Leprosy in all of its...
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Leprosy in all of its varieties, was the most dreaded disease in biblical days. The first century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote: "And as for the lepers he (Moses) suffered them not to come into the city at all, nor live with any others, as if they were in effect dead persons."1
Naaman, the Syrian warrior inflicted with the disease, was fortunate in one sense. The Syrians did not cast out lepers from the community as did the Jews.
It is amazing how Elisha, a stern Jewish prophet, overcame his prejudice against lepers to aid the enemy captain in the healing process.
Later it was Jesus himself who healed ten lepers. Jesus, who viewed no person as a "pariah," restricted from entering into fellowship with God's people in the church.
Today, we as Christians are charged with caring for the diseased, the defeated, and the despairing among our midst. No one is to be rejected in God's kingdom of love. As the telephone commercial puts it, "Reach out and touch someone." Today we reach out our hands in welcome and comfort as we seek to serve him who heals all diseases, even Jesus, the Good Physician.
1. Flavius Josphus, The Antiquities of the Jews Book III, Chapter XI, p. 220, The Works of Josephus: Volume II, Baker Book Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1974.
Naaman, the Syrian warrior inflicted with the disease, was fortunate in one sense. The Syrians did not cast out lepers from the community as did the Jews.
It is amazing how Elisha, a stern Jewish prophet, overcame his prejudice against lepers to aid the enemy captain in the healing process.
Later it was Jesus himself who healed ten lepers. Jesus, who viewed no person as a "pariah," restricted from entering into fellowship with God's people in the church.
Today, we as Christians are charged with caring for the diseased, the defeated, and the despairing among our midst. No one is to be rejected in God's kingdom of love. As the telephone commercial puts it, "Reach out and touch someone." Today we reach out our hands in welcome and comfort as we seek to serve him who heals all diseases, even Jesus, the Good Physician.
1. Flavius Josphus, The Antiquities of the Jews Book III, Chapter XI, p. 220, The Works of Josephus: Volume II, Baker Book Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1974.
