Sola Scriptura-16

Pastors who want to brush aside God’s Laws are really being disobedient and their members are being deceived. But, do they truly care? I have heard some say that these Laws are no longer in need of being considered valid in our times.

We know how to protect ourselves and besides we have a much more clean and sterile environment to process these foods, and then also in our kitchens, as we prepare them for our meals. This sounds somewhat like rationalizing our sins, just like Israel and Judah had done.

What happened to them? They were captured and taken away into captivity.

Leviticus 13:1  Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, :2  "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 

:3  "The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. :4  "But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate him who has the infection for seven days. 

:5  "The priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 

:6  "The priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 

:7  "But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. :8  "The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. 

Leprosy is a dangerous and infectious disease. There is a very legitimate reason to identify it and to isolate it from the rest of the community or tribe.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae.

  • The disease predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities.

  • The bacteria are transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated cases.

  • Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT).

  • Leprosy is reported from all the six WHO regions; the majority of annual new case detections are from South-East Asia Region.

Key facts

  • Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae.

  • The disease predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities.

  • The bacteria are transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated cases.

  • Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT).

  • Leprosy is reported from all the six WHO regions; the majority of annual new case detections are from South-East Asia Region.
     

Leprosy, also known as Hansen disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused mainly by a type of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. The disease affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes. Apart from the physical deformity, persons affected by leprosy also face stigmatization and discrimination. However, leprosy is curable and treatment in the early stages can prevent disability.

Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) which still occurs in more than 120 countries, with around 200 000 new cases reported every year. Elimination of leprosy as a public health problem (defined as prevalence of less than 1 per 10 000 population as per World Health Assembly resolution 44.9) was achieved globally in the year 2000 and in most countries by the year 2010.

The reduction in the number of new cases has been gradual. As per data of 2024, Brazil, India and Indonesia continue to report more than 10 000 new cases, while 12 other countries (Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka and the United Republic of Tanzania) each reported 1000–10 000 new cases. Fifty-five countries reported 0 cases and 117 reported fewer than 1000 new cases.

Is there any doubt that God gave the priests such detailed instructions on how to identify it and treat it? Why would this law be ignored or considered invalid?

Let us now take a brief look and just some of the animals God declared as unclean!

11:41  'Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten. :42  'Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. :43  'Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 

:44  'For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 

:45  'For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'" :46  This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, :47  to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten. 

What or which pastor is advocating eating snakes, worms, or insects? No but he loves ham, bacon, shell fish, catfish, and carp. You can’t pick some laws to obey and others to disobey. If animals are now miraculously made clean or edible, then everything God created in Genesis was not good. God would have to recreate animals to make them clean.

More next Saturday.

Hope you who are in this large winter storm system have been able to prepare for it.