Our Body, Leprosy And The Lord Jesus

July/August 2020 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Our Body, Leprosy And The Lord Jesus

We are rightly concerned for our spirits and souls, but it is important to realize that our physical bodies have value too. It is true that our bodies, those of believers, will be changed (1 Cor. 15:35-49), yet our present-day bodies are what the Lord has made for us now. Yes, He made! David said of the L ORD , “You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Ps. 139:13-14 NKJV ).

God made each person’s body, forming them individually according to His will. David continued, “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Ps. 139:15-17).

“The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). No animal or plant is spoken of in the same manner. God has taken a special interest in even the physical creation of humans.

In the very next chapter we see man’s first sin. God did not wait to judge it, and through the judgment we see pain and difficulties enter into mankind’s experiences (3:16-19). The judgments of God recorded in Scripture are not simply vengeance on His part, although that aspect is included (Dt. 32:41; Rom. 12:19). Being in Scripture, they are for our learning, “that we ... might have hope” (15:4)

We learn much, for example, through the instruction and stories related to the disease of leprosy in the Bible. To get it was horrifying! However, God could cure even this most disastrous disease and alleviate its effects. While we live and breathe in this world, the healing mercies of the Lord for our sin – even though He may not heal us physically here – are ready and waiting; all we need to do is avail ourselves of them. As one of our writers reminds us from time to time, there is hope in Jesus Christ!

By Paul Alberts