One of the amazing things about technology is that I’m able to watch sermons from other churches without actually being there in person. That means I can watch my friends, mentors, people I admire, or even tune in to a completely random church if there’s a specific subject I’m interested in.
You know what I don’t like, though? When the camera in our own auditorium at Hillside picks up the ever-growing bald spot on the back of my head as I walk to the pulpit. It’s a vanity thing, to be sure, but I just assumed that since I’m still in my (late) 30’s, that was something I didn’t have to worry about quite yet.
But it’s there. And it’s getting bigger. And I’m fine. You’re fine. Everyone’s fine.
As nerve-wracking as that is for me, imagine if you’re hearing Leviticus 13 as a balding Jewish man. Multiple times in this passage, one of the signs of leprosy has involved hair—usually when it changes color (Leviticus 13:4, 10, 20, 25, 29, 36). It would be natural to assume that losing hair would also be a bad sign.
For that reason, God clearly states in Leviticus 13:40 that bald men are clean.
Whewwww.
You can argue that this is an unnecessary fear. After all, the diagnosis for leprosy usually revolves around skin turning a different color (as it does here, as well), but for a society that views “disfigurement” as a curse from God, this statement is reassuring. Just look at the insults hurled at Elisha from the youths in 2 Kings 2:23: “Go up, you baldhead!”
Moreover, hair loss can also be associated with paganism. I know that might sound like a stretch, but think back to Genesis 41:14, when Joseph shaves his body to meet Pharaoh. He does that because Egyptian culture—and priests in particular—beatifies a shaved look.
In other words, Joseph shaved his body in order to be more fully integrated with Egypt, leaving his Israelite identity behind.
Moses includes this section on baldness to comfort those suffering from hair loss—that they are still clean, they are not “afflicted by God,” and that they can maintain their normal lives. Unless it’s accompanied by a reddish-white infection, you’re still good to go.
Just maybe wear a hat every once in a while.
