Is God Against Medical Science?

Toward a biblical balance in divine healing.

Nov 30, 2024

Ever since the beginning of human history, people have battled sickness, disease, pain and oppression in every realm — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Sickness and oppression have always been a part of human life.

The reason for this was the sin of man. When man sinned – when he went his own way instead of obeying God — he came under the curse of sin, and that curse included sickness and all the sufferings and oppression of this life.

In response to this suffering, understandably, man has sought relief. Every human culture — ancient and modern — reveals evidence of man’s pursuit of healing through a variety of means, both natural and supernatural.

In human cultures, there are many different kinds of doctors (specialists in various fields) and many different kinds of witch doctors (they too often have their own specialties).

Healing Among God’s People in the Old Testament

We see these two kinds of healing also in the Old Testament, in the midst of God’s people, Israel:

In the Old Testament there are two major ideas regarding healing:

1. The willingness of God to heal His people supernaturally.

The Old Testament reveals God’s willingness to use His supernatural power to heal His people from sickness and to deliver them from oppression. God 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)

2. Human doctors are a normal part of life.

God does not, in the Old Testament, condemn the use of doctors or medical science.

God does, of course, condemn the use of any and all supernatural means of healing apart from Himself. For example, in Deuteronomy 18, God condemns all kinds of occult activity, some of which can be used in the pursuit of healing:

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)

In 2 Kings 1, King Ahaziah sought help from the pagan god and was condemned by Elijah the prophet:

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the Angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. (2 Kings 1:2-4)

Thus, in the Old Testament, we see a balance regarding healing.

A Biblical Balance

We must have this balance in our teaching and practice of divine healing.

We acknowledge there is sometimes an overlap between doctors and witch doctors. Natural healing and spiritual healing are tied together in some cultures. For the sake of simplicity, we will deal with them separately in this study.

Natural Healing in the Old Testament

God acknowledges the existence of doctors and natural healing practices in Israel without condemnation.

Here are some general references:

Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. (Isaiah 1:5-6)

In Isaiah 1 God uses physical sickness as a metaphor for spiritual sickness, and there is a clear expectation on His part of medical treatment: cleansing, bandaging and soothing with oil. This passage and the ones that follow clearly reveal the presence of natural methods of healing in the daily life of God’s people. God draws from the lifestyle of His people practical and instantly recognizable images, and He uses those images as spiritual metaphors in the words of His prophets as they address spiritual issues.

Significantly, God Himself speaks of natural approaches to healing as quite normal and expected.

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of My people not been restored? (Jeremiah 8:22)

Again, this is a spiritual picture. However, this spiritual picture also clearly reveals the normalcy of physicians and natural methods of healing being used by God’s people. The people didn’t look at Jeremiah with a blank stare when he spoke these words and ask, “What’s a physician? What’s balm?” For a metaphor to be useful it must be meaningful as well as instantly and clearly recognizable. For example, the phrase “as pretty as a flower” will only be understood by someone who is already familiar with flowers.

Thus, from Jeremiah 8:22 we see:

God has a positive view of the physician.
The physician’s presence in the midst of God’s people is expected. God is surprised that there is no physician there.
The physician is recognized as a “professional.” He has a recognized place in society.
The physician is expected to promote physical healing.
The physician is expected to use natural means to do so (e.g., the healing balm that Gilead was noted for).

Notably, God is “sad” in Jeremiah 8:22 that there is no physician. He expects a physician to be there! He is positive toward the idea. There is something wrong with the fact that there is no physician.

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you. (Jeremiah 46:11)
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. (Jeremiah 51:8)

Both these prophecies also use sickness as a spiritual image, but we still see:

It is common and expected to seek natural cures for sickness.
There were several, perhaps many, possible treatments.

Repeatedly, God does not express disapproval of this practice of natural healing. He expects it. It is normal in the life of the community of God’s people.

“They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14; see also 8:11)

From Jeremiah 6:14 we see that the dressing of wounds was a known skill and one could do it well or badly. The leaders, in a spiritual metaphor, were doing it very poorly here! Consequently, God rebukes them. In this metaphor, He rebukes them for not performing natural healing properly.

This is similar to Job’s rebuke of his friends who could not help him.

As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all. (Job 13:4)

Clearly, physicians were a normal part of life, accepted by all God’s people and by God Himself.

Ezekiel 30 also shows that God expected His people to turn to physical healing when they were sick. It was the normal thing to do.

