The Healing Covenant
In my book, From Law to Grace, we looked at the importance of the Law of Moses for the believer. The summary of that book is that a believer is not made righteous by the law, but only by the grace of God through faith and the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Nevertheless, we can learn many valuable lessons from the Law of Moses.
First, the Law showed what sin is and made it clear that no one can be righteous by their works. Everyone needs the grace of God. The Law also revealed the character of Jesus, for He fulfilled the Law of Moses.
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)
The Law also shows us what God considers important. For example, it teaches us about God’s love for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger—and His love for these groups has not changed in the New Testament. The Law also commands us to love one another and to love God. This, too, remains the same in the New Covenant.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
Finally, the Law reveals what God calls a blessing and what He calls a curse. When the people of Israel obeyed the commandments of the Law, they received God's blessing. When they sinned and disobeyed His commandments, they came under the curse. This brings us to an important question: Does God consider sickness a blessing or a curse?
As stated earlier, a believer is not made righteous by the law, but by the grace of God. And we no longer need to keep the sacrificial laws to receive forgiveness. So, why should we look to the Law of Moses for answers about whether it is God's will to heal? Here comes the beautiful part: through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been redeemed from the Law and have received the Holy Spirit to guide us. Jesus also redeemed us from every curse written in the Law of Moses. But the blessings and promises that God gave to Israel now belong to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. So, if God made a promise in the Law, that promise still applies to believers under the New Covenant.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, we are entitled to the promises contained in the Law. Because Jesus forgave all our sins and redeemed us from the curse of the Law, the curse no longer has any right over us.
The following Bible verse shows that God has given us a better covenant than the Law of Moses:
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)
This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. (Hebrews 7:22. ESV)
I want to give a word of caution. As we read about the covenant and the Law of Moses in this chapter, we must remember that God has given us a better covenant. This means two things:
1. The things God promised in the Law of Moses also apply to us. If that were not true, then God would have given us a lesser or inferior covenant—which would contradict His Word.
2. God gives us even more because we live under a better covenant. God can give us more than He gave to the people of Israel in the Old Testament because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Jesus fulfilled the Law, and because of His sacrifice, believers have received the Holy Spirit and the resurrection power of Christ.
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:19-21)
Reason 14: God’s Covenant of Healing in the Law
In the previous chapter, we saw several stories of God healing individuals. Now we will look at God’s covenant for healing. When Israel was delivered from the land of Egypt and on their way to the Promised Land, God made a powerful promise:
“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)
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. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. (Exodus 23:25-26)
Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. (...) And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. (Deuteronomy 7:12-15)
Hallelujah! God made a covenant with the people of Israel. If they obeyed Him, He promised to keep every disease away from them, and there would be no sickness among them.
The special thing about a covenant is that it involves two parties, and both have responsibilities. God made a covenant with Israel. It was Israel’s responsibility to keep God’s commandments and statutes. If they did, God would keep His part of the covenant—He would heal them and keep them healthy.
Have you ever heard someone say, “God doesn’t always heal. God is not a gumball machine where you put in a dollar and receive healing”? Don’t worry. I don’t believe God is a gumball machine either. But I do believe that God keeps His covenants. If God makes a covenant and we walk in that covenant, He will keep His part. God cannot break His covenant—because then He would be a liar. And God does not lie.
(...) God, who cannot lie (...). (Titus 1:2)
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
When God makes a covenant with you and says, “If you do this and that, I will take care of this and that,” then you have a one hundred percent guarantee that God will do what He has promised—as long as you keep your part of the covenant. Healing is part of God’s covenant, and God cannot, will not, and does not break His covenant.
This covenant of healing was not given only to the people of Israel. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, believing Gentiles—those who are not Jews—have also been brought into the covenant of God.
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh (...) that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. (Ephesians 2:11-15)
Before we came to faith, we were excluded from the citizenship, the covenants, and the promises given to Israel. But now, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, both Jews and Gentiles have been made one. This means that believing Gentiles have been given the same citizenship, the same covenants, and the same promises that God gave to Israel. In other words, we have received the blessing of Abraham and share in the same covenants and promises found in the Book of the Law.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
The covenant of healing has come to all believers through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If we keep our part of the covenant of healing, God will surely keep His part.
Reason 15: Sickness is Curse, Health is Blessing
In the Law of Moses, we can clearly see whether God considers sickness a curse or a blessing. Let me explain how we can discover this.
After Moses and the people of Israel were delivered from Egypt, they passed through the parted sea and came to Mount Sinai. It was there that Moses received the Law of God. This Law included the Ten Commandments and many other commandments that the people of Israel were required to obey. The Law was part of the covenant that God made with the people of Israel. In a covenant, there are two parties, each with their responsibilities. God made it clear how He would bless the Israelites if they kept His covenant. As you read through the Law of Moses, you will often come across this kind of statement:
But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will … (Exodus 23:22)
God said, “If you obey Me, I will do something for you. Then I will bless you.” But if the people of Israel did not obey God's voice, the blessing would not come—instead, the curse would come. Before we take a closer look at the curse, let me ask you a question: What does God desire? Does He want us to obey Him and receive the blessing, or to disobey Him and receive the curse?
