Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them. – Numbers 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 15, 2025): Numbers 5

Pandemics. We act as if this is something new and unknowable. And maybe it is. However, history has shown us that pandemics are a very regular feature on this planet of ours. Pandemics occur about every one hundred years. Unfortunately, the frequency of pandemics means that every time they strike, we have to learn all over again what it is and how to react to it because it is likely the first and only pandemic we will face during our lifetime.  

Not only are pandemics not unknowable, but they are expected. I think one of the problems with the COVID-19 pandemic was that we were expecting its advent, and we had a few false starts before we finally met COVID-19. I remember going to a conference soon after the turn of the century that was built around the church's responsibility during the coming pandemic and having my associate remind me that neither of us, with our pre-existing health conditions, was likely to survive when the real pandemic showed up. I did survive, although my associate passed away a few years before COVID-19 raised its ugly head; I guess she was wrong on both counts. 

Before COVID-19, the last pandemic was the Spanish Flu in 1918. Spanish Flu is a bit of a misnomer. It got its name because Spain seemed to have received the worst effects of the flu. At the time, it was assumed that this flu probably began there. We now know that the Spanish Flu likely started in the United States. It went through the West quickly, primarily because of the First World War. The nations involved in the fight didn't report how sick their people were largely because they feared it would give the enemy an advantage. Spain was neutral during the war, and so, for Spain, there was no advantage in hiding the seriousness of the flu.

When we are up against the unknown, isolation is an essential weapon in our reaction. The various closures we suffered through are likely the main reason that I was able to live through this most recent pandemic. A children's rhyme in 1918 stresses how a pandemic can move through a population. According to the rhyme,

I had a little bird

Its name was Enza

I opened up the window

And in-flu-enza

With the Spanish Flu, the death rate was as high as 2.5%. Many stories circulated describing the deadly effects of the Spanish Flu as it was passed from person to person. One story told of four women playing bridge one afternoon; that night, three of the women died of the Spanish Flu.

God tells Moses to isolate those experiencing skin diseases. It was the priests who were responsible for the task of separating the people. And it wasn't just isolating someone who was confirmed to have leprosy but included anyone who seemed they might be a little sick. The priests were instructed to take no chances when the health of the community was concerned. It didn't matter if they were rich or poor, male or female, powerful or enslaved; leprosy would not spare anyone in its path. It was a constant pandemic that threatened to overtake the world if it was just given a chance. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 6