What the Scriptures REALLY Teach about Health – Part 1
11/07/15 (08/24) Video Broadcast
We often hear what Doctors, Nutritionists, Scientists and Herbalists say. But what does Yahweh say about health? He created the human body, knows exactly why we have disease, and wants to heal many. Are we willing to listen?
This archive is from the EliYah.com Live Video Broadcast
Video Transcript
This is a direct transcript of a teaching that was presented via video. Due to the fact that we often speak differently than we write, the written text may not flow and/or sound strange in some places. There may also be grammatical errors and unintended mistakes. It is encouraged that you to watch the video to complement this written transcript.
What do the Scriptures actually teach about health? That is what our study topic is. This is going to be a multi-part study. I don’t even know how many parts there is going to be to it yet, but there is going to be a number of parts to it. And we are just going to glean through the Scriptures and pick up everything we can find on the topic of health.
It is going to take more than one segment to do that. We are going to cover a lot of Scripture today. I have over 80 slides worth of Scripture just in today’s study alone, and I have a whole lot more to share in future broadcasts.
But what do the Scriptures REALLY teach? This is a very, very important topic. It is a major, major topic in today’s society. And we are going to examine it from a scriptural perspective, and we want the Scriptures, we want Yahweh’s Word, to instruct us.
And just so that I can be certain, as much as possible, that that’s what we are staying with, I am going to pray.
Father Yahweh, in Yahushua’s name, I just ask, Father Yahweh, that You would instruct us in Your Word concerning health and that You would give us understanding and wisdom and discretion, and that You, Father Yahweh, would open up Your Word to us so that we might understand what is causing any health issues that the body of Messiah has today.
I pray that Your Word would go out and that the hearts would receive Your Word in humility and with understanding, and that You would prepare those hearts and not let any word that proceeds from my mouth be anything but what You would have me speak to this great people of Yours. In Yahushua’s name, we pray these things. Amein.
So, anyway, health is a HUGE topic in today’s America. Health food stores are found in nearly every town and village… even Ava, Missouri, here, a little tiny blip on the map. A little village of about 3,000 people. It is the only town in the whole county, and they have a thriving health food store here.
News outlets usually have an entire section of news devoted to health. Billions of dollars have been spent seeking solutions to the problem of disease. And actually the health care industry represents 1/6th of America’s economy. 1 out of every 6 dollars, 17.2% in the gross domestic product is for health care. That is huge.
And actually anybody who wants to make a buck can go out there and write a book on health, and the world just gobbles it up with a ferocious appetite. We don’t want to die! We want to be healthy, vibrant, capable of functioning fully without disease. Very few things will affect our daily quality of life like a health problem.
But Yahweh tells us the reason for health problems. I have been personally quite amazed at the number of Scriptures that actually speak about health. In fact, even though I have been studying the Scriptures for over 26 years, I never realized how huge this topic is in Scripture. I never realized it. It went right over me.
And I would imagine most of us, when we think about health, a lot of us think about herbs and medicines, and figure the Bible also has a few blurbs here and there… you know, something about leaves being for the healing of the nations, or something like that. And so, we take those verses and we just run with it.
Any church that wants to boost their attendance for a day only needs to bring in someone who will talk about health. Everyone is interested in health. People will tell people who will tell people, “Come to this thing my church is hosting about health,” and people will come in droves.
The latest thing is about essential oils and how they bring healing of various ailments, and so on.
And so, whenever I thought about health, for a long time, not so much in recent years, but for a long time, I thought about how, “Okay, the Bible talks about herbs and stuff like that, medicines,” and I could not see the Scriptures on health because the herbs were in the way.
I mean, have you ever heard about, “You can’t see the forest because the trees are in the way”? And that is pretty much what happened to me, and it wasn’t until recent years that I realized it has a lot more to say than just, “Here are some herbs.”
I am not knocking herbs. Herbs can be used for healing. I am not denying that. But they are not the tree of life. The key to health and long life is not herbs.
The key to health and long life is to not get sick to begin with, and if we happen to get sick, to understand what might be the underlying cause of the sickness or disease or ailment, and work to resolve the underlying cause, which many people claim the herbs do that.
But what really is the underlying scriptural cause of all sickness and all disease? Yahweh’s Word tells us very plainly and very clearly.
When Adam and Chawah (or Eve) were in the Garden, they never needed an immune system. There was no sickness. There was no disease. They didn’t even need an immune system until sin entered the world. And when sin entered the world, outside forces were corrupted and permitted to attack the human body.
Scripture says in Genesis chapter 2:
Genesis 2:9 - And out of the ground YAHWEH Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life [was] also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Both trees were in the same place. This tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and also this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And they are both sitting there. Equal choice– you can have life or you can choose death. It is up to you. And, of course, we know the end of the story. He did not choose life.
We also have a choice in our life, whether we want life or we want death. It is our choice. Just as Adam had a choice, we had a choice.
On down to verse 15, it says:
Genesis 2:15 - Then YAHWEH Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 – And YAHWEH Elohim commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 – “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And actually, the Hebrew reads: “In the day you eat, from dying you shall die.” Maybe the less evil we know the better, huh? Because the less evil we know, the less likely we will be tempted by the evil to commit the sin.
But Yahweh protected Adam and Eve from that and gave them an option if they wanted to know about it. And, of course, the consequence was exactly what Yahweh said it would be: DEATH. “You will die. Dying you will die.”
So he began dying when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And then Yahweh made it more difficult for Adam to yield good food out of the earth.
In chapter 3, verse 17:
Genesis 3:17 - Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, `You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed [is] the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat [of] it All the days of your life.
18 – Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 – In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you [are], And to dust you shall return.”
And so, Yahweh caused Adam, if he wanted to live… he was going to have to really, really make a lot of effort in order to live and to survive. Otherwise, he would die.