You probably know the answer already, but let’s let the Bible speak for itself:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
God wants us to choose obedience, life, and blessing. He does not want us to be cursed or to live under the curse. God desires that we obey Him and live a life filled with His blessing.
Now it is time to look at what God considers a curse and what He considers a blessing—specifically in relation to health. A full overview is found in Deuteronomy 28. Let’s begin by looking at the curses:
15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. 59 then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. 60 And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28, ESV)
Let me be clear: it is not my intention to condemn anyone who is sick. I simply want to show that God does not consider sickness a blessing, but a curse. In fact, Deuteronomy 28:61 states that every sickness and every affliction is part of the curse of the Law. Sickness is a curse, and God does not desire to curse us. He desires to bless us. God wants us to obey Him and listen to His voice so that we may live in His blessing and not under the curse.
Now, let us take another look at what God calls a blessing. We have already studied the following Bible verses, but I would like to read them again:
“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)
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)
Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. (...) And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. (Deuteronomy 7:12-15)
If we obey God and listen to His voice, He promises to remove sickness from our midst, to be our Healer, and to keep us in health. This is the blessing of God. When we keep our part of the covenant, God will surely keep His.
For this reason, it becomes clear: sickness is a curse, and health or healing is a blessing. God calls us to walk in obedience so that we may live under His blessing and in health, and not under the curse and in sickness. For the next reason, we turn to the New Testament and discover something wonderful that Jesus did for us—so that no child of God would ever have to live under the curse.
Reason 16: The Curse of Sickness is Broken
In the previous reason, we saw that God considers sickness a curse. If the Israelites listened to God's voice and obeyed Him, He promised to bless them with health, and there would be no sickness among them. That alone is a great gift of God's grace. But the New Testament reveals something even greater.
Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the entire curse of the Law no longer applies to the children of God. Jesus bore the curse of the Law on the cross of Calvary. No matter what sins or shortcomings you may have committed in the past, you have been forgiven through His sacrifice, and the curse has no more power over you. God placed the curse upon Jesus Christ so that we could receive the blessing.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)
Earlier, in Galatians chapter 3, Paul explained that no one becomes righteous by keeping the Law of Moses. All have sinned and broken the Law, and therefore all have come under its curse.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (Galatians 3:10)
But then Jesus Christ came to earth to bear the curse for us on the cross. Jesus was crucified and became a curse so that we could live free from the curse.
When we look at how Jesus was crucified, we can clearly see that He bore the symbols of the curse. Jesus was crucified on a wooden tree—the cross—which is a symbol of the curse.
If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
In addition, Jesus wore a crown of thorns—another symbol of the curse.
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. (John 19:2)
This reminds us of what God said to Adam after he sinned:
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.” (Genesis 3:17-18)
Because Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the curse entered the world. One result of that curse was that the ground would produce thorns and thistles. When Jesus wore a crown of thorns on the cross, He bore not only the curse of the Law but also the curse that came upon the earth. Jesus was cursed during His crucifixion because He hung on a tree, and He bore the curse because He wore the crown of thorns. Jesus took upon Himself the curse that we deserved. Because of this, we can live free from the terrible curses.
Now I would like to briefly list some of the curses that Jesus bore on the cross of Calvary. You will see that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was the moment when the curse was broken and the blessing was restored. Jesus ensured that the power of the curse was broken on the cross and through His resurrection.
1. Jesus bore our punishment and guilt so that we might receive forgiveness and peace with God.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, (...) (Isaiah 53:5)
2. Jesus was made sin so that we might receive the righteousness of God.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)[1]
3. Jesus died our death so that we might live a holy life.
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:10-11)
4. Jesus bore our sicknesses and infirmities so that we might live in health.
(...) And healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:16-17)
5. Jesus became poor so that we might become rich.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
6. Jesus suffered separation from God so that we might dwell in God’s presence forever. When Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn in two—signifying that God’s presence is no longer separated from His people.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, (...) “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (...) Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; (Matthew 27:46-51)
This overview is not complete, but it clearly shows that God’s grace was poured out when Jesus gave His life on the cross. The curse was broken, and we no longer have to live under its power. On the cross, Jesus did more than provide forgiveness of sins—He broke all the curses of the Law.
In fact, Jesus not only delivered us from the curse, but also brought us into the blessing of Abraham. This means that, through Him, we have received the blessings found in the Law of Moses. As we saw in Reason 13, health is one of the blessings of God. Thanks to Jesus, we have been redeemed from the curse of sickness and are now entitled to the blessing of health.
