The Great Physician XIII: A God of Taxonomy & Systemic Divine Order

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.