He Walked into My Leper Colony
We call it Leprosy! The Hebrews call it tzara’at! The Jewish sages believed that tzara’at was more than a skin disease.They believed that it was a physical manifestation of a spiritual sickness. After all, the infected person (KJV calls a “leper”; the Hebrew calls a “metzora”) was not sent to a doctor, per se, but to the priest to be examined.
The Jewish sages believed that the causes of tzara’at stemmed from sin: more specifically “sexual immorality, gossip, murder, perjury, forbidden sexual relationships, arrogance, theft, and envy” (Avakhin 16a).
In Matthew 15:18-20, Yeshua even corroborates this belief when he says, “But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you (nlt).” These are the same defiling sins that the rabbis believed were the cause of tzara’at!
After examining the skin of the metzora, the priest by one word would determine the metzora’s immediate future: “Clean” or Unclean.”
If unclean, he had to face quarantine for at least seven days. Forced to wear rags with his whole body covered except his mouth, he had to cry “Unclean! Unclean!” in the presence of others. Whether deemed clean or unclean, the metzora ultimately had to undergo a purification ritual.
Matthew 8, Mark 1, and Luke 5 tell the story of Yeshua being approached by a metzora. Yeshua did for him what no one else had done or would do: He looked at him, He examined him, He touched him, and told him, “Be Clean.”
That’s what he did for me. He walked into my leper colony. He examined me and saw me riddled with everything that defiles. He touched me and showed me that he was more than able to cleanse me, but he was also willing. My tzara’at? Cleansed! Metzora? No more! He gave me back that which I had lost–His image in me.
Have you allowed Him to do that for you? If so, “Be Clean.” If not, He’s walking into your colony today . . . looking for you.
PRAYER: Abba, thank you for walking into my leper colony and removing the curse and penalty of my sins.You came, you found me, and now I am clean…forever. No longer am I clothed in the filthy rags of my self-righteousness . . . BUT clothed in the garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness! Hallelujah! Amen!
What happens when you shed your leaves? When all the dead stuff of yesterday and yesteryears come sloughing off, like leaves blown by the wind, winds that are mild, brisk, sometimes gusty, and, at times, violent. Sometimes what we find after the sloughing is what I found when I beheld trees in their nakedness. Knotted, gnarled branches refusing to unfurl, forever preserved in their stubbornness. Diseased branches covered by mold or lichen, now made brittle, fall to the ground because of the sheer weight of the parasite. Sometimes nestled deep within the tree is a nest, usually hidden from the public eye, couched within protective branches … and the nests remain, containing all the things that comprise them: twigs, hair, moss, grass, hay, dirt.
You probably have a one in your yard, or your neighbor’s yard. It’s that tree that hangs on to its leaves seemingly forever. You look out your window, waiting for all the leaves to drop so you can rake them all at one time. I’m sure you have one — that tree will not let go of its leaves despite the wind’s intensity and the approaching season.It’s similar to when you know that a season is almost up, but you hang on to it at all cost!