My God and My Compassion

2.10.2011

Leviticus 13:3 3 The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. NIV

Oh goody – two of my favorite Bible passages – they’re almost as much fun as Judges 19. Pardon the sarcasm but I have to admit that when I see Leviticus 13 and 14 coming I want to run and hide. (I do make myself read them – but with the same zeal as a small child being forced to eat Lima beans. Sorry God, I just get creeped out reading about white hairs, red spots, raw flesh, and oozing puss.) But! There are at least two things worth considering: 1. the fact that our bodies get sick and need to be dealt with; and 2. the fact that if we were to see our sin for what it truly is, we’d all line up to get some oozing boils.

The priest had to be God’s intermediary, and a physician all at the same time – oh, and he had to be a lawyer as well! Isn’t it telling that a priest had to deal with infectious diseases and attend to spiritual sickness as well? Maybe the two are more closely related than we think. And whodda thunk that the priest had to go to med-school right out there in the midst of the Sinai Peninsula?

But seriously, where do you go when you’re sick? And does the doctor that attends to you tell you all about Jesus or Evolution? I think it makes a difference at some point. A friend of mine conducts Healing Rooms with his church every Thursday evening. He says most of the issues he deals with are issues of the heart that manifest themselves in physical maladies. And he and his people pray accordingly. When is the last time a doctor held your head gently in his/her hands and asked God to touch you? Makes you think doesn’t it?

As much as I cringe at the humanness of Leviticus 13 & 14, I also remember the victims who suffer from disease and its often ravaging effects. They are hurting people and need both my God and my compassion; not my revulsion. I need to remember the divine presence of Leviticus 13 & 14 where God Himself instructs His people on how to handle and treat ugly infectious diseases…

Father in Heaven,
Thank You that You are the Great Physician; and You heal hearts, heads, hang-ups, and hurts. Thank You that You care for the Church and every part of Her. Thank You for the reminders of that truth in Leviticus 13 & 14. Thank You that You love and are with my friend Steve Stern in these days – You are Jehovah Rapha! Amen.