“My child!
When you are ill,
Do not delay!
But pray to the Lord!
He will heal you.
Give up your faults!
Direct your hands rightly!
Cleanse your heart
From all sin!
Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice!
Offer a memorial portion
Of choice flour!
Pour oil on your offering,
As much as you can afford.
Then give the physician his place.
The Lord has created him.
Do not let him leave you!
You need him.
There may come a time
When recovery lies
In the hands of this physician.
They too pray to the Lord.
Thus the Lord may grant him
Success in his diagnosis.
Thus he may grant him
Success in healing.
This is done
For the sake of preserving life.
He who sins
Against his Maker,
Will be defiant
Toward his physician.”
Sirach explains the connection between sickness and sin. However, the new twist is that you must do more than simply praying for forgiveness. You must also see a physician. Although the first thing that you do when you are sick is pray to the Lord, but that is not sufficient. You should confess your sins and cleanse your heart. You should also make a sweet smelling sacrifice to the Lord with choice flour and as much oil as you can. After that, you then turn to a physician who was created by the Lord. Do not let the physician leave you because your recovery will depend on him. He too prays for a successful diagnosis of your illness. He heals for the sake of preserving life. The physician takes the place of your maker God, since if you have sinned, you will be defiant to this physician also. Here we see the need for human remediation to help in sickness instead of a total reliance on God.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 