Keeping Clean

Leviticus 13, 14:33-57, 15:16–33
 
Leviticus 14:33-34 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.”
&
Deuteronomy 24:8-9 “In all cases involving serious skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.”
 
THE “cleanliness passages” of Leviticus 13, 14 and 15 are another way God reveals his grace, love and mercy to his people. The Father is protecting his children from infections and communicable diseases. You can imagine how quickly such threats as measles, scarlet fever, smallpox or many other diseases could spread through Israel’s crowded camp. In light of the world’s history of contagious plagues, God’s Word on this subject should have been read and obeyed to prevent and reduce such contagions. In fact, the Jews who lived by these laws did escape the great death numbers of various world plagues. Keeping clean and isolating the infected ones helped them to stay alive.
   But then God says, “I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.” (Some versions say “leprosy”.) Is this true? Does God cause the disease? Deuteronomy 24:8-9 answers, “Yes, he does.” Recall that Miriam criticized her brother Moses. God punished her unjust complaint with leprous skin for 7 days. As the Bible teaches, disease is the curse of sin. God permits disease in the world, and God causes diseases in some. Let’s be clear. No all who are sick are under God’s judgment. God’s reasons for causing one to be ill can include judgment on the disobedient. The reason can also be a test to instruct his faithful. Sometimes he causes a disease to demonstrate his glory in the healing. And there are some he calls to suffering for his sake.
   However, God’s gracious love prepared Israel for the problem. He taught them a process to determine if there was an infection, what kind of infection it was and how to keep others from infection. He gave them a process to remove the mildew (or leprosy) from the home. Sometimes it required the house be torn down and rebuilt. The infected pieces were placed in an unclean area – somewhat in comparison to a waste disposal area or land fill as we have in the U.S.
   There are many ways the human body’s natural processes can cause infection or disease if not handled correctly. The LORD God had a nation in the wilderness. He taught them how to be clean and how to respond to and prevent contagious diseases.
   The law is truly the way to life. For their well-being and health, Israel needed to know.
   It is also good for us to know God’s Word is good for body and soul.