117_The clean and the unclean Lev 13:1-3 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, 3 and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. 45-48 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. Lev 14:19-20 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. More than 2000 years ago, a man walked by himself, on the fringes of the Israelite camp. He was labeled "unclean," for he had a spreading skin disease that was possibly contagious. Everywhere he went he had to cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" to warn others lest they be contaminated by him. He longed for healing, for then he would be accepted again into his society, his world. One day, he heard about a man named Jesus. He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, and had healed lepers. Why, then he himself had hope! Leviticus 13 and 14 lays out the laws by which the clean was distinguished from the unclean. Just before were instructions about sacrificial offerings and the ordination of priests. This emphasizes how important it is to differentiate clean and unclean, holy and common. Such outward distinctions were unimportant in themselves, but they were a way of imprinting the idea of inward defilement and cleansing on the mind of God’s people. In this way God was teaching them about holiness, through babysteps. These laws specifically address uncleanness of the flesh—whether through skin diseases, bodily discharges, or contact with unclean foods. The consequences of being unclean were severe, as the extreme case of the leper shows. Those afflicted with skin diseases had to wear torn clothes, leave their hair unkempt, live outside the camp, and cry out "unclean, unclean!" wherever they went, until they were healed. The importance of physical cleanliness among God’s people is described in Deuteronomy 23:14: "Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must