Quarantine

It was supposed to be a vacation.  It was, sort of, until toward the end when I got the news that I would need to self quarantine once I got home!

It turned out that my trip fell under the recommended CDC guidelines for a 14 day self quarantine.  So, here I am, self quarantined and, to be honest, feeling quite stuck at home.  But as the virus has continued to spread, I have come to accept the need for an abundance of caution and my quarantine is certainly a necessary part of social distancing.

While I was on my trip, I read about a different kind of quarantine:  “And you shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for it will take seven days to ordain you.”  (Lev 8:33)

In Biblical times, those who had leprosy had to practice social distancing, including quarantines, due to the disease and how it spread.  But a type of quarantine for an ordination?  I had never really noticed that before.  Did the priests feel stuck?  Maybe!  But what really drew my attention was where they were quarantined, in the tent of meeting.

What in the world is a tent of meeting, you might ask?  Well, here is one descriptor:

“It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak with you there.”  (Ex 29:42)

The Old Testament priests met with God in the tent of meeting and it was there that the Lord spoke with them.  But for us, as New Testament priests, we can meet God anytime, anywhere and hear His voice.

There’s another lesson for me here and it has to do with perspective…

I may feel stuck at home for quarantine.  And while my home is made of bricks, mortar and wood and is certainly not a tent, I could still see it as a tent, a tent of meeting that is, where I can meet with God, hear Him speak and enjoy His presence.