Tuesday 16 October 2007
"When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession, the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, 'There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house'". (v.34-35)
Background
The book of Leviticus contains regulations for worship andreligious ceremonies in ancient Israel. In particular it sets outthe responsibilities of the priests.
The main theme is the holiness of God and the ways in which thepeople could maintain their relationship with God - both throughworship and daily living.
This passage is about the purification of 'leprous' houses. Becauseof their external resemblance to human skin disease, certain formsof fungus (such as moss or mildew) on buildings were believed tohave made them 'leprous'.
"If I put a leprous disease in a house" (v.4) - this phrasereflects the Hebrew attitude of attributing all things to God asthe ultimate cause.
Uncleanness was present only when the fungus was active, a factordetermined by the priest's inspection (v.33-36). If the growthseemed to be in the wall or if it seemed to be spreading, aseven-day quarantine was imposed to allow time for greatercertainty on the matter. To enter the house during the quarantinemade a person unclean for the day.
If the fungus was still active at the end of the seven days, theaffected stones were removed and the plaster scraped off the walls.The house could be repaired but if the fungus reappeared the househad to be demolished. If the fungus did not re-occur then the housewas declared clean.
A building was purified in the same way as a leprous person (see
To Ponder
What does the phrase 'cleanliness is next togodliness' mean to you both in relation to your home and to you asa person?
In what way may this ritual be relevant today -bearing in mind the recent outbreak of 'Foot and Mouth'disease?