Praying for Healing

Q. We usually pray like this:

• Please give me a good doctor with wisdom to heal me.
• Please give me a good doctor with wisdom to give me good medicine.
• Please give wisdom to the surgeon to do a good job in the operation.
• Please give me a good hospital to go to.
• Please let me be accepted into xxx hospital because it has good equipment.
• Please give me Dr. xx because he is the best in his field.

These all sound so arrogant, teaching God how to heal us. Please advise!

The examples you cited show that the person praying thinks he knows better and even dares to dictate to God what outcomes he wants. It is the opposite of “not as I will, but as You will.”

Let us review a few well-known cases in the Bible:

• 2 Kings 20:1-3 In those days, Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

All Hezekiah did was he asked God to remember that he had been faithful in following Him. There were no instructions for God.

• 2 Co 12:8-9 Concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Paul prayed to the Lord three times that the thorn in the flesh might be removed. He did not specify the means. The Lord did not grant him his request, yet Paul was content with whatever the Lord decided.

Many people in the Gospels come to the Lord for healing. Their petitions are limited to asking for mercy to be healed. No one dares to specify what method Jesus should use.

There is one case in the OT in which Naaman expected his healing to be done in a certain way, but God healed him differently:

• 2 Kings 5:10-11 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’

Naaman’s expectations did not matter. What mattered was that he followed Elisha’s instructions.

So, my advice is, “Let God be God.” Just ask in faith and leave the results to Him. He may heal you according to your faith, or, He may withhold healing to train you. There is no need for us to be in control. We never were.

Moses’ Blessings (Part 2 of 2)

(Continued)

4. Simeon had declined and was unworthy to receive a blessing. Let’s compare Simeon’s warrior’s headcount in Numbers 1 (the first generation) and 26 (the next generation):

	Tribe	Num 1	Num 26	+/-	%
1	Reuben	46,500	43,730	-2,770	-6.0%
2	Simeon	59,300	22,200	-37,100	-62.6%
3	Gad	45,650	40,500	-5,150	-11.3%
4	Judah	74,600	76,500	1,900	2.5%
5	Issachar	54,400	64,300	9,900	18.2%
6	Zebulun	57,400	60,500	3,100	5.4%
7	Ephraim	40,500	32,500	-8,000	-19.8%
8	Manasseh	32,200	52,700	20,500	63.7%
9	Benjamin	35,400	45,600	10,200	28.8%
10	Dan	62,700	64,400	1,700	2.7%
11	Asher	41,500	53,400	11,900	28.7%
12	Naphtali	53,400	45,400	-8,000	-15.0%
	Total	603,550	601,730	-1,820	-0.3%

Simeon had decreased by 63% from forty years ago and became the smallest and weakest tribe. Some linked this to Israel’s Baal worship at Shittim in Num 25, which made the Lord angry and punished the Israelites with a plague:

• Num 25:8b-9 So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000.
• Num 25:14 Now the name of the slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.

Zimri playing the harlot with the Midianite woman led to the plague, but that was not the sole cause of Simeon’s decline, as they dropped over forty years. All 24,000 who died by the plague were Israelites but only a portion was Simeonites. Idolatry was a factor but not the only reason for the omission of blessings.

5. The tribe of Simeon was not blessed by Moses because Simeon was cursed by his father Jacob:

Gen 49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

The curse was a result of Simeon’s and Levi’s violence and cruelty in their revenge for Shechem raping their sister Dinah:

• Gen 34:25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.
• Gen 34:27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city because they had defiled their sister.

Some objected to this explanation as Levi was also cursed by Jacob, yet Moses blessed the tribe. I believe Moses blessed the Levites because they repented:

• Ex 32:26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.
• Num 25:10-13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

During the golden calf and the sin of Peor incidents, it was the Levites who stood for the Lord. True, they were dispersed in Israel as they did not receive a land inheritance like the other tribes, only 48 cities scattered throughout Israel, but they redeemed themselves to serve God.

The Simeonites, in contrast, did nothing to show their repentance, hence their decline. Simeon received land only from Judah’s allotment, unlike the other tribes. Therefore I believe a combination of 4) and 5) above to be the best explanation for Moses omitting to bless Simeon.

