Healing in the Old Testament
Now that we have studied the first five books of the Bible, we will continue with the rest of the Old Testament. In this chapter, we will look at what the books from Joshua to Job reveal about health and sickness.
The first five books focus on the beginning of the nation of Israel, the Exodus, and the wilderness journey. In contrast, the following books show how the people lived in the Promised Land. We read about Joshua leading the conquest of Canaan, the period of the judges and kings, and later, Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilding the land after the exile. These books make up a significant part of Israel’s history.
Reason 19: Deeds, Not Words
In the previous chapter, we read that God made several promises to the people of Israel. One of those promises was that He would remove all sickness from their midst:
So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. (Exodus 23:25)
This is a wonderful promise from God. But did He keep this promise? Let us look at what Joshua said about God’s faithfulness:
Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. (Joshua 21:45)
Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. (Joshua 23:14)
What a powerful testimony! At the end of his life, Joshua could boldly say, “All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” Joshua and the Israelites not only heard God’s promises—such as health and blessing—but they also experienced their fulfillment.
We can be confident that God will fulfill every word He has spoken. He is a covenant-keeping God. When we keep our part of the covenant, He is always faithful to keep His. There are no exceptions and no uncertainty. When God gives a promise in His Word, He will surely keep it. As the apostle Paul wrote:
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, (...) was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:19-20)
As many promises of God as there are, in Jesus they are Yes, and in Him, Amen. Amen means “so be it.” So if God has made a promise, it is settled. You do not have to doubt whether God will give you a promise that is written in the Bible. When you are in Christ, every promise is “Yes and Amen.” Healing is for you because God has promised it to you. It is not maybe for you—it is certainly for you.
When Joshua looked back at the end of his life, he could only say one thing:
“All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)
I pray that when you reach old age, you will be able to say the same: that as you look back on your life, you will see the goodness and the glory of God, and remember that every promise in His Word was fulfilled in your life.
Joshua was not the only one who testified to the faithfulness of God. Solomon said the same when he dedicated the temple, as we will discuss more in the next reason.
Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. (1 Kings 8:56)
There is a key from Joshua’s life that is important in receiving the promises of God. When Moses died and Joshua became the new leader of Israel, the word of the Lord came to him. God said:
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:7-9)
As I have said, God is a God of covenants. When Joshua began his leadership, God commanded him to walk in full obedience to the entire Law. He was not to let the Law depart from his mouth, and he was to meditate on it day and night.
In the same way, as you stand in faith for healing, it is important to give careful attention to what the Word of God says about healing. God’s promises of healing should be in our mouths. We can choose to fill ourselves with the promises of God rather than with the fear, panic, and worry of the world. Fill your heart with God's Word daily. Meditate on it, speak it, and act on it. When we do this, God’s Word brings healing to our bodies.
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22)
Reason 20: The Prayer of Solomon
We now make a leap of more than 400 years in history. After the death of King David, his son Solomon became king of Israel. David had a desire to build a temple for the Lord, but God did not permit him to do so. Because David had been a man of war and had shed much blood, God chose his son Solomon to build the temple instead.
When Solomon became king, he built the house of the Lord, and the construction took seven years. After the temple was completed, Solomon dedicated it to God and prayed on behalf of the people of Israel. He asked the Lord to restore the people if they sinned, were taken into exile, and then repented and prayed toward the temple.
When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers. (1 Kings 8:33-34)
Notice the phrase, “because they have sinned against You.” The reason Israel went into exile and experienced famine and other calamities was because they sinned against God. When the Israelites obeyed God’s commandments, He was faithful to keep His part of the covenant. But when they disobeyed, they came under the curse of the Law of Moses. Yet when they repented, every plague, drought, oppression by foreign nations, and disease would be removed. Solomon also prayed:
When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men). (1 King 8:37-39)
What a promise from God! If someone was suffering or sick, and then repented and prayed toward the temple, Solomon asked God to intervene. In the case of sickness, this meant the sickness would be removed and the person would be healed. And the beautiful thing is that Solomon prayed not only for the Israelites, but also for foreigners from other nations who prayed toward the temple of God—in other words, for the Gentiles who desired to serve the Lord.
Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. (1 Kings 8:41-43)
Solomon prayed not only for his people, but also for all who would call upon the name of the Lord—even those from distant nations. And do you know the wonderful thing? God answered Solomon’s prayer.
