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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Leviticus, chapters 13 and 14, we find directions given by the Lord pertaining to matters of skin conditions and/or diseases.
You’ll note in Chapter 13 that God goes into great detail about different variations of skin ailments, all of which would lead an Israelite to come before the priest for evaluation. It’s interesting to me that it was the priest, the one who was ordained by the Lord to deal with the spiritual sin affliction of the Israelites, who was also appointed by the Lord to make a diagnosis of these physical afflictions as well.
As we study these passages, we learn that the diagnoses by the priest would fall under one of three main categories: Examination and then Possible quarantine/observation or Possible isolation/segregation
Note that the outcome for the one afflicted was totally dependent on the initial examination and that exam was centered on the matter of cleanliness, a theme we have seen in the past few messages on the Lord guidance regarding food and childbirth/menstruation.
When it came to skin ailments, the scriptures tell us that there were three primary things the priest was looking for during the examination to help him evaluate for potential uncleanliness and how to deal with it. These can be framed by the following questions:
1. Was the sore more than skin deep?
2. Was the flesh raw?
3. Was the infection spreading?
As we read through the processes involved, we see that the priest might not be able to answer the appropriate question based on an initial observation. For example, how could he say the infection was spreading if he only made a single examination?
This is why people had to be placed in quarantine and observation for a period of time, seven days as we see mandated in our passage. At the end of that seven day period, the priest would reexamine the person and if needed, a second seven day quarantine might be required as the priest needed to make sure that the skin ailment was indeed infectious. This would also safeguard against a misdiagnosis so that any person who had a mere 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 isolated and 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 out of 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 and so this is why great caution had to be taken when someone showed signs of disease.
You know, as I considered these passages, I began to wonder how it would apply to our lives as believers today and initially, I drew an initial blank until I started to think about the process used by the priests to examine and diagnose those who were ailing. These steps were taken because there was no other option because there wasn’t any medical personnel or medication or treatment regimen that could reverse the spread of the disease once it started. And this got me thinking about how Satan works in the hearts of people today.
My thoughts are centered on the truth that every single person is spiritually sick, infected and afflicted by sin. The scriptures affirm this in this verse from the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans:
“...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” v.23
Given this spiritual health issue, one that will be present within for the duration of life on earth, it’s important to note that the inner disease of our soul is either moving toward remission, in remission, or growing and spreading inside our hearts and minds. The latter, when unchecked, ushers a person down the path of sure destruction, the place where Satan wants them to be. To that end, we can apply the same sequence of events that took place as the priest evaluated the skin disorders in our passages today.
First, Satan wants someone to examine themselves and realize just how sinful they are, seeing the great spiritual sickness raging on inside their heart, mind, and soul. In that place, the enemy then makes a person feel inadequate and unworthy of anyone’s forgiveness in life, especially from the Lord.
In the midst of these inadequate feelings, a person will begin to withdraw from others, burdened by their guilt and shame. They quarantine themselves from others as well as God, trying to deal with their feelings of spiritual failure by way of their own strength, a strength that simply isn’t powerful enough to overcome Satan. And so a person continues to spiral downwards, falling into even deeper dejection and despondency.
Then, there becomes a point where a person is consumed by their sin affliction as they segregate themselves, feeling alone in their transgressions and without hope of any redemption. In this place, a person can even start to wonder whether life is even worth living anymore, that the world would be better off without them in it. Essentially, the person has bottomed out spiritually, nearly dead inside spiritually under the weight of their anguish, guilt, unworthiness, and lost esteem...sort of the way those Israelites may have felt after they were exiled outside their camp and from their families while dealing with infectious skin disorders.
Thankfully, there is a way out from this dark and lonely place for we all have a ready and able spiritual healer who can enter in and help save us, rescuing us from doom while offering hope, not just for today but forever, in the midst of our sin affliction.
That Healer is of course our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the One who has already gained victory over our enemy Satan and reigns supreme over him.
Indeed, every single person can gain access to the greatest of Physicians who has showed over and over during how He holds mastery over every affliction, whether physical or spiritual.
With one touch, He made blind men see.
When a woman had endured years of bleeding, a single touch of Jesus stopped the ailment.
The same happened for the lame and the lepers. A touch from Jesus and complete healing followed.
Yes, Jesus proved (and still proves) over and over again that He was (and is) the Great Worker of healing miracles, never ceasing to put His awe-inspiring powers to work for the sake of a person’s body or soul.
With all this, where do you find yourself today?
Are you in a place where your sin affliction has dragged you into the depths of despair, depression, darkness, and/or hopelessness? And if so, have you quarantined and/or isolated yourself because you feel inadequate or worthless and without purpose?
If that is where you find yourself today, in a spot where Satan has gained a foothold on your heart, mind or soul, then I encourage you to take the steps needed to reverse course so to be set free, not just for this very moment but forever.
For there’s a way for you to be as instantly healed as those who encountered Jesus in biblical times, those who showed faith in His ability to bring them healing. All you need to do is place your belief and trust in Him as your personal Savior and Redeemer.
Indeed, seek Him right now and you will find Him. Knock at His door and He will open it and answer. Ask Him to heal you from the inside out and He will do it. (Matthew 7:7-8)
During His ministry, Jesus made it clear that He didn’t come for the healthy but the sick, for you, me, and everyone else who suffered from sin’s affliction (Luke 5:31-32). He and He alone paid the price for our sins, shedding His blood on Calvary’s cross so to purchase our pardon, and because of this, He opened the very doors of Heaven so that we might abide with Him forever some day.
Friends, through Jesus, anyone can be cleansed and set free from their transgressions with death being disempowered so not to be the end but the doorway to a new and awesome eternity. Because of this, we should never find ourselves begrudging life but celebrating 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: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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