Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt (4 page)

Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you…

Obviously, there is no intent to bless in the above warnings. Continually and consistently, we find that the context of these passages reveals sickness as one of many curses. It is never revealed as a blessing.

…in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

The Israelites were warned to serve God with joy because of His blessings. If they didn’t serve Him, then the curse would come. They would be in bondage to their enemies and would suffer the four destructive conditions listed above. They would serve their enemies in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and the lack of all things. When Christ’s enemies sent Him to the cross, He suffered the four destructive things above for us. Christ was in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things as He died on the cross. He took all the sin and sickness upon Himself so that we could be redeemed from it.

A few verses later, more pertinent information is given about the curse of sickness.

Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say, 'All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah
and
Zeboiim
, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.' And all the nations shall say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land?
Why this great outburst of anger?'
Then men shall say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the
land
of
Egypt
. 'And they went and served other gods and worshipped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book. Deuteronomy 29: 22-27

This long passage has a few new points to consider.

Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say, 'All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah
and
Zeboiim
, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.'

Moses says that the next generation is warned by the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted the Israelites. These plagues and diseases were never intended as hidden blessings. They were not intended to transform the character of those afflicted with them. The passage compares God using sickness with how He dealt with
Sodom
and
Gomorrah
. God wasn’t trying to bless them in some backhanded way. The plagues were intended to bring a final end to wickedness and warn the next generation not to be wicked.

And all the nations shall say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land?
Why this great outburst of anger?'
Then men shall say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the
land
of
Egypt
. 'And they went and served other gods and worshipped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them.

Moses reveals that the curse of sickness in the lives of Israelites was not a hidden blessing but evidence of an outburst of God’s anger over idolatry and unfaithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. For those of us who believe in Christ and have embraced the New Covenant, there is no place for this curse in our lives. Sickness or injury is not part of God’s will for us. Actually, it was not what God wanted for the Israelites either. His will was for them to be blessed.

Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book.

Moses reveals that divine anger against wickedness in the life of Israelites is the cause of the curse. Clearly, sickness is part of that curse. Sickness is never revealed as a divine blessing in Scripture. When blessings are listed, sickness is never found. Doctrines that teach or suggest that sickness is a blessing of some sort are of confused human and demonic origin. Unfortunately, these doctrines have many popular and sincerely wrong spokespersons. They create serious doubts that overshadow receiving and ministering healing. In the same scriptural context where Moses has listed curses and blessings, he finishes his discourse to the Israelites with the following:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

The following thoughts bring us to the end of this passage:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.

Moses warns that he has revealed the life and death, the blessing and the curse. It is truly amazing that Christians still confuse the curse of sickness with blessing. Blessing leads to life. Cursing leads to death. Sickness never increases life but often ends it. Moses reveals that sickness is part of the curse. Moses does not mention God using sickness to transform the character or any other purpose other than bringing wicked Israelite people to their end.

So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him…

Choosing to obey God is to choose life and that will cause someone to live. Obviously, this means that God will not curse righteous Israelites with sickness nor will He curse His forgiven children either.

…for this is your life and the length of your days that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

Blessing meant that a person would live out the entire length of their days. Their lives would not be shortened by sickness. This is consistent with other passages in Scripture. For instance, the Book of Proverbs reveals a similar truth about curses. It says:

The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
But
He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Proverbs 3:33

As Moses did earlier, Solomon tells us that curses are for wicked people and blessing for the righteous. This is good news to those of us who have been made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. The blessing of healing and health are ours in Jesus Christ. The curse is broken through Jesus Christ. A similar truth is found near the end of the Book of Proverbs that is also good news to believers. This verse says:

Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
So
a curse without cause does not alight. Proverbs 26:2

This verse tells us that curses must have a cause. Wickedness has been revealed as a cause. Repentance from sin and faith in Christ will break any curse of sickness. The apostle Paul tells us of the liberating power of Christ’s sacrifice for us in the Book of Galatians. Paul writes:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"- - Galatians 3:13

Christ has dealt completely with the curse of the Law of Moses for everyone who believes. Now all that remains is to apply this truth to our lives by faith in Christ.

Christ’s Example and Teaching.
The fundamental truth that Christ reveals the Father’s will should be sufficient for anyone to dismiss his or her doubts. The Light of the world removes the shadows of doubt. Christ never sent anyone away with the explanation that their sickness or injury was doing them some mysterious good. Christ repeatedly healed all who were injured or sick within the multitudes that came to Him. There is no indication in Christ’s ministry that He believed that sickness or injury was doing anyone any good. He never demonstrated that the Father had a purpose in someone remaining sick or injured. The Divine Purpose Doubt has no basis in the New Testament. Christ continually reveals that the Father wants everyone saved, healed, and delivered.

The Example of Job.
When considering an Old Testament story such as Job, it is important to remember that the New Testament describes the Old Testament as
shadows
^[iv]
, while the New Testament reveals the Light of the World. It is important to come out of the shadows and investigate Christ Himself, the True Light, as revealing the will of the Father perfectly. The Old Testament will never reveal as much and as clearly as Christ Himself about the purpose of God. However, we will expend a small effort to consider Job because misinterpretation of his experience has been the cause of many doubts about the purpose of God.

Some have seen Job as an example of a righteous person who God made sick for a purpose. However, when the actual story is examined, we find that the devil made Job sick and God healed him. Often this story is presented as a reason for someone remaining
sick,
however Job did not remain sick. God healed him. If someone remains sick without divine healing, then Job cannot be used as an example for him or her. If someone dies without divine healing, they did not have a Job Experience because they were not healed.

Sometimes the logic is presented that if God allowed Job to be sick, then God must have wanted him sick. However, this is extremely bad logic and it conflicts with Scripture. God is allowing a multitude of evil, wicked, destructive things to go on in the world that are clearly not His will. However, Christ reveals the will of the Father in saving, healing and delivering people. It is the devil that kills, robs and destroys the lives of people not God. Let’s not be double-minded and confuse these simple biblical facts with complex, demonically inspired logic and shadowy theology that transforms the work of the devil into God’s work. Christ is saving, healing and delivering people. The devil is killing, robbing and destroying people. It is just that simple.

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh.
Often Paul’s thorn in the flesh is presented as a place in Scripture where God had a reason for someone remaining sick. However, when the actual verse found in 2 Corinthians 12:7 is examined, there is no reason to believe that Paul’s thorn was sickness. The verse says:

…because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me-to keep me from exalting myself!

Paul tells us that the thorn was given because of surpassing revelations that potentially could have caused him to exalt himself. Earlier in this passage, Paul told us that he visited the third heavens where he saw things that he could not express in words. Most believers would not qualify for a thorn in the flesh simply because they are not having surpassing revelations. Someone who believes that they are having a thorn in the flesh should be asked if they have visited the third heavens lately and if that experience is causing them to be proud!

Paul tells us the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. The Greek word that is translated messenger here is much more often transliterated as angel. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was an angel of Satan. His thorn was a fallen, satanic angel that buffeted him. To buffet means to strike with a fist
^[v]
. A fallen angel was striking Paul in some manner. Paul never says that the buffeting was sickness. One of the reasons for confusion on this issue is the King James word infirmity in this passage. Infirmity does not mean sickness. The actual Greek word means
weakness
in the sense of human
frailty
. The context of this verse never mentions sickness or injury but often discusses the difficulties that Paul had and how he suffered at the hands of his persecuting enemies. In light of this, a better interpretation of Paul’s thorn in the flesh is a fallen, satanic angel that stirred up persecution against Paul wherever he went.