So, “In the sweat of your face,” He says, “you will eat bread.” And “thorns and thistles”… and “the ground is cursed” and everything. And so, He removed Adam from the garden so he could not partake of this tree of life.
Verse 22…
Genesis 3:22 - Then YAHWEH Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” —
23 – therefore YAHWEH Elohim sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 – So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Well, there is no tree of life today. You can’t get there. There is no tree of life. No herb, no plant, no medicine will enable you to live forever. In spite of the health claims we hear, there is no cure all for everything. There is no fountain of youth.
Yahweh caused our bodies to go through an aging process, and we are all going to die. Every single one of us are going to die. Why? We have no access to the tree of life, and our bodies are dying… slowly, but surely, our bodies are dying. Dying we shall die, but we have an opportunity to live again.
So what is the root cause of every single disease there is? Knowing this, the basics, the foundations, we are going to build our foundation off of Genesis.
What is the root of every single disease on the earth? Sin! And we have no access to the tree of life.
The body that we happen to be living in is unable to live forever. It is corrupted. The wages of sin, which was committed by this body that we were given, is death. And so, the ultimate cause of all disease is actually sin. And were it not for sin, we would have no disease.
Most of us understand that already, but not so many of us really, really, really understand that. Our bodies were built for righteous living. They were not built to withstand sin. Our bodies were built to have an ongoing, healthy, good solid relationship with Yahweh our Father in heaven.
Now, thankfully, Yahweh provided Adam with an immune system to fight off and ward off things that would attack his body. But eventually the immune system failed him, and Yahweh said, “You are going to die.”
I suspect Yahweh gave us an immune system so that we would live long enough to understand life. We grow up as babies and children, and we understand life and realize we need Yahushua in our life, and ultimately repent and turn to Him. And unless we had an immune system, we would die as babies and we wouldn’t make it.
So He gave us this immune system to help us live long enough to realize our need for our Savior and to receive eternal life through Him and to enjoy the blessings of walking as He walked, and so that we would share His Word with others, and that we would be agents for righteousness on the earth.
And so, He gave us an immune system so our bodies would be able to fight against those outside forces for the purposes of these things.
Now for those who have studied the human body, this immune system, the way it responds to outside bacteria and infection and viruses and everything, all the cellular biology and everything, is absolutely, stunningly amazing! But eventually our immune system will fail us and we will all die.
And Yahweh tells us the reason for it. He says it is because of sin. And so, there is a lot more about health in Scripture than a few verses on herbs. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, if you think about it, the entire Word of Yahweh is a message on health. (Couldn’t see it because the herbs were in the way.)
The Bible gives us instruction on how to live a healthy, long life. It speaks so that we can continue to live even after our bodies die. And so, the entire Bible– Genesis to Revelation– is actually a health message.
Now, hopefully, everyone who is listening or watching this study understands the way to eternal life is through repentance and faith in Yahushua Messiah for the forgiveness of sin. That is how we are able to live forever.
Yahushua said in John 14 and verse 6:
John 14:6 - Yahushua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
He is the way to health, eternal life with Yahweh. If we want to be restored to a relationship with the Father so that we can have eternal life, we must go through Yahushua the Messiah.
Yahushua says:
John 10:9 - “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.
So Yahweh speaks a lot about health in the Scriptures. In these verses, most of us understand that Yahushua speaks of eternal life. Satan came to Adam and Eve so that he might steal, and kill, and destroy. Yahushua came that we might have abundant life.
And so, sin is the problem. That is what the problem is. Sin is the problem. It was the problem, it still is the problem, and therefore the solution is to walk away from sin. The solution is receiving Yahushua the Messiah and that is the only solution.
One + one = two. It is that simple, that obvious, that clear. And so, if we want to have good health, we need to get sin out of our lives. If we want to have good health, we need to come to Yahushua so that we might receive cleansing for our sins.
Scripture says:
1John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And so, sin is the root of all disease. And for that reason, we all die. Over and over and over again, Yahweh tells us to cease from sin that we may live long on the earth.
For instance, we are admonished in Proverbs chapter 3, verses 1 through 8:
Proverbs 3:1 - My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
2 – For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
3 – Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
Proverbs 3:4 - [And] so find favor and high esteem In the sight of Elohim and man.
5 – Trust in YAHWEH with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 – In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:7 - Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear YAHWEH and depart from evil.
8 – It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
There you go. There is a health message in Scripture right there, right in front of us, staring at us. A health message in the Scriptures.
Proverbs 4:20 - My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 – Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 – For they [are] life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
There is a health message in Scripture… life and health. How is that? Fatherly advice, trust in Yahweh, acknowledge Him in all your ways, fear Yahweh, depart from evil, keep Yahweh’s Word in the midst of your heart, be humble men and women. Keys to life. Keys to having health and vigor. And live to an old age.
No herbs mentioned. No medicines. No doctors. No health care programs. No Obamacare. No health insurance. Yahweh’s prescription for good health is that we trust in Him, fear Him, depart from evil, listen to wise instruction of parents. So, a very clear health message in Scripture.
Do we believe it? Or do we kind of go, “Uh… well… but still… you know…” Which do we believe? That is the health message in Scripture.
An obvious health message in Scripture is found in Deuteronomy 5:16:
Deuteronomy 5:16 - `Honor your father and your mother, as YAHWEH your Elohim has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which YAHWEH your Elohim is giving you.
“That your days may be long… that it may be well with you.”
Ephesians 6:1 - Children, obey your parents in Yahweh, for this is right.
2 – “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:
3 – “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
Health message! Health message in Scripture– Ephesians chapter 6– coming from the Ten Commandments. So much is written about health, yet so little speak of it.
I mean, so many people focus on nutrition and herbs and medicines and diet and exercise– key to great health! I am not against those things at all. I am for it one hundred percent. I do believe it affects our health. I am not against them, because Yahweh can use them.
But in light of these Scriptures, why do so few people talk about the direct scriptural connection between health and righteous living? And when someone gets sick, you rarely hear much about direct connections made in Scripture about sin and disease and inquiring about their spiritual life and their spiritual health.
