This essay was written for my Biblical Interpretations class at Fuller Theological Seminary on January 26, 2020 – a day after Hong Kong declared a state of emergency in response to the novel coronavirus and prior to the strict social distancing measures that have since been put into place.
January 26, 2020
In light of the current situation surrounding the spread of the coronavirus here in Hong Kong and around the region, I have been challenged to more seriously consider the significance of the OT Laws – especially the purity laws. In his chapter on the world of the early church, New Testament Scholar David Arthur DeSilva states that “reflecting on our own purity codes and rituals is a first step on this journey toward a sympathetic appreciation for Jewish purity codes.”[1] This line was particularly poignant as I was reading it while sitting on Hong Kong’s public transportation line wearing a hygiene mask and sitting next to other “masked” riders on my way to church – this just a day after the government declared a state of emergency in the city.
It has been sobering to see how the threat of disease has brought cleanliness rituals to the forethought of everyone’s minds. Signs and audio recordings remind everyone to wear masks, wash their hands frequently, and properly dispose of any tissues. The message extended into our church service as pastors urged anyone who had a fever to stay at home, encouraged everyone to practice alternative versions of “passing the peace” so as to avoid physical contact, and assured us all of their sanitary practices in serving Holy Communion. Perhaps, most comforting was when one of our pastors, herself wearing a mask, declared to the congregation that we take these precautions “not out of fear but out of love.” My pastor’s declaration put into perspective DeSilva’s discussion of some of the underlying intentions associated with how purity laws were practiced in Israel’s history. He states, “Pollution and defilement are undesirable…because they disqualify persons from entering the presence and fellowship of God…If passed on, they may prevent others from securing the needed favor of God and might even provoke the holy God to ‘breakout’ against the whole people.”[2]
Reflecting on my experience has helped me to appreciate the order God established through the purity laws to protect his people and preserve the relationships that they had with one another, God, and the world. Thinking of purity laws in this way has thus challenged my view that they are legalistic, uninteresting, or irrelevant to me today. Rather, I’m recognizing how my social location is enabling me to better see and value what is happening in the “world behind the text” in both NT and OT contexts. It has also helped me to see the blessings embedded in the law. Discussing the history of the law, Old Testament theologian Martin J. Selman states, “the laws were specifically geared in favor of life and blessing, and…[they encouraged] Israel to make the only proper choice available, namely, life rather than death, blessing rather than curse…There was therefore a gospel in the law that could reverse judgment and curse.”[3] The purity laws have opened my eyes to see Scripture in a new light while also offering hope for how to pray and engage in this current moment.
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[1] DeSilva, David Arthur. 2018. “The Cultural and Social World of the Early Church: Purity, Honor, Patronage, and Kinship.’” In Title: An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 112.
[2] Ibid.
[3] M J. Selman. 2003. “Law.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, edited by T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 497–515. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 513.