Scripture Speakers

I have re-started my in-a-year Bible reading plan. With the help of the Lord and an audio Bible, I have managed to stick to it through Leviticus and Numbers–which is where I usually slow down and quit. The truth is, I have taken Leviticus and Numbers for granted. I know in my head that these are valuable books with valuable words because “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…” (2 Tim 3:16) But oh! some of those chapters of rules and lists seem so long. And it’s easy to think that much of it isn’t relevant today. I certainly don’t need to watch out for leprosy and present myself to a priest if I find a suspicious spot on my skin. I’ll go to a dermatologist, thank you, and get the modern medicine that takes care of this disease and any others. It’s easy to slip into a mindset that says, “Well, that was wise then, but we know better now.”

But do we really?

Moses said in Deuteronomy, “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deut. 4:8) The nations were to marvel at the Israelites partly because of the incredibly wise and just laws the Israelites had. The laws themselves—regarding sacrifices, sin, mercy cities, the year of Jubilee, and even the laws regarding serious skin diseases—would all be a testament of the righteous God who gave these laws. They come together as a kaleidoscope to reveal the wondrous nature of our one true God. And more than that, these laws taught the Israelites how to live as a God-honoring community. Left on their own, the Israelites would not choose to live righteously.

Can we really say that any of these laws are outdated and that they have no wisdom to share with us? We look through the kaleidoscope of laws and marvel at our God, but how arrogant it is to skip turning the kaleidoscope around to see what these laws teach us about how to live righteously! Can we really say, “that was wise then, but we know better now”? Let’s look at the example of Leviticus 13-14 and the laws of serious skin diseases and see if we truly have advanced beyond the wisdom of these laws.

In the time of Levitical law, if a person discovered a strange rash, that person was to go to the priest. The priest would inspect the rash to decide if the person was clean or unclean. The priest might put the person in quarantine for seven days and check again before he made his decision. And if the person was “unclean” because of leprosy (or other unnamed skin disease) the person would be put out of the community. However, if the person was later cured, that person could come back and be inspected again and brought back into the community (Leviticus 13-14).

Look at the wisdom of our God! It protected the community to require a person with a strange rash to come and be inspected by the priest. It also protected the person with the strange rash. By putting these regulations in place God did not allow people to ostracize each other without appropriate cause. He did not allow someone to claim his neighbor was “leprous and we need to avoid him” without proof that had been confirmed by someone in authority. The decision was put into the hands of the priest: a person in authority who was trained for it, rather than in the hands of public opinion.

The priest was commanded to take great care with his inspection. God described in detail the evidence the priest must look for regarding the color of the affected skin and hair. He was to check all over and even put the person in isolation and check again later on if necessary—all careful measures designed to avoid the possibility of removing someone from the community unnecessarily.

What compassion is revealed in the heart of our God, that He made a way for the leper to come home when he was cured! Oh how much society would have wanted to keep him out! But God designed a way for everyone to be assured by a designated person in authority that this leper was not a leper anymore. This person was declared safe to be around, safe to eat lunch with again, safe to be brought back into the community again and therefore, must be brought back and welcomed.

Leprosy Today

We think we know better now. Hansen’s disease is the new modern name of what we understand to be biblical leprosy. There were various skin diseases described in Leviticus, but this strain is what would have been the most serious. Hansen’s disease is curable today, praise God! It is apparently, and has always been, very difficult to catch. The disease would have been more easily spread during Bible times because of the differences in their lifestyles. According to the CDC, “You must have prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months to catch the disease.” And, “Around 95% of people cannot get leprosy because their immune system can fight off the bacteria that causes it” (CDC).

Do we know better now? Can we still learn from the wisdom of God’s law in Leviticus? These chapters have been taught as a picture of the seriousness of sin, with leprosy being an apt metaphor for the separation and suffering that comes from sin. This picture is certainly valuable. But have we outgrown the rules themselves and the wisdom behind them because of our modern medicine and scientific understanding? Or do we, like the Israelites, still need to be taught how to live in a God-honoring community?

I came across a story that illustrates how our own modern societies will handle problems with disease in contrast to God’s righteous and merciful plan in Leviticus. In the early 1900s, the Japanese government decided to forcibly quarantine patients with Hansen’s disease. They still believed that this was a hereditary disease, and therefore, they forcibly sterilized all infected men and aborted the babies of any infected pregnant women. By the 50s, the medical community had realized that the disease is so hard to catch that quarantining is not necessary. However, these “leprosariums” remained. The law that required Hansen’s disease patients to live separately in these sanitoriums was not abolished until 1996 (McCurry)!

