Slices
Prepare
Quieten yourself and pray: ‘Jesus, lead me to the Father’s embrace; Father, breathe on me your Holy Spirit; Spirit, empower me to follow Jesus today.’
Bible passage
Regulations about defiling skin diseases
13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. 3 The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease. When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean. 4 If the shiny spot on the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to isolate them for another seven days. 6 On the seventh day the priest is to examine them again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes, and they will be clean. 7 But if the rash does spread in their skin after they have shown themselves to the priest to be pronounced clean, they must appear before the priest again. 8 The priest is to examine that person, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.
9 ‘When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest. 10 The priest is to examine them, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and if there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce them unclean. He is not to isolate them, because they are already unclean.
Leviticus 13:45
45 ‘Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!”
Leviticus 13:46
46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
Explore
In Leviticus, holiness is shown in ‘wholeness’ and consequently only whole people or things can approach a holy God.
In this chapter, the same Hebrew word (tzaraat) is used to describe skin diseases (v 2), and mould on clothing (v 47). Later on it’s also used for mildew on the walls of the houses (14:34,35). It seems that this ‘umbrella word’ embraces much more than the skin conditions (eczema? psoriasis?) described in today’s reading. It seems to denote a lack or loss of wholeness in the person or item afflicted.
Those diseases which were deep seated and long-lasting identified the person – or the mouldy clothing – as unclean (eg vs 7,8,51). The clothing had to be burned (v 52) and the person banished from society (v 46). There was no hope for them unless – and until – their disease cleared up and they became whole again.
No hope… until, centuries later, one such banished man experienced the welcome and healing power of Jesus (Luke 5:12– 14). God himself, in the form of his Son, approached an outcast – a person suffering from leprosy – and shockingly brought God’s welcome to him. God is still reaching out to hopeless sufferers today!
Respond
Who are the ‘sore losers’ in your community – those who have been ostracised because of how people perceive them? What might you be able to do to show them the welcome of Jesus?
Deeper Bible study
‘Praise the Lord … who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.’1
God speaks to his people in any number of ways, both in Bible times and today. He spoke to Moses, at different times, through an audible voice at the burning bush, through the wise counsel of his father-in-law and face to face.2 In dealing with medical issues here, could he, perhaps, have spoken through people who had trained and served in Egypt? If so, God’s Holy Spirit filtered out every idea and practice that would do more harm than good, including the use of noxious, revolting ingredients such as animal faeces and human urine by the famed physicians of ancient Egypt!
Significantly, many concepts here remain relevant to the practice of medicine to this day: the place of careful observation in the process of diagnosis (vs 3,20,25, etc), the need for isolation to prevent the spread of diseases, especially when their nature remains unknown (vs 4,5), the incineration of contaminated objects that cannot be safely restored (vs 52,55,57), meticulous cleanliness (vs 34,58) and the active cooperation of the patient in the entire process.
In African traditional religion, as in ancient civilisations ranging from Egypt to China and the Incas of Peru, the medical function was intricately linked to priestcraft; and it was the same in Israel. My grandfather, as an African healer, not only concocted herbs and potions but used incantations to invoke the power of his pagan gods on his drugs; and he offered sacrifices aimed at combating the spiritual roots of ailments. What a privilege we have as Christians! We are able to invoke the power of the Almighty Creator God through our prayers as we apply modern medicine to combat both the symptoms and the root cause of disease.
Praise God for progress in medical and other research that improves the lot of humankind and for our progressive understanding of his Word and world.
1 Ps 103:2,3 2 Exod 3:1–4; 18:17–26; 33:11
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 15,16; Psalms 15,16
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for the SU Board of Trustees who meet today. Pray that they will have wisdom and discernment as they review the draft budget and annual objectives.