Instead, “Oh, we have an herb for that. We have a prescription for that. We have a prayer for that. We will pray for you. And by the way, go to the doctor.” Those are the things that a lot of times we hear. But what does Yahweh say? What does the Word say?
Psalms 38:1 - <> O YAHWEH, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 – For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down.
3 – [There is] no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor [any] health in my bones Because of my sin.
(“health” = the Hebrew word “shalom.”) That is why. Because of my sin.
Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 19… the Torah says:
Deuteronomy 30:19 - “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Health message!
Deuteronomy 30:20 - “that you may love YAHWEH your Elohim, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He [is] your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which YAHWEH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Health message! So in light of the fact that our bodies were not really built to withstand sin, does that not teach us an important principle? The more we sin, the shorter our life is likely to be. The less sin we are involved in, the longer our life is likely to be.
Yahweh says:
Deuteronomy 32:39 - `Now see that I, [even] I, [am] He, And [there is] no Elohim besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor [is there any] who can deliver from My hand.
Yahweh is our life. He is our length of days. He decides when we live. He decides when we die. We need to establish Him as Elohim. He decides.
We need to establish the fact that Yahweh is not only capable of being our healer, He is also quite capable of causing physical ailments and disease in our bodies. He says so.
He says He can cause wounds, and He heals. No one can deliver from whom Yahweh wounds. No one can deliver.
No doctor, no herbalist, no nutritionist, no holistic doctor, certainly no witch doctor, and no drugs or prescriptions will save a person from Yahweh’s hand. Only Yahweh Himself can choose to withdraw His hand from wounding and instead choose to bring healing.
Now I am not saying all medicines, herbs, oils– and even medical doctors– can’t make our life easier. I am not saying they can’t relieve symptoms. I am not saying they can’t help restore our bodies to health. But Yahweh is the ultimate Author of life, the Author of health.
He is the One who kills. He kills and makes alive. No one can escape their date with death. No one. And I speak these things in general terms. Without sin, there would be no death.
So the less we sin, the less likely our bodies are going to have to deal with disease. I dare say, the less we sin, the stronger our immune system is likely to be against attacks. I think we can even see that medically, which we will get into in a future segment.
But listen, Yahweh warned Israel of the kind of curses that would come upon them if they chose to be disobedient. And He was very specific as to the kind of diseases, in some cases, that He would bring upon them.
Here are some of the things He said He would do to those who refused to be obedient to His Word. Here are the physical ailments He said He would put on them. A very interesting list here. It says:
Deuteronomy 28:20 - “YAHWEH will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.
21 – “YAHWEH will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.
22 – “YAHWEH will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
Verse 27…
Deuteronomy 28:27 - “YAHWEH will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.
28 – “YAHWEH will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.
Even mental disease.
Verse 35…
Deuteronomy 28:35 - “YAHWEH will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
Verses 58 through 61…
Deuteronomy 28:58 - “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, YAHWEH YOUR ELOHIM,
59 – “then YAHWEH will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues — great and prolonged plagues — and serious and prolonged sicknesses.
60 – “Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.
Deuteronomy 28:61 - “Also every sickness and every plague, which [is] not written in this Book of the Law, will YAHWEH bring upon you until you are destroyed.
A lot of physical ailments here. A lot of sicknesses. A lot of health problems. Basically, “Obey Me or you are going to have some health problems.”
Leviticus 26:14 - `But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,
15 – and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, [but] break My covenant,
16 – I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
So I am saying, and I am only saying, this is the consequence of a person turning their heart away from Yahweh: plagues, consumption, fear, fever, inflammation, severe burning fever, boils, scabs, itches that don’t heal, mental disease, blindness, confusion, serious and prolonged sicknesses, the diseases of Egypt…
And every sickness and plague that is not written in the Torah.
Wow! Needless to say, those who don’t love Yahweh, and particularly those who forsake Yahweh after knowing Him, are subject to all kinds of physical ailments, sicknesses, diseases– both physically and mentally– and it is quite evident sin can affect a person and their health.
A person who is not keeping the commandments of Yahweh, their health can be affected. When Yahweh does afflict a person for their sin, He often will use Satan to do it. Did you know that? Did you know that demons (yes, demons!) can cause physical sicknesses and diseases?
Please bear with me on this. I am not saying if you are sick you have a demon. I am not saying if you are sick it is because of some sin that you have done. I am not saying one hundred percent of the time that is what it is, not necessarily a direct connection. So, bear with me on this.
But demons can cause physical sicknesses and diseases… because there are only two kingdoms to choose from: Yahweh’s Kingdom and the kingdom of His enemy.
And if we choose a self-centered atheist lifestyle, we are still walking in the image of Satan who lives as though he is his own elohim, as though there is no power greater than he is. The reality is Yahweh is greater than we are.
And so, in every decision that we make, every choice that we make, every thought we entertain, we are making choices that lead to life and goodness and blessing or choices that lead to His chastisement.
And we are all making choices that lead to life or choices that lead to death, choices that build the Kingdom of Elohim and all that Yahweh is promoting in His Kingdom of love or choices that build the kingdom of rebellion and the kingdom of hatred and self-centeredness, the kingdom that Satan is seeking to build.
Now the unbeliever, obviously, seeks rebellion. And so, Scripture says:
Proverbs 17:11 - An evil [man] seeks only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
A cruel messenger will be dispatched. The word in the Hebrew here for “messenger” is “malak,” which means “angel.” “Messenger” and “angel” is the same word.
Revelation 12:9 - So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
The “angels” that accompany him are these “cruel messengers,” these demons. In the Greek, the word is “angelos,” and also means “a messenger,” and also means “an angel” or, in some cases, “demons.” And so, a cruel demon will be sent against the one who seeks only rebellion.
