The Pain of Being Forsaken
Have you ever felt the agony of being forsaken? Christ understands. In Gethsemane, His agony was only partly about Calvary. He knew His Father would turn from Him. Though guiltless, God would judge Him for our sins. Jesus went to Calvary for you. He was cruelly struck, smitten, and afflicted; He was rejected by those He loved. He stood in your place. As your Passover Lamb, your leprosy was placed on Him. His Father turned away from Him, even as He turned away from Aaron and Miriam, and will turn from any who try to stand before Him in their own righteousness.
Stricken
For 7 days Miriam suffered consequences of her bitterness; her hard heart was bowed as she suffered public ostracism and bore the shame of leprosy.
Struck by God
In ancient days, people believed leprosy was caused as a person was stricken, then smote by God with a plague. In this case, God clearly struck Miriam with leprosy; but His motive was mercy. Leprosy demonstrated God’s mercy? If we do a quick word review, leprosy was called a plague. Plague or nega`, the mark of leprosy, is derived from the word stricken or naga`.[1]
That word is important. “Surely [Messiah] has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). Just as Miriam’s rebellion was placed on the lamb, all our rebellion and sin was laid upon Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was struck by God as He died in our place.
Covering and Consequences
The blood of lambs provided a temporary covering for sin. The Lord sentenced Miriam to leprosy, knowing He would die in her place so she could be forgiven and healed. Despite the ugliness of her heart, the Lord loved her. Her sin and sentence would become His own.
At the same time, sin cannot be excused away. The consequence of her choices were leprosy and ostracism as she was taken outside the camp.
Aaron, as high priest, had to proclaim God’s judgment over Miriam. The soul that sins must die. Years later, as Son of Man, the Lamb of God was beaten and drug outside the camp. He was publicly humiliated and delivered up to death on Calvary by the priests. Ostracized, and humiliated, He took Miriam’s and our shame as He was smitten of God. To smite means to strike, to slay.[2] God laid the our sins upon Christ, who was stricken and then smitten by God.
The Father Turned His Face Away
The Lord refused Moses’ plea for Miriam; turning His back on her, He walked away, foreshadowing Calvary. The heart of Jesus was broken as the Father turned away. At the Cross, Jesus would experience God-forsakenness for Miriam. He was afflicted and oppressed as He suffered for our sins; in humiliation, His spirit bowed with anguish.[3] His Father physically turned away from Him because Jesus was the Lamb on whom all sin was placed. He who was holy experienced our filth, and stricken by God’s judgment, His heart broke from the pain.
Jesus experienced complete alienation from His beloved Father as His Father turned away from Him. His heart was ripped apart. His pain was so great, Jesus died. It was not just our sins that broke His heart, it was when God looked at Jesus but did not see Jesus. He saw our sin. The Father is holy; in His great love, He turned away from His Son so we could be made clean. The ultimate stroke was experiencing the lash of God-forsakenness. In deep anguish, His heart literally broke.
Pierced For You
Sin must be judged. As the Glory lifted off the temple and departed, at Calvary, the glory of God was lifted off Jesus. As the spotless Lamb of God, He became the leper, smitten, stricken of God, and afflicted for Miriam. For you, and for me. We, too, are lepers. But Jesus atoned for our sin by shedding His own blood. We have the joy and privilege to come into God’s holy presence without fear, once we are covered with Jesus’ precious blood. His love is amazing. Miriam was a beautiful picture of Christ, the Passover Lamb, who took our shame outside the camp.
Cleansing Comes
Healed by the Lord, her public cleansing ritual began. Aaron went outside the camp to confirm her healing. A clean bird was killed over running water; he caught its blood in a basin, and after he dipped the wood, the scarlet, the hyssop, and the second live bird in it, he sprinkled blood on Miriam 7 times. Imagine his joy as he pronounced her clean and released the live bird into the open field.
Yearly, the high priest proclaimed which lamb would become the Passover lamb sacrificed for the cleansing of the nation. Finding no fault in Jesus, the high priest pronounced Jesus must be sacrificed for the nation. (John 11:50-53). Later, a sentence of death fell on Jesus. Outside the camp, He died to atone for the leprosy of our hearts.
Miriam washed herself and her clothes, shaved off all her hair. Welcomed into the camp, she had to spend 8 days outside her family tent. Then the family provided 3 spotless lambs to be offered for a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a meat offering. Miriam took the lambs to the priest; placing her hands on their head, she watched each die in her stead. Without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin. Miriam could not re-establish herself before God, make herself right, or re-establish herself with her community.
Miriam was stricken for her sin so she might learn humility. Cleansed from the uncleanness, ostracism, and the identity of leprosy, she was openly received; gathered back into the nation, back into the community, back into her family.[4]
In His love for us, Jesus was stricken for our sin; He was slain so we might be declared cleansed by His blood, become sons of the Heavenly Father, and through the Holy Spirit be received into the community of His children.
Have you been cleansed by the Lamb of God?
[1]Stricken: H5060 נָגַע naga` verb. To smite, to strike with a plague (used of God); smitten by the stroke of God (Gesenius). Accessed 3 Apr 15.
[2]Smitten: H5221 נָכָה nakah verb – p.r. To strike, smite, hit, beat, slay. Ibid.
[3]Afflicted: H6031 עָנָה `anah verb – p.r. To afflict, oppress, humble oneself, be bowed down (depressed, downcast). Ibid.
[4]Received: H622 'acaph verb. To gather, receive (into association with others). Receive hospitality and protection – a leprous person received into intercourse with others after healing. Ibid.
