The Walking Dead

The Fodder:  Leviticus 13-15

The Thought:  If I gave you a dollar for every time the book of Leviticus was quoted by other authors in the Bible you couldn’t even “super size” your quarter pounder with cheese meal.  Not even Jesus quoted from the book of Leviticus!  However, Leviticus is a very important book of the Bible and worth studying.  You should read Leviticus 14.

Leprosy is a disease that literally turned people into the walking dead; slowly perishing inside and out.  Early signs of the disease were specks on the eyelids or on the palms of the hands and gradually spread over the entire body, destroying nerve endings.  As a result, the victim wouldn’t feel pain or even realize they’d hurt themselves.  Bones would rot and drop off.  Skin would become mummy-like.  It wasn’t uncommon for the victim’s lips to hang down around the mouth, exposing teeth and gums.  

Leprosy can be transmitted from one person to another through infected respiratory droplets.  People generally kept their distance from anyone with leprosy.  As a result, lepers were social outcasts that no one wanted to be around and they were required to live outside the camp.  If you had leprosy, you were considered “unclean” and unable to  take part in any of the ceremonies offered at the Tabernacle.  Living in isolation from God and man would be a terrible way to live and die.

I find it interesting that no other disease is treated like leprosy in the book of Leviticus.  No other ailment required you to offer a sacrifice for your cleansing after you were healed.  Why?  Why would God devise such an elaborate ceremony for the sufferer to come into God’s presence and ask for cleansing?  I think it’s because God was using leprosy as an object lesson, teaching us what sin looked like to Him.

Like leprosy, sin leads to isolation, disfigurement and death.  It numbs us to the pain of our iniquities.  Ephesians 4:18-19 says, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”  

Like leprosy, sin starts out small and can quickly spread into dominating our entire lives.  The full effects of sin disrupt and damage our closest relationships.  In the worst cases, family members want nothing to do with you and you want nothing to do with God.  Living in isolation from God and man is a terrible way to live and die.

There’s hope.  Jesus is the Healer and the Cleanser.  Jesus’ death on the cross made it possible for us to be reconciled to God.  His scourging made it possible for us to be healed (Isaiah 53:5).  Submit your life to Him today and enjoy the salvation and healing of your body and soul!