To me, it seemed like the theme of Leviticus was leprosy. On nearly every page, in nearly every chapter, it seemed like there was something somewhere about leprosy.
Some of these precautions were physical—some leprosy can be transmitted, after all—but the real reason was spiritual. God never abandons lepers. Instead, those who had leprosy were considered ritually impure, and had to be removed from the camp until they were cleansed.
(As a reminder, “ritually impure” didn’t always mean sin. It just meant there was a temporary, physical separation until you were purified. There are several examples of lepers who displayed exemplary faith throughout the Bible (Luke 17:19; Luke 5:12-16).
Numbers 5 opens with a specific declaration to find those people who have leprosy and remove them from the camp immediately. By His own words, the presence of lepers would defile the camp that God wants to dwell in.
On the one hand, God still dwells with us in this way. Where sin is, God cannot be (Isaiah 59:1-2). We have to be cleansed of our sins to have that type of fellowship with God.
But on the other, God no longer sends people away simply for having spots and stains on their record. In fact, He draws them in closer.
Think of all the times when Jesus calls out to those who are maligned by society. In Mark 10:46, a blind man named Bartimaeus screams for mercy, while those around him say to keep quiet. Undeterred, Jesus draws him in and heals him of his blindness.
That’s how God operates—and, I would argue, how He operated in the Old Testament, as well. Ritually impurity notwithstanding, God always called to those who were separated and ostracized from society in order to bring them close to Him. On more than one occasion, God identifies Himself as a friend to those who are vulnerable (Psalm 68:5; Deut. 10:18).
That’s how we know that God doesn’t send these people away in Numbers 5 from a place of animosity, but simply because of purity. Once these people are cleansed (Leviticus 14), they are brought back to the fold.
God never turns His back on anyone for how they look or because of a physical infirmity. Even if we are isolated from Him because of our sin, God is always waiting for us to come back.
He’s the God that never stops looking, never stops searching, and never stops hoping for all of His children to be with Him.
