As I reflected on the ongoing controversy surrounding the COVID19 vaccine this week, I was drawn to a short narrative set in the book of Numbers. In Numbers 20: 4-9 the children of Israel were once again at their normal antics of grumbling and complaining against God and against His servant, Moses. The Bible says that God sent poisonous snakes among the people and many died. Even God has His limits on an ungrateful group of people.
After the people confessed their sins, they asked Moses to pray and intercede for them, which he did readily. God then told Moses to make a copper snake and put it on a pole. Whoever was bitten and looked at the snake on the pole would live. Now this is a very unusual method of healing. Why would God take a snake which is symbolically evil and historically pagan and use it to heal? Why would God use the very instrument that caused death (the poisonous snakes) and the instrument of His judgement to then offer healing to His people?
Well, the truth is that we can't put God in a box. He can use whatever means He wants to in order to accomplish His purposes. God often has unusual methods.
God used His prophet to tell a ruler with leprosy to wash in the dirty Jordan water seven times for his healing (2 Kings 5:9)
Jesus put his fingers into a man's ears then spit and touched the man's tongue to heal him (Mark 7:33)
Jesus spit on the ground, mixed it with mud and applied it to a man's eyes so he could see (John 9:6)
God caused great hailstones to rain down on the Amorites during battle, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the sword (Joshua 10:11)
These are just a few of God's uncommon methods. There are numerous examples of God's unusual ways in the Bible. Don't put God in a box. He's SOVEREIGN. HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS TO, WHEN HE WANTS TO, HOW HE WANTS TO, AND THROUGH WHOMEVER HE WANTS TO. Ironically the snake(s) on the pole is incorporated into the symbol for the medical profession - a profession of healing. Perhaps God is using the vaccine to lessen the symptoms of the virus, but in our arrogance, rebellion, pride, and disunity we can't see due to the chaos surrounding it. If God uses medicines to allow people to live with transplanted organs, why can't He use a vaccine to allow others to live. It's definitely something we need to consider before we start throwing stones at each other.
Having a relationship with the Master Physician compels one to believe in divine healing. Likewise, knowing God gives us wisdom to see how He uses the hands of His creation to provide medical care, and the minds of His creation to come up with vaccines and cures to relieve the suffering of people. For believers, God's protection is available for whichever choice we make. It's the consequences of those choices, however that may be different.
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