Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)
As we continue in this Psalm of Repentance, David uses two particular words that hint at a very interesting, and at the same time, very serious issue — leprosy. The Hebrew term צרעת tzarat is understood to be a physical manifestation of a spiritual problem. In fact Biblical leprosy is definitely not equivalent to what we call leprosy today. Unlike leprosy as we know it, Biblical leprosy is not the result of a bacterial infection, rather it is an eruption in the skin that reveals a dark stain within the soul of the leper, or in Hebrew, מצורע metzora. The point is, only a change in one’s heart can provoke healing from tzarat and, most importantly, only God can cleanse the metzora.
The fact that David pleads with God to purge his heart with hyssop hints at the ceremonial rites that one healed of tzarat performed in order to be pronounced clean; hyssop was used along with cedar wood in this process (Leviticus 14). That he mentions being “whiter than snow” also hints at the laws pertaining to one who was afflicted with tzarat. but who had been pronounced as clean (Leviticus 13:13). The point is that David seems to liken himself, while in his sin, as one afflicted with tzarat. That is not to say that he actually had it (although some rabbinical commentators suggest this is so), but he did regard himself as someone whose heart needed to be purged of a spiritual affliction. More importantly, he recognized that only God could cleanse him from his sinful affliction, and only after he had humbled himself.
So then, David is an example of how we, when tempted, defer to our will instead of subjecting our life to the will of God. In our hearts, we exalt ourselves as a mighty cedar tree, only to be afflicted. But when we humble ourselves to the height of the lowly hyssop plant, we can find forgiveness and healing. That we would humble ourself, as David did, is the will of God, and thus it is written: “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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