Moses’ Blessings (Part 1 of 2)

Q. Why did Moses only bless ten tribes (Reuben, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin) before his death in Deut 33? Simeon and Issachar were left out.

A. Moses blessed eleven tribes in Deut 33:

1. Reuben v6,
2. Judah v7,
3. Levi v8-11,
4. Benjamin v12,
5. Joseph v13-17,
6. Zebulun v18-19,
7. Issachar v18-19,
8. Gad v20-21,
9. Dan v22,
10. Naphtali v23,
11. Asher v24-25.

V18-19 referred to Zebulun and Issachar together (notice “they” three times). Only Simeon is missing. Why? Several explanations have been proposed, some more satisfactory than others. I have listed the five most common ones over the years. The first three proposals suggest a positive solution that Moses did bless Simeon, but in an embedded form. The last two propose a negative reason why Simeon was omitted.

1. Simeon’s blessing was included in Judah’s, just as Simeon’s land was amid Judah’s:

Josh 19:1 Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was amid the inheritance of the sons of Judah.

Josh 19:9 The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance amid Judah’s inheritance.

While Simeon’s land was taken from Judah’s, that was explicitly stated. Here there was no mention, so I find this argument weak.

2. Simeon’s blessing was included in Levi’s. When you read Deut 33:8 and 10, they clearly relate to Levi:

Deut 33:8a Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man

Deut 33:10 They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

The Thummim and Urim were used by the high priest. Teaching the law, burning incense, and offering sacrifices were the work of priests, who are of the tribe of Levi. But when commentators come to Deut 33:11, they do not see any direct linkage to Levi. Accordingly, they suggested that v11 applies to Simeon, as Simeon and Levi were close brothers and often worked as a cohort. I find the supporting evidence weak.

3. Simeon’s blessing was included in Israel’s overall blessing in Deut 33:26-29, including:

God coming to her help v26,

God driving out her enemy v27,

Security and abundance v28

Saved by the Lord as her shield and sword v29.

Again this is an argument from silence and not convincing.

(To be continued)

God’s Fairness?

Q. Why does Ex 20:5 say, “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me”? Yet Ezk 18:20 says, “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father”?

A. Ex 20:5 is not the only verse on the subject:

• Ex 34:7b Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
• Num 14:18 The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.
• Deut 5:9 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Ex 20:5 follows and elaborates Ex 20:4, the Second Commandment prohibiting idolatry. It gives a stern warning on the severe consequences of sin as a deterrence.

For example, parents addicted to drugs, who have venereal diseases, who are abusive, often pass on the ill effects of their sins to their children. The third and the fourth generations mean the extended family unit. Basically, the sinner can see the devastating harm done to his descendants.

What this passage is not saying is, “God punishes the children for the parent’s sins.” Suffer the consequences? Yes. But personally responsible? No! God is just and will not punish offsprings who are innocent for the forefathers’ sins.

What Ezk 18:20 and parallel passages say is that the sinner will be personally responsible for his own sin:

• Deut 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.
• 2 Kgs 14:6 But the sons of the slayers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses. As the Lord commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

So, contrary to skeptics’ claims, the Bible does not contradict itself.

Future Judgment or Present Application?

Q. Is the teaching in Luke 19:26 “to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away” referring to the future when judgment happens? Does it apply in the present world?

A. The idea in Lk 19:26 is found in several passages in the Gospels:

• Mt 13:12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
• Mt 25:29 For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
• Mk 4:25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
• Lk 8:18 So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.

Whether it refers to future judgment or the present depends on the context. In Lk 19, Jesus told His disciples the parable of the ten minas because they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately (Lk 19:11b). So the context tells us that it refers to a future judgment. This also applies to Mt 25:29 in the parable of the talents. The passage follows the parable of ten virgins and precedes the judgment of sheep and goats, both of which refer to a future judgment.

However, for Mt 13, Mk 4, and Lk 8, the context is why Jesus taught in parables. He was explaining the principle behind exercise, habit, or usage. Those who show interest, are open, and are sensitive to spiritual truths will be given more and get more out of the parables. Those who are not keen will lose even the superficial knowledge they think they have. This is true in physical training. Muscles that are used become stronger;  muscles that are not used grow weaker. Others call this the principle of momentum, which works both positively and negatively. In all these cases, it applies in the present. So, interpret the passage in the light of the context.