Leprosy

Leviticus 13:45-46 The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, "unclean, unclean." He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

This is the first time I had a hard time getting through a passage without crying.  I got through Abraham almost sacrificing his son, Aaron's two sons burning to death, and other such horrors but this tugged on my heart. I definitely see how some of this could be necessary, especially in a time of little medical knowledge.  Knowing who has leprosy as you walk down the street could be the difference between life and death to these people. That being said, those people with leprosy are still PEOPLE. Can you imagine having to yell, "unclean, unclean" as you walk down the street in your hometown?  

Fast facts about leprosy:

In the past 20 years, 15 million people worldwide have been cured of leprosy.

In india where there are still more than 1,000 leper colonies.

Leprosy is in fact neither sexually transmitted nor is it highly infectious after treatment, as approximately 95% of people are naturally immune.

Before treatment was developed, leprosy was certainly contagious.