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.” (2 Chronicles 7:12-16)
If prayer directed toward the earthly temple could bring healing to both Israelites and foreigners, how much more can prayer focused on the grace of Jesus Christ bring healing today? We no longer need to look to a physical building where God once dwelt—we now look to Jesus Christ, who lives forever.
And God is not far away. He is near because the Holy Spirit dwells within us.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
God desires to heal—both in the days of Solomon and today. Just as He heard the Israelites when they cried out to Him, He will also hear us when we call upon Him with a believing heart.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)
Reason 21: Job was Healed
This reason may surprise you because the story of Job is often used as an argument against healing. But the truth is this: Job was healed by God. That means the book of Job is actually a healing story. We also find beautiful passages about Job in the rest of the Bible. Let’s first look at those, and then we will focus on the book of Job itself.
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)
What does James say is the lesson of Job’s story? Not that God gives bad gifts to His children. Not that God makes people sick without a cause. Not that suffering and sickness come from God’s hand. James teaches us that we must endure, just as Job did. And when we persevere, we will see what Job saw: that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. The book of Job was not written to show that, in His sovereignty, God randomly afflicts people with sickness. It was written to show that God is merciful, and that His compassion is revealed.
Job is also mentioned in the Old Testament, in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a prophet who warned the people that they would go into exile if they did not repent of their idolatry and return to the Lord. In this warning, God spoke the following:
The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God. “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:12-20)
This clearly shows that God will do everything to save and protect the righteous from plague and trouble. If Job had lived during the time of the exile, God would have spared his life because he was righteous.
But why did Job become sick? Let’s briefly look at a few key facts from the story of Job—because the explanation is quite simple. In fact, as you will see, the book of Job reveals that God is good and that He is a Healer.
Fact 1: God did not make Job sick—the devil did. At the beginning of the book of Job, we read that Satan brought misery upon Job and made him sick:
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (Job 2:7)
It was Satan who afflicted Job with sickness. But you may wonder: Didn’t God allow or even provoke it?
Then the Lord 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 God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8)
Let’s look closely at Job 1:8, where it appears that God brought up Job in a conversation with Satan. In the New King James Version, it seems that God is challenging Satan to look at Job. However, let’s also consider the Amplified Bible:
AMP: The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on my servant Job?”
It is not as if God suddenly introduced Job and Satan didn’t know who He was referring to. A more literal translation from the Hebrew is: “Have you set your heart on My servant Job?” This shows that Satan was already thinking about Job, and God, knowing this, addressed it directly. God did not give Satan the idea to attack Job—Satan had already set his heart against him. So, it was Satan—not God—who brought suffering to Job.
Fact 2: Job lived before Moses and before Jesus. Job lived before the time of the covenants made through Moses. Later, when God gave His covenant to Israel through Moses, He revealed Himself as the Healer of His people:
“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Exodus 15:26, ESV)
If Job had lived after Moses, he would have been entitled to the covenant promises. But Job lived before Moses. That means we cannot compare Job’s situation with that of the Israelites under the Law—and certainly not with ours today. We not only have the promise of healing found in Exodus 15, but Jesus Christ Himself came to earth to redeem us from sin, spiritual death, and sickness.
In Ezekiel 14, we saw that Job was counted among the righteous and would have been protected from pestilence, even under the Law of Moses:
“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:19-20)
Fact 3: God protected Job. Even though Job lived before the covenant given through Moses, God still protected him. In fact, before the devil attacked him, Job was both prosperous and healthy:
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. (Job 1:10)
God had placed a hedge of protection around Job, and the devil could not touch him. Even when Satan was testing Job, he was forbidden to take Job’s life.
And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” (Job 2:6)
Fact 4: Job could be attacked by the devil.
The Bible teaches that there are two spiritual kingdoms operating on the earth: the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Jesus. Every unbeliever automatically belongs to the kingdom of darkness. But the moment a person is born again, they are transferred into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. (Colossians 1:13)
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19, ESV)
I do not know exactly what the spiritual reality was for people who lived before Christ and before the Law of Moses. But what I do know is this: now that we belong to the kingdom of God, we can—and must—resist the attacks of the devil. We no longer live under his power; we live under God’s authority.
