Prayer: Father, please give me a deeper understanding of the “plague” of Tza’arat for that day and period. Amen.
Reading: Leviticus 13 key: vs. 1-2
Then Adonai spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying: 2 “When a man has a swelling on the skin of his body or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes the plague-mark of tza’arat in his flesh, then he should be brought to Aaron the kohen, or to one of his sons, the kohanim.
Attention: One of the characteristics of Inductive Bible Study, is to make observations about the text. Translations differ in their usage of the English language. They use words which they have determined to have “equivalency” between English and Hebrew which is the language the Old Testament is written. However, is equivalency close enough?
This is one reason why I like the Tree of Life Version (TLV) and I use it exclusively. In comparing a few translations, they use the word “disease,” while the TLV uses “plague.” By definition, the term plague implies an epidemic type of disease, with a high mortality rate and contagious transfer from human to human. A plague is also thought of in the terms of being inflicted by God. In the era of Moses, it was Adonai who gave Moses definition of this prolific skin disease.
The Hebrew people came to know the skin disease as Tza’arat. Our English equivalency is “leprosy” or Hansen’s Disease, named after the discoverer of the disease leprosy. For those who would like to know more about Tza’arat, here is a Wikipedia link: Leprosy – Wikipedia
Suffice to say, Tza’arat is not the death sentence it was in Moses’ day. Then it could be a slow progression resulting in loss of sight, limbs, or digits. Leprosy was considered highly contagious and people with leprosy were isolated, outcast, confined to leper colonies. In Moses’ day, they were required to keep their distance from healthy people and announce as they walked their status of being “unclean.” Not only was it debilitating physically, the disease scarred people emotionally. The only disease I can compare it to was the public awareness and scare from AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
There was no cure. The first healing of Tza’arat in scriptures is found in 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman. How was he healed? Faith and action. He was told by Elisha the prophet, to go dip in the seven times in the Jordan river. He was furious but complied and was supernaturally healed of Tza’arat.
A mutual friend of my wife and I, recently returned from a trip overseas where he witnessed healings. He testified of those healings to a mutual small group of friends. My wife has been to Africa where she too witnessed Divine healings. I asked her why we in the U.S. do not witness the same quantity of healings. Her reply was interesting to me, “They have no other option.” Have we come to rely on medical options first and Adonai as a last resort?
Perhaps as followers of Yeshua, we have our priorities reversed. One of the purposes for healing is found in the story of Naaman, for after his healing he proclaimed, “Behold, now I know that there is not God in all the earth except in Israel (2 Kings 5:15b).”
Action: I will seek Adonai first in everything, including healing.
Yield: I yield to Adonai as my healer.
Engage: I will engage with the Holy Spirit in making wise decisions about my health care.
Relationship: Please order my steps Lord!
Prayer: Father, I pray for wisdom today regarding my health care. You know my personal needs. I come to You seeking healing for things which have prevailed for a few years. I thank You for good health. I thank You that I have all my teeth, my organs and limbs. Amen.
Memory Verse: 2 Kings 5:14-15
14 So, he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 When he returned with his entire retinue to the man of God, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now please, accept a present from your servant.”
Music Video: Katy Nicole—In Jesus’ Name https://youtu.be/R84PqRdZ7_Y
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”