Quarantine

All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

Leviticus 13:46 (KJV)

Without the camp shall his habitation be – God teaches the method of quarantine when it comes to infectious diseases. He doesn’t say that spiritual people won’t be infected. He doesn’t say that your faith will shield you from diseases. In fact, the ONLY way to completely avoid disease, at least the diseases in Egypt, is to keep the law.

Ludicrous! You mean keeping the law will keep one safe from disease? Well take a look at what God says, not me.

And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Exodus 15:26

The problem here is that no one actually keeps the law in its entirety today. Most of Christianity has abandoned it, the Jews today have greatly lost the intent of it due to their traditions, and so we all are susceptible to disease.

And for this reason, God teaches quarantine. If someone is infected, they must adhere to quarantine for the safety of the community. Chapter 13 in Leviticus is all about this. Sure it focuses on leprosy and the plague, but it can apply to today’s COVID-19 virus sweeping the globe as well. This is why so many are in lockdown or quarantine in their own cities and countries. It is proven to be the best fight against infectious diseases.

When you enter into quarantine today, recognize you are doing the will of God. Separate yourself from the community to avoid further outbreak.

I’m a Board member for our community’s elementary school and last week we chose to close it down for about 3 weeks. The teachers are working to ensure that the students still receive some form of education, the parents have to accommodate their children at home, and people are frustrated. I had one community member question our faith for closing the school. Of course he was not working to help the situation, he just wanted to complain and cause further problems.

In times like these, we should encourage each other, help each other. The government mandate is “social distancing.” But instead, this is the time when we need to socially connect. Rather than “social distancing” we should just practice “physical distancing.” Our social efforts shouldn’t diminish. This is where technology comes in. We are fortunate enough to be part of a time period in which we can still communicate digitally. I was just privy to a small group that connected via Zoom last night to practice some church-related songs. I didn’t join, but that event gave me hope that maybe our community can still interact in more imaginative ways. For this, we need to embrace technology as a means, a tool to allow social activity to continue. Without social activity the community diminishes.

Stay safe, practice quarantine, and remember we are all in this together. Continue to be as social as possible… just keep it digital.