[1] See also Romans 4:25
Reason 17: God Will Take Away All Sickness
Let us return to the blessings of health in the Law of Moses:
(...) 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)
(...) I will take sickness away from the midst of you. (Exodus 23:25)
And the Lord will take away from you all sickness. (...) (Deuteronomy 7:15)
God’s Word is clear, and there is no room for doubt. God told the Israelites that He would not bring diseases upon them, that He would remove sickness from their midst, and that He would take away all sickness. Notice that God did not speak of some sickness—He said all sickness.
God did not say, “I will give you health, but there will still be times of flu season.” No, He said He would take away all sickness. That means sickness has no right to remain in our lives.
Many people stand in faith for healing when they are sick. This is both important and Biblical. But God’s desire is not only to heal us when we are sick—He wants to keep us healthy so that we do not even know sickness in our lives. The New American Standard Bible translates Deuteronomy 7:15 this way:
The Lord will remove from you all sickness; (Deuteronomy 7:15, NASB)
Can you imagine that? God protects us from all sickness. He places us in a shelter and guards us so that disease cannot touch us.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (…) He shall deliver you (...) from the perilous pestilence. (...) No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; (Psalm 91:1, 3 and 10)
God will take away every sickness from us. We can not only stand in faith for healing when we are sick, but we can also stand in faith that God will keep us healthy and that sickness will not have a hold on our lives. The beauty of this promise is that God did not say it just once—He said it three times in the Law of Moses: in Exodus 15:26, Exodus 23:25, and Deuteronomy 7:15. According to Scripture, every fact is established by two or three witnesses:
(…) “Every fact shall be sustained and confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (2 Corinthians 13:1, AMP)
God’s Word does not say just once that He will take away all sickness—it says it three times. And beyond that, we have many New Testament passages that show us Jesus healed everyone who came to Him.
Reason 18: I Fulfill the Number of Your Days
What happens when people are healthy and free from disease? They live a long life. But what does the Law of Moses say about long life? Do people die young, or do they live to an old age?
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)
I will fulfill the number of your days. (Exodus 23:26b)
You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time. (Deuteronomy 4:40)
You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. (Deuteronomy 5:33)
That you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. (Deuteronomy 6:2)
And that you may prolong your days in the land (…). (Deuteronomy 11:9)
(…) That your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 25:15)
If we obey God and keep His commandments, He will prolong our days, and we will not die before our time. It is not God's plan for our lives that we die prematurely because of sickness. God's plan is that we fulfill the number of our days, that we are still able to speak of His goodness and glory in our old age, and that when we die, we go to be with God the Father—without sickness or pain.
The promise of prolonged days was not only for the Israelites in the Old Testament. It also applies to us who live under the New Covenant. In fact, Exodus 20:12 is quoted in the New Testament:
“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:2-3)
Notice that Paul refers to the promise of long life from the Old Testament and applies it to believers in the New Testament. God's promises are not limited to the Israelites of the Old Testament. They are for all who believe—regardless of time, place, or background. In fact, Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus—a city in what is now modern-day Turkey. The believers in Ephesus did not live in Old Testament times, they did not live in the Promised Land, and many of them were not Israelites. Yet, Paul still applied this promise from the Law of Moses to them. If the Ephesians received this promise, then we too can receive this wonderful promise from God's Word today.
In this section, we have only looked at verses from the Law of Moses that speak of long life and growing old. But the rest of the Bible, including the book of Proverbs, also speaks often about this truth.
Summary
This chapter has focused on the covenant of healing in the Law of Moses. Although a believer is not justified by the Law, but by the grace of God through faith and the finished work of Jesus Christ, there is still much we can learn from the Law. The Law revealed what sin is and showed that no one is righteous by their works. It also revealed the character of Jesus, for He fulfilled the Law. In addition, the Law shows us what God values—such as love for others and love for God. It also teaches us what God considers a blessing and what He considers a curse, based on obedience to His commandments.
We have seen that through the sacrifice of Jesus, believers are redeemed from the curse of the Law and are entitled to the blessings and promises found in it. The New Covenant that Jesus brought is better than the Old Covenant, and believers today can receive even greater blessings than the people of Israel in the Old Testament because of His sacrifice. This chapter also explained the covenant of healing in the Law of Moses. God promised the Israelites that if they obeyed Him, He would not bring sickness upon them and would provide healing. This covenant was not only for the Israelites—it also applies to believers today because Jesus extended the covenant to include believing Gentiles. God desires that we live in health, and He has promised to take away all sickness from us.
Furthermore, the Law clearly shows that sickness is a curse and health is a blessing. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the curse of sickness was broken, and believers now have a right to health and healing. God does not desire to curse us—He desires to bless us. He has delivered us from the curse and brought us into the blessing of Abraham.
Finally, God promises to take away all sickness and to prolong our days. It is His will that we live long and see our days fulfilled. These promises are just as relevant for New Testament believers as they were for the people of Israel.
This chapter affirms that the healing covenant found in the Law of Moses reflects God’s desire to keep His people healthy. It also confirms that through Jesus’ sacrifice, the curse of sickness has been broken, and believers now have access to health and healing.