“When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest. – Leviticus 13:49

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 2, 2018): Leviticus 13

Leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world. The problem with the disease was that it started silently and painlessly. In the beginning days for the infected, the disease was nothing more than an annoyance. But the disease spread rapidly, both within the body and within the society. It destroyed everything that it touched. And yet it was not well understood. And so precautions were taken with everyone who had the disease. They were isolated from the rest of society. Infected people were made to wear torn clothing and to yell “Unclean, unclean” warning others not to come to near. There was no other way of dealing with the disease. There was no cure available. Once infected, the person started a decline toward death. And nothing could stop that decline. So in the ancient world, the only solution was to isolate the sick from the healthy.

In the ancient world, the transmission of the disease from person to person was unknown or misunderstood. Even in our contemporary culture, we are not totally sure. Traditionally, because the disease was first revealed in the skin of the person, we believed that the transmission of the disease was by touch, from skin to skin. And there is still some logic in the idea of skin to skin transmission for the disease. But we are beginning to suspect that the main way of spreading the disease might be by breathing in the disease that has been breathed out by the sick. The disease might be contained in the water vapor that we all inhale and exhale. In the ancient world, the people would have had no idea that such a thing was possible.

Leviticus 13 presents an interesting problem for biblical readers. Admittedly, we still do not fully understand the transmission mechanism behind leprosy. And in our contemporary world, it is a disease that has faded into the background.

While we might not understand the way the disease is transmitted, it is no longer an incurable illness. We know of drugs that will cure the infected. But the problem with Leviticus 13 is that it seems wrong to our contemporary understanding. The difficulty presented by this section of scripture is that because of the sanctions and the isolation that was a mandatory result of being diagnosed as possessing the disease, often the disease was hidden by the sick in its earliest stages. Unless a spot appeared in the face of the afflicted, clothing could be used to cover it up. The sick could hope and pray that the affected area would clear up on its own. And at this point, the symptoms of the disease remained minor.

But the problem with this is that leprosy seems to be most contagious during those early days. The disease spread so rapidly within the society at least partially because of the stigma that came along with the disease that caused the hiding of the symptoms of the disease. However, with the knowledge the society possessed at the time, the stipulations of Leviticus 13 made sense.

And maybe that reveals something about the writing and transmission of our most sacred document. Maybe God allowed it to reflect us, as much as it was designed to guide us to him.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 14