Instant Leprosy: Three Times God Punished People
They never forgot that lesson…
What is leprosy?
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Though Hansen’s Disease is usually rare in the United States; recently, the state of Florida has seen an uptick in cases. Today, if a person contracts leprosy, doctors can easily treat that person with antibiotics and they can be cured.
But it hasn’t always been that way.
Your life was over after a leprosy diagnosis
Back during biblical times, leprosy was a dreaded disease for a number of reasons:
#1. It couldn’t be cured. Doctor offices and convenient antibiotic regimens didn’t exist back then. So, barring a miracle from on high — once diseased, always diseased.
Leprosy could range from thickened, scaly white patches on the skin to full-on body coverage. People afflicted with the disease were prone to the possible loss of eyelashes and eyebrows; open, weeping sores; horrific, disfiguring bumps on the skin, and even blindness. In the worst cases, leprosy was lethal.
#2. It was a social death sentence. A person with leprosy suffered a lifelong banishment from loved ones and society as a whole. They were outcasts forever without hope of ever being reconciled to the life they had before.
Social distancing was a required practice for anyone who contracted the disease. They were not allowed anywhere near healthy people. People with leprosy were required to walk around with uncombed hair and wear torn clothes. Plus, to add to their humiliation, they had to always announce their presence by shouting “Unclean! Unclean!” The loud warning protected people who would become ceremonially unclean just by close association with an infected person.
Since people afflicted with leprosy were shunned by society, they were expected to congregate amongst themselves. Many were reduced to begging.
#3. The disease also rendered a person ceremonially unclean. They could no longer worship God with the community. They could also no longer go to the Temple, the place of God’s presence.
Punished with leprosy
There were a number of times in the Bible when God punished people by striking them with leprosy. Let’s take a look at these unfortunate souls.
Miriam. She was the older sister of Moses, the mighty prophet and man of God. Miriam was a prophet in her own right. She even led the women in a song of praise after God drowned their enemies in the Red Sea. But, that didn’t save Big Sis from God’s punishment.
One day Miriam approached Moses and questioned his authority. God promptly reminded her who was in charge. She was instantaneously struck with leprosy and forced to live outside the Israelite camp for a week. The Lord, ever merciful, restored her health at the end of the seven days. Needless to say, we read zero further accounts in the Bible of Miriam ever questioning Moses again.
Gehazi. He was Elisha the prophet’s personal assistant.
Naaman, the Aramean army commander, was healed of his leprosy when he obeyed the prophet Elisha and submerged himself seven times in the Jordan River.
Naaman was grateful. He offered the prophet all kinds of wealth after God healed his leprosy. But the prophet refused Naaman’s offer of gold, silver, and fine clothing.
Naaman promised Elisha that he’d never worship the false god of his homeland again. Then he left, a man healed physically as well as spiritually.
Gehazi couldn’t stop thinking about the riches Elisha had turned down. So he chased down Naaman. He lied and told the army commander that Elisha had changed his mind. Naaman, grateful that he had been healed, loaded up Gehazi with riches — nearly 150 pounds of silver and two sets of exceptionally fine clothing.
Gehazi hid the gifts. But Elisha confronted him. Gehazi, the shady assistant, lied to his face.
But it didn’t matter. God had already informed the prophet about Gehazi’s vain attempt to horde riches.
Gehazi was instantly struck from head to toe with leprosy. He remained a leper for the rest of his life. To top it off, Elisha cursed Gehazi’s descendants with Naaman’s leprosy forever.
King Uzziah. He was an extremely successful king who let his accomplishments go to his head. God blessed him and he became proud.
One day Uzziah strutted into the Lord’s sanctuary and attempted to take over the job of the priests. The priests tried to correct him. But the king argued with them until the Lord put an end to the bickering.
Right there on the spot, God punished him. As a result of believing his own hype, the king was struck with leprosy after he blatantly violated the Lord’s Temple procedure.
Even though he was king, he was required to live apart from the rest of the people in a separate royal facility. God never healed his leprosy.
Additional leprosy incidents in the Bible
- To bolster Moses’ confidence, God demonstrated his power. The Almighty turned one of Moses’s hand leprous. Then he healed it.
- King David cursed Joab’s descendants with leprosy when he discovered that Joab murdered an innocent diplomat.
- Jesus ate at the home of Simon, a man who had once had leprosy.
- Jesus did the unthinkable and actually touched a man who had leprosy. The man was instantly healed. Jesus is awesome!
- Jesus once healed ten lepers, but only one thanked him for the miracle.
A few interesting facts about leprosy
- According to the Leprosy Mission International, people living with leprosy should not be called lepers because it is a derogatory term. Instead, we should use the terminology “person affected by leprosy.”
- World Leprosy Day was established in 1954. It is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of January.
If you enjoyed this article, try this one about people who were resurrected in the Bible and weren’t zombies.
Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.
