RPG Adults
LAW ON GUARDING AGAINST LEPROSY
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Deuteronomy 24:8-9
Ephesians 2:4-6
“Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved).”
LAW ON GUARDING AGAINST LEPROSY
Moses also gave laws on health and infectious diseases. Leprosy was a contagious skin disease which could spread from person to person when they lived together and shared things. In the days of Moses there was no known cure. The case of Naaman shows that lepers were not entirely isolated in public life, for this Syrian captain of the army was able to travel and attend to his duties (2 Kings 5). There were also different species of leprosy where the infection came slowly. However, in the cases of Miriam in Numbers 12:10 and King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:16-21, the infection was instant because it was divine punishment.
In Leviticus 13-14, detailed rules were given for those infected with leprosy and how to cleanse them. The priests were responsible for diagnosing and giving the correct remedy for it, they were the only ones who would declare a person clean after one was healed. They also taught the people the procedures to follow in dealing with the disease. In instances when the Lord Jesus healed lepers, He commanded them to show themselves to the priest and do as it was written in the Law of Moses. He said this because the Mosaic code was still applicable and the priests had to certify that they were truly healed and declare them clean. They were to offer the sacrifices that were prescribed. Though much of the law of leprosy was ceremonial, it did help greatly in the control of the disease.
Even today there are infectious diseases that require isolation of the victims to stop its spread. (Who can forget the devastation of COVID-19?) Sin is also spiritual leprosy and the biblical prescription for it must be followed to contain it. Flee any form of leprosy. When Scripture stresses the need of biblical separation, it is meant for the good of our spiritual health.
THOUGHT: Daily Bible reading is an antidote to spiritual leprosy.
PRAYER: Father, forgive my sins and keep me away from all such sinful habits.