Glimpses of the Thankful Heart

This is such a serious and such a communicable disease that the Old Testament made prescriptions about people who had it. And, in fact, this is a very ancient disease. It has been found in mummies, so it goes way back. Medical historians believe that leprosy originated in Egypt where it was found in a very ancient mummy.

And also, undoes what the people would have assumed would be a divine curse. As we learned through the gospel record, the people had the idea that sickness came as a result of sin. And leprosy, of all things, so horrific, was viewed as a divine judgment

Leviticus 13 and 14 lays out a very long and careful prescription for determining whether somebody had this disease. And the local health inspectors were the priests, that was part of their function. Since they were responsible to know the Law of God and apply the Law of God and since this was laid out in the Law of God, if you had a skin disease of any kind, you went to the priest and you went through a process of all that was required in Leviticus 13 and 14 so there could be a determination as to what exactly you had. And if it is discovered that you have that communicable disease called leprosy that’s so horrific, you were then removed from all social contact and the only people you could ever associate with were other lepers

Let me just tell you a little bit about leprosy without going into unnecessary detail. This severe type of leprosy is caused by a bacteria. It attacks the nerves and the skin. It anesthetizes the body and the limbs so that feeling is lost. And then the potential for serious injury becomes large. It starts, we’re told, with a whiter pink patch of skin usually on the brow, the nose, the ear, the cheek, the chin and the head. The patch then begins to spread in all directions, a portion of the eyebrows disappears, spongy tumorous swellings grow, first of all, all over the face and then begin to descend all over the body as the disease becomes systemic. It becomes also involved with the internal organs as well as the skin. Fingers and toes can be absorbed into the body, literally absorbing themselves into the body because of the bacillus invading the bone marrow, impairing blood supply causing the bones to shrivel and the rest of the body to shrivel as well. With the accompanying loss of feeling in the body due to nerve disease, the victim destroys his own tissue because he has no feeling. The bacillus can destroy the eye, causing blindness. Penetrates the teeth so they fall out, penetrates all the bodily organs and affects the larynx so that one winds up with a weak and raspy voice.

The skin loses its original color, becomes thick, glossy, and scaly. As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch with deep furrows between the swelling so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed. Toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out. By this time, one can see the person in this pitiable condition is truly a leper. By the touch of the finger one can feel it, one can even smell it for a leper emits a very unpleasant odor, open sores. Morever, in view of the fact that the disease-producing agent frequently attacks the larynx, says this writer, the leper’s voice acquires a grating quality.

The disease went from ten to thirty years with victims usually dying from low resistance, other diseases, or infections. It can be easily transmitted by inhalation or bodily contact or even contact with the clothing. That’s why the clothing are involved in Leviticus 13 prescriptions. Since 1982, by the way, so you know that, there has been an effective treatment that can kill the bacterium. Still there are probably a million and a half cases in the world, mostly in third world countries where they don’t have that kind of protection. This disease is still with us

No family, no job, no friends, no worship, no hope, they were walking illustrations of sin, they were walking illustrations of divine judgment

This was their only hope. This was their only chance. They had no way out of their dilemma. There were no cures. There were no solutions. Their faith may be meager but they are desperate men