Leper

It sure must have been lonely being a leper. At the depth of need for human compassion and touch, the tormented soul was placed “outside the camp” only to speak words of shame upon himself, “unclean, unclean!” It seems the culture was less than sympathetic to the need of one who needed healing. I imagine the pain of open wounds with no chance of healing, the numbness that would destroy extremities, and the exasperating loneliness would have been enough for the wounded one to despair even of life. What thoughts would swirl endlessly in the mind of a leper? I wonder.  Hopelessness comes to my mind.

King Uzziah also comes to my mind.

King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous and banned from the temple of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 26:21

How sad.

This was a KING. Leprosy does not show favoritism. From royalty to rags, leprosy finds its place.

When I envision Jesus healing lepers I always think of them as being some kind of second class citizens. I read “Jesus healed the lepers”, but holding that place for a moment…feeling the hand of God upon the hopeless…how incredibly freeing it must have been to escape from your own deadly skin! EVERY leper presenting himself to Jesus was healed.

Then why wasn’t Israel’s king healed?

Backing up a bit, the verse that that seems to bring light to Uzziah’s plight is this: But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.” 2 Chron. 26:16

Now, I’m not suggesting that every person who contracted leprosy had a pride issue. But I believe the greater “disease” of the King Uzziah might have been the consciousness of his own dignity…over and above consciousness of the dignity and provision of his God.

I’m humbled to be living in a dispensation that allows us access to THE Healer. We need no longer to live “outside the camp”. We can enter into the inner court where the curtain has been torn and be healed of whatever is plaguing us. Drawbacks occur when we won’t recognize that only HE can cure us. Leprosy is a picture of subtleties of sin…the spot going unnoticed…until it becomes all consuming, ultimately destroying the person in the cruelest of manners. Pride can be the “numbing” of the senses keeping us from feeling healthy pain that awakens in us an alarm to get help from the only real source of Life.

The cure is available. Let down your pride. Jesus is eagerly awaiting your arrival within the clinic of the inner court. His healing, loving hand will restore.