And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
The account is of recovery from sickness with fifteen years added to life, and that recovery forms the setting for the later dealings with the ambassadors from Babylon. Prayer had been offered for life and heard, and the promise was given to extend and spare life for fifteen years, and recovery followed that promise, with the going back of the sun ten degrees given as a sign. Isaiah gave instruction to the attendants to take a lump and bunch and poultice of figs and lay it upon the boil and sore and diseased part, and recovery came through this simple and practical and natural remedy directed and blessed by God, though not instantly. The same healing is presented as both miraculous answer to prayer and the work of divine power together with a simple remedy that aided the recovery of the body.
God could have healed instantly by a word or a touch, but chose healing through the prescribed means. The direction to use the figs belonged to the message of mercy and protecting care, in which the visible hand of God was present in the experience. The affliction itself shows that some troubles may be received as chastisement from God and that, even when their purpose is unclear, God may be guiding events for good.
Use of the fig remedy did not deny faith nor hinder divine power, but was in harmony with divine providence and with faith. Faith cooperates with divine power by using beneficial and practical means in harmony with natural laws, so that prayer for healing may be joined with the use of what aids recovery. That cooperation includes what was provided by God, for He may heal through natural remedies and the means He supplies rather than only by direct action without human means. The God-directed simple remedy turned attention away from elaborate treatments and taught that elaborate medical preparations could hinder the natural power of the body to rally and overcome disease.
The account is of recovery from sickness with fifteen years added to life, and that recovery forms the setting for the later dealings with the ambassadors from Babylon. Prayer had been offered for life and heard, and the promise was given to extend and spare life for fifteen years, and recovery followed that promise, with the going back of the sun ten degrees given as a sign. Isaiah gave instruction to the attendants to take a lump and bunch and poultice of figs and lay it upon the boil and sore and diseased part, and recovery came through this simple and practical and natural remedy directed and blessed by God, though not instantly. The same healing is presented as both miraculous answer to prayer and the work of divine power together with a simple remedy that aided the recovery of the body.
God could have healed instantly by a word or a touch, but chose healing through the prescribed means. The direction to use the figs belonged to the message of mercy and protecting care, in which the visible hand of God was present in the experience. The affliction itself shows that some troubles may be received as chastisement from God and that, even when their purpose is unclear, God may be guiding events for good.
Use of the fig remedy did not deny faith nor hinder divine power, but was in harmony with divine providence and with faith. Faith cooperates with divine power by using beneficial and practical means in harmony with natural laws, so that prayer for healing may be joined with the use of what aids recovery. That cooperation includes what was provided by God, for He may heal through natural remedies and the means He supplies rather than only by direct action without human means. The God-directed simple remedy turned attention away from elaborate treatments and taught that elaborate medical preparations could hinder the natural power of the body to rally and overcome disease.