Z
zeland
Guest
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I just finished reading the comments to the thread "How to explain the promises of the Brown Scapular to “Bible-Only” Christians. I noticed that no one gave any specific scriptural references as to the basis of the Scapular promises - I will list two stories from the Bible, and then explain their relationship to the Scapular.
First story. Numbers 21:4-9, The Bronze Serpent.
4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labor:
5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loathe this very light food.
6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.
7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up on a pole. If anyone who is bitten shall look at it, he will live.
9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign, and when they who were bitten looked upon it, they were healed.
***As a side note, verse 7 is also a good example of a human person acting as an intercessor between man and God, just as Mary and the Saints act as intercessors between man and God. ***
Second story - Naaman Healed of Leprosy
2 Kings 5:9-16 (NIV)
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and washed himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a little child.
As a second side note, for those who belong to the “Call no one your father” crowd, in verse 13, we see an army general being called “Father” by his servants.
Summary.
In the case of the Bronze Serpent on a pole, did it have any power of its own to cure the people? NO! It was just a piece of metal. It was the peoples faith in God’s promise that cured them. God said do this - the people obeyed Him, and did it, and they received the benefit of God’s promise - they were cured.
Now the same line of reasoning holds true for Naaman. Did the river water have any power of its own to cure him? No! Again it was his faith in doing exactly what God commanded, that gained for him what God had promised. He washed seven times and was cured.
Conclusion.
The Brown Scapular is just a piece of cloth, and like the Bronze Serpent, and the water in the river, It has no power of itself to fulfill any kind of promise. Again, it is the person’s faithfulness in doing exactly what God asks, which procures for them the fulfillment of the Scapular promise.
I hope this helps.
God bless
PS. A question for consideration.
If Naaman had washed himself six times, would and have been cured?
What if he had washed himself eight times?
.
I just finished reading the comments to the thread "How to explain the promises of the Brown Scapular to “Bible-Only” Christians. I noticed that no one gave any specific scriptural references as to the basis of the Scapular promises - I will list two stories from the Bible, and then explain their relationship to the Scapular.
First story. Numbers 21:4-9, The Bronze Serpent.
4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labor:
5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loathe this very light food.
6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.
7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up on a pole. If anyone who is bitten shall look at it, he will live.
9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign, and when they who were bitten looked upon it, they were healed.
***As a side note, verse 7 is also a good example of a human person acting as an intercessor between man and God, just as Mary and the Saints act as intercessors between man and God. ***
Second story - Naaman Healed of Leprosy
2 Kings 5:9-16 (NIV)
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and washed himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a little child.
As a second side note, for those who belong to the “Call no one your father” crowd, in verse 13, we see an army general being called “Father” by his servants.
Summary.
In the case of the Bronze Serpent on a pole, did it have any power of its own to cure the people? NO! It was just a piece of metal. It was the peoples faith in God’s promise that cured them. God said do this - the people obeyed Him, and did it, and they received the benefit of God’s promise - they were cured.
Now the same line of reasoning holds true for Naaman. Did the river water have any power of its own to cure him? No! Again it was his faith in doing exactly what God commanded, that gained for him what God had promised. He washed seven times and was cured.
Conclusion.
The Brown Scapular is just a piece of cloth, and like the Bronze Serpent, and the water in the river, It has no power of itself to fulfill any kind of promise. Again, it is the person’s faithfulness in doing exactly what God asks, which procures for them the fulfillment of the Scapular promise.
I hope this helps.
God bless
PS. A question for consideration.
If Naaman had washed himself six times, would and have been cured?
What if he had washed himself eight times?
.