Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. If the spot on his 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 put the infected person in isolation for seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to keep him in isolation another seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine him again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. The man must wash his clothes, and he will be clean. But if the rash does spread in his skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be pronounced clean, he must appear before the priest again. The priest is to examine him, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious disease.
"When anyone has an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to the priest. The priest is to examine him, 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, it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He is not to put him in isolation, because he is already unclean.
"If the disease breaks out all over his skin and, so far as the priest can see, it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, the priest is to examine him, and if the disease has covered his whole body, he shall pronounce that person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean. But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean. When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; he has an infectious disease. Should the raw flesh change and turn white, he must go to the priest. The priest is to examine him, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce the infected person clean; then he will be clean.
"When someone has a boil on his skin and it heals, and in the place where the boil was, a white swelling or reddish-white spot appears, he must present himself to the priest. The priest is to examine it, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease that has broken out where the boil was. But if, when the priest examines it, there is no white hair in it and it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days. If it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is infectious. But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread, it is only a scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
"When someone has a burn on his skin and a reddish-white or white spot appears in the raw flesh of the burn, the priest is to examine the spot, and if the hair in it has turned white, and it appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease. But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and if it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease. If, however, the spot is unchanged and has not spread in the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scar from the burn.
"If a man or woman has a sore on the head or on the chin, the priest is to examine the sore, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce that person unclean; it is an itch, an infectious disease of the head or chin. But if, when the priest examines this kind of sore, it does not seem to be more than skin deep and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore, and if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be more than skin deep, he must be shaved except for the diseased area, and the priest is to keep him in isolation another seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine the itch, and if it has not spread in the skin and appears to be no more than skin deep, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean. But if the itch does spread in the skin after he is pronounced clean, the priest is to examine him, and if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean. If, however, in his judgment it is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
"When a man or woman has white spots on the skin, the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; that person is clean. "When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean. But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on his head or forehead. The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease, the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.
"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp." Leviticus 13:1-46
"The Lord said to Moses, "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields. "The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. After this he may come into the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days. On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair; he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean. "On the eighth day he must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil. The priest who pronounces him clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and his offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. "Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. He is to slaughter the lamb in the holy place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times. The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for him before the Lord. "Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for him, and he will be clean. "If, however, he is poor and cannot afford these, he must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, together with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, and two doves or two young pigeons, which he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. "On the eighth day he must bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord. The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord. Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, which the person can afford, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed." These are the regulations for anyone who has an infectious skin disease and who cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing." Leviticus 14:1-32
Chapters 14 and 15 have sections that detail the Lord’s directions when it came to matters of skin conditions or diseases. You’ll note in Chapter 14 that the Lord goes into great detail about different variations of ailments, all of which were to come before the priest for evaluation. I find it interesting that the priest, the one who was ordained by the Lord to deal with the spiritual sin affliction of the Israelites, would also be ordained by the Lord to make diagnosis of physical afflictions as well. And this diagnosis fell under three main categories:
1. Examination
2. Possible quarantine/observation
3. Possible isolation/segregation
Categories two and three depended on the outcome of the initial examination. You’ll notice that the matter of cleanliness arises again, just as it did in matters of food and childbirth. In the case of skin ailments, there were three primary things the priest was looking for during the examination to help him determine the matter of uncleanliness and how to deal with it. They were:
1. Is the sore more than skin deep?
2. Is the flesh raw?
3. Is the infection spreading?
As we read through the process, we see that the priest might not be able to answer the appropriate question based on an initial observation. As an example, how could he say the infection was spreading if he only made one examination? This is why people had to be placed in quarantine and observation for a period of time (seven days as mandated in our scripture). At the end of the seven day period, the person would be reexamined. We also see where a second seven day quarantine might be required for the priest to make sure the skin ailment is indeed infectious. There were safeguards against misdiagnosis so that a person who simply had a rash wouldn’t be assessed as having an infectious disease.
