Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 13:1-17

Elias was a man who could not walk due to a fever he had suffered while a boy. He sat outside the city gate and watched people moving to and fro. He saw people conducting business, buying, selling, and earning a living. Meanwhile, since Elias could not walk, he could not work. He could only beg. He felt sorry for himself.

There were generous adults who gave Elias food and drink, but other adults belittled him and accused him of being a sinner. Even many of the children who ran by made fun of his useless legs. Elias moaned that life is not fair.

People with deformities are often stigmatized and mocked. That is unfair to them because deformities are usually not their fault. They may have been born that way. This causes us to ask why life is not fair.

There are multiple chapters in Leviticus devoted to the rules regarding leprosy. The rules created a stigma around lepers. While that was unfair to the lepers, we see in the rest of the Bible that God used the stigma around leprosy to achieve His aims. That helps us understand why God allows life to be unfair.

Lev. 13:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

Lev. 13:2 “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

Lev. 13:3 Then the priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Take note of the words “leprosy” and “unclean”. A leper was considered unclean. Leprosy was not necessarily the result of a person’s bad choice. In this case, the leprosy came after a swelling or a scab. It seems unfair to make a person unclean due to circumstances beyond his control.

Lev. 13:4 But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate him who has the infection for seven days.

Lev. 13:5 Then the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.

Lev. 13:6 And the priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

Lev. 13:7 ¶ “But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest.

Lev. 13:8 And the priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

Lev. 13:9 ¶ “When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest.

Lev. 13:10 The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh still alive in the swelling,

Lev. 13:11 it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

Once again we see the words “leprosy” and “unclean”.

Like many sicknesses, leprosy was something that could be contracted despite a person’s best efforts to avoid it. Since that was the case, why did a leper have to suffer the consequences of being unclean?

Ultimately, God uses various sicknesses, and the stigma around them, to accomplish His objectives. Yahweh gave Elisha the ability to heal Naaman the Aramean’s leprosy so that Naaman would acknowledge that the God of Israel is greater than all other gods (see 2 Kings 5). Yahweh afflicted King Uzziah with leprosy as punishment for his pride, a pride which led him to offer incense in the temple even though he was not a priest (see 2 Chronicles 26).

This illustrates God’s sovereignty and helps us understand the injustices of modern life. A person who is born with physical deformities suffers a lifetime of disability due to no fault of his own. Cancer patients go through painful, debilitating, and life-altering treatments, but only a few people are afflicted with cancer due to their bad choices. Why do some people have to suffer the unfair curse of being disabled or cancer patients? Because God uses the medical challenges to accomplish His will.

Lev. 13:12 But if the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of him who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see,

Lev. 13:13 then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; it has all turned white, and he is clean.

Lev. 13:14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.

Lev. 13:15 And the priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean; it is leprosy.

Lev. 13:16 Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest,

Lev. 13:17 and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infection has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; he is clean.

The Mosaic Law created a stigma around leprosy. That seems unfair because lepers did not deserve their disease. Many lepers contracted leprosy through no fault of their own.

Yahweh allowed this undeserved suffering because He used leprosy and the stigma around it to accomplish His objectives. Prophets healed people of leprosy in order to prove that Yahweh is God. Leprosy was also an effective punishment for those who rebelled against Yahweh’s commands.

How has God used suffering in your life to accomplish His purposes for your life?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”