During biblical times, leprosy, in its worst form, was a dreaded disease. Today, Hansen’s Disease (otherwise known as leprosy) is curable, but this was not the case in biblical times. Leprosy used to be a debilitating disease that would eventually result in a lonely, painful death.
God knew the potential danger of this airborne disease so he legislated some preventative steps to mitigate its spread. Listen to what Moses said, “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45-46).
Two factors jump off the page at me in light of our current COVID pandemic. In order to mitigate the spread of leprosy, which was an airborne disease, God commanded a mouth covering and distance to be observed.
Just this past week, I have received calls from two distant states expressing concerns over the division that the “mask” is causing in their congregations. The most frequent complaint that I have heard being made is that “masks aren’t effective.” If you have made this argument, I would like to ask you if God legislated a futile gesture against the spread of leprosy by having lepers cover their mouths when they spoke? The point is not that covering our faces is a perfect prevention that will save us from disease, in fact, I know of no one who has ever affirmed such. Rather, the covering is a helpful action to prevent the spread of an airborne disease…at least, God thought so.
Friends, I don’t know of anyone who likes wearing a mask, but please don’t disrupt the peace in a congregation, or divide the Lord’s church over such an issue. I also understand that there are some who, due to medical issues, cannot wear a mask or cannot risk being near those who don’t wear a mask. In such cases, every attempt needs to be made to accommodate and encourage them. We need to be the church to them!
Old Testament leprosy and God’s legislation to mitigate its spread has relevance to our 21st-century setting. Patience, love, understanding, and choosing to be a peacemaker over having our way, will go a long way in overcoming the most recent challenge to the church in America.