Word for Wednesday
And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 14:11
A dear old friend of ours suffered for many years with arthritis that left his hands badly twisted and gnarled. The agony caused by the disease prevented him from enjoying many of the activities that he once participated in. He did the best he could, and tried not to complain, but we all knew he suffered, not only from the pain, but also from being deprived of his active lifestyle. There came a time, however, when the pain was gone. He no longer felt the agony that had come with every move. His hands were still badly disformed, and remained so for the rest of his life, but they no longer hurt every time he tried to use them. He happily resumed an active participation in many of the things he had done before, as much as his deformed hands would let him. He was like the leper of the Old Testament who was healed from his terrible disease. He was like you and me in our ability to serve the Lord as we could not do before we were saved.
Life for a leper in Old Testament days was hopeless and horrible. In addition to the suffering from the disease and the anguish of knowing that it would only get worse was the sorrow and loneliness of being shut out from family, friends, and everything that made life worthwhile. If a leper should recover, which rarely happened, there was a provision for that leper to be declared fit to return home. Chapter 14 deals with that provision, with the rituals and sacrifices and declarations leading to full reinstatement. Our text speaks of the leper being presented to the Lord. After the cleansing is complete, the leper is at liberty to live as he should. He is like the guilty sinner who is brought to the Lord for salvation. Cleansing from sin brings that person into a much more glorious life than a cleansed leper. Instead of being isolated from God and His people, the believer is brought into a family relationship with the Lord and with all His children. Believers appreciate all the benefits of fellowship, fulfillment, and comfort that are available. We often bear the scars of our past life of sin, but rejoice in the knowledge that only the scars remain, the plague is forever gone.
A cleansed leper might worry that his leprosy might return. There is no such worry for us who are saved. Sin has forever lost its sting and we can have a peace that the leper and the unsaved sinners cannot know. In that peace, let us live for the Lord as His redeemed today. -Jim MacIntosh