The Seventh Sneeze

Pagan cultures have different superstitions about sneezing. Sneezing, depending on the number or type of sneezes, is believed to be a sign of good luck, or bad luck, or an indication that someone is gossiping about the sneezer, or that evil spirits are being expelled from the sneezer. Medieval Christianity had similar superstitions about sneezing. Even Judaism has superstitions about sneezing. According to the Talmud, “He who sneezes during prayer should regard it as a bad omen” (Berachot 24b). The Zohar refers to God as “The Master of the Nose” because, according to Kaballah, “scent represents a very high level of divine energy” (Zohar 3:13a). If you google “sneezing,” you will see that there are a lot of nonsensical ancient pagan myths and modern New Age superstitions about sneezing.

We can dismiss old pagan myths and New Age superstitions, and Jewish and Christian ones as well. However, there is a story in the Bible about sneezing, a story that has always intrigued me. In 2 Kings 4, the prophet Elisha had prophesied to a childless Shunammite woman that she would bear a son. She conceived and gave birth to the son, but a few years later the boy died. The woman sent for Elisha, and he came to her house and entered the room where the dead child was laid upon his bed.

Elisha shut the door and prayed, then lay upon the child, mouth-to-mouth, eye-to-eye, hand-to-hand, and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Elisha then paced a while, walking to and fro in the room. Then he stretched himself upon the child again, and the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes, alive from the dead.

For many years I have believed that this story must surely hold some lesson for us. Holy men of God were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the Holy Scriptures, and this sneezing story is part of the Holy Scriptures for a reason. The Apostle Paul says that “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4). What then can we learn from this story of seven sneezes followed by resurrection?

First let’s consider resurrection. Stories of physical resurrections of dead bodies in the Bible provide illustrations of the spiritual resurrection that happens when a lost sinner, someone “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), awakens and repents and is born anew to live a life of righteousness. Awakening, repentance, and reconciliation to the Father is likened to resurrection from the dead in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. When the Prodigal Son returned to his father’s house, the father said, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24). Paul said that “we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Messiah was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).

So resurrection is a picture of spiritual revival, a “re-viving,” a new impartation of spiritual life.

Lost sinners are not the only ones who need an impartation of new life in their spirits; sleeping saints need reviving, too. And there are very many sleeping saints (and some sleeping sinners pretending to be saints) in the pews of American churches. There are even sleeping saints (and sleeping sinners) in Messianic congregations, and they need to be awakened and revived and restored to their first love for the Lord (or in the case of unconverted sinners, brought to their first love for the Lord).

We need a “sneezing revival” to wake up the sleeping saints and the spiritually dead sinners. The funny thing about sneezing, though: people do not sneeze while sleeping, because when you are sleeping, the part of your brain that activates sneezing is asleep and cannot function. It would take an act of God to make a sleeping person sneeze. In like manner, it takes an act of God to awaken a sleeping saint or a spiritually dead sinner.

If it takes an act of God to awaken a sleeping saint or a spiritually dead sinner, is there nothing we can do to awaken people?

Even though it takes an act of God, there are things we can do to move God to act. We can pray like Elisha prayed for the resurrection of the Shunammite’s dead son, of course. But in addition to prayer, there are other things we can do, things that sneezing can teach us.

Sneezing is caused by foreign objects that get inside the nasal cavity. It is a reaction to irritants that need to be expelled by sneezing. Some sleeping people will be awakened only if they are irritated by Biblical truths that are foreign to their worldly way of thinking. Those Biblical truths need to be presented by those of us who believe the Bible and live according to its teaching. Sometimes our presentation of truth will irritate some people, specifically people who want to remain asleep. No matter how politely and respectfully we present Biblical truth, it will sometimes irritate some people. But if it awakens them from their spiritual slumber, that’s good, because a person who is awake can sneeze seven times and be resurrected or revived and walk in newness of life.

I find it interesting that the Shunammite woman’s son sneezed not just once, but seven times. Seven, of course, is the number of completion. Apparently this boy had to remain in sneezing mode until the sneezing completed its task of expelling whatever needed to come out. When someone awakens from their spiritual sleep and repents, they have to remain in a state of repentance until they have finished expelling whatever sins need to come out of their life. Just as sneezing expels foreign objects from a person’s nasal cavity, so repentance expels things that are foreign to kingdom living.

Ask yourself if there are things in your life that are foreign to kingdom living, things that are foreign to walking in newness of life.

In Old Testament times, Israel often turned to foreign gods. When they repented, the foreign gods had to be expelled like foreign matter that is expelled by sneezing.

Nowadays God’s covenant people might not be tempted to bow down to images of foreign gods like Israel did, but if we become careless, we might find ourselves breathing in some of the foreign worldly ideas to which we are constantly exposed as we walk through this fallen, polluted world.

Let’s face the facts. Unless you are a hermit living alone in isolation from the world, you are going to be exposed to the world and to its way of thinking and living, a way which is foreign to the kingdom way of thinking and living. If you breathe in and inhale foreign worldly ideas, the world is going to affect your thinking. And your thinking will affect your actions. If you do not regularly “sneeze out” the foreign worldly ways and expel them from your mind, you will be conformed to the world. We are not called to be conformed to the world; we are called to be transformed into the likeness and image of the Son of God by the renewing of our minds. So if you sense foreign worldly ideas in your mind, start “sneezing.” Expel those ideas by repentance and get your mind renewed.

I find it interesting that light can trigger sneezing. If I feel a sneeze coming but then feel the sneeze retreating and trying to “get away,” I look up at the brightest light I can find, and behold, the sneezing begins. Just as looking at light can trigger sneezing, so looking at Yeshua, the light of the world, can lead people to repentance. If we faithfully shine the light of Yeshua, maybe it will help some people to sneeze.

One more thing about sneezing. By squeezing the nose or stiffening the neck, sneezes can be resisted, stifled, and quenched. So can the Holy Spirit. “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51). “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thes. 5:19). When you feel yourself being spiritually awakened, don’t stiffen your neck and resist the Holy Ghost. Look at the light and start sneezing. And sneeze seven times. Repent of your sins until you have expelled from your life all known sins and everything that is foreign to kingdom living. Then rise up as one alive from the dead, and walk in newness of life.

| DB

Image: In the Storm - Portrait of John Hoffman by Daniel Botkin from his Miscellaneous Gallery on art website: DanielBotkin.com.