God’s Word explicitly states that history is cyclic in nature and is in a constant process of repeating itself. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we are told that there is indeed “no new thing done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In God’s Sovereign Plan for the History of Mankind there are times however when it is best that this repetition of events should not be allowed to occur. It is at these times that God steps in and takes action to ensure that history does not indeed, “repeat itself”. This fact is no more poignantly exhibited than in the life of the Apostle Paul. After Paul’s conversion into the newly born body of believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 9:4-6), he began a journey in which he became the leading promoter of the faith which he had initially attempted to destroy. One of the aspects of this new life that Paul was experiencing was the fact that God had sovereignly allowed for Paul to acquire a “thorn in the flesh” (II Corinthians 12:7-10). Why God would allow for such an impediment to occur at a time when the Church was in a sense “just getting off the ground” has been a topic of discussion throughout the course of Church History. It is a question that we too will now attempt to further address.
Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
Through the years believers have conjectured as to what Paul’s thorn in the flesh may have been, as Scripture is silent on the matter. While many maintain that this “thorn” was in some way related to Paul’s ability to see (Galatians 4:15), others speculate that the “thorn” was something that would have caused Paul considerable pain, because after all, that is “what thorns do”. Perhaps to better understand the issue of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, instead of asking the question, “What the thorn itself may have been”, one might be more astute to simply approach the issue from the standpoint of “Why this thorn may have been necessary in the first place”. While Scripture does indicate that the thorn was given to Paul by Satan, this provocation ultimately was allowed by God to occur for the purpose of keeping Paul humble (II Corinthians 12:7). We must always remember that God’s sovereignty controls the events of World History: “For of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things…” (Romans 11:36). To better understand how God could allow Satan to infiltrate into Paul’s life in this severe way, let us first examine the life of Paul within the context of the life of his Old Testament counterpart, Moses.
History Repeats Itself
When we compare the life of Paul with the life of Moses, we find many obvious similarities. So much so that in some ways Paul’s life was a repetition of Moses’ life. The following is a list of life events that these two giants of the faith had in common:
- 1) What Moses was to the Old Testament narrative, Paul was to the New Testament story. For apart from the 2nd Person of the Trinity, the “Jehovah” of the Old Testament, who would later become “Jesus” of the New Testament, Moses and Paul were the respective pre-eminent Personages of both the Old and New Testaments.
- 2) While Moses was the most prolific human writer of the Old Testament, having written the first five Books of the Bible, Paul was the major human contributor to the New Testament record, having written a minimum of 13 of the 27 Books of the New Testament.
- 3) Moses and Paul are both said to have engaged in special and unique open communication with God (Exodus 33:11. Acts 9:4-6).
- 4) Moses and Paul are the only 2 people in Biblical History who are stated to have possessed the “love of Christ”. This was exhibited by both Moses and Paul when they expressed a willingness to be eternally separated from God, so that their Hebrew brethren might me saved (Exodus 32:32, Romans 9:3).
- 5) Both Moses and Paul were given special status amongst men by being taken away from the cares of this world to experience the Presence of God for an extended period of time (Exodus 34:28-35, II Corinthians 12:2).
- 6) Moses and Paul shared the physical limitation of being slow of speech (Exodus 4:10- 12, II Corinthians 10:10), thus making them both unlikely candidates for being God’s chief spokesman for either the Old or the New Testaments. Truly, “God’s strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9), for God has no need of the strength of men to accomplish His Purposes, “…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
- 7) Numerous miracles were wrought at the hands of both Moses and Paul. Moses performed countless miracles in the Book of Exodus, including the 10 plagues brought upon Egypt to deliver the Hebrew people from their bondage, while Paul is also credited with having cured innumerable people of various diseases during the course of his ministry (Acts 19: 11,12), including bringing back a young man from the dead (Acts 20:9-12).
It is because of these and other factors that the examination of Paul’s life can be better understood when compared to the events that occurred in the life of Moses.
While the lives of Moses and Paul share numerous similarities, a significant difference between their lives is the fact that although Moses like Paul had minor physical limitations, Moses had never individually experienced a “thorn in the flesh” as had Paul. We shall see that by not having this humbling thorn in the flesh, Moses experienced some rather unpleasant consequences.
Although Moses was stated to be a person of extreme humility, indeed Scripture refers to him as the “most humble man on earth” (Numbers 12:3), he, like all men born in Adam, still possessed a sinful nature. Sadly, the deeply personal and unique relationship that he experienced with God apparently caused him to develop an erroneous concept of the nature of that relationship, leading him in fact to become a bit too “chummy” with his Creator.
During the course of their Wilderness wanderings, the Hebrew people experienced numerous trials and difficulties, including their two visits to Meribah, where they had on both occasions run out of water. At their first visit, God had instructed Moses to strike the “rock” there with his rod, after which the rock brought forth streams of “life giving water” to the people. At the second occurrence, God had instructed Moses to simply “speak to the rock” so that it might supply the people with their needed water. What God was doing here was attempting to set up a Biblical- type whereby Christ, who is our ultimate “Rock”, is smitten once, after which rivers of the living waters of salvation are poured out into the life of the believer (John 7:38). After this, to experience these living waters once again, all the believer would need to now do is simply, “speak to the Rock”.
Unfortunately, due to the apparent pride that had developed in Moses’ heart from his illusory “chummy” relationship with God, rather than simply speaking to the rock, Moses had rather instead chosen to take his rod and strike the rock twice, thereby debasing the “Biblical type” that God was attempting to incorporate into His Word. In so doing, Moses had in effect “misrepresented” God to the Hebrew people. For this transgression, Moses was effectively forbidden to enter the Promised land (Deuteronomy 32:51).
When we read the Biblical narrative of this event, we also see how Moses’ unique and special relationship with God may have caused his heart to go askew:
“And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now ye rebels; must “we” (emphasis mine) fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice…” Numbers 20:10, 11
Notice how Moses was here attributing the miracle to himself and his special relationship with God (“must we fetch you water out of this rock”). Although Moses was the humblest man on earth, his sin nature when coupled with his special standing with God had gotten the best of him, and here he had become anything but humble.
God could not risk having the Apostle Paul in New Testament times repeat these same erroneous actions of Moses, as there was a lot at stake. For God’s intention for the words of the New Testament texts were slightly different than His purpose for the words found within the Old Testament record. This is evidenced by the fact that in the Old Testament we find basic theological principles being established along with an accurate historical narrative. Later in the New Testament, God’s Word goes a step further, and a strict and definitive theology is laid out. God could not take the chance that Paul, who like Moses also had a special and unique relationship with Him, might develop pride in his heart due to this special relationship, and then somehow could also misrepresent Him and His Word as Moses had done. For in so doing, Paul would have effectively disqualified himself from writing a credible “exacting theology” within the pages of the New Testament record, a theology that would stand up to a serious critical examination. Therefore, so that “History might not repeat itself”, God ordained that Paul, unlike Moses, would have a “thorn in his flesh” to keep him humble.
These things of course should serve to remind believers that when we too encounter seemingly needless impediments and obstacles in life, that the Lord may indeed have placed them there in order that He might also accomplish His own “eternal purposes” within our own individual lives. This is why Paul admonishes believers to be thankful for all the events of our lives, both good and bad (I Thessalonians 5:18). For it is God who is actively working within our lives to work out all the events of our lives together for our own personal eternal good (Romans 8:28).
All praise and glory be unto God !
Read Rob’s book “PARADIGMS TOSSED”, Debunking Faulty Christian Beliefs and learn how best to hear “Well Done” after your life is over and you’re face to face with Jesus someday!
