Originally Posted by
fuego
That's how I always explain it when somebody brings it up. Scales covered his eyes until he was prayed for (and I did read the scales explanation in what VW wrote). It think it was actually real scales due to the same word is used in the Greek in the Septuagint (Greek translation of OT) when talking about fish scales. But again, that's neither here nor there. The simple explanation was it wasn't sickness or disease blindness. It was just the equivalent of somebody covering up ones eyes, but with scales.
I also have another way of dealing with these issues where people say God made somebody sick. Though this with Paul rarely comes up. It's mostly the man born blind in the NT supposedly to glorify God (that can be explained away with simple translator punctuation in the wrong place, there is no punctuation in the original Greek so it's at the discretion of the translators) and Job. I make this point because many aren't going to accept it wasn't God, although I do try to explain that.
I just say, ok, let just say God did make them sick (and again I do try to teach them on that). That's not the point. The point is Job was HEALED and got twice as much in the end, and the man born blind was HEALED. You're trying to use these examples of God making someone sick, but they are examples of people who were HEALED. So if you fancy yourself as a 'poor ole Job' or having been born the way you are to glorify God, then you need to start shouting and dancing because your healing is assured, because they were both HEALED. See, nobody that believes God makes people sick ever looks at these example from a healing standpoint which is really the bottom line when all is said and done. They were HEALED. James mentions the END of Job and God's mercy.
People trying to use these example of God making people sick are no more than annoying gnat to me, easy to brush away. :)