God is Jehovah Ropheka, The-Lord-Who-Heals-You, but sometimes He hurts us to heal us.
Did you think you would be in a seminar today about leprosy? As we turn from Leviticus 12 to chapters 13 and 14, we move from the subject of having babies to having this dread disease. But don’t despair. The Bible is full of happy surprises—even here! Some of these verses are like a time-release capsule, that won’t take effect until the Lord Jesus shows up 1,500 years later and, amazingly, starts healing leprosy sufferers. So there’s good news just around the corner. But before we look specifically at the subject of leprosy, we need to think generally about the relationship between sickness and sin. Here are some things we know. First, all suffering can be traced to the original act of rebellion against God in Eden. This includes hurtful acts between humans, physical suffering, pain, and death, and natural disasters as well. Second, some—but not all—personal suffering is a consequence of sin. When Israel left for Canaan after seeing the Egyptians plagued with boils and other calamities, they were told, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight,…I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex 15:26). As far as leprosy was concerned, it clearly was used sometimes as an outward display of inward sin. Examples include Miriam (Num 12:10) for her rebellion, Gehazi (2 Ki 5:26-27) for his avarice, and King Uzziah (2 Chron 26:19-21) for his presumption. But don’t assume that all sickness is a judgment of God. Sometimes it’s just the opposite, as with the case of a man born blind (Jn 9:3) to reveal the works of God, or of Lazarus, which was for the glory of God (11:4). So be careful with your diagnosis!