“He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp”. Leviticus 13:46 NASB
Quarantine is not a new idea. Animals are quarantined to contain the spread of disease. Often when they are new to a shelter, they are quarantined to make sure they are healthy. They receive their vaccinations and tests and only then are they allowed to mingle with other adoptable pets. It is the responsible way to treat the spread of disease.
Quarantine is defined as a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed. The idea of quarantine is not new to the bible either. Those who were unclean were sent to live alone outside the camp. Outside the camp was not a desirable place. We long to be partakers of the kingdom of God and part of his family not to be outside looking in.
Jesus suffered and died outside the camp so that you and I might be brought into the kingdom. Hebrews 13:11-14 states, “The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come”.
Jesus willingly left his throne in heaven to come to earth in human form so that we might have that hope of heaven. He willingly lived among us and went outside the camp to die for our sins so that we might live eternally with him. He was despised and rejected. He bore the disease of sin in his own body on the cross so that all who believe might be cleansed and accepted by his father. He died so that we might live.
We are no longer unclean or outside the kingdom of God when we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. No longer alone we can relate to Romans 8:37-39 when Paul says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. We are never alone; never separated from the God who loves us.
Just Another Dog Devotion 