Why did the devil have access to attack Job? I do not know for certain. Some suggest it was because Job was afraid. He feared for his children and was deeply concerned that they might lose their relationship with God. Every day, Job would offer sacrifices to God on their behalf.
So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly. (Job 1:5)
Job also said:
For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. (Job 3:25)
Honestly, I do not know for sure why the devil was able to attack Job. Maybe it was fear; maybe it was something else.
After Job had suffered, his friends came to visit him. They made all kinds of accusations, claiming that Job must have hidden sin and that this was the reason for his suffering. But this was not true. In fact, God defended Job.
And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:7)
So even though I don’t know exactly why Job was attacked, I do know that we live in a completely different reality today. The devil may try to attack us with sickness, but we have victory in Christ. When we resist the devil, he must flee from us. We have been given authority over all the power of the enemy—something Job did not have. What happened to Job does not have to happen to us.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)
Fact 5: We must be careful when quoting from the book of Job. It is important to understand that the book of Job is part of the Bible’s wisdom literature. The story centers on a long dialogue between Job and his friends. While we can learn valuable lessons from these conversations, it is essential to realize that not everything spoken by Job or his friends was true. God pointed this out. To Job, the Lord said:
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?” (Job 38:1-2)
Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? (Job 40:8, ESV)
And to Job’s friends, God said:
And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:7)
In response to God’s correction, Job confessed:
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, (…) Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:3-6)
Do you see? It is dangerous to base a theological belief on a statement from the book of Job that is not confirmed elsewhere in Scripture. Some of Job’s words reflect his suffering and limited understanding at that time. Therefore, we should not build doctrine on certain verses in Job that conflict with the broader teaching of the Bible. For example, we cannot confidently declare the following verses as theological truth because they do not align with the full counsel of God’s Word:
And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:10)
While Job did not sin with his lips, his understanding of God’s nature was incomplete. The rest of Scripture clearly shows that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and that it is the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Job did not know it was the devil who took everything from him; he believed it was God who caused his suffering. That is why we must be careful not to quote just any verse from the book of Job as doctrinal truth.
Fact 6: Job was not sick for decades. When we read the book of Job, we see the intense suffering he endured. Even a single day of such pain would be terrible. Some people assume Job was sick for decades, but that is not what Scripture says. Job himself said:
So I have been allotted months of futility, and wearisome nights have been appointed to me. (Job 7:3)
Job spoke of months, not years. While we don’t know the exact length of his suffering, we do know it was limited in time. After God restored him, Job lived another 140 years in health and blessing:
After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. (Job 42:16-17)
Fact 7: Job was healed by God. It is very important to understand that Job did not remain sick. God healed him. This makes the book of Job a story of healing and restoration.
And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. (...) Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; (Job 42:10-12)
Job was healed—this was a clear act of God’s mercy and grace. Job endured, and God restored him.
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)
Fact 8: Job is never used in the Bible as an argument that God does not heal. When Jesus and the disciples ministered on earth, they never said, “You must suffer like Job.” No, Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed by the devil, and He taught His disciples to do the same.
So, the story of Job is not a message of hopeless suffering. It is a powerful testimony of a man who endured, and who was healed and restored by God. Like Job, let us persevere—and receive wholeness and healing from our compassionate and merciful Lord.
Summary
In this chapter, we studied healing in the Old Testament and read several passages related to health and restoration.
One key truth is that God fulfills all His promises. We saw this in the testimony of Joshua, who declared that not one word of God’s promises had failed. This shows that God is faithful to His covenant, and His promises have always been, and will always be, fulfilled.
We also looked at Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple. Solomon prayed for the healing and restoration of the people—not only for the Israelites, but also for the foreigners who called upon the name of the Lord. This reveals that God’s healing is not limited to one group; it is available to all who seek Him.
We also considered the story of Job. Though he suffered greatly, he was not sick for his entire life. Job was healed by God, and his later years were more blessed than his beginning. This makes the book of Job a testimony of healing and restoration. It is important to be careful when quoting from the book of Job, as it is wisdom literature. The conversations between Job and his friends were not always accurate, and God rebuked both Job and his friends for their words.
This chapter emphasizes that God is a God of healing and restoration—even in the Old Testament. He is faithful, merciful, and compassionate. The story of Job shows that even in times of suffering, God can heal and restore. As believers, we must resist the attacks of the devil and keep our focus on faith and the Word of God.