And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. (Exodus 15:26)
Here is recorded a wonderful promise. If God’s people would henceforth render strict obedience to all His commandments, then He would “heal” them as He had healed the water, and would keep them free from both physical and moral evil. Their physical well-being was therefore made dependent upon obedience. This great principle was true not only in the time of the Hebrews but through all ages. The physical well-being of the human race is still to a large extent dependent upon their regard for divine law. Those who disregard the laws that govern healthful living have but themselves to blame for the consequences. On the other hand, those who live according to divinely imparted instructions on health will experience a marked freedom from diseases. God is interested not only in man’s spiritual state but also in his physical state (see 3 John 2).
These Diseases.
Some of these diseases are enumerated in Deut. 28:27, and reference to them is also made in Deut. 7:15. It is known that certain diseases have always been prevalent among the Egyptians with extreme severity, especially skin and eye diseases. During their long sojourn in Egypt the Hebrews were well acquainted with the diseases of Egypt.
The Lord that healeth thee.
The Egyptian physicians were famous all over the ancient Near East, but extant texts show that they did not consider the power of healing to be their own, but their gods’. In their medical handbooks, some of which are now 4,000 years old, diseases are divided into three classes:
(1) those that can be treated;
(2) those that can be arrested;
(3) those that cannot be cured.
Though medical science has advanced tremendously since the days of Moses, the above classification still stands. The surgeon can make an incision, remove an organ, and sew up the wound, but he cannot heal it. The physician can administer certain drugs, which he knows to have certain effects on certain ailments, but there his skill ends. The actual healing process is performed by a power over which human science has no control. It is still true in the 20th century as it was in the time of Moses that God alone imparts healing. He is the Master Physician.