Examine רָאָה

We are in chapter thirteen of Leviticus with our word for today. רָאָה see, understand, spy, look at, examine, inspect. It is used 1307 times in the Old Testament, 26 times in our chapter. Our word is used most of the time in the basic sense to see, to perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight. A good example is when the king sees Isaac and Rebecca. Genesis 26:8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window וַיַּ֗רְא and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. Our word is also used in the sense to look, to take into consideration, to direct one’s gaze towards something. This is exactly how it is used the 26 times in our chapter today. Leviticus 13:1-3, 5-6 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, and the priest וְרָאָ֣הshall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest וְרָאָ֥הוּhas examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean … And the priest וְרָאָ֣הוּshall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days. And the priest וְרָאָה֩shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean … Leviticus 13:55-56 And the priest וְרָאָ֨ה shall examine the diseased thing after it has been washed. And if the appearance of the diseased area has not changed, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire, whether the rot is on the back or on the front. “But if the priest רָאָ֣ה examines, and if the diseased area has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or the skin or the warp or the woof. Since infection make a person ceremonially unclean, God appointed the priests to act as examiners to determine whether the victim was “unclean” and then had to be separated from the rest of the camp. The person being examined could be isolated for as long as two weeks to give the disease a chance to change for the better or for the worse. Not everything that looked like leprosy actually was leprosy, and it would be cruel to isolate somebody who wasn’t actually infected. Notice also that the investigation included not only people but also clothing and even houses. Here the priest was looking for mildew or fungus that, if allowed to spread, could do serious damage. Since disease is often an illustration of sin in the Bible, we can learn about its damage and dangers in our chapter. The two obvious ones are that sin is deeper than the skin and sin spreads. I’ll close with these two great passages that identify these truths about sin. Matthew 15:19-20 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.