I have been reading through the Book of Leviticus. It is tempting to read through the dietary laws and the laws concerning various diseases with a scientific view point. The dietary laws prescribed which "animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground" as "unclean" to eat (Leviticus 11:46). For example:
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you." (Leviticus 11:1-8)
What jumps out on this list is rabbit and pig, which constitute a regular diet for many people. In this article from the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation (notice this isn't the famous Journal of the American Medical Association or the Journal of American Scientific Research or the really famous Scientific American), the authors (from not particularly authoritative background) concluded:
"Leviticus 11 presents dietary laws, specifying which animals are "clean" (edible) and "unclean" (inedible). Nine major theories to account for these dietary laws are described in this paper, giving arguments pro and con regarding each. The theories discussed are the Obedience Testing, Arbitrary Divine Command, Assertion of Divine Authority, Moral Discipline, Hygiene, Spiritual Symbolism, Pagan Worship, Religious Badge, and Eclectic theories. The authors conclude that more evidence is needed, especially from archaeology, to come to a definite conclusion regarding the validity of any of these theories. They feel that if the original purpose of these dietary laws can be determined, then perhaps we can make modern applications of lessons from them."
The perspective from the Biblical Archeology Society is what I accept at this time: "One possible reason may be that the Israelites wanted some way to distinguish themselves from their non-Hebrew neighbors. Archaeological excavations of Iron Age I sites in Israel have shown that while pigs were a popular part of the Philistine diet, they were entirely absent from the herd-based economy of the Israelites. According to Ronald Hendel, such culinary distinctions soon became codified markers of cultural identity, whereby “the Philistine treat became an Israelite taboo.” Perhaps similar efforts to affirm Israel’s uniqueness lay at the heart of other animal prohibitions."
Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 described in detail the regulations about defiling skin diseases and the cleansing of defiling skin diseases. It is believed to be specifically addressing the diagnosis and treatment of Leprosy which is mentioned at least 40 times in the Bible. This article explained that "The main reason why leprosy is talked about so much in the Bible is that it is a graphic illustration of sin’s destructive power. In ancient Israel leprosy was a powerful object lesson of the debilitating influence of sin in a person’s life." and "Among the sixty-one defilements of ancient Jewish laws, leprosy was second only to a dead body in seriousness. A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family. The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing. Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died. This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of leprosy." So maybe there is some scientific evidence that these laws can help contain the spread of a very bad infectious disease.
When I was still a medical student I spent a few months with Leprosy Mission in southern Taiwan. I learned how unlikely that I would contract the disease even if I held the hands of patients and how easy it is to treat even if I contracted the disease. Jesus understood that! That's why Jesus would overcome the taboo of His days by touching a Leprous person, as recorded in Matthew 8:2-4 and other places: "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”" The Gotquestions.org article further explained that "The key lesson to be learned from this incident is that sin defiles us in the sight of God, but through Christ, we can be healed of the plague of sin that separates us from God." "When we’ve captured a glimpse of the holiness and purity of God, we have to exclaim as did the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to me … I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Our attitude toward sin in the light of our Savior should echo the words of Peter: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:1-8). Another key lesson we learn from the leper in Matthew’s Gospel is that just as the leper did, we can confidently approach Jesus in all our need, with all our sin and defilement. When we plead for cleansing and forgiveness, He will not turn us away (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 103:12)."
So each time I read these strange ancient text I should remind myself how much God wants me to have a special relationship with Him. He sent His one and only Son to die for me to make it possible to approach the Holy One again. Therefore in some way I l should live a life that is distinguished from the world in which I live - maybe not exactly by obeying some dietary laws or church rituals, but by letting the life of Jesus flow through me.
"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. " (2 Corinthians 5:20)
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