Skip to main content

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. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Year Trash or Treasure?

You probably know the old saying:  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.  I am not going to try to prove or disprove it, just look at it from a different angle. Cheryl and I were recently walking on a beach in Florida .  A man was walking along with a bag and was picking up trash and putting it in the bag.  Was he picking up things of value? We also saw a different man walking along the same beach with a metal detector.  He would swing it back and forth and would occasionally stop and dig in the sand.  Was he looking for things of value? Both were intent.  Both were focused.  Both were diligent. I’m guessing that the one picking up trash was not looking for things of value.  I’m also guessing that, by picking up trash, he was valuing the beauty of the beach and didn’t want the trash to mar it.  The one with the metal detector, I’m guessing that he was not looking for metallic items of trash but was looking for...
1 comment
Read more

Don't Get Tripped Up

I do enjoy traveling and I keep an eye out for good prices. I also enjoy looking at trends in travel. For a while, the travel industry focused their advertising on taking those trips that might be on your bucket list.   That faded a bit and I started seeing ads about taking the trip of a lifetime. I guess both those campaigns have been waning since I’ve been seeing information about taking an “epic” trip.   Recently I noticed the phrase “unforgettable trip” in advertising.   More recently, I’ve been seeing promotions about taking “sustainable” trips and even “reconnecting to our roots” trips. As I’ve been pondering these advertising campaigns, I thought I’d consider what their ideas encompass and then look at them from a spiritual perspective: 1.   “ Bucket list trips ” are based on a list of the experiences a person might hope to have before they “kick the bucket” (i.e. die).   While I can certainly come up with a bucket list of trips, I’m thinking a bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Above My Pay Grade!

We like things that we can study, know and understand.  Sometimes we find it difficult to accept that there are things that might be hidden from our knowledge and understanding. The Scriptures indicate that there are some things hidden by design:  “The Lord our God keeps certain things hidden. But he makes other things known to us and to our children forever. He does it so we can obey all the words of this law.”  (Deut 29:29) Some versions of the Bible translate the hidden things as “secret things”.  Regardless, there are things which have been revealed and things which are kept hidden from us and remain secret. We may chafe at having to deal with the fact that some things remain hidden, but that’s often when faith and trust come in.  The Psalmist wrote:   “O Lord , my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.”  (Ps 131:1) The Psalmist seem to realize that th...
Post a Comment
Read more