The cruel angels, the evil angels, are sent to afflict those who are unwilling to yield to Yahweh’s will. Why? Because knowingly or not, that is who they want to be their master.
If you want rebellion, if that is what you want, then you want Satan to be your task master and you will live under his bondage, just as the children of Israel who were afflicted by task masters in Egypt. And these task masters are quite able to cause disease and ailments in the human body.
Some very clear examples:
Matthew 17:15 - “Master, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 – “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 – Then Yahushua answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
Matthew 17:18 - And Yahushua rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
This is an epileptic here… epilepsy, seizures. And some think, “Oh, well, of course. All epilepsy is demons.” Well, not necessarily.
How about this one?
Luke 11:14 - And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
So here we have an example of a demon causing a person to be unable to speak. I think another parallel there to this is he is also deaf.
So Satan had, and has, the ability to cause physical ailments and diseases, and deafness, and different things in our body. Think about that for a moment. Just let that sink in for a second. Satan has the ability to cause disease in your body.
Just think about that. It’s a little unnerving. I mean, how many of us really think about that?
Another example would be the book of Luke here, chapter 13:
Luke 13:10 - Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 – And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise [herself] up.
12 – But when Yahushua saw her, He called [her] to [Him] and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”
Luke 13:13 - And He laid [His] hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified Elohim.
She was bent over. It might be osteoporosis. It might be scoliosis. She could not straighten up and she was bent over.
Luke 13:14 - But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Yahushua had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 – The Master then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead [it] away to water it?
Luke 13:16 - “So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — think of it — for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”
17 – And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
So Satan had bound this woman for eighteen years. And what was the manifestation of his affliction on her? It was she was bent over. She had a physical ailment from Satan having bound her. And Yahushua called her a daughter of Abraham, yet Satan had bound her with a disease. She may have been a believer.
Another example would be the book of Job. We know Job was a righteous man. And yet, Yahweh allowed Satan to attack him.
Job 2:1 - Again there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before YAHWEH, and Satan came also among them to present himself before YAHWEH.
2 – And YAHWEH said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered YAHWEH and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
3 – Then YAHWEH said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that [there is] none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears Elohim and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
There is no reason. And we know the story, hopefully. He attacked his household, his wealth. And I want you to notice, there was no cause to harm Job. Yahweh said so. He was a righteous man, blameless, upright. Yahweh bragged on him.
Here is Satan going to and fro on the earth like a lion seeking whom he may devour, and he cannot harm a righteous man without Yahweh’s permission. And, in fact, Satan said:
Job 1:10 - “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
He had this hedge around him so Satan could not touch him. But Yahweh gave Satan the ability to attack Job’s health.
Job 2:4 - So Satan answered YAHWEH and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
5 – “But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
6 – And YAHWEH said to Satan, “Behold, he [is] in your hand, but spare his life.”
Job 2:7 - So Satan went out from the presence of YAHWEH, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
Obviously, Satan had Yahweh’s permission and even power to cause a physical ailment on Job’s body. Satan was the cause… “painful boils.”
Let that sink in a little more. Not very often do you hear Bible teachers talking about that. Not very often.
You know, Satan has the ability to create a disease in our human bodies. We see that quite clearly. I mean, in Scripture, he really does. And how many people could be suffering from diseases, from afflictions– whether believers or unbelievers– and actually it is Satan who is attacking their bodies? Imagine that!
Suddenly, you get some kind of disease, some kind of skin condition, or some kind of whatever, and the actual cause of that affliction is an unclean spirit roaming about, spirits that you cannot see, and it is afflicting you, and the only way to be healed is to somehow get rid of this unclean spirit.
Now some of you are listening to the message right now and you have some kind of health problem. Think about it. It could be a demon who is causing it. And maybe not through any fault of yours. A little unnerving, isn’t it? I mean, when you think about that.
There are things going on in the spiritual realm many people just have no clue what is even happening.
Even the Apostle Paul… 2 Corinthians 12:7 says:
2Corinthians 12:7 - And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 – Concerning this thing I pleaded with YAHWEH three times that it might depart from me.
We see here even Paul, a great man, afflicted by a demon, a messenger of Satan. And while it was unpleasant for Paul, it served a purpose Yahweh told Paul.
Basically, the abundance of revelations had the capacity of causing him to be exalted above measure and so this was to keep him in a lower place so that he would not be in the way of Yahweh’s glory, so that he would not be the one who was being worshiped, but Yahweh was the One being worshiped.
What was his physical infirmity? He prayed three times it would depart. We don’t know one hundred percent sure, but we have some clues. Galatians 4:13 says:
Galatians 4:13 - You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first.
He had some kind of a problem physically.
Galatians 4:14 - And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of Elohim, [even] as Messiah Yahushua.
15 – What then was the blessing you [enjoyed]? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.
“Physical infirmity… if it were possible, you would have given me your eyes.” Maybe it had something to do with eyesight. I know later in this letter he said:
Galatians 6:11 - See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
He had other people that would write at other times.
1Corinthians 16:20 - All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 – The salutation with my own hand — Paul’s.
Like Paul had to sign his own letter, but he couldn’t quite write very well. Maybe because he had a problem with eyesight.
Colossians 4:18 -
So he had other people writing for him, but he would sign it with his own hand. Now this time in Galatians (Gal. 6:11) it must have been such an extreme need he went ahead and wrote it himself, but he had to use very large letters to do so.
2Thessalonians 3:17 - The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.
And then Romans…
Romans 16:22 - I, Tertius, who wrote [this] epistle, greet you in YAHWEH.
So he generally had other folks helping out. Now I don’t know with one hundred percent certainty that Paul’s issue was poor eyesight, but that would make sense as a possibility. But whatever kind of infirmity it was, it was caused by a demon, caused by a messenger of Satan. A demon or a fallen angel was doing this to Paul.
And Paul asked Yahweh three times, “Let this depart from me.” And Yahweh’s answer was, “My grace is enough.”
