the midst of the House, they have to be removed and
replaced with stones without leprosy. All of us must guard our hearts so that we
will not get some form of Leprosy, even one of the six types we looked at here,
so that YHVHs House can be clean without spot or blemish in order for His
work to continue, to reach out to lost souls so that they can become part of the
House of YHVH.

10

Searching for Leaven in the House

The problem with leprosy is that it spreads and
people with leprosy will normally infect others and
cause issues or a split within the Congregation.
Those infected members will then go to join other
Congregations where they will take their
infection with them and make the stones of
that House leprous. This is the time and the
Season for searching out the leaven and leprosy
in your house and the House of YHVH. If you find
any leaven or leprosy, go our High Priest, Yshua
and present yourself to Him in humility with a repentive heart, so that He can do
a work in you and take you through the cleansing process so that you can be
declared clean and useful in His Army.
Ps 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know
my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting.
Practical Application: Take a piece of paper and write down all the leaven in
your life, all the possible symptoms of leprosy in you. Then write down friends or
family members names that you know who have leprosy. Then lastly, write
down any leprous stones that you know that is in the Congregation or
Fellowship you attend. Take this list with three sections and present it to Yshua,
our High Priest in prayer and ask Him to help you to overcome those issues in
your life, the lives of the people you know as well as within the Congregation.
Ask YHVH to reveal all the blemishes to every infected person so that they will
repent and make their lives right with YHVH. Lastly, pray for the Congregation
or Fellowship and ask YHVH to remove the leprous stones so that the treasures
behind them may be revealed and that His Kingdom with prosper and His Bride
can be prepared and His Army will be healthy and effective.
This is what needs to happen every year leading up to Passover as part of
preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is all about the preparation
and removing the leaven and leprous stones from your life and form the House
of YHVH.
Ps 127:1 Unless YHVH builds the House, they labour in vain who builds it.
Yshua is the High Priest of His Fathers House and we are the living stones that
represent it. He is the Builder who choose the stones and who take away
stones in order for His House to contain His Glory. The way you conduct your
life will dictate whether you will be a chosen stone or a rejected stone. The
choice is yours, choose life.

11