Law – Leviticus 13-15

“Hear ye! Hear ye!”

This is the health ministry’s latest memo to the general public in the face of the ever-growing number cases of Fungal Flu:

Please remember that your cooperative measures are very much needed in these volatile times of an ensuing pandemic.

We all wish to remain safe and sound so let’s all start with personal hygiene.

While the above is fictional, we can be sure that current affairs will never be disjointed from the Bible. What with the Bovine Madness Malady, Avian Flu, and the recent Porky Pig Flu, we find that the Bible has always been thousands of years ahead in hygiene practices. Perhaps this is as Current as Affairs of the world do get. While healthcare officers today scramble to put forth the best-laid plans in the face of possible pandemics, the priests of the OT were more than priests.

Are you at a lost? No fear! Read Leviticus 13 – 15 first:

Bible Passage:  Leviticus 13-15

OK. Pat yourself on the back first before we proceed. That was one lengthy read wasn’t it? Not to mention pretty D.R.Y. once again. But let’s try to make this a palatable read by seeing through the thick layers to discover what are the practically spiritual teachings from these few chapters.

EXCUSE ME, ARE YOU A PRIEST?

First, I think we can all agree that the Levite Priests had much, much more to do than just making offerings in the temple. Phew! After reading today’s reading, I wonder how many of us can actually take on the role of the priest in the OT days. Personally, I think I’d probably be too awed and stunned to even tell apart small pox from measles or Scarlet fever from Discoid Eczema.

In a breath, the Priests seemed to wear the caps of a Medical Triage Officer, Physician, Garment QC Specialist, Housing Safety Officer, and not to forget, Priest.

As an aside, so many of us are so used to being “specialists” in our own field, we forget that we sometimes learn much more things by being in church alone. (Think about all the things we learn just by interacting from the variegated mix of members in the House of God.) While we can be specialists at our own careers, let us seek to be people who can offer more in many areas for God. Job-focus is one thing if it prevents us from doing shoddy divine work, but it shouldn’t be an excuse for refusing to work for God!

Not straying from Leviticus, we find that there is a necessity for the priests to be very alert to the skin conditions of potential Leprosy victims. The lengthy chapters 13 and 14 are not without their reasons. Obviously, God does not want His priests to be assessing skin conditions without some responsible rulebook. Thus it is obvious from the numerous and variegated cases listed in the chapters that there must be stringency in evaluation of leprosy and its related skin diseases.

Interestingly, some may challenge the applicability of Leviticus since leprosy is not such a widespread disease in the Western world today. As it stands today, leprosy and its associated illnesses are only found in Africa, Asia and S. Americas. With the advancement of western medical science, opponents of the Bible say that it is not current and not applicable today. The rallying call for atheistic intellects happens to be “Science is current, Religion is dead”. Thank God that we do not fall within these numbers. So what is the practical application? Is there even any relevance for us?

HMM…WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like God’s will is for us to understand the spiritual implications of leprosy and sexual uncleanness. Can we say that leprosy is the sufferer’s fault? No. For Jesus Himself loved and healed lepers (cf. Matt 8:1-4; Luke 17:11-18) and their being healed shows us that grace and mercy was to be extended to those who were ill. Can we say that a mouldy house infested with fungus is a sin? No! Further, it is also absurd to think that the sacred and permissible act of sexual relations between a man and his wife is a sin.

What we need to understand is that Leviticus was broaching a topic to do with uncleanness that results from bodily leprosy, fungus on the walls of buildings, and bodily emissions. There is no sin in being a leper, having an old, creaky and mouldy house, and there is definitely nothing sinful about sexual relations within a marriage. There is definitely though, a need for us to be clean when coming before the Holy Place of God. And this is the summation of these 3 chapters: we can be unclean when we come into contact with these situations or persons, or when we ourselves are the sufferers of these signs.

SIN CREEPS UP ON US…SLOWLY…

While we live in a medically advanced society that boasts of cutting-edge technologies and medical brains to solve our physical ills, what is horrifying is that our society is regressively becoming more and more morally decadent and ethically debased. Are we counted within this bunch of goats? Let’s thank God if we’re not.

But we shouldn’t stop there. Go further and ask our selves:

1. Are we unclean when we come toward the House of God?
2. Are our inner temples growing mouldy and regressively being infested with loathsome fungi?
3. Are our outward selves rotting away gradually and we are still oblivious?

The fact is that fungi and mould grow and feed on what they attach themselves to. When that happens, the victim usually doesn’t know that it is happening because of the following reasons:

* It begins as if nothing is happening
* The first stages are painless
* The growth is very slow but gradual
* Senses are numbed and the sufferer may not be aware

Compare this to sin, and perhaps it becomes all the more clear to us now that spiritual leprosy is horrifying. Elder James described the gradual decay that sin causes, ultimately leading up to death (cf. James 1:14-16). If we are unclean and ‘leprous’ on the day of the Judgement, we will be cast outside the city and the Holy City (cf. Lev 13:46; Rev 20:15).

Let’s all take heed in the ultimate sacrifice made by our Highest High Priest once and forevermore, and once again heed the call for us to be Holy just as He is Holy.

The spiritual health memo has been issued for our spiritual health in today’s reading. Let’s all pray that we take heed and keep to it and be clean.