2Corinthians 12:9 - And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Messiah may rest upon me.
Think about that. Yahweh told him: “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we are weak, He is strong. He is powerful. He is seen more clearly.
So he said, “All right! HalleluYah! I will boast in these infirmities then, that Yahweh’s power can rest on me.”
2Corinthians 12:10 - Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Why? “Because the power of Messiah rests upon me. HalleluYah! What I am able to accomplish, in spite of my infirmity, reveals that Yahweh is strong through me even though I have this physical ailment.” Poor eyesight, or whatever it might be.
So what is going on here? Righteous men have infirmities. Job was righteous. Paul was righteous. By all appearances, the woman who couldn’t stand straight up was righteous. She was called a daughter of Abraham by Yahushua. But here Satan was afflicting these people. Why? Why would Yahweh allow such a thing?
Well, we see some of the reasons why. He has His purposes. “Hey, My grace is enough, Paul.”
We don’t deserve anything, do we? Do we deserve anything? Do we deserve long life with perfect health? No, we don’t deserve it. The only thing we deserve is the lake of fire. Yahweh says, “Look, My grace is enough, sufficient.”
Paul, like a lot of us, was a terrible sinner in his former life, and for someone like him to receive grace, hey, that is more than enough. Paul recognized that and we can say the same thing. Really, His grace is enough. And the Master told him that he was going to suffer. Yahweh told him. He said:
Acts 9:15 - But the Master said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
16 – “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
“I will show him.” It is possible we will not get healed. It is possible we will not get healed of our physical ailments, some kind of demonic affliction. Yahweh may choose to say to us what He said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient.”
I have to agree. It is sufficient. What do we deserve? We deserve damnation. So for Yahweh to give us grace, it is enough. And also, in Paul’s case, He gave it to Paul to keep him humble.
Yahweh gave him a tremendous amount of wisdom. Even Peter said so in 2 Peter 3:15. Yahweh gave him wisdom. But Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, and the Gentile world at that time placed a high value on the deep levels of knowledge and many of them would not have been satisfied with a simplistic explanation of the good news.
They had their own deep thinking philosophers and stuff, that they needed to unlearn what they had been taught. And so, they needed someone like Paul to address them at a deep level and teach them the right things of Elohim at a deep level.
And so, Paul’s letters are deeper than most of the others and more capable therefore of being misunderstood by those who were unlearned and unstable.
So Yahweh wanted people to look at Paul, and say, “Okay, he has some wisdom, but, man, he has some kind of physical thing happening there, so where is he getting all this? He is not a very impressive looking person.”
Even Yahushua Himself was not considered to be a good looking man according to Isaiah 53, but He spoke with power and wisdom.
They said in 2 Corinthians 10:10:
2Corinthians 10:10 - “For [his] letters,” they say, “[are] weighty and powerful, but [his] bodily presence [is] weak, and [his] speech contemptible.”
They couldn’t figure him out. “How could all that strong wisdom come out of your letters, and yet look at you? You are just a weak looking fellow who can’t speak very well.”
Paul took the attitude, “Hey, Yahweh’s presence and strength is more visibly seen in my weakness. And so, I will boast in the infirmities. I will take pleasure in them if it means that the power of Messiah will be in me at a greater level, so that when I am weak, He would be strong through me.”
So if Yahweh chooses not to bring healing to a person, it doesn’t mean they are hated by Yahweh. It doesn’t mean they are unforgiven by Yahweh. It doesn’t even mean they have a sin in their lives that they have not repented of. It doesn’t even mean that. It could simply mean Yahweh desires to manifest His strength somehow in their weakness.
It could be even a protective mechanism to keep them on the straight and narrow, to keep them humble. And we can take pleasure in it if that is the will of Yahweh, if He wants us to have it.
So, yes, Satan can afflict a believer. He can cause physical ailments on believers. Job and Paul are two big examples of that. Job was eventually healed after he humbled himself and repented for not responding to the afflictions with humility and reverence toward Yahweh. We have to be careful about that ourselves.
Yahweh may want to heal us, but if we are bitter at Him for having some kind of physical ailment, especially one that lasts a long time, and we are questioning Him and His wisdom, and we start to justify ourselves rather than Him, that can prolong our issue.
That is why Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind…
Job 38:1 - Then YAHWEH answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 – “Who [is] this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
3 – Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Job 38:4 - “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell [Me], if you have understanding.
5 – Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
Look, we may never know all the reasons why we have to endure physical diseases, sicknesses, infirmities. We have to be careful, though, not to justify ourselves more than Yahweh. He is allowing it in our life.
Elihu was a man who understood. Elihu answered Job, and says:
Job 35:1 - Moreover Elihu answered and said:
2 – “Do you think this is right? Do you say, `My righteousness is more than Elohim’s’?
To suggest we deserve a healing and Yahweh is unjust for inflicting us is to suggest our righteousness is superior to His. Yahweh has His reasons. It is not wrong to seek out those reasons. Not wrong at all.
In fact, He may want us to seek out those reasons. And we may find out it is because of some sin we are involved in we don’t even realize, or we may find out that that is not true at all.
Well, Job 42… finally, Job says, “Okay, you asked.”
Job 42:3 - [You asked], `Who [is] this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 – Listen, please, and let me speak; [You said], `I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
5 – “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
Job 42:6 - Therefore I abhor [myself], And repent in dust and ashes.”
So whether or not we know the reason, we know Yahweh is love. In Job’s case, it was a lesson for millions and millions of people and future generations.
There is not always a direct line between a person’s specific sin and a specific disease connected to it. There is a less direct line because Adam had sinned, and therefore there would have been no disease in man at all if it were not for the fact that, hey, look, we have all sinned. We have all sinned.
There is not a righteous man on the earth who has lived perfectly from the time they were born until the time they died. Not a single one. We deserve (snap!) death right now. That is what we deserve.
