![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/YW030393V_Leprosy-skin-discolouration-on-an-Indian-mans-arm-300x212.jpg\")
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So it was with interest that I listened to two members of a Leprosy Mission interviewed on Radio South Africa (March 2, 1976). This ancient disease is still a terrible scourge, especially in the poorest countries. The good news is that sulfa drugs can now cure it so that it is not the sentence of a slow death it was in Bible times.<\/p>\n
But what caught my ear was said at the end of the program. The interviewer asked, “How is leprosy spread?” The experts replied, “It used to be thought that it was spread only by prolonged skin-to-skin contact. But now we think it is spread by coughing and sneezing.”<\/p>\n
So it has taken medical science 3,500 years to discover that God’s way of preventing leprosy is medically correct. His law said, “he shall cover his mustache.” The leper was to wear a cloth, what we would call a face mask, which would hang down from his upper lip. The spread of the disease was thus prevented because the sneeze or cough was covered. God’s people were in this way protected from the spread of the terrible disease by the law of a loving God.<\/p>\n
Nothing about leprosy would lead a person to guess it could be spread by droplets in the breath of a sufferer, for leprosy is a skin disease. Certainly, Moses, the lawgiver, had no human way of discovering that the disease could thus be spread. But God knew, and He gave the law that protected His people. He gave a law that only now is appreciated for its wisdom. He gave a law which, in its nature, shows that it came from God, not man, for it contained this, and other, provisions which show a knowledge that science did not attain until thousands of years later. Praise be to our wonderful God!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Paul Williams The repulsive disease of leprosy has a strange fascination. God’s law for Israel described its symptoms in detail and gave minute instructions to the priest for its diagnosis. This law also said, “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[568,1608,911],"class_list":["post-57877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-accuracy-of-the-bible","tag-leprosy","tag-medical-practices"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30222,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-were-women-valued-less-than-men-in-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":0},"title":"Why were women valued less than men in the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love God.\u00a0 I am a strong woman and have always asserted myself and believe that men and women are equal in the eyes of God.\u00a0 There is actually a scripture that says \"all of mankind is created equal in the eyes of God.\" I do know there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-say-facial-hair-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":1},"title":"Where does the Bible say facial hair is wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a Messianic Jew and I go to Church not a Messianic Congregation yet. Anyway, I have heard that having facial hair is wrong. They say they have biblical proof but they can't remember where it is and so I am at a loss as to what to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66875,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lessons-from-a-leper\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":2},"title":"Lessons from a Leper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zack Lee Naaman was a very successful man. He was commander of the Syrian army, held in high esteem in the eyes of his king, a victorious\u00a0general, and a mighty man of valor. However, he had leprosy. His story can be found in II Kings 5. Naaman heard through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/naaman-was-healed-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":3},"title":"Naaman Was Healed by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton At first, Naaman did not appreciate the simple instructions to dip in the Jordan seven times (II Kings 5:1-14). He wanted to be healed of leprosy, but he wanted it to be on his terms. He imagined that God would heal him some other way. He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18515,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-it-say-that-a-man-cant-be-with-his-wife-during-her-monthly-periods\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":4},"title":"Where does it say that a man can’t be with his wife during her monthly periods?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where in the Bible does it talk about a woman's monthly cycle and that a man should not be with her while she is on her monthly?\u00a0 My man and I were having a Bible discussion yesterday and he said he read something about that in the Bible but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-avoid-unclean-foods\/","url_meta":{"origin":57877,"position":5},"title":"Should Christians avoid unclean foods?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article and liked it very much! I would like to make a comment though about eating unclean meats. I am not saying that by eating them a person will not be saved, because we are saved by grace. 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