Sickness in the Bible and Death Occurs from Several Causes
In the Bible sickness and death occurs from several causes, and some of these we would not expect. Below are seven reasons the Bible gives for sickness and death.
1. Sickness can come from a demonic spirit.
In the gospel of Luke, we read of Jesus healing a woman with a spirit of infirmity that caused her back to deform and bend for 18 years (Luke 13:10-17).
2. Sickness and death can come from the hand of God.
This happened in the case of Nabal, Abigail’s husband who both insulted David and repaid him evil for good.
So it was in the morning when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it happened after ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died (1 Samuel 25:37-38).
Others who God struck with immediate sickness and death, and they died suddenly were Ananias and Sapphira. because they lied to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the proceeds from a sale of a possession and lied saying that they were giving all the proceeds (Acts 5:1-10).
The Bible also records the death of Uzzah who accidentally touched the ark of the Lord as he was helping to carry it when he stumbled, and God struck him. 11 Samuel 6:7 states, “The anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and he died there by the ark of God.”
God struck the people of Ashodod struck with tumors when they took the ark of God and brought it into their temple (1 Samuel 5:6).
The Bible also tells us that those who take the mark of the beast God will afflict with foul and loathsome sores (Revelation 16:2).
3. Sickness and death can come from the sinful eating the Lord’s supper.
The Bible talks about it as eating in and unworthy manner, which means they were coming to the Lord’s supper like it was the soup kitchen and the local bar (1 Corinthians 11:29).
1 Corinthians 11: 21 states, “For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and another is drunk.” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:30, ” For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”
4. Sickness and death can come because it is our time to die and this is how we should die.
2 Kings 13:14 states, “Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die,”which tells us that Elisha’s sickness was God’s will and part of His plan for the end of Elisha’s life.
5. Sickness can come as a trial in our lives and we can use our experience to help others.
The Bible is very clear that by the trials we go through we can in turn help others from our experience. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 states, ” Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all our tribulation, which we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
6. Sickness and death can come because of our defilement of the Temple of God.
The sins of gluttony, food, alcohol and drug abuse can harm our bodies and can end in our death.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 states, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
7. Sickness and death can come because of unrepentant sin.
Paul admonished the Corinthian church for allowing a man to have a sexual affair with his step mother. He told them that they should confront the man who was doing this deed and if he did not repent he advised in 1 Corinthians 5:5, “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”