Leviticus 15:31, "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."
Leviticus 12-15 details the laws and requirement for various diseases
and bodily discharges. The bulk of these chapters deal with leprosy, a disease
that was highly contagious and therefore needed to be dealt with swiftly. The
other diseases, sores, rashes and discharges needed to be dealt with
appropriately so as to prevent the spread of disease through the camp of
Israel. With so many people living in close quarters to each other, and with
little by way of water and sanitation, the potential for diseases to spread
rapidly was great. Therefore laws show us the general grace of God, a grace
that is not just extended to one nation, but to all nations. God seeks to
preserve and uphold life, as He is not only the giver of life, but He also
loves life. This grace is not just a general grace, nor is it one that we
should presume upon, it is a special grace.
How is this grace special? To answer this question we must first ask
where it is that all these diseases and the such came from? If the world was
created as complete, perfect and was good in God’s sight, how then did these
diseases enter into this perfect world? The answer of course is sin, these
diseases, this form of suffering and death are the result of sin, of our sin.
Adam and Eve were clearly warned by God that this would be the consequence, yet
they chose to ignore that warning. God proved to be true to His word and just
in His dealings with their sin and now with our sin. Thus God is in no way
obliged or duty bound to keep or protect us from such things, is the due
consequence of our sinfulness. However, because God is a God who is good and
gracious, because God loves life, He seeks to work in our lives and in our
world so as to help us to control these diseases and thereby preserve the lives
of many.
This once more confirms the fact that God created us to live and not
to die, God created us to know the fullness and joy of life, life free from disease,
suffering and death. God works actively and constantly in our lives and in the
world so as to preserve, uphold and protect it. Much of this work of God is
hidden from our sight and knowledge, and is done through God’s goodness and
grace. We seldom take time to think of the many ways that God works so as to stem,
curb and control disease and suffering, or of the ways that God has instilled
within each of us that helps us to know how to control these things. In yet
another act of grace God has also given us wisdom, knowledge and intelligence,
to be able to learn how to medically treat these diseases and help people
recover from them.
But greatest of all God has acted through Jesus Christ, God the Son,
so as to bring us complete spiritual healing, healing from the cause and consequence
of all these diseases and suffering. This complete spiritual healing and
salvation from sin, is not just spiritual, one day it shall be physical. Yes,
all of us will die, there is no way around that reality, however, for those who
take hold of this salvation, they are raised up to new life, a life free from
sin, life in all its fullness with God.
It is incredible to think about all the grace that God has lavished
upon us, especially when we consider how little we deserve such grace. A
general grace given to all mankind, a special grace that preserves and upholds
our lives and a saving grace that leads us into eternal life. Let us give
thanks to God for His daily general and special grace and let us pray that He
would make known His saving grace to many more today.
Most gracious God, we thank and praise
You today for Your general, special and saving grace. Thank You that You lavish
it upon us so abundantly, so consistently and so undeservedly. May we be
mindful of these many graces and may we become increasingly thankful to your
for such grace. We pray that today You would make Your saving grace known to
many, especially to those who find themselves in great suffering today, to
those on their death beds, who will enter into eternity before this day ends.
Save them we pray, so that they might receive new eternal life. We pray this
for the glory of Your great and gracious name. Amen.
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