Topical Bible: Sickness: Often Incurable by Human Means

◄ Sickness: Often Incurable by Human Means ►

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Sickness, a condition of ill health or disease, is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, often highlighting the limitations of human ability to cure and the necessity of divine intervention. The Scriptures provide numerous accounts where sickness is portrayed as beyond the reach of human remedy, emphasizing the sovereignty and power of God in matters of health and healing.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, sickness is frequently depicted as a consequence of sin or disobedience, yet it also serves as a means for God to demonstrate His power and mercy. For instance, in the case of King Asa, we read, "In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians" (2 Chronicles 16:12). Asa's reliance solely on human physicians, without seeking divine help, underscores the futility of human efforts when God's intervention is absent.

The account of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, further illustrates this theme. Naaman suffered from leprosy, a disease considered incurable by human means. It was only through the prophet Elisha, acting on God's command, that Naaman was healed after washing in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:1-14). This account highlights the necessity of obedience to God's instructions and the limitations of human wisdom in the face of divine power.

New Testament Insights

The New Testament continues to affirm the theme of sickness as often incurable by human means, with Jesus Christ's ministry serving as a testament to God's ultimate authority over illness. In the Gospels, numerous instances of miraculous healings demonstrate that what is impossible for man is possible with God. For example, the woman with the issue of blood had suffered for twelve years and had spent all she had on physicians, yet her condition only worsened. It was her faith in Jesus that led to her healing: "Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction" (Mark 5:29).

Similarly, the healing of the man born blind in John 9 illustrates the inadequacy of human solutions and the sufficiency of Christ's power. Jesus declares, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:3). This statement reveals that sickness can serve a greater purpose, showcasing God's glory and authority.

Theological Implications

The Bible's portrayal of sickness as often incurable by human means serves to remind believers of their dependence on God. It underscores the belief that while human efforts and medical advancements are valuable, they are ultimately limited without divine intervention. The Apostle Paul, in his own experience with a "thorn in the flesh," acknowledges this dependence, stating, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness'" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).

Throughout Scripture, the recurring theme of sickness beyond human cure points to a deeper spiritual truth: the need for faith and trust in God's sovereign will. It encourages believers to seek God's guidance and healing, recognizing that true restoration comes from Him alone.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 28:27
The LORD will smite you with the botch of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof you can not be healed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Chronicles 21:18
And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Lame Man Cured by Peter and John.
... performed, was afflicted with a lameness, incurable by any ... from the rich; and perhaps
he often found, that ... they rescued from the languor of sickness, and the ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture iv the lame man.htm

On the Education of Children
... are in other respects good men have often too much ... who giveth medicine to heal our
natural sickness; that all ... as in us lies, to make their disease incurable. ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 95 on the education.htm

2 Sam. 23:4-5. Without Clouds.
... Sickness, and pain, and death come to all classes, and ... The young often die before
the old, and the ... of the most fearful description, and incurable disease, make ...
/.../the upper room being a few truths for the times/chapter xiv 2 sam 23 4-5.htm

1 Thessalonians v. 19-22
... When you are involved in poverty and sickness, if from no ... under disease, but he has
one that is incurable. ... and dost not receive, consider how often thou hast ...
/.../homily xi 1 thessalonians v.htm

A Treatise to Prove that no one Can Harm the Man who Does not ...
... health of body that thou shouldest dread sickness, nor the ... of them, and a kind of
incurable craze, and ... lepers, and cast out devils, and often heard discourses ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/a treatise to prove that.htm

2 Cor. xiii. 1
... for thy stomach's sake and thine often weaknesses." (1 Timothy 5:23.) For all these
denote bodily sickness. ... fevers those are sorer, yea incurable, which seize ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xxix 2 cor xiii.htm

That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party ...
... "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah ... Their wound was incurable, and their bruise
grievous, as Jeremiah ... a point as this.4. Men's practice is often lame and ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/section iii that the employing.htm

An Exhortation to Theodore after his Fall. Letter I.
... bring back those who are far gone in sickness with careful ... in the case of the body
it naturally often happens that many wounds are incurable, yet we do ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/an exhortation to theodore after.htm

Christ's Hospital
... Often as we have read this Psalm, we can never ... I. First, then, consider THE PATIENTS
AND THEIR SICKNESS. ... Certain symptoms have proved that they are incurable. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/christs hospital.htm

On Infants' Early Deaths.
... in this world, but succumbs to a sickness even unto ... Often, too, the Arranger of this
Feast of Life ... channel into which to convey this incurable disease, though ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on infants early deaths.htm