Vaccination vs. Trust in God — a False Dichotomy?

Refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds invites ridicule from unbelievers, naturally. If they don’t believe in God, they would have no basis for any divine protection. There is little common ground for discussion. Such is life. They can discuss their rebellion against ultimate Truth with God on judgment day. (I don’t want to be there to hear it.)

But for the community of faith, there is grounds for substantive theological and faith-based interactions. The Scriptures, and history of the faithful, provide a range of perspectives. 

• God revealed one of His names, Jehovah Rapha - the God who heals - in Exodus 15:26. This was in the context of making bitter water drinkable. But God elaborated that He would protect the Israelites from all the diseases of the Egyptians if they paid attention to His commands and kept His decrees.
• God gave Israel detailed instructions regarding health care practices in Leviticus chapters 11-15. In 1963 Dr. S.I. McMillen published None of These Diseases, which detailed how these practices, revealed over 3,000 years ago, promoted both personal hygiene and public health. These may carry supernatural anointing, but they provide practical and effective directions for washing, quarantine, healthy eating, and the like. The consequences of the foregoing have been historically validated through practice throughout the ages, both by Christian and Jews. 

• The whole COVID mess could have been avoided if the Chinese didn’t sell and eat bats (cf. Leviticus 11:19). 

• Psalm 91:3, 6 & 10 promise protection from plague and pestilence. The opening verses cite who this applies to:

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2)

The context is crucial. Dwelling in the shelter of God Most High is something that only Jesus did fully. The rest of us may to varying degrees sit, dwell, remain in His hiding place or secret cover, but …. The rest of Psalm 91 provides additional context. The recipient loves God and calls upon His name, not hiding in a closet, but potentially at war or in the field near wild beasts. The designated promisee is actively serving God and bringing his dwelling under God’s cover into the world.

• David Guzik relates an interesting story in his commentary on Psalm 91:3, which he attributes to  Boice, about a Lord Craven during a 15th century plague in London. Originally planning to quarantine in the country, God spoke to his heart and he remained in London, ministering to plague victims, and was never personally infected.

• In Matthew 4:5-6, Satan twisted God’s word to test Jesus. Jesus met the conditions of Psalm 91:1-2, 9, & 14, but that is not the whole of Scripture. Satan told Jesus to create an unnecessary crisis to force God to show His hand by jumping from the pinnacle of the temple. Jesus responded in Matthew 4:7 by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, which was in turn a reference to the events recorded in Exodus 17 when the Israelites grumbled about whether God was really with them or not. That had occurred shortly after witnessing their miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea, which they traversed but the Egyptians drowned.  That was not an unnecessary crisis but a crisis of faith - God didn’t deliver water on their timetable. Jesus’ inference seems clear: whether a crisis is beyond our control or not, we must trust God, but not create additional crises of our own volition. 

Medical testing suggests that on the average, outcomes are better for the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. But each case is unique, and medical trials cannot take into account all of the unique details of each individual’s circumstances - only God can do that. From a public health perspective it appears to The Powers That Be (excluding divine considerations) that all would be better off if all are vaccinated: reducing the risk of transmission;  and average outcomes (symptoms, hospitalizations, fatalities) of those infected would be better. 

• This leaves us in the open field of discerning God’s spoken revelation to each individual believer. He calls us to not do stupid things to test His providential care, and in fact is angry with those who do. But He also calls some to serve Him in ways that seem risky and blesses obedience. 

God sees a much bigger perspective than medical public health experts, and His direction to each individual calls each of us to have the responsibility for discerning His voice and choosing to obey. In absence of receiving a rhema spoken revelation, He expects us to follow the best practices from what we have received (i.e., consistent with Lev 11-15 and related medical knowledge). We need to consider the medical evidence seriously, and avoid reacting against stupid statements by politicians (too numerous to list), and on-line rabble-rousers. We each need to hear from God for ourself. If we cannot hear His voice, we need to use the brains He gave us to make wise decisions.