So whatever happens, we deserve, but Yahweh may not be punishing us for a sin we have committed simply because we have a sickness or disease or whatever. There is not always a direct correlation between the afflictions a person experiences and specific sins they may have committed.
But Job’s accusers certainly thought so. Do you know what he called them, Job’s accusers, his three friends? He said:
Job 13:1 - “Behold, my eye has seen all [this], My ear has heard and understood it.
2 – What you know, I also know; I [am] not inferior to you.
3 – But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with Elohim.
Job 13:4 - But you forgers of lies, You [are] all worthless physicians.
5 – Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom!
If you would just not say anything, guys, that would be the smartest thing you could do right now. You are making up these lies against me. You are accusing me of all these things saying I have these boils on my skin because of some sin I did, and you are not healing me. It is not helping.
Yahweh Himself said Job was righteous, but Job’s accusers were hearing accusation from Satan, finger pointing.
Here is one of Job’s accusers. Eliphaz said:
Job 4:12 - “Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it.
13 – In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,
14 – Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake.
Job 4:15 - Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
This is an unclean spirit.
Job 4:16 - It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form [was] before my eyes; [There was] silence; Then I heard a voice [saying]:
17 – `Can a mortal be more righteous than Elohim? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 – If He puts no trust in His servants, [If] He charges His angels with error,
Talking about himself.
Job 4:19 - How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, [Who] are crushed before a moth?
And this sowed a seed in Job’s friends to cause him to just be hounded with all these accusations saying, “Job, you’ve done wrong, you’ve done wrong, you’ve done wrong.” And it was all from Satan, the accuser of the brethren, when Yahweh Himself says, “Job is a righteous man.” They didn’t know. They were listening to the wrong spirit.
So here is what I am coming to in all this. The reason why I am bringing all these Scriptures to light is because, yes, there can be a sin that is a direct cause of a disease or a sickness or an ailment or something happening to our body. It can even be a demon who is afflicting us because of a sin that we are willingly allowing in our life.
The Scriptures are very clear. There is and there can be a connection. And I am going to be speaking a lot here in the future about specific sins being the root of specific diseases. So there is a percentage of cases of sin being the direct cause of a disease.
It is always an indirect cause, because we would all experience no death if sin had not entered the world through Adam. But while it is true that a person may have an affliction or a disease or a sickness because of Yahweh’s chastening, it is also true it might just be that Yahweh wants to heal him. He has HIs own reasons.
Yahushua was answering a question from His disciples:
John 9:1 - Now as [Yahushua] passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2 – And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 – Yahushua answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of Elohim should be revealed in him.
They assumed it was some kind of sin. They were so accustomed to sin being connected to disease, they asked the question. But this tells us, by and large, probably the most common cause of disease is specific sins we are involved in. But Yahushua’s answer was neither this man nor his parents committed any sins.
The blindness was given to him so that the works of Elohim may be revealed in him, and it ended up being a huge, huge testimony to the unbelieving scribes and Pharisees, which revealed the hardness of their hearts.
So I want everyone to understand that even though I do very much believe that sin is quite often the cause of a sickness or disease, it is not always the case.
And for that reason, if we see or we hear about someone who has some kind of sickness or disease, we have to be very careful that we are not thinking evil of that person. Yahweh may be using them for a testimony for some great purpose to glorify His name.
As Yahushua Himself was thought by his enemies to be cursed of some kind of sin in His life, yet He was guiltless… or even as Paul was told that Yahweh’s grace was sufficient for him and to let Yahweh’s strength be manifested in Paul’s weakness…
Or even as the man who was born blind… or even as Job who was given painful boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet… it may be that only the person who has the affliction can really know why they have the ailment to begin with.
I am going to be doing some things and sharing some things with you to help you identify whether that may be the case.
That person may know. They may know already deep down in their heart, “I know why I have this. I know why I have this sickness. I know why I have this disease. Because of something I am allowing in my life right now. I need to get rid of it.”
Other people, to know the cause requires investigation into that person’s life– elders gathering, and praying, and seeking Yahweh’s discernment– and typically, maybe, only can really find the answer in a counseling room with people who are willing to respect that person’s privacy and guard them against gossipers and talebearers.
So I want to make it very clear from the very outset, if you know of someone who has a health problem, don’t assume it is because they have a specific sin in their life. Yes, Yahweh says He will inflict people with diseases who commit sin, but it is not always a direct cause.
You don’t necessarily know what is going on in their life and what Yahweh is doing in that person’s life. You need to place yourself in a safe place and not judge.
Don’t place yourself in danger like Job’s friends, listening to demons who whisper into your ear and accuse the brothers. We don’t need any more of that in the body of Messiah. It is bad enough as it is.
Just place yourself in an “I don’t know” position. Otherwise, you are in great danger of having the same thing perhaps happen to you, because with what judgment you judge, you can be judged.
So, please, in the study today, and in future segments, we are going to take a real hard look at various sicknesses and diseases that can be– CAN BE– directly caused by sin in a person’s life. And the actual answer of whether or not that applies is between them and Yahweh, or between them and whomever they trust to talk to about it and Yahweh.
Scripture says:
Romans 14:4 - Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Elohim is able to make him stand.
So I want to make this very, very clear. We don’t want to go there. We don’t want to go deeply into this to where we end up judging people for specific sins we think they are doing because they have a specific disease. So please understand that. I am not this kind of person.
Now even though we are believers in Yahushua, it is quite possible for us to be afflicted and to have disease and sicknesses as a result of sins in our life. In the book of Acts chapter 5:
Acts 5:1 - But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
2 – And he kept back [part] of the proceeds, his wife also being aware [of it], and brought a certain part and laid [it] at the apostles’ feet.
3 – But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back [part] of the price of the land for yourself?
Acts 5:4 - “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to Elohim.”
5 – Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
6 – And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried [him] out, and buried [him].
Acts 5:7 - Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 – And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 – Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of YAHWEH? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband [are] at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Acts 5:10 - Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying [her] out, buried [her] by her husband.
11 – So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Yes, the New Testament doesn’t end Yahweh’s judgment of sin in the body of the Messiah. Both sickness and death can still be the direct result of sin in a person’s life. Revelation 2:20 says:
Revelation 2:20 - “Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 – “And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
Revelation 2:22 - “Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
There you go.
Revelation 2:23 - “I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
“Cast her into a sickbed.” Yahushua is still in the judging business. It is not limited to believers acting like unbelievers either. We have sickness and death being the direct result of sins committed by the body of Messiah.
Here in 1 Corinthians 11:27, it says:
1Corinthians 11:27 - Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks [this] cup of the Master in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Master.
Those who do so in an unworthy manner.
1Corinthians 11:28 - But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 – For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Master’s body.
30 – For this reason many [are] weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
Dead! And he says…
1Corinthians 11:31 - For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
Very interesting statement. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be sick. We would not be weak. And those who died would not have died.
Yahweh was inflicting disease and death on the Corinthian congregation because of their lack of reverence for the body and blood of Yahushua the Messiah.
I wonder, couldn’t sin actually be the cause of various diseases and sicknesses and deaths in the body of Messiah today? From what I understand, Yahushua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 - Yahushua Messiah [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Yes, He is the same. He doesn’t change. So many people want prayer for healing, and that is a good thing, but how many have considered the possibility their own sin has caused a disease, their own sin has caused a sickness, and if they would only judge themselves, they wouldn’t be judged?
Again, I am not saying everyone who has a disease or a sickness is guilty of a specific sin that can be tied to that disease, but there certainly can be a connection. We see it many times in Scripture. It is these kinds of connections that, as I began to study this topic, really fascinated me.
Could it be that we can actually look at an ailment and can trace back that ailment to a spiritual root, specifically a sin that we may be allowing in our life? And I realize it is a very uncomfortable thing to talk about, but the evidence is pretty clear in Scripture and difficult to ignore.
I mean, look what happened here:
Exodus 15:22 - So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23 – Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 – And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Exodus 15:25 - So he cried out to YAHWEH, and YAHWEH showed him a tree. When he cast [it] into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them,
26 – and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of YAHWEH your Elohim and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I [am] YAHWEH who heals you.”
Another scripture says:
Exodus 23:24 - “You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their [sacred] pillars.
25 – “So you shall serve YAHWEH your Elohim, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
So He told Israel He would protect them from sickness. He would not put any diseases He put on the Egyptians on them if they would simply obey Yahweh’s voice, do what is right in His sight, listen to His commandments, His statutes, refuse idolatry and destroy the idols and pillars.
Yahweh said He would bless their bread and their water. He would take sickness from them. So what happened? Later on they sinned.
Jeremiah 30:12 - “For thus says YAHWEH: `Your affliction [is] incurable, Your wound [is] severe.
13 – [There is] no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines.
14 – All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, [Because] your sins have increased.
Jeremiah 30:15 - Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow [is] incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, [Because] your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
Yahweh told them, “No sense in crying about it. No medicine is going to cure you. I am the One that caused it. I am the One that inflicted your body. The answer is to repent of your iniquity and stop the increase of your sins.”
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 41, verse 1:
Psalms 41:1 - <> Blessed [is] he who considers the poor; YAHWEH will deliver him in time of trouble.
2 – YAHWEH will preserve him and keep him alive, [And] he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3 – YAHWEH will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
Psalms 41:4 - I said, “YAHWEH, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
Connection between “sin” and “sickbed.” It is a believer writing this.
Psalms 41:5 - My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 – And if he comes to see [me], he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; [When] he goes out, he tells [it].
7 – All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt.
Psalms 41:8 - “An evil disease,” [they say], “clings to him. And [now] that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
This is a believer being afflicted with an evil disease. Truly. It can happen. Don’t say it can’t. It can.
So the psalmist admitted he had sinned against Yahweh, and for that reason, he was in need of healing. He cried out to Yahweh for mercy, confessing he had sinned, and this Psalm was his prayer for healing.
Another example in the Psalms… Psalm 30:
Psalms 30:1 - <> I will extol You, O YAHWEH, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 – O YAHWEH my Elohim, I cried out to You, And You healed me.
3 – O YAHWEH, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Psalms 30:4 - Sing praise to YAHWEH, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 – For His anger [is but for] a moment, His favor [is for] life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy [comes] in the morning.
He recognized it. His anger is but for a moment, but His favor, His grace, is for life. So he acknowledged Yahweh did chasten him in His anger over his sin, but also healed him.
Psalm 38… we read this earlier.
Psalms 38:1 - <> O YAHWEH, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 – For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down.
3 – [There is] no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor [any] health in my bones Because of my sin.
Psalms 38:4 - For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 – My wounds are foul [and] festering Because of my foolishness.
6 – I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
Psalms 38:7 - For my loins are full of inflammation, And [there is] no soundness in my flesh.
8 – I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 – YAHWEH, all my desire [is] before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.
Psalms 38:10 - My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
11 – My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off.
12 – Those also who seek my life lay snares [for me]; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.
Psalms 38:13 - But I, like a deaf [man], do not hear; And [I am] like a mute [who] does not open his mouth.
14 – Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth [is] no response.
15 – For in You, O YAHWEH, I hope; You will hear, O YAHWEH my Elohim.
Psalms 38:16 - For I said, “[Hear me], lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt [themselves] against me.”
17 – For I [am] ready to fall, And my sorrow [is] continually before me.
18 – For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
Psalms 38:19 - But my enemies [are] vigorous, [and] they are strong; And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 – Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow [what is] good.
21 – Do not forsake me, O YAHWEH; O my Elohim, be not far from me!
Psalms 38:22 - Make haste to help me, O YAHWEH, my salvation!
A very, very heartfelt prayer for healing– confession. His iniquities had caused his sins. He had inflammation. His skeletal system wasn’t in shalom. He had wounds that were foul and festering because of his sin.
I am going over these for a reason. We need to have it cemented into our heads that our own sins can cause diseases and sicknesses in our body. Even naturally. Just like you jump off the roof and (splat!) you break your legs, there are actually sins that can directly, medically, cause a disease in our body.
In the same way if you hit yourself in the thigh you might give yourself a bruise, if you commit this sin, especially if it is chronic sin, you can end up with a specific disease that medically can be shown this is the reason why you have it.
We have been told we don’t have enough herbs, we missed a proper prescription, we are not eating healthy enough, we are not exercising enough. Look, we need to eat healthy. We need to make sure we are taking care of our body. No question. But Scripture says:
1Timothy 4:8 - For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
Reverence is fear of Elohim. Having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. That is eternal life!
1Timothy 4:9 - This [is] a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
Fearing and reverencing Yahweh will cause us to cease from sin. Walking in righteousness is far more important and profitable and weighty than going to the gym. I don’t know how many times I have heard of some super health conscious person dying of cancer even at a younger age than expected… or some other problem.
Scientific studies aren’t always the answer to explaining why a disease exists. I remember growing up they were always talking about, “Scientific studies are showing butter is dangerous. Don’t eat butter. Instead, eat margarine.” Now they are saying the exact opposite. “Don’t eat margarine. It will kill you. It’ll give you all kinds of heart disease.”
I recently heard of a scientific study that showed half of all the other scientific studies on health were flawed. It was in the news. Then I heard some other people saying, “Well, this study shows that is not true.” I keep waiting for the scientific study that says, “Placebos cause cancer.” I mean, that would really throw people into a tailspin.
Of course, I am being facetious here. I believe I can explain why these studies sometimes contradict. I think I can explain why someone who eats unhealthy lives into his 80s and 90s, while a person who “eats healthy” dies young.
These studies only account for the physical aspect of man. There is also a spiritual and an emotional aspect of man that can actually be the cause of various diseases. Even doctors are now starting to recognize, for instance, the impact of stress and anxiety on a person’s health.
A lot of people will say, “Well, stress is a risk factor.” Medical doctors, though, are not going to solve that problem for you. That is a spiritual problem. It is not what they are trained for. Herbs are not going to solve that. Medicines are not going to solve that. Prescriptions are not going to solve that.
I am not against all doctors. Yahweh has given doctors an amazing ability to diagnose and define problems with our body. Sometimes they have a solution. Other times they don’t. Most of what they do is just manage disease. Manage it, not solve it.
But what I am planning on sharing with you is, often times, Yahweh can heal us. And we don’t even have to bother a doctor. We know Scripture says He can and often will.
Psalms 103:2 - Bless YAHWEH, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3 – Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
See the connection between iniquities and diseases.
Psalms 103:4 - Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 – Who satisfies your mouth with good [things, So that] your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Sometimes people go to the doctor first and Yahweh second. Or someone goes to Yahweh first and may not realize there is a sin in their lives that they are either blind to or are not taking seriously enough and they are sick as a result. Sometimes sin will have a natural consequence in our body. Our bodies were not built to live with it.
But if we are willing to take a look at ourselves, as Scripture says, “Judge ourselves,” then we would not be judged.
1Corinthians 11:30 - For this reason many [are] weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 – For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
So I am going to go into this more in our next segment and some of this may take you out of your comfort zone. Some of it may not apply to you because you are already healthy.
But you will at some point in your life have a health problem. It is inevitable because we are all going to die, and it is better that we are ready and prepared to face it… and better yet to prevent it.
Having an understanding as to the scriptural cause of certain ailments will help to insure our sickness is not through any direct sin in our lives, but it is just simply our time to go.
It is much better to die because it is our time to go than to, as we see here in 1 Corinthians, die prematurely because of sin in our life we have not addressed.
Wouldn’t you rather die because Yahweh says, “Let’s go,” rather than, “I am going to judge this person for their sin,” and now they are going to die, now they are going to get sick, now they are going to get weak? Right?
And so, even though it is uncomfortable to talk about, because sicknesses can uncover our sins, expose us– and we are not comfortable being exposed– I am going to stay as close to Scripture as I can and let His word lead us into a biblical understanding of health.
Yahweh has all the answers. He is the One who created our bodies. He knows what is best for our bodies. And we need to find out what He has to say about sin and disease and sickness and all these things.
And, look, someone may look at you, and think, “Oh, well, you have this ailment, huh? I wonder if you have some sin going on over there.” And so, we don’t want to talk about it. “Oh, no, no, no, no. Are you judging me? Don’t judge me. Don’t judge me.”
Nobody should judge you. It may be satanic that they are doing so, as we have said earlier. Maybe you feel people are looking at you and think, “I wonder if they are involved in this.” We can’t worry about that. Let’s look at the Scriptures.
Let’s not fear what Scripture may have to share about our inadequacies, about our weaknesses, about our failures, because we love Yahweh.
We are not just turning from sin so that we can be healed. We want to turn from sin because we don’t want to sin. We don’t want to displease Yahweh. We don’t want to live in a way that is different than the way Messiah lived.
And so, I encourage you, tune into the next segment. Don’t be afraid of what we may uncover. There are lots of folks dealing with the sin problem. In fact, we all are. So we might as well just deal with it, look at it, unpackage it, see if there could be a connection.
There may not be. You may be a Job. You may be a Paul. You might be blind from birth. That might be you. It may not be. The only way to find out is to take a look deeply into Scripture and see the connections. And we are going to be doing that in our next segment.
And so, my brothers and sisters, praise Yahweh. Praise Yahweh for His Word. There are so many things it has to teach us, so many things that we can learn from. And I look forward to continuing this journey as we continue to examine what the Scriptures really have to say about health.
So until next week, my brothers and sisters, may Yahweh bless you, and may Yahweh truly have mercy on us all.