I didn't know it but January 31st is World Leprosy Day. There is no way I would know this except that I was curious about leprosy since today's scripture passage talks about infectious skin diseases, so I googled on it.
The priests were the health officials of the Israelites. When I stop and think about it, who else would I want to cure me when I am sick but an ordained priest of God? I must confess that my mind is rather unruly. As I was reading about the various types of infectious skin afflictions listed, for some reason I heard Rosanne Rosanadana bemoaning her experience with some sort of health related issue. But I digress...
Chapter 11 is filled with the wisdom of what not to eat. We begin by learning about the animals considered unclean for human consumption. I agree with most of them. When I stop and think about all the animals and plants I don't eat, I am a very picky eater! I know that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey, sure enough, locusts are on the "ok to eat" list - so are crickets and grasshoppers. Please don't eat lizards, bats, or eagles though.
You would be unclean if you touched an object that a dead lizard had fallen upon. If it was a clay pot, it would need to be broken. I wonder if the bad stuff could seep into the pores of the clay? It's probably something like that.
Chapter 12 provides details regarding a woman being unclean after childbirth. If the baby was a boy the woman was unclean for seven days, the boy was circumsised on the eighth day and then she was ceremonially unclean for 33 more days. She must not go to the sanctuary or touch anything sacred during that time. If it was a girl, the woman was unclean for two weeks and was ceremonially unclean for 66 days more. After her time of purification she was to bring an offering to the Tent of Meeting and a priest would make atonement for her.
In chapter 13 we learn all about infectious skin diseases. Many of the laws presented in the Old Testament are regarding cleanliness and health. These are no exception. If a person noticed a red spot or a place on their skin that didn't look right they would have it inspected by a priest. He would determine whether or not the person needed to be quarantined. Sometimes all a person needed to do was to wash their clothes. There is quite alot of detail about the color of the hair in the sore and so on. If you ever had thoughts about being a doctor, this chapter is for you!
Tomorrow read Leviticus 13:40-14:57
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