Tag: Medicine

Lament as a Response to Suffering Part 5.

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like a mute man who does not open his mouth.

14 I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

                                                                                    Psalm 38:13–14

Last time we left David he was alone.  Friends and family were aloof and his enemies were circling and attacking.  Illness and sin disrupt our relationships with others and this adds to our affliction.  The verses we are examining tell of the cumulative effect of David’s suffering.  Is David referring to his illness, his sin or the effect of his social and spiritual isolation?  Commentators generally focus on the effect of the enemy attack.  I believe David’s Self-Description is more nuanced and reflects all aspects of his circumstances.  In these rich verses are lessons regarding how the Godly respond to suffering as demonstrated by how our Lord, Jesus’ comported himself during his trial and execution. 

We can examine this passage from the physical, spiritual, social and political perspectives:

The Physical Illness

As a physician I initially read these verses as being a manifestation of David’s illness rather than a response to persecution.  We all know that severe illness can affect the senses and render us very weak.  The sick person often does not hear, understand and respond as they would when healthy.  They may hear part of what they are told or misunderstand the content.  Questions may not be asked by them and they may claim to understand when in fact they did not.  It is important for family and/or a close friend to be with them and for the doctor to revisit the substance of the communication over and again. 

The faculties of hearing and speech are the focus of these parallel verses.  Hearing is the subject of the first lines of each verse whereas speech is the subject of the second.  In verse 10 we saw that David’s heart was throbbing, his strength was failing and the life in his eyes was dimming.  As we lay dying,  hearing is the last sense lost.  Patients who survive severe illness can attest that hearing was preserved when circulation, muscles and vision fail.  We are cautioned as healthcare workers to be careful of our speech around a patient who seems otherwise unresponsive.  Therefore, these verses depict a more severe state of ill health as loss of hearing precedes death.

Often, people who are very ill cannot speak coherently.  It may be because the mouth is parched, the muscles and breath are weak or the mind is impaired or confused.  David opens his mouth and nothing comes out.  The Lion of Judah can no longer roar, the King cannot give a command.  David cannot communicate with others.  Being like a deaf mute he is completely alone.  This is a state of utter weakness and vulnerability.  He is locked within himself unable to place upon his lips the prayer that is in his mind.  He cannot hear others, but God can hear him because God knows our thoughts.  His cries cannot be heard by others but God surely hears them. 

The Spiritual illness

The Hebrew word used in the two verses are different yet they are translated into the same English word: “hear.”  The Hebrew word in verse 13 is אֶשְׁמָ֑ע ( ̀ĕs̆-mă‘ʹ) and in verse 14 is שֹׁמֵ֑עַ (s̆ō-mē). They both come from the same Semitic root שׁמע (Shema).  Perhaps the most famous usage in Scripture comes from Deuteronomy 6:4 (repeated by Jesus in Mark 12:29) “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”  It is referred to as the “Shema” and is recited by observant Jews upon rising and going to sleep.  It posted on the doorways of the homes in a mezuza and are bound upon the forehead (as “frontlets” between the eyes) and upon their hand in tefillin. 

This one word is critical in our relationship to God.  The root encompasses not only the physical sense of hearing but also the faculty of understanding and obedience.  When you read “Hear, O Israel” or any command to “Hear” in Scripture it is generally better understood as “hear and obey.”  In general, when שׁמע appears without a preposition, physical hearing is meant.  The second line in a parallel Hebrew poetic construction serves to amplify and expand the meaning of the first line.  Perhaps David’s loss of his sense of hearing in verse 13 is expanded in verse 14 into spiritual deafness.  David is not only unable to hear but to properly respond. 

As an illustration, the Hebrew word in verse 14 (שֹׁמֵ֑עַ; s̆ō-mē) is translated with the English word “obey” in Deuteronomy 21:18.

 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst,” (Dt 21:18–21).

Not hearing and obeying one’s parents (rebellion) is serious enough to deserve the death penalty.  This infraction was a microcosm of the rebellion of the child, Israel.  The people were commanded to hear and obey but rebelled instead.  With this background we can begin to understand the spiritual depth of David being like a deaf man.  David has sinned and therefore rebelled against God.  He failed to שֹׁמֵ֑עַ his Lord.  Is now David too far gone to hear and obey God?  Is he to be reprobated in a state of sin and rebellion, cast off forever?   

The sinner cannot hear, understand or obey God’s voice.  They are deaf and lack understanding. Their hearts are corrupt and desire is for sin and not what is good.  Until God regenerates the heart we are dead, like the dry bones in Ezekiel.  Only God can make us alive.  As one Hebrew scholar puts it:

“Hearing is critical for the interaction between God and human beings; the medium through which God makes his will known among his people (in commandments or mediated by the prophets) is the audible word. Interruption of this communication has consequences: Israel’s refusal to hear served as grounds for the punishment of the exile. Conversely, Dt. 4:28 and Ps. 115:4–7 heap scorn on a god who cannot hear human beings. To exaggerate the point: one who cannot hear does not exist; one who can no longer hear, no longer communicate, is doomed.”[1]

The second set of parallel verses concerning speech complete the message.  David cannot use his voice because of weakness.  Therefore, as a King he cannot give commands nor rebuke those who are in the wrong.  As a man of God he cannot witness to sinners by pointing out and rebuking their sins.  He is a sinner under the hand of God.  In all appearances David is the one being rebuked!  Sin destroys our witness unless we receive God’s forgiveness and are restored.  Then, and only then, may we call upon other sinners and tell of God’s amazing grace. 

What use is David to God now?  He is as good as dead.  He can bring nothing and offer nothing.  Yet David is displaying great faith.  As Calvin points out David waits silently before the Lord.  In this David is demonstrating his own patience and confidence that YHWH will forgive and vindicate him.  Few of us can do this.  Like all things, the capacity to suffer in such a way is a gift just like our faith is a gift. 

The Social Isolation

We have seen how David was socially isolated as friends and family held aloof.  David’s “deafness” and being “mute” create a vicious cycle of further isolation.  As David becomes weaker he cannot fully engage with the few visitors he may have.   Words may not impress him and his needs are not articulated.  Being removed from society also isolates David from the information one gets through normal social intercourse.  In short David is “out of touch.” 

People who are ill, shut in and alone withdraw.  They become depressed, do not take good care of themselves and even develop cognitive decline due to lack of stimulation.  They are unable to come to God’s house and worship with the church family, hear the word of God, partake of the Lord’s Supper and pray with others.  Simple human company, kind words, a warm touch and an attentive ear are a balm to the shut in.  This is why the ministry of home visitation is so important.  Sharing God’s word, praying and fellowship need not be confined to the church building.  We must minister to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our brethren.  

The Political Oppression

Most commentators interpret these verses in relationship to verse 11.  Calvin views David’s condition here as the consequence of his enemies piling on accusations and attacks, generally falsehoods.  David is guilty of sin but men are not gracious like God.  Evildoers are not content with justice but want revenge and destruction.  Under the weight of it all David is simply crushed and chooses to shut them out and not rebuke them.  John Calvin writes:

“It is indeed certain, that if David had obtained a hearing, he would have been ready to defend his own innocence; but perceiving that it availed him nothing, nay, that he was shut out and debarred from all defense of his cause, he humbly submitted, waiting patiently for the heavenly Judge. He therefore says that he held his peace, as if he had already been convicted and struck dumb.”[2]

Allen Ross notes the contrast between David’s silence and the “busy tongues” of his accusers.[3]  David cannot look to men for deliverance.  He looks only to the Lord for vindication.  

Our Lord’s Silence in Suffering

In this way David is like our Lord, Jesus, during his trial and crucifixion. As Charles Spurgeon put it:

“David was eminently typical of our Lord Jesus, whose marvelous silence before Pilate was far more eloquent than words. To abstain from self-defense is often most difficult, and frequently most wise.”[4]

David’s experience and response points to Jesus.  Isaiah, much later, prophesies:  

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

                                                                                    Isaiah 53:7

When we read about the lives of the martyrs we often see amazing strength and peace during their suffering.  This is not something one can drum up from within, from our own strength.  It is a gift of grace and like all God’s gifts it is freely bestowed upon whom he chooses.  For when any Christian is under trial, oppression, or affliction so is our Lord.  When Saul was on the road to Damascus, Jesus said that he was persecuting not only the Church but the Lord himself.  Jesus told the disciples “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20). Know that he is with you in your suffering.

We are to be imitators of Jesus in our affliction.  We are not to seek out suffering but understand that suffering is part of our calling as Christ’s people.  We are in union with Christ.  As such we share in his suffering and in his vindication, we share in his death and in his resurrection.  Believers can not only have peace during affliction but even rejoice.  It is through affliction we are made meet for heaven, refined in the furnace as pure gold.  As Paul wrote:

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Ro 5:3–5).

Application

It may seem as if we are getting two pictures of David in affliction.  Earlier, he was roaring and moaning and not he is patient and quiet.  So which is the Godly way?  It would be wrong to chastise a suffering brother or sister for articulating their pain even in repeated moans and groans.  Such suffering is not a sign that a Christian has been abandoned but that he or she is loved by God.  Being refined in fire, undergoing divine “surgery” (or whatever analogy you like) is not painless.  It hurts.  It is part of our sanctification as we walk with the Lord.  He takes away many things our flesh desires because he knows that are bad for us.  

In the furnace of refinement David has learned suffering, patience and to trust God.  Saintly silence during suffering and tragedy is not stoicism but the meeting of faith and grace.  The pain is real, and so is our Lord’s presence.  We receive this gift by remaining in the Word, in prayer, and in communion with our Lord.  We cease looking inward and sideways and fix our eyes upon Christ and heaven.  

Therefore, the Godly way is growing in Christ and moving through lament to patience and hope.  

Our most gracious Father.  You hear our cries and know our suffering.  Give us the strength to endure, the patience to rest in your grace, and a heart to receive your love.  Though it is just for a season, it seems to us a long time.  Grant us the privilege and ability to serve you, especially in our affliction, that in all we say and do we glorify you and be thy instruments of bringing your Gospel to others that they may be saved and comforted.      

[1] U. Rüterswörden, “שָׁמַע,” ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006), 258.

[2] Calvin, John. Commentary on the Psalms.  Ps. 38.

[3] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 832.

[4] C. H. Spurgeon, Psalms, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 156.

Lament as Response to Suffering Part 2.

 For your arrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has come down on me.

                                                                                    Psalm 38:2

In Part 1 we saw how a distressed David knew whom to call upon.   He called unto YHWH, a living person, our Lord and God.  For David knew YHWH was the creator of all and it is YHWH’s providence that guides the lives of people and the history of nations.  We also learned that David was not calling upon YHWH to withhold correctional chastisement and rebuke.  David asked YHWH not to this in His penal divine wrath and anger.  David is a beloved son in relationship with the Father who cares.

The next verse reveals the source of David’s suffering.  The poetic image is of YHWH as an archer shooting arrows of affliction into David.  YHWH’s hand, an anthropomorphism for YHWH’s acting, is pressing down upon David.  The picture is one of being stricken or crushed.  When David says: “your arrows” and “your hand” he is also acknowledging the personal and purposeful nature of this action.  David cried out to YHWH for help because it is YHWH who is responsible for the illness. Therefore, it is YHWH who can provide relief.

Such imagery is known elsewhere in Scripture and in the ancient world. Homer, in the Iliad, describes the god Apollo using his arrows to bring pestilence upon the Achaeans because he is displeased over King Agamemnon’s actions concerning a captured woman, Chryseis.  Lamentations 4:12-13 describe God as a bowman attacking Jerusalem as punishment for sin:

he bent his bow and set me

as a target for his arrow.

He drove into my kidneys

the arrows of his quiver;

God punished the people for numerous and repeated intergenerational sins including idolatry, disobedience and covenantal apostasy. He raised up and sent foreign armies to destroy and conquer Israel and then Judah.  In Lamentations, Jerusalem is depicted as a person.  The kidneys (bowels) are the seat of emotion (suffering) in ancient thinking. The arrows cause physical, emotional and spiritual pain.  It is not just the illness but the fracture in the relationship between God and His people.   

David’s understanding is not a mere appropriation of the beliefs and literature of the surrounding ancient culture.  Although the pagans did not know the Lord and wrongly attributed such things to false gods, they did understand that there was someone who was above mankind and who ruled over men and creation.  The pagan “relationship” with their gods was mostly impersonal and material.  Therefore, they sought to appease these capricious entities with gifts and not true repentance.  The goal was to win favor and not an intimate and reciprocal loving relationship.

Today, many look down upon the ancient world as primitive and superstitious.  They lump the Bible together with other ancient pagan beliefs.  They argue that either there is no God or if such a god exists, he or she would not behave in the manner of YHWH.  They are offended that YHWH punishes sin, brings disaster and suffering.    

Many Enlightenment thinkers continued to believe in the Lord and saw no paradox between their faith and reason.  Others saw human reason and science to be incompatible with a belief in the Lord.  They held that one must choose between the two and those who chose God were irrational and/or ignorant. 

There is no logical contradiction between what we learn from studying our world and the existence of the God of Scripture.  As we have seen earlier, science is descriptive whereas our faith informs us about origins, ultimate causes, and purposes.  The latter are beyond the reach of the scientific method. 

During the Enlightenment, many thinkers who wholly embraced this worldview, yet clung to some belief in God, tried to reconcile the two in Deism.  Deism is a belief that a god created the universe and set it in motion but is not involved in its affairs.  It rejects divine intervention (miracles), divine providence, prophecy, and the divine purpose behind every jot and tittle of human and natural history.   The deist’s god is likened to a watchmaker who makes a watch, winds it up and lets it run by design without any further involvement. 

Thomas Jefferson, a founding father and deist, went so far as to cut out the passages of scripture he believed to be false based upon his “enlightened” understanding.  He pasted together the remaining passages to create “The Jefferson Bible.”  What Jefferson did was no different than what pagans have done through the ages.  As Paul describes in Romans 1:18-23, he failed to perceive the Lord in what was before him in nature.  In doing so he exchanged the truth for a lie.  Such men create a god in their own image.  It is idolatry.

Those who rejected the Lord and argued for others to do the same, simply found new pretexts for their atheism.  As Paul concludes “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  And what has been the result?  Scientists who reject the Scriptural account of creation argue that everything we see originated in “a big bang.” They have no firm explanation of what (or who) caused the “bang” or where the substance that “banged” came from in the first place.  They describe things that seem to flip in and out of existence and speculate as to the origin of matter and energy without accepting the most obvious solution that these things periodically escape our limited ability to detect and model. 

Many of the models describing natural phenomena are statistical.  Rather than understand that these statistical models reflect our inability to precisely describe what we are investigating; a belief has arisen that what we see around us has happened because of chance.  Is the entire universe as we know it is a product of chance?  The human eye in all its beauty and complexity, is a product of chance and evolutionary selection despite the infinitesimally small calculated odds?  Disease is often said to be “caused” by chance – a random mutation, infection or other event affects some and not others. 

But as R. C. Sproul argues in his monograph, Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason, chance cannot be a cause.  For something to cause something else, it must have the properties of being or esse.  In order to make an effect, chance must have ουσια (ousia; substance, property).  When the scribes and elders asked Jesus “by what authority are you doing these things…” (Mark 11:33; Mt 21:24; Luke 20:8) they used the Greek word εξουσια (exousia; lit. out of being).  They wanted to know who or what authoritative body granted Jesus permission.  Chance is a statistical description of things and is not a thing itself. Lacking substance or property, chance cannot do anything.  Therefore, ascribing any effect to chance as a cause is irrational.  That is how “far” we have come.

The current worldview, descended from the Enlightenment, differs only in incidentals from ancient paganism. As Paul wrote “they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).  Notice that their hearts were darkened implying it happened to them.  Further, although they claim to be the wise ones, they are fools (Romans 1:23).  We learn the source of this blinding and hardening when the Apostle explains twice that “God gave them up” to their impure lusts and dishonorable passions (Romans 1:24, 26). 

The reason God gave them up is “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).  This led to a multitude of evils and sins that mirror today’s Western society (Romans 1:23-32). 

Instead of worshiping idols of wood and stone we place our trust in our philosophy, science and reason.  As a result, our hopes lay in our capacity to understand creation and then develop the means of fixing what we deem wrong. Never mind that we are constantly falling short and then revising yesterday’s dogma. 

It is recognized that man is, by nature, a religious creature.  You would be hard pressed to find a place where some form of religious beliefs and practices are absent.  Ancient pagans worshipped nonexistent deities and believed in muses.  Animism is a term used to describe the belief that objects such as plants, rocks and natural phenomena have living souls or spirits that affect man and his surroundings. 

Even today, modern man yearns for some “spirituality.”  Many atheists speak about spiritual things abstractly and without firm grounding.  The so called “new age” movements are quite diverse but have in common some “mind, body and spirit” concept devoid of a personal deity.  They promote wellness and healing through techniques such as meditation, biofeedback, yoga, kinesiology and so forth.  Some draw upon practices found in Astrology, Hinduism, Buddhism and other eastern religions.  They are offered as alternatives to traditional allopathic medicine. 

Is it more rational to believe in the power of these nebulous abstract forces than to believe in a personal deity who cares for and is involved in our lives?  New Age practitioners are no more able to demonstrate the ουσια or esse of these things than the substance of chance.  At least idols of wood and stone have properties – you can touch and hold them.  New Age consists of abstract ideas without form much less life or true spirit.  They cannot cause anything as they are not beings.

Clearly allopathic medicine has objective benefits as do some aspects of alternative medical practices.  Yoga and Tai Chi are very helpful for physical fitness, strength and balance. When linked to eastern religious practices and beliefs they become idolatrous worship harmful for the soul of man. What we have in allopathic medicine is provided by God in the same way he provides for our welfare through all our learning and technology.  It is a gift, part of His creation. Our minds, creative power and spirit were made in His image.  Just as his “eternal power and divine nature” is made manifest in the heavens and earth (Romans 1:20), they are clearly seen in our creative power which points to the Lord.  Or do we create everything because of chance? 

We are to take advantage of the things God has given us. We are to use allopathic medicine and other resources to do good, to heal and ease human suffering.  We are to call others to help us when we are sick.  Just as God appointed earthly authorities to rule, provide order, protection and services, he brings doctors, nurses and others into our lives for ordinary healing.   

Yet we must always remember that the source of our affliction is either by the hand of God or permitted by God.  It is He who hears our cries and laments.  It is He who answers our prayers through appointed means.  It is why we praise God in sickness and in health.  For it is He who ultimately has the power and authority.  Therefore, it is He we must turn to for healing. 

Next we will explore the nature and ultimate cause of our illness as we continue to lament with David. 

Lament as Response to Suffering Part 1.

 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

                                                                         Ps 38:1

We had previously explored how suffering, specifically disease, has both a scientific and moral explanation.  These explanations are not logically contradictory much less mutually exclusive.  We learned that death and suffering exist because of evil and sin.  Creation was corrupted by our first parent’s disobedience and rebellion.  It is hard for us to accept a non-quid pro quo cause of suffering unless we understand the true power and evil of sin.  The depth of it is experienced in personal and corporate travails.  We come to appreciate the gravity of the transgression when we look to the Cross and see the proportionate punishment. 

How do we respond to such tragedy?  Abstract philosophical and theological exercises help instruct us but bring little comfort much less healing.  The Scriptural answer is the lament.  Laments can be individual or communal.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines lament as “a passionate expression of grief.” Biblical lament is more than just raw emotion.  It is a prayerful process wherein we turn to God with that grief and expect a response.  This most ancient and divinely prescribed way of grieving has much to offer us in this high-tech world.

Laments generally consist of five basic parts:[1]

  1. Address and cry for help.
  2. The lament – a description and expression of suffering.
  3. Statement of faith and trust.
  4. Petition for intervention and relief.
  5. Doxology – praise and often a vow.

There is sometimes a confession of sin and petition for forgiveness based upon God’s covenantal promises.  Not all laments have every feature, but they do have in common the basic cry for help, petition for intervention and statement of trust.  Exploring Biblical lament helps us understand how we seek help in our covenantal relationship with God.  It is through our praying laments that our Lord helps us.  We can use the liturgical laments available in scripture or compose our own.

Psalm 38 is attributed to David and the superscription notes that it is for the memorial offering.  The memorial offering was a burnt offering of grain done in remembrance of what God had done and to show thanksgiving, praise, and devotion (Lev. 2:1-3).  It was probably sung during on these occasions. 

Notice that David addresses God by his personal, covenantal name, YHWH.  This speaks of a relationship between persons and not some vague cry to an impersonal entity.  David cries out to someone he knows, is alive, empathetic and willing to respond.  YHWH knows David as the creator who “formed my inward parts” and “knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps. 139:13).  That knowledge includes an understanding human anguish.  Incarnate God wept when he saw the pain surrounding the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35).  The writer of Hebrews can proclaim: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). 

God is our loving father who has the authority and power to answer our petitions.  His covenantal love consists of promises to that effect; promises we can claim and depend upon.  The delivery of Israel from the bondage in Egypt points toward a far greater deliverance of his children from death and corruption.  The Exodus was a fulfillment of God’s covenant just like his promise to hear and answer prayer. 

We need never fear, for God is always with us (Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:9; Is. 41:10; Mt 28:20; and Heb. 13:5).  So sure is God’s presence and faithfulness that Paul writes “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro. 8:38-9).

YHWH is our father who judges and corrects, therefore: “Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you” (Deut. 8:5).  We should neither despise nor grow weary of this discipline (Prov. 3:11).  Chastisement leads the faithful away from sin and death (Prov. 5:23; 15:10; 1 Cor. 11:32).  God’s discipline is both loving and beneficial (Heb. 12:6-10) and is of “just measure” (Je. 48:28). 

David is crying unto God not to rebuke him in anger nor discipline him in wrath.  The Lord’s anger and wrath are penal and not necessarily corrective.  David is not asking YHWH to withhold fatherly chastisement.  Allen Ross phrases it “do not in your anger rebuke me” and “do not in your wrath chasten me.”  Here, God’s anger and wrath are the concern and not simply a rebuke or discipline.  David calls upon YHWH’s covenantal promises that include loving chastisement with the goal of repentance and forgiveness.  For David knows YHWH’s mercy as he proclaimed: “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man” (2 Sam. 24:14).

God’s wrath is poured out upon those who reject him and remain unrepentant.  They have rejected God’s mercy and grace.  They are punished without hope.  They do not cry out in lament but cry out in anger and “gnashing of teeth” (Ps. 112:10; Mt. 8:12).  They will not be heard for they broke covenant with God.  Jonathan Edwards preached that the only thing standing between such people and the pit of hell is God’s long-suffering patience.  The opportunity for repentance will pass and that time may be sudden. 

Who do you cry unto?  Do you know the Lord?  Is he your father?  Is he your hope and comfort?  Who can deliver you?  Medicine or an operation my help today but you will face deaths door with certainty.  What lay on the other side for you?  Is it wrath or love?  This is what our Lord is teaching you through trials such as illness.  To know him, trust him and love him is to be able to say with Paul: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).  Though ill and suffering, in life or death, Paul served and honored Christ knowing he will be with the Lord. 

Therefore, in illness and suffering the first thing is to take stock of your relationship with God.  Only children can cry to their father.  Are you a child or a stranger and enemy?  God asks that you bring nothing but your sin to him.  He provides all else including the faith and strength you need.  It is all of grace, a free and undeserved gift.  Repent and trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Enter the rest of the Father.  For then, he will surely hear your cry (Ex. 22:23).

Next we will look at how David, a man after God’s own heart, seeks the Father. 

[1] Hays, J.D. & Duvall, J.S. eds., 2011. The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books

The Theodicy of Disease

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3

The disciples’ question may seem odd in the 21st century.  Modern science has uncovered the various mechanisms by which we become ill.  Whether it is an infectious agent, a genetic mutation, the consequence of behavior, or from injury, we have accepted a pathophysiological understanding of disease.  Illness as a moral failing, divine retribution, or consequence of sin has been rejected by secular thinkers.  If anyone were to suggest that disease has its origin in sin they would be dismissed as superstitious, medieval, bigoted or mad.

Science is by nature descriptive.  Its methods do not address morality.  It can answer “how” but not the great philosophical “why.”  Science cannot tell you the great purpose behind such things though it can, in detail, describe the various chain of events by which the thing has come about.  Without a moral answer, science leaves patients as victims of an impersonal chain of causes and effects which serve no clear purpose and cause great suffering even unto death. 

We long to know why.  How often have we asked, “why me?” or ‘why she?”  When we ask “why” in the setting of great tragedy we are not content with mere scientific description but desire knowledge and wisdom that brings purpose, context and comfort.  It is for this we must look beyond science, even human understanding, for answers. 

Are the scientific theories of disease incompatible with the Biblical understanding?  Must we choose one or the other?  Does the one exclude all moral agency and responsibility or the other preclude using human knowledge to effect moral good as part of God’s Providence?

Notice the disciples are not asking Jesus if this man’s illness is due to divine retribution but whose sin was the cause of his illness.  The disciples clearly believe that illness (as well as other disasters such as war, drought and famine) are the result of punishment for sins committed by the victims and/or their ancestors.  The disciples lived in world where it was understood that tragedy, such as illness, was linked to human wrongdoing.  This view was prominent in Western culture until the 18th century Enlightenment.

Clearly there are numerous examples of God bringing disease and pestilence upon individuals and peoples.  Witness the account of the ten plagues in Exodus including the smiting of the first born.  The Lord punished Israel with pestilence after inciting David to number the people (2-Sam 24).  God afflicted the child David conceived in adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:14–15).  When God revealed his Name to Israel he said “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6). In the NT, an angel of the Lord struck down Herod the tetrarch (Acts 12:23).

At the same time the Book of Job rejects a quid pro quo analysis of every specific sin and tragedy.  Therefore, it is perilous to attribute a specific ailment or tragedy to a person’s specific sin.  Scripture clearly states when God is punishing a person or group for their sins.  Further, God sends warnings through His prophets that they may repent.  For us to state that a city, group or individual suffers under specific divine wrath for specific sins is to presume upon God’s will and assume knowledge that may be hidden within the divine council.   

We are taught in Scripture that illness and death are the result of the Fall.  Paul writes as part of his discussion on Law and Grace: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).  This is not to deny that there are consequences of specific behaviors.  Smoking leads to cancer, obesity to diabetes and sexual promiscuity to sexually transmitted diseases.  These relationships are part of how our world is after the Fall.  They are epidemiologic and pathophysiologic processes that find their “how” in science and their ontological “why” in sin.  Therefore, we can rightly state that a drunkard who develops liver failure is a sinner who suffers the consequences of their drinking.

Many diseases are not that straightforward.  For example, say a child suffers from a disease caused by a rare genetic mutation and science teaches us that this mutation happened because of genetic recombination which normally produces variations resulting in humans who are different and unique.  In this case, the recombination process generated genes that cause suffering and perhaps death.  Scripture teaches that all people are sinners, at the very least born into sin as children of Adam.  Yet science cannot explain how sin gives rise to such an illness.  Who sinned, the child or the parents that he was born with this disease? 

Jesus does not deny that the blind man or his parents sinned.  Nor does he deny that their sins deserve punishment.  Rather, Jesus reveals a third answer.  The reason this man was born blind is that God would reveal himself through a miraculous healing and not only display His power but give authentication to Jesus as the Messiah.  There are times and places where God performs works to authenticate his word and the messenger who brings that word.  God uses evil to effect good.  He permits evil for purposes that are most often too high for us to fathom.  Suffering here may lead to salvation there.

This man’s malady has become the subject by which God brings a message of salvation to those who were present. In this way, the man’s blindness was used by God to bring this message to countless others through the witnessed account recorded by the Apostle John.    

The word translated as “works,” ἔργα (erga) is from the root word εργον (ergon).  We derive our English word ergonomics from this Greek root.  When used of God, ergon refers to His creative and redemptive acts that flow from His covenantal faithfulness/loving-kindness (חֶסֶד, hesed) and His covenantal love, אַהֲבָה (‘ahabah).  God’s hesed was manifested by his mighty acts of salvation for Israel.  In the New Testament, such acts are understood to arise from God’s Love, ἁγαπή (ag-ah-pey).  

Here faithfulness and love are not separate from act.  The tragedy of illness is used by God to do a great good and to point to the greatest good, Himself.  God is not the author of confusion (1-Cor 14:33) nor does he tempt us with evil (James 1:13).  Rather God created what was good (Genesis 1:31) and evil befell the world when man sinned (Genesis 3:14-24; Romans 5:12).  Paul writes “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:22).  We, who believe, also groan as we await God’s new creation free of evil, corruption and suffering.  This is our true hope, our faith in Christ, for he is our hope (1-Tim 1:1) as we surely share in his resurrection. 

God created us as moral agents who experience the consequences, reward or punishment, of our actions.  God’s justice, righteousness and holiness cannot abide sin and demand its punishment.  God’s grace, mercy, love and kindness call for forgiveness of transgressions.  It is at the Cross where these are perfectly satisfied as Christ bore our sins and the punishment they deserved whilst his righteousness is imputed to those who trust in him.

God has a grand purpose for the salvation of man and the creation of a new heavens and earth for us to live in eternal fellowship.  This includes the resurrection of the perfect spiritual body into a new world that knows no sin and decay.  It is better than Eden where man was tempted and fell.  There will be no temptation in the new creation, and we will not ever fall.  Those who believe will live in security and harmonious bliss.  Yet until that time we wait patiently, wondering “how long,” and praying for the grace we need to persevere. 

We also are God’s chosen instruments to display that grace and to bring the Gospel to others.  This is often done in suffering.  For we are commanded to suffer with our Savior and take up our cross (Lk 9:13, 14:27; Mt 10:38, 16:24; Mk 8:34).  When we suffer, we do so for Christ’s name’s sake (Acts 9:16, Phil 1:29).  We are to do so gladly (1-Peter 1:6) knowing who is with us and sustains us (Ro 5:3) and that it is for just a season (1-Peter 5:10; 2-Cor 4:17).

The Cross is the answer to theodicy (lit. God-justice) wherein God is vindicated for his tolerance of evil.  It is in this context that we suffer illness, tragedy and death.  It is in this hope that we suffer with an eye to the future and with love for those God reaches through us.  We suffer for God and others as Christ suffered for us. Our suffering is always just, and our redemption is a free gift of grace.  Those who refuse the gift by rejecting Christ are without this hope.  These are hard truths. 

Scripture gives us instruction how to persevere in such trials.  It is found in the laments and is grounded in our knowledge that comes through faith. It is effected by the Holy Spirit through God’s Holy Word and with the love and support of the church.   We do not suffer alone.  Therefore, when we suffer, we cry out i to the Lord and seek is face.  When we see others suffering, we come to their aid and comfort them.  In all these things we glorify God and praise Him for what he has and will do.