July 5
Sin’s Relationship to Sickness
And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:13-14).
For years I have known of so many who have blamed God for sickness. This has made some very bitter towards God and others simply accept it as God’s will for their lives without any attempt to seek His relief. I have often been saddened by God getting blamed for the results of sin, be it our personal sin or someone else’s.
Before going any further, we are quick to point out that not all people are sick due to personal sin. A baby born with AIDS due to promiscuous parents is not at fault nor is any person who has been crippled due to the negligent behavior of another. Nonetheless, we cannot dismiss the truth that there is a clear relationship between sickness and sin. For the most part, we are reluctant to admit that much of the sickness suffered by so many may have its roots in sin and this is why they remain sick.
Jesus is very clear in his statement to this man that his sickness was the result of sin. He warned him that if he used his new found health to engage in sin again that the consequences will be worse than before. Jesus, in His warning, made a very solid connection between sin and its harmful results.
When we sin we risk opening the door to so much pain and hurt in our lives. God’s prohibition against sin is not so much an attempt to set up boundaries as it is to set up safeguards that will protect us from sin’s unmerciful judgments upon us. Sin entices us to selfishly pleasure ourselves and then repays us with sickness and other tragedies.
Jesus’ healing ministry both then and now is given to undo the results of sin upon our lives. Here we have rebelled against God’s righteous laws, disrespected Him, separated ourselves from Him, placed ourselves in Satan’s territory and reaped the results. Yet God still reaches out and completely heals the sick one despite what brought sickness in the first place. Truly there is no love that compares to this and there is no god of any religion who loves so unconditionally as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not tell this man, “You made your own bed, now lie in it.” Instead, He displays divine love through healing and warning to stay away from the cause of worse sickness.
July 12
Did God Create the Earth Chaotic and Ruined?
Created by the Elohim were the heavens and the earth. Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos. Yet the spirit of the Elohim is vibrating over the surface of the water. (Concordant Literal Translation - Emphasis are mine)
The phrase “without form, and void” in the traditional King James Version comes from a Hebrew phrase, “tohu va bohu”. The phrase actually indicates a ruin and an empty wilderness. Another English translation reads, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, the earth, had become waste and wild, and darkness, was on the face of the roaring deep,—but, the Spirit of God, was brooding on the face of the waters” (Rotherham Emphasized Bible - Emphasis are mine)
The late German theologian, Johann August Dathe, believed the passage should read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, but afterwards the earth became waste and desolate. Another late Bible scholar named Arthur Custance translates Genesis 1:1-2 as following: “IN A FORMER STATE GOD PERFECTED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. BUT THE EARTH HAD BECOME A RUIN AND A DESOLATION, AND THE DARKNESS OF JUDGMENT WAS UPON THE FACE OF IT.”
Did God, who made everything beautiful and whose work is perfect (Deut. 32:4) create the earth into a chaotic mess? According to Isaiah the answer is an emphatic “NO!”
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else (Isaiah 45:18)
The same Hebrew phrase, "tohu va bohu" used in Genesis 1:2 is found in the above passage. Why would God say that He did not create the earth as a “tohu wa Bohu” here in Isaiah but many claim that in Genesis 1:2 that is exactly what He did? God does not create anything chaotic or ruined. To do such is simply not consistent with His character. The earth was not created in the way that it is described in verse Genesis 1:2 but it became that way due to the fall of Lucifer (now known as “Satan”).