If the disease was either infectious from the start or spreading/progressively getting worse instead of better after the quarantine period, the afflicted person was sent outside the camp and away from everyone else. They would be alone unless they happened to have the company of another person who also had an infectious skin problem. And as a rule, family members would not even go outside the camp to visit their infected relative. Such was the fear that they too might become infected.
This system, which would breed portions of society that were outcasts (i.e. leper colonies) seemed crude and possibly cruel in some ways until you consider that there was no established health care system in biblical times. A breakout of an infectious disease could wipe out an entire nation if unchecked. This is why great caution had to be taken when someone showed signs of disease.
As I wondered about how I might possibly connect this scripture to our every day Christian walk, I drew an initial blank until I started to think about the process taken by the priests to examine and diagnose those who were ailing. The steps were taken because there was no other option…no other medical professional…no other medicine that could reverse the spread of the disease once it started. And I began to think how Satan works in the hearts of people today.
For we all are afflicted by the problem of sin. And it is doing one of two things within us. It is either in remission or it is growing and spreading throughout our hearts, minds and souls, leading us down the path of sure destruction. Minus a spiritual healer who can enter in and help save us, we are doomed and without hope…just where Satan wants us to be.
And people who don’t know Jesus…the One who has already gained victory over Satan and reigns supreme over him…will follow the same general steps that those afflicted with a skin disease would take with Satan leading them down the steps to darkness, despair and depression in life.
First, Satan wants you to examine yourself and see how very sinful you are. He wants you to see the sickness and affliction raging inside your heart, mind and soul, making you feel inadequate and unworthy of anyone’s favor in life, especially from God the Father and His Son Jesus.
You feel so inadequate that you begin to withdraw, burdened by your guilt and shame. You then start to quarantine yourself from others as you seek to try and deal with your feelings alone by your own strength. You see, you don’t realize that you don’t have near enough strength alone to be able to half way deal with the sin within you. You quickly discover that you can’t save yourself and fall even deeper into dejection and despondency.
You’re spiraling deeper and deeper into your sin affliction…in fact you’re being consumed by it. You withdraw from others and segregate yourself. You feel alone and forsaken. You begin to wonder whether life is even worth living, especially when you take into account how much of a terrible person you are inside. Satan turns up the oppressive anguish of guilt, unworthiness and lost esteem. You’re slowly dying inside…isolated and alone…just like those who were exiled outside the Israelite camp with their infectious skin disorders.
All this would seem too depressing to handle if it weren’t for the great truth that things have changed since the days of Leviticus. For we have a Great Physician, Jesus Christ, who showed over and over during His life on earth that there was no affliction that He couldn’t heal away with just a single touch. Blindness...one touch and gone. Prolonged bleeding…one touch and gone. Lameness…one touch and gone. And, of course, infectious skin diseases and uncleanliness…one touch…gone and clean again. Jesus was the Great Worker of healing miracles. And it wasn’t just confined to the body either. For Jesus was the Great Healer of the soul as well.
Question: Are you in any of the spiritual stages of despair, depression, darkness and hopelessness? Have you quarantined yourself after feeling inadequate? Have you isolated yourself from others because you feel like your life is generally worthless and without purpose?
If you feel any of this…if Satan has established a foothold in your heart, mind or soul…then I have some good news for you. You can be set free this very moment…and be set free forever. You can be instantly healed and watch your spiritual wounds heal in a moment’s notice. All it takes is one touch of the Hand of Jesus upon you. Seek Him right now and you will find Him… Knock at the door of His Kingdom and He will open the door and answer…Ask Him to heal you from the inside out and He will give it to you. (Matthew 7:7-8) Indeed, Jesus testified that He didn’t come for the healthy but the sick. (Luke 5:31-32) He came for you and I and all mankind…to pay the price for our sins and, in doing so, open the very doors of heaven for us to be with Him some day. In this, death is not the end but an awesome eternal beginning. We don’t need to not begrudge life but celebrate it. All because of the One who is not only our Great Savior, Redeemer and Friend…but our Great Physician and Healer as well. Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son! Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment