Leviticus Chapter 13 is not for the faint at heart.
Some pretty disgusting facts are discussed regarding skin diseases and then things continue to regress with vivid descriptions of the ugly effects of mold on a civilization.
I’ll warn you not to read these passages while trying to eat breakfast as I did. You will quickly lose your appetite!
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for joining us today in our ongoing walk through the bible where we are focused on taking a fresh new approach to learning the scriptures. We are trying to read the holy scriptures as if for the first time with the eyes of an innocent child who is trying to learn all they can about life directly from their Father.
Our Heavenly Father has blessed us greatly with the gift of His Word. Today we continue on through the pages of our bibles with the information of Leviticus 13.
If you missed last week’s lesson; you can click this link to review it: WHEN NEW SINNERS ARRIVE IN SMALL PACKAGES – COME AS A CHILD – LESSON 218
DEALING WITH SKIN DISEASES IN ANCIENT TIMES
Now it appears logical to me that God had to intervene and give rules for maintaining good health to this very large young nation called Israel because of the way they were all traveling and living together in very close quarters.
The formation of God’s chosen people happened and existed long before the days of modern and refined medical practices. All they knew about detecting diseases and dealing with them were the facts they picked up from one another through practical experiences, and the advice they received from the priesthood in charge.
There was no way those ancient Israelites could just drive down the street and wait in the comfortable air-conditioned office of a local doc-in-a-box for a solution to their health problems.
THE PRIESTS WHO MONITORED DISEASES
It seems, from reading the passages of scripture in Leviticus; that the priests serving in the wilderness tabernacle not only had to deal with people’s sins; but also with people’s diseases.
I suppose the thoughts behind this had to do with the fact that God had anointed the priesthood for service before Him and to the people; and that anointed covering would have protected them from contracting contagious diseases; because we hear of the priests having the authority to decide whether or not a person’s disease was contagious or spreadable among the people. In such an extremely large number of people a contagious disease would have spread like wildfire.
The serving priesthood had the authority to make the decisions as to whether or not the condition of a person’s skin would mean they should be kept in isolation or released back to their normal day-to-day lives.
In Leviticus Chapter 13 God was simply laying out the rules for administering this. He was explaining the symptoms that the priests should observe when people came before them with skin problems.
The instructions in Leviticus Chapter 13 seem to cover all the many symptoms and characteristics of all skin diseases. It explains how to know if they are a threat to the society or not.
HOW THE PRIEST DISCERNED DISEASES
They would know and understand what to do simply by heeding God’s simple, layman’s termed instructions which any thinking person who could read or hear what was read could follow and manage from discerning the words given by God in Leviticus.
The decisions and discernment of the priesthood in charge affected whether or not a person would live a very lonely life from that point forward; or whether or not God had healed them and they could move on back to normal daily activities among their people.
I’m sure everyone hoped that the latter would be the case!
People must have lived in horror of catching skin-diseases for which there was no readily-available cure.
LEPROSY – THEN AND NOW
The main fear of course appeared to be a cruel disease called leprosy.
Everyone knew that leprosy was un-curable and contagious, and it eventually led to a premature death. The bible is full of stories and scripture references where people came down with leprosy; and there are also some very amazing stories of how God sometimes miraculously healed these lepers.
When I was reading, studying and praying about this passage and trying to relate it to today’s world; I thought of the whole vast multitude of people in our society who have contacted and suffered from AIDS. There is no known cure. A diagnosis is life-changing to say the least. There seems to be a lot of shame associated with the disease simply because of it being contagious if others are unprotected and come into contact with it through broken skin, blood or sexual activity. AIDS, like leprosy, can led to premature death.
I suppose dealing with AIDS is a lot like living with leprosy; only not as visible and public. It is isolating in many ways. The only way to a possible cure would be through prayer and fasting and seeking God’s face for a miracle.
It makes me remember the scriptures found in Psalm 107:19-21; Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
When it comes to miracle cures; God is the Great Physician we all want to call upon.
ONLY THE GREAT PHYSICIAN KNOWS THE ANSWERS
Maybe one day modern science will be able to prevent such diseases as AIDS and leprosy; but for today God is the only Great Physician who knows all of the answers.
God ultimately has the decision to say whether or not we will ever eat from the tree of knowledge that would tell us of all the cures for all of our diseases.
He alone knows.
He alone decides.
The same thoughts and concepts apply to all of the many types of cancers and all other terminal diseases.
I’ve heard others say that the litmus test for atheism is for an atheist to come down with a terminal disease. It is funny how people suddenly decide to call on God when they can no longer find a way to help themselves.
GOD HAS ANSWERS FOR THE FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT
The good news is that the Great Physician was going to help those ancient people to walk through their hard and fearful times.
God does this same thing for us today.
God was right there with them. He did not desert them or forsake them. He was giving them the answers they needed in the way that they could understand.
With the giving of this part of the statues and laws; God was instructing the ancient priesthood about all of the best ways to handle the contagious diseases of their day.
Even though the ancient people did not have our modern-day references and convenient facts about sickness and disease; they actually had something better.
They had the guidance of God Almighty.
He is the Great Physician and the greatest of all healers; not only of our physical ailments; but also of the spiritual ailments of which we all suffer. To have the disease of spiritual leprosy, or spiritual AIDS is even worse than the physical diseases. God alone can bring us true healing. We must learn to follow His ways of prevention and call upon Him when we have trouble.
THE SIMPLICITY OF FOLLOWING GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS
By establishing these rules concerning skin diseases and by putting the priesthood in charge of monitoring and discerning the health practices for the people of the nation; God was simply providing the medical attention that the People of Israel were lacking in that period of time as they lived a sometimes isolated lifestyle in the wilderness.
These strange-sounding passages in Leviticus are actually just that simple.
Would you expect any less from a Mighty God who loves His people?
If you enjoyed today’s weekly lesson from our COME AS A CHILD Thursday Bible Study you might be interested in signing up for our monthly e-mails in which we always recap the lessons for the month. This would also help you to stay abreast of the events and happenings of The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community’s seasonal activities. To sign up; just fill out the form below: