Transcript

INTRO:  Good afternoon and welcome back to the Sunday School Podcast, the pod all about digging deeper into the Bible using social, historical, and scientific context.  I’m Sean Parker, and today we’re going to talk about all of the health advice found in the Bible.

In the age of organics and clean living, we have to look no further than thousands of years ago to get all the health advice we could ever need.  Adam and Eve were the OG vegetarians.  Moses and the people of Israel were pretty much on the paleo diet, and Leviticus had advice for dealing with COVID 19.

(Transition)

Let’s start with the book of Leviticus.  I’ll admit that this book is a challenge to get through, but in spite of the repetitive language, there are a lot of good things here.

The entire book is about removing impurity from your life so that God can dwell with you.  The emphasis is on cleanliness.  Cleanliness is next to Godliness after all.

Most of the commands in Leviticus had the intention of making God’s people more holy.  With modern understanding, we see that what God was telling them to do was not just good for them spiritually, but also good for their health.

Leviticus 11:31-40 says

31These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening. 32When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean — any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work. It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean. 33If any of them falls into any clay pot, everything in it will become unclean; you are to break it. 34Any edible food coming into contact with that unclean water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean. 35Anything one of their carcasses falls on will become unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it is to be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you. 36A spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but someone who touches a carcass in it will become unclean. 37If one of their carcasses falls on any seed that is to be sown, it is clean; 38but if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean for you.

39“If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening. 40Anyone who eats some of its carcass is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries its carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

So God guides the Israelites to avoid contaminated water.  I imagine the swarming creatures Moses is writing about were mice, rats, cockroaches, and any number of other nasty creatures.  Good advice.

God’s health advice is so good that it appears Dr. Fauci must have gotten some of his health advice from Leviticus. Leviticus 13:45-46 speaks of covering over your mouth and social distancing. It says:

45“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.’ 46He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Leviticus 13 goes on to give instruction on how to deal with mold or infection on clothing and other dressings. Verses 47-55 say:

47“As for any fabric that is spoiled with a defiling mold—any woolen or linen clothing, 48any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather— 49if the affected area in the fabric, the leather, the woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a defiling mold and must be shown to the priest. 50The priest is to examine the affected area and isolate the article for seven days. 51On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mold has spread in the fabric, the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a persistent defiling mold; the article is unclean. 52He must burn the fabric, the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has been spoiled; because the defiling mold is persistent, the article must be burned.

53“But if, when the priest examines it, the mold has not spread in the fabric, the woven or knitted material, or the leather article, 54he shall order that the spoiled article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days. 55After the article has been washed, the priest is to examine it again, and if the mold has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it, no matter which side of the fabric has been spoiled. 56If, when the priest examines it, the mold has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the spoiled part out of the fabric, the leather, or the woven or knitted material. 57But if it reappears in the fabric, in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is a spreading mold; whatever has the mold must be burned. 58Any fabric, woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mold, must be washed again. Then it will be clean.”

Leviticus 15 has similar characteristics to present day disease prevention.  This is a little gross, but it talks about contact with someone who has a  bodily discharge.  That person would be considered unclean.

Touching this person would make you unclean.  Touching something that person touched would make you unclean.

The chapter speaks of quarantining these people.  It talks about washing your hands and your clothes after coming in contact with them.

This is basically how contact precautions work in a hospital.  I’m a nurse by profession, so I have some experience in this area.  If someone comes in who is identified with a certain type of infection, we place them on what’s called “isolation”.  The type of isolation varies based on the source of the infection.

A person with a type of draining skin infection would likely be in contact isolation.  We would follow similar processes to what is outlined here, with the exception of having gowns and gloves to protect us even further.

Moses wouldn’t have known anything about bacteria, or anything that causes infections.  A discharge would have been the easiest way to identify something as being a risk.  That God would instruct the Israelites to take these precautions was clearly divine protection for His people.

As we continue through the Old Testament, we see in Deuteronomy 23:12-14 that God instructs the Israelites on waste disposal.

12Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14For the Lordyour God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

Proverbs 18:14 speaks to the power of the mind to heal.  It says:

14A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

When pharmaceutical companies test new drugs, they usually have two separate groups being tested.  One group will receive the actual drug, while the other group will receive what’s known as a placebo.  A placebo is not intended to have any therapeutic effect, yet the group unknowingly taking placebos usually have some benefits similar to the intended effect of the actual drug.

These are used to insure that the drug has a greater therapeutic effect on the patient, and the results aren’t merely due to someone believing they are receiving these benefits.

The attitude of the mind has a profound effect on our well being.  Think about what stress does to your ability to sleep.  Constant stress can cause weight gain.  The Bible also tells people not to worry 365 times.  One for every day of the year.  God recognizes the importance of not stressing.  He also knows how much happier we are when we trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding.

Ultimately, God and science are not adversaries.  He created a world in which creation originally worked in perfect harmony.  There was no death or disease.  Man lived in a perfect paradise.  Unfortunately, sin entered the world throwing this creation out of whack.  Sickness and disease came with the curse of sin.  But God still made provisions for His people because he loves us.  He wants us to follow His commands for our own benefit.

But even when we don’t, he still makes provision for us.  When sin originally entered the world, God made provision to ultimately pay the debt that sin created.   We owed a debt we could not pay, but Jesus paid the debt he did not owe.  And for that, I’m truly grateful.

Outro:  As always, I hope you enjoyed this episode.  If you did, don’t forget to leave a review in whatever player you use to listen to podcasts.  

Don’t forget to subscribe.  New episodes are released every Sunday.  God bless!