Even though the thousands of patients living in these leprosariums are now allowed to leave, almost all of them have chosen to remain behind because they are afraid of the discrimination they would face in trying to re-enter regular society. Evidently, this was a legitimate concern; the article I read said that in 2003, a hotel in Japan refused to allow 22 residents from the leprosariums to come and stay at the hotel. This was despite the fact that all of the 22 residents were already completely cured and there was no chance at all that they could spread the disease (McCurry).

Do we know better?

A dear sister in Christ who was a children’s ministry director once told me a story about a family who had a hard time finding a church home because their little daughter had AIDS. The family came to my friend’s church, and the pastor took our sister aside and asked her if she would be okay with this family bringing their daughter to Sunday school. Our sister replied, “Of course! Why would we keep them from coming?” They put safety measures in place in case there was ever a situation where exposure could happen and they made room for the little girl and her family.

Why did the family need to struggle to find a church home before this? The only time this little girl could have passed on an infection was if she had a bleeding cut, or a bloody nose. But there were churches who closed their doors to her until her family found this church who did open their doors. It seems that even today, in our modern, scientific society, we need God’s lesson of compassion and wisdom that is taught through His laws found in Leviticus.

Conclusion

In Leviticus, God put a plan in place to handle the afflictions of this world. He wrote each law with His infinite wisdom to protect His people—both the community, and each individual living in it. He made a way for reconciliation. He made laws that commanded mercy from the community when someone who was sick became well. Are we able to turn our backs on these pages of regulations and say that we do not need to learn from these laws today?

Our scientific knowledge might have increased since the time Leviticus was written, but our hearts are just the same. God’s law has much to teach us today. And we will never outgrow His wisdom as it is revealed in every page of His Word. We still need Leviticus!

“I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word” (Psalm 119:14-16).

Application – Encouragement

Reading through the Bible has always been difficult for me. One of the reasons why I enjoy memorizing Scripture so much is because it holds my attention as I work to meditate and memorize. I now know that much of my struggle to stick with it was due to ADHD. I’ve found several tricks that have helped me to stick with my Bible reading more consistently and it has been a great blessing.

I encourage anyone reading this article today to find ways to experience large chunks of Scripture. This will help you to see the big patterns behind the many details like laws and lists. It might be a difficult task for you, too, for a variety of reasons. Here are some things that might help:

1. Listening to an audio Bible. You may even like a dramatized version! Aim for listening to larger chunks especially if the chapters are difficult with details – like much of Leviticus. Don’t fret over hearing every detail, keep it playing as you listen. Don’t be afraid to occupy your hands with something else like those neglected dishes. You can use the YouVersion Bible app to listen, or you can freely access a dramatized version through the Public Reading of Scripture App.
2. Watching a recitation. It can be very helpful to have a strong communicator communicate the Scriptures to you! Find opportunities to listen to others reciting Scripture. You can find some suggested channels on my own YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@scripturespeakers. You can also look for local events to attend in person by looking at my resource list and finding reciters in your area: https://scripturespeakers.com/resource_links/
3. Join or start a reading group. Gather some friends and meet regularly to read out loud, or simply gather to listen to the audio Bible together. Meeting up with others helps greatly with accountability and attention. You can also join an online group called ABIDE over at Scripture Memory Fellowship here: https://scripturememory.com/abide. Even better, if you live in Dallas, you can join their new in-person version that also features free food. Find that here: https://scripturememory.com/abide-live
4. Read through a brief commentary for those tough chapters. My favorite is David Guzik’s commentary that goes through every verse of the Bible. You can read it and others for free at blueletterbible.org.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He increase your love for His Word every day.

Rachel Eernisse is the leader of Scripture Speakers, a ministry of Scripture memory and recitation. She is also the author of “Speaking Scripture: How to Memorize and Recite with Purpose and Delight”— a book written to the most reluctant memorizer and most reluctant reciter. She is a blessed wife and blessed mother to three wonderful and wild children.

Resources cited:

CDC. “About Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy).” Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy), CDC, 16 May 2024, http://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/about/index.html.

McCurry, Justin. “Japanese Leprosy Patients Continue to Fight Social Stigma.” The Lancet, vol. 363, no. 9408, Feb. 2004, p. 544, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)15586-4/fulltext, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15586-4. Accessed 29 May 2020.