(Proverbs 13:25 KJV) The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall wantSin is destructive. It may be fun at the moment. It may be cool. It may feel good. It will destroy you. This is expanded in an often overlooked verse.
(Exodus 15:26 KJV) 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.Righteous living leads to a healthier life. Sure, righteous people get sick. So do rich people. This is not a blanket guarantee that God’s people will never get sick. It is a guarantee that God will not send the consequences of disobedience on His people. Better health would seem to be a part of prosperity.
S.I. McMillen makes the case in a book called None of These Diseases. He goes into great detail about the physical infirmities that can be avoided by following the standards taught in the Bible. I think the original is out of print. I reread it in the third edition, referenced below. I found that the rewriting had added a bit of political correctness but also a lot of startling statistics with footnotes for the research. One of the startling statistics he gives in the new book comes from research done in Africa regarding the scourge of HIV.
“Uncircumcised men were up to eight times more likely to become infected with AIDS.” p. 75I doubt if you will hear that on the evening news. Maybe you need better sources of information.
.McMillen, S.I. and Stern, David E. None of These Diseases. Grand Rapids:
Fleming H. Revell, Third Edition, 2000.
homo unius libri
I kind of noticed that many of the commandments in the Old Testament were for actions that would keep God's people away from things that would harm them (e.g. cleanliness, keeping people with certain diseases separate, etc.)
ReplyDeleteHow else would you train a barbarian group to be healthy and prosper. I expect that we will find logical, scientific reasons for many commands that seem only ritual.
DeleteGrace and peace.