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remember Miriam

Deuteronomy 24:8-9 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 24:8 “Be careful with a person who has a case of serious skin disease, watching carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.
Deuteronomy 24:9 Remember what Yahveh your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.

remember Miriam

This instruction is a clue for us that skin diseases in the Israelite camp were more than a medical issue. Yahveh had inflicted Miriam with a skin disease as punishment for her involvement in inciting rebellion. So, the instructions concerning the treatment and containment of skin diseases in the Mosaic corpus are important because the Israelite camp could not tolerate persons who appeared to have been similarly judged by God. The containment of these diseased individuals is in line with the general admonitions for God’s people to avoid anything unclean or impure.

God’s people in any age and under any covenant are encouraged to avoid the appearance of defilement, corruption or condemnation. We need to regularly examine ourselves, and remove anything that might lead others to see us as impure. God walks among our camp, and he pays attention to the witness we are giving.

Lord, show us how to rid our camp of anything that would counter our testimony about you.

For today’s video, I am joined by Dr. John Roller, pastor of First Advent Christian Church, of Hickory, North Carolina.