When we come to the New Testament, sickness and disease are commonly associated with sin, with demons and with the devil. But even in Job, it is Satan who afflicts and attacks the righteous, and in the end, Job’s life is marked by many years of health and blessing. To be sure, we have whole books like Job indicating that sometimes, inexplicable things happen to godly people (including the death of their children), and it is not our place to judge. We’re talking about serious sickness and disease.) Healing, in and of itself, is good, associated with divine favor and life. (We’re not talking about catching a cold here. Sickness, in and of itself, is bad, associated with divine judgment and death. Verses like this from the Old Testament could be multiplied by the dozens, all speaking with one voice, and all saying the same thing.

The two go hand in hand: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1-5). That’s why we have verses in the Bible like this (God speaking to Israel): “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer” (Exodus 15:26).Īnd that’s why David could praise God for forgiving his sins and healing his diseases. Bosworth (1877–1958) in his classic book Christ the Healer, “If sickness is the will of God for His worshipers, then every physician is a lawbreaker, every trained nurse is defying the Almighty, and every hospital is a house of rebellion instead of a house of mercy.” We want to see people made well.Īs famously expressed by F. That’s why we have doctors and nurses and hospitals and medicine. That’s why we rejoice over the news of a healthy baby and grieve over the news that the baby will not survive. That’s why we wish newlyweds health and happiness, not disease and despair. And all of us, intuitively, agree with that. That being said, there is absolutely no question that the Bible sees sickness and disease as negative, destructive forces. So, being sick or healthy, in and of itself, is not a proof of divine blessing or divine judgment. And there are terrible, ungodly people who are healthy. There are wonderful, godly people who are sick.

Sick and shut in scriptures