Leviticus 12:1-14:32

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In a time before medicine and most science there was a need to understand disease in some way.  This passage illustrates how the Israelites viewed disease: it was uncleanness.  With little medicinal knowledge the uncleanliness of a person was a matter for the priests.  The priests could declare a person clean or unclean.  After recovery from a disease the people were called to give an offering to God thanking that they had been returned to health.

Science has reduced our perceived dependence on God.  When we recover from illness we thank our doctors and our drugs, but we forget to offer thanks to God.  My family has had rotating illnesses the past six weeks and I do not know of one time that I have thanked God for cleansing us from our sickness.  God is still at work in this world and still heals.  It would be good to recognize God working through doctors and drugs, and to thank him for healing.

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