The God of
the Bible is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:33). In the Bible there is an
order. There are rules. Laws. Hierarchies. Just as we see in life. In the
Creation. There are also classifications. Things are grouped together by their
characteristics. In modern times we call it taxonomy. Taxonomy which comes from
the Greek word τάξις / taxis which means arrangement (tactics) and νόμος/ nomos
or method/law. Arrangement method or laws. It is an order that is maintained by
separations. Order through separations or more specifically categorization and
isolation. Ceremonial Law. Civil Law. Moral Law. Pure-Impure. Holy-Unholy.
Sinful-Righteous.
ולהבדיל בּין הקדש ובין החל ובין הטמא ובין הטהור׃
…and that ye may put difference between the holy and the
common, and between the unclean and the clean ~ Leviticus 10:10
Within priestly ritual these categories were themselves
identified and compartmentalized further in terms of space, time and position.
These subcategories operated as a set of measurable factors in terms of
separation so that there was proximal categorization of space/location:
Separation of the Holy of Holies from all other places. There was proximal
categorization of time like the separation of the Sabbath from all other days.
The Day of Atonement and even just regular occurrence (Ecclesiastes 3). There
is a categorization of position or status the separation of the priests from
all other persons. There were even restrictions on who could wear mixed fabrics
and who couldn't
...nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds
of material. Leviticus 19:19
Mixing of wool and linen were prohibited...except in the
case of priests. Why do you suppose the priest's Ephod was a mixture of linen
and wool? Natural blended fabrics were slower to ignite near fire and
considering priests were near ritual flame quite often its important. Wool is
sheep hair and is made of protein which is more prone to melt or cauterize
rather than burn. Additionally, linen when it is around a lot of heat breathes
better than most fabrics and is very cool and it also is less likely to cling
to the skin. In the event of fire this is a characteristic I would prefer in my
clothes. Can anyone say burnt offering?
The priestly worldview and Jewish life was/is ordered and
maintained through the zealous adherence to systemization, categorization and
recognition / observance of specific boundaries. This of course lends itself
greatly to medicine which prides itself on understanding systems and systematic
ordering of thought through diagnosis and systems of elimination when a cure is
attempting to be sought to a puzzling ailment or illness.
Sadly, it was the human inability to maintain this order and
categorization that was the Achilles Heel in the system of purity and holiness.
Human shortcoming…the exact reason these systems for purity and cleanliness
were given. It was sin, defilement and impurity that muddled the clear
separation in these orders and classifications. God was giving mankind a way to
reestablish the order before the Fall and man was incapable of obeying that
system. God was restoring order through obedience and a sacrificial system.
Through it humanity could be redeemed. Righted. The priestly order through the
sacrificial system given by God inevitably pointed to and was fulfilled by God
in Christ. It was never really about the law so much as it was the inability to
meet the law that showed the need for a Redeemer. The Great Physician offered
Himself as the cure to disease, the disease that is sin and even death. He was
the Order. He was the Law. Where Jesus walked things righted themselves and the
order of the the Kingdom shined in power. Where Jesus is people are healed.
As with the physician and a human body/life, the physician
is attempting to categorize systems in the body, systems in the environment
affecting the body, and systems of diagnosis to bring order to an otherwise
chaotic out-of-control system.
Through systematization of symptoms conclusions can be
arrived at with a modicum of certainty especially if there were precedents.
Systems of treatment can then be devised for otherwise incurably complex
systems because in reality, curing an illness or disease is a balance of
wholeness of the systems and strategic ability to pinpoint within a system…the
flaw. Just as the Bible and priest did with sin. Disease and sin muddy
boundaries and categories thereby compromising the systems whether they be
physical or spiritual. They are synonymous. Disease can result from sin and sin
can be the result of disease. Both make things unwhole. Imperfect. Undoing
God’s perfect order.
The priest like a physician is required to carry out
specific duties to maintain the separations demanded to maintain order through
categorization. Diseased-Healthy. Holy-Unholy. Priest and Physicians are called
to do triage. Spiritual triage and Physical triage and respectively.
Sometimes…they do both. Triage is the assignment or categorization of degrees
of urgency/severity to wounds or illnesses (sin) to decide the order of
treatment of a large number of patients or casualties (or sinners). If they’re
beyond saving…they are literally left to God. There is never one patient and
there is never one sinner. Triage is essentially a way to preserve sacred space
and time dedicated to healing which inevitably happens in the presence of God
whether it be physical or spiritual.
Both a priest and physicians’ diagnosis are based on a
systematic questioning. A system of juxtaposed questioning using a thesis /
antithesis or yes / no inquiry. This then leads to what theologians /
philosophers call a logical syllogism. Based on the answer they proceed another
step until a root cause is found. Literally it is a logic fault chart. Order on
top of order until no further questioning is possible. This is done to identify
the error, sin, disease and determined the best way to either reverse it, heal
it or cure it.
“You must keep the
Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in
their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them.”
Leviticus 15:31
The priestly ritual is systematized behavior and
systematized behavior is…ritualistic. Systematization and ritual create structure
or order where there is little or none. Hence the need for triage. Order in chaos. Which is an
emulation of God. Systematized behavior and ritual also are communal. The
priest and physician must interact with others to perform their duties. There
were also different types of rituals. There are preventative rituals which are
to avoid danger of impurity or sin just as there is preventative medicine.
There are maintenance rituals which are to preserve/maintain the established
order just as maintenance medicine or physical exercise and healthy habits
maintain physical health and bodily order. Finally, there are restoration
rituals or rituals to restore the broken order of creation just as there are
restorative, healing medicine and surgery to reverse the effects of disease and
decay. All of this takes place within a proper space and proper time
ordained/ordered.
All of this bespeaks of The Scientific Method and to lesser
extent Root Cause Analysis and Defect Classification. The priests and the Jews
might not have fully understood why they were practicing it but God did. The
method existed over 3000 years before the Enlightenment. It just wasn't called
Scientific Method. It was called the Mosaic Law.
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