God’s Touch

At a recent Theopolis Institute course on Leviticus, James Jordan argued that the skin disease described in Leviticus 13-14 is a “touch of affliction” (the word translated as “mark” is nega’, from a verb for “touch”). It describes a touch from God, and skin disease defiles when the touch of God both consecrates and exposes flesh, when there is a white hair of glorious holiness in a wound that goes deeper than the skin. That combination of holiness and defilement puts the Israelite in a dangerous position, like a layman who inadvertently becomes consecrated by touching or eating holy food.

That understanding of skin disease explains some of the oddities of Leviticus 13-14. Someone who is completely covered with skin disease, who becomes completely white, is clean. That makes sense if skin disease itself includes an element of consecration; the complete “leper” is wholly taken over by the divine touch, and so is no longer in the dangerous holy-in-proximity-with-flesh condition. Once healed of the affliction, a person has to undergo a cleansing rite that includes a purification offering (hattat, “sin offering”). That’s not surprising, since the purification offering purges uncleanness. What is surprising is that the “leper” has to offer a trespass offering (asham), typically offered for sacrilege, for misuse of holy things. If the “leper” is in a quasi-holy state, though, the asham fit. He has to compensate for his misuse of his holy self in the same way one has to compensate for irregular consumption of holy food.

That the divine touch is life-giving and consecrating is evident throughout the Bible. The Angel touches the socket of Jacob’s thigh (Genesis 32), and so Israel refuses to eat that portion of an animal – it belongs to Yahweh by virtue of divine touch. An angel touches Elijah under the juniper tree (1 Kings 19), raising him from a near-dead state. The Lord touches the world and mountains become smoking altars. When Isaiah enters the presence of Yahweh, he knows he is a man of unclean lips. A seraph touches a coal to his lips, and he is cleansed and consecrated: With those burning lips he can join the song of the seraphim and speak words of fire to Israel.

Jesus’ touch is a healing, consecrating touch. He touches lepers and they are cleansed. A woman with a flow of blood touches His robe and is purified. Jesus touches dead bodies and they spring to life. He casts out demons by the finger of God that is the Spirit (Luke 11:20). And that same finger-Spirit touches the disciples, consecrating them as burning altars.

Because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, we can now withstand the divine touch. When the Spirit touches us, He makes us saints, holy people and and holy places. He no longer exposes flesh but delivers us from the flesh into life in the Spirit. He leaves us sanctified without defiling us, white as snow from head to toe.