Unlucky Lepors

Leviticus 13: 43-46 -  The priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore,  the man is infected with a contagious skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him ceremonially unclean because of the infection.  "Those who suffer from any contagious skin disease must tear their clothing and allow their hair to hang loose. Then, as they go from place to place, they must cover their mouth and call out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'  As long as the disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean and must live in isolation outside the camp.

 

God continues his directions to Moses with instructions for a very contagious disease… the horrid disease of leprosy.  The priest had to inspect the skin of any suspected rash for the signs of leprosy…and declare them clean or unclean.  Then they were instructed to tear their clothing and let their hair go loose…and warn anyone who came close by calling out their pronounced uncleanliness….as they made their way around the outskirts of the camps to the separated area just for lepers. It’s as if God knew we would someday assign the number 13 to unlucky things…and placed these directions right in chapter thirteen.

 

Leprosy was a disease that tormented the skin….and left untreated…eventually attacked the nervous system as well. It disfigured its victims…and ruined any hope of living a normal life with their family The commentaries I read said that it was believed they brought the disease with them from Egypt.  Any open sore was an invitation for these germs to spread to a new host…and so God gave them very strict rules for handling the ones who contracted any sign that they might have it.

 

My ‘you version’ bible found 79 verses in the Bible that contain the word…most in the Old Testament.  These verses are mixtures of warnings ….directions for what to do if you have it…directions for what to do if somehow you are cured…and stories about several people who had to live with it.  But the New Testament verses are all about how Jesus used many of these ‘unclean’ lepers to show his healing power.

 

Some commentaries felt that Jesus was so serious about leprosy…because it paralleled the way sin corrupts our lives.  We catch it…it spreads and is very contagious…it ruins our life and separates us from God.   So since Jesus was the high Priest who could wash away any unclean thing in any life…he used this disease with so many stigmas attached to show his healing power. 

 

So…even if you don’t have leprosy…you may have other things…probably sinful in nature… that have affected you the same way. It has caught you in an unhealthy grip…and it is spreading to others around you.  It will eventually separate you from God …if it hasn’t already…and prevent you from doing his will here on Earth.  You need to call out to him for his healing…and have him declare you clean again!

 

Father…I thank you that even this seeming chapter about a rare disease in my world today…gave me yet another lesson in just how easy it is to fall into sin.  I must guard myself against the evil and sinful things around me …so I can stay unaffected by its contagious effects on me.  Wrap me in your word and give me time to pray for strength and guidance. Coat me with the protection I need to keep the world from sucking me into anything that will separate me from you. Amen.