Willmington's Guide to the Bible by Willmington H. L

Author:Willmington, H. L
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bible
ISBN: 0842388117
Publisher: Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers
Published: 1981-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

~ HEBREWS —

would not be a cure in all sicknesses in general. Further, James does not say in v. 15 that the oil will cure the sick or even that the oil plus the prayer will make him well. Specifically, he does say that 'the prayer of faith shall save the sick/ and makes no claim for the oil. It is not the oil, but the Lord who 'shall raise him up.' It is more adequate to say that the anointing is for the purpose of symbolizing tangibly the setting apart of the man to the miraculous healing work of God. It would be an aid to his faith by prompting a sense of expectancy. Christ Himself applied saliva to men at times evidently to symbolize, by physical contact, the healing that God would effect (Mk. 7:33; 8:23). There is Old Testament support for the idea that the anointing could signify the setting apart of the man to God for His will and operation. There are numerous applications of oil, not to cure but to set apart or identify things or persons with God in some sense. Jacob anointed the stone at Bethel to identify it as symbolizing the 'house of God' in which he had been a guest (Gen. 28:18; 31:13). When he poured oil upon it, it was not to make it well! It was a ceremonial custom later to anoint priests (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12), prophets (1 Ki. 19:16), and kings (1 Sam. 10:1; 1 Ki. 19:15). This was to symbolize that they were set apart to and identified with God for His will. When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, they 'anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.'" (Mk. 6:13) (pp. 171, 172)

B. Will all sick people be automatically healed by this action? To rephrase the question: Is it ever God's will for believers to experience prolonged illness? It is sometimes not God's will to heal sick Christians! Suffering, if rightly understood and endured by the believer, can bring about the glory of God. (See Ex. 4:11; 1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4:20; 2 Cor. 12:1-10; Jn. 9:1-3.) Sometimes, of course, sickness is a penalty for sin (see Jn. 5:14).

C. What is involved in the confession of 5:16? James says we are to confess our faults one to another! As we have already noted, there are times when unconfessed sin does bring suffering. James may have reference to this very thing here at this point. If a sick believer had wronged another Christian in the church, he was now encouraged to confess this, that God might be able to bless him both spiritually and physically.

James then says: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (5:16). The "righteous man" spoken of here may refer either to the elder who prays for the sick believer, or the believer himself who, having been restored to fellowship through confession, can now pray

effectively. James mentions Elijah as an Old Testament example of effective prayer (5:17; cf.

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