"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp."
Leviticus 13:45,46 (NIV)
Outside the camp! Unclean! Unclean!
It is hard for us to imagine this situation, for we live in a country and a culture that works so hard at including all people, that we refuse to separate or quarantine almost anyone. We may wonder why a gracious God would make a Law like this, and yet if we just stop and consider their limited medical abilities and their campground existence, you can quickly realize that this Law is wise and gracious to the larger community.
The NIV 2011 uses the words “defiling skin diseases” instead of leprosy, although leprosy is the worst of the skin diseases. A person who gets this disease is excluded from the camp (that is the community of the people) in the wilderness, and therefore excluded from the temple, which is the very Presence of God and the place to which you must go in order to obtain forgiveness from God through the offering of sacrifices. The instructions for bringing this person who was previously “unclean” show the importance of a person receiving forgiveness through the shedding of the blood of an animal or bird.
Our Lord heals this man in Luke and tells him to present himself to the priest, and offer the sacrifices, as a testimony to them. The most amazing part of this healing is that the Lord touched him. Leviticus 7:21 states that if anyone touches an unclean person they must be “cut off from the LORD” .
O friend, what a Saviour! He is willing to be cut off for this man, and He is willing to be cut off for you and me. He came to earth to walk amongst a group of unclean humans, whose righteousness is as filthy rags. He came to touch us, to heal us, to die for us, to forgive us, to rise for us and to ascend for us, and He will come again to bring us to be with Him! O friend, what a Savior! When was the last time you went to Him on your knees? Have you ever approached Him on your knees? Do you remember what his touch was like? The touch of a gentle Saviour, the touch of the Son of God!
Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.
Since I met this blessed Savior,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to praise Him,
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.
"He Touched Me", Bill Gather, 1963
Click here to read Luke 5:12-14 and Leviticus 14:1-31
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