Which is God more interested in, our spiritual lives or our physical beings?
Easy, right? Spiritual life is more important because it’s eternal. But in the law, God actually marries the two. Look at Exodus 23:25-26:
You shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
God is telling the people of Israel that their spiritual lives would have direct bearing on the quality of their present physical lives. If they served Him and not other gods, Israel would have plenty of food and drink, be free from sickness, have all the children they wanted, and enjoy long lives. As a result, the nation’s population would grow in a sustainable manner, which would further advance their peace and cement their security. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to get with that program?
Does it surprise you that, as the giving of the law was coming to a close, God would promise His people they could have a society that would not be plagued by the things that nations struggle with today… things like war, poverty, or disease? He wanted them to have abundant goodness in the here-and-now.
This isn’t just a one-off statement, but is repeated elsewhere in the law: Ex. 15:26; Deuteronomy 4:40, 6:1-3, 6:24, 7:14-15, 8:1-10, 28:1-14. The opposite is also true: idolatry would shorten life and make it miserable (Dt. 4:25-27). The law ends in Dt. 30:15-20 with God urging His people to always choose life!
La dolce vita
Then, in the larger context of the Old Testament, God painted Israel a picture of "the sweet life"—each family having its own vine and fig tree in the backyard. Indeed, that’s how life in Israel was during Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 4:20,25). If things went wrong and they began to serve other gods, they could expect all this goodness to wither and die (Jeremiah 5:17, 8:13). After repenting and returning to YHWH, they could expect a return of this vision of abundance (Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10).
The biblical theme is summed up briefly in Proverbs 7:2—“Keep my commandments and live”—and continues into the New Testament, with a twist.
- Abundant life is promised by Jesus, and He points out that it’s the Enemy who “steals, kills, and destroys” (John 10:10).
- His disciples recognized Jesus as having "words of eternal life," and came to realize He is "the life" (John 6:68, 14:6).
- In 2 Peter 3:9, God says He is not willing that any should perish, but wants all to come to repentance and have eternal life. Again, “Why will you die?” It’s absurd!
- An ideal vision of redeemed life reappears in the description of the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1-4, 22:1-3).
Not by bread alone
Physical and spiritual life are closely aligned, as Deuteronomy 8:3 expresses it:
Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
Yes, bread is necessary for continued life, but so is God’s word. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33, God knows what our bodies need. He asks us to trust Him for physical protection and sustenance while we pursue “His kingdom and His righteousness.”
As with the daily manna that Israel was given in the wilderness, Jesus invited His disciples to pray for their “daily bread” along with requests that God’s will be done on earth (Mt. 6:11). Using a strong bodily metaphor that everyone would understand, Jesus asserted that people who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied (Mt. 5:6).
Consider Jesus’ interaction with Martha in Luke 10:38-42. It followed immediately after His parable of a good Samaritan who looked after the physical needs of a fallen traveler. When Martha attempted to meet Jesus’ physical needs while neglecting her own spiritual need, she became angry, frustrated, and dissatisfied. Like Mary, she needed to hear His words. As the Samaritan woman learned at the well, Jesus can do more for us spiritually and physically than we can ever do for Him or for ourselves (John 4:13-14).
The Old Testament also offers two examples of women making a “better choice” for the sake of the word of God. One was a poor Gentile woman who helped Elijah when he fled from King Ahab (1 Kings 17:8-16, 24). Another was a rich Israeli woman who supported Elisha's ministry (2 Kings 4:8-10). Both were used by God to care for the physical needs of His prophets, and both received earthly blessings for doing so.
Additional observations
- Physical life, health, goodness is something that God also grants to unbelievers. “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25).
- In the Old Testament, a person’s spiritual life had implications for his or her physical life. In the New Testament, it's a believer’s response to the physical needs of others that reveals something about his or her spiritual life. Do we have faith? Do we love God? Are we content with what little we may have? Such things are reflected in the way we handle possessions (James 2:14-17, 1 John 3:17-18, Philippians 4:11-13)
- We are not saved by how well we care for others, but their physical needs can open a window into our souls. Having been saved from sin, and being secure in Christ’s righteousness, do we now trust God with our physical lives before we reach eternity? Do we trust He will care for us as we are caring for the physical and spiritual needs of others?
- Physical suffering is not necessarily chastisement for sin. As in the case of Job, it may be a test of faith (Job 2:3). Will we continue to trust Him fervently when we're in pain as when we're comfortable? (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
- Persecution for the cause of Christ may result in all sorts of suffering, but it's a pain that can cause much joy and increased spiritual growth (Mt. 5:11-12, Acts 5:40-42, James 1:2-4).
In summary, God wants His people to enjoy earthly lives that are good in every sense of the word. That our physical lives are important to God should not surprise us because He created life, and continues to give and sustain life. All life—physical and spiritual—is made by God and therefore good. He is the living God who “has life in Himself” (1 Timothy 4:10; John 1:4, 5:26).
It's worth pondering how intrinsic life is to God's character and purposes. Is it any wonder the Father raised Jesus from the dead? Is it surprising He wants us to value and protect life, particularly that of other human beings who are also made in His image? If we know nothing else about YHWH, we know He is pro-life.
Related posts:
Is God pro-life?
God is accused of being anti-life
Next: More than a proof-text here and there
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Image credit: The Well-Stocked Kitchen, with Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary in the Background, Joachim Bueckelaer, 1566 (https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-1451)
Thank you! Again very stimulating and thought-provoking! You made me think of the Psalms 103 and 104. They seem to go together both of them beginning and ending with `bless the LORD, O my soul.' Psalm 103 about how the LORD takes care of His people spiritually: He forgives their iniquities: He made His way known to Moses AND He was merciful and gracious to the people of Israel when they sinned. His way pointed forward to Christ and His provision. And in Psalm 104 we see how He provides for what we (and all His creatures) need for bodily life. His created world is set up in such a way as to provide ongoing provision for life to be sustained. It's amazing! The LORD provides all things necessary for our souls AND our bodies. He is definitely `pro-life'! `Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!' Psalm 104:35b
ReplyDeleteSuch a good point! I thought about Ps 104 when writing, so it's in the background of my thinking. Thank you for bringing it to the fore. I wouldn't have thought, though, about Ps 103 as being the companion. Thanks so much for adding to my post!
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