Leviticus 13:45-46 (ESV Strong's)
“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Subject: Suffering and Holiness
This section is Leviticus is about a leprous disease that comes upon a person and therefore jeopardizes the entire nation. Since there was limited medical facilities (none) the priest became the main resource to contain the problem. It should be noted that the leprous person is not accused of sinning to contract such a disease. There is time in the Scripture where disobedience to God would result in a leprous affliction (see the story of Miriam's rebellion in Numbers 20), but this was not always the case. There is no indication in this section that leprosy was a result of sin. This section is simply showing us what they nation had to do when a disease comes into the camp. The main treatment was isolation and prayer for God to heal this person. There was no medical procedure prescribed by God. The above verse gives us the treatment. The priest did not treat the leprosy. The priest simply protected the rest of the nation from contracting it. When you have over a million people leaving in tents in the wilderness for 40 years, you have to have some way to protect the whole from the disease of the few. God could have given the priest a medical prescription. Why didn't He? Why isolation? I wish I knew the answer that question. I do know that this being "alone" with a disease, "outside" the camp must have been a social stigma. Imagine if that was the solution today for people with incurable diseases. God had a purpose and this was His design. We might no know the reason, but God wanted to sanctify the nation and keep it pure. At the end of this section God gives us HIS reason:
Leviticus 15:31 (ESV Strong's)
“Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”
God's holiness and purity is always the main thing.
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