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.” (Ezekiel 30:21)

Everyone knew that binding up a broken arm would help it to heal. This is a natural healing process. There is no supernatural healing spoken of here and there is no condemnation from God of natural means of healing. This method of assisting natural healing is spoken of as being a normal and expected part of life. It is a negative thing that natural healing processes have not been used.

“The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up …” (Ezekiel 34:4)
“For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.” (Zechariah 11:16)

These two passages are again prophetic metaphors in God’s condemnation of abusive leaders. The literal image behind these metaphors is that of a shepherd caring for his sheep. It is seen as good and appropriate for a shepherd to seek the healing of his sheep through natural means. Moreover, God clearly considers it quite inappropriate for the shepherd to not seek the healing of his sheep through natural means. It is downright irresponsible and negligent for him not to do so!

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)

According to God, medicine “does good.” If God saw medicine as bad, He would not have said this here. God would certainly not have said, “A merry heart does good, like the incantations of a witch doctor”! He does not consider such remedies “good.”

Now let us come to the clearest passage on this subject in the Old Testament. The following two verses occur in the early part of Moses’ law:

“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.” (Exodus 21:18-19)

This is not a spiritual metaphor here; God is speaking about literal sickness and literal physical healing. Moreover, there is no reference to supernatural healing of the injured man’s condition here, since the “loss of his time” clearly implies a process of healing over a period of time.

To “have him thoroughly healed” means to make sure the injured man receives appropriate treatment and that his medical bills are paid. God commands this here as a part of His holy law!

“… He [the assailant] must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.” (GOD’S WORD Translation)
… the assailant shall go unpunished, except that he must pay for his idleness and his cure. (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

These two translations are certainly paraphrases of verse 19 and not strict translations, but they do provide effective interpretations of the meaning. Other translations give stricter translations of the verse, and they too are clear.

“He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.” (New King James Version)
“… he must pay for his lost work time and provide for his complete recovery.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
“… the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for full recovery.” (New Revised Standard Version)
“… he must pay for the injured person’s loss of time and see to it that he is fully healed.” (The NET Bible, Second Edition)

From Exodus 21:19 we see:

Physicians were present in Israel and fully accepted as a normal part of life at the earliest stage of Israel’s national existence.
Natural healing is not opposed by God. In fact, He considers it appropriate.
God commands appropriate medical treatment here and even details who is ethically responsible in this particular situation to pay for it.

In conclusion, we do not see in the Old Testament any tension between supernatural healing by God and natural healing with the help of physicians. God does clearly condemn all uses of spiritual, supernatural healing apart from Himself, but He does not condemn physicians or methods of natural healing.

Accordingly, the New Testament also affirms that doctors and medical science are a normal part of human life and are accepted by God.

Natural Healing in the New Testament

Perhaps the most dramatic affirmation of medical science in the New Testament is made by Jesus Himself in Matthew 9:

But when He heard it, He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” (Matthew 9:12; see also Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31)

Even though this was a spiritual metaphor, Jesus explicitly said that the sick need a physician! If God were opposed in any way to medical science, He would never have said this. Clearly, Jesus accepted human physicians as a normal part of life.

And He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to Me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard You did at Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.” (Luke 4:23)

Again, in this spiritual metaphor, Jesus affirms the normalcy of human doctors.

In Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan treats the injured man using oil and wine, both of which were traditional remedies for wounds and infections.

“He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine …” (Luke 10:34)

Wine would act as an antiseptic, and oil would help soothe the injury. In addition, the Samaritan pays for the injured man to receive continuing health care until he is fully recovered.

“And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’” (Luke 10:35)

Following Jesus’ example, the apostles also did not contrast divine healing with medical science.

Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. (Colossians 4:14)

If God considered physicians to be inappropriate, Paul would never have said this. Obviously, Luke was still practicing medicine, and he was beloved!

When Timothy was sick, Paul told him to use a little wine:

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. (1 Timothy 5:23)

Paul, who worked many wonderful miracles, told Timothy to use a natural remedy. He did not consider this a lack of faith.

Twice in the book of Revelation, there are examples of natural healing remedies:

“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” (Revelation 3:18)
… through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

Again, these are spiritual metaphors, but their use demonstrates the normalcy and appropriateness in God’s eyes of using medicine.

But what about the passages in both testaments that are negative toward medical science? There are several that are commonly used by teachers of extreme faith.

King Asa

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. (2 Chronicles 16:12)

Teachers of extreme faith who do not have a balance in their theology of divine healing will almost always cite this verse as evidence of a contradiction between divine healing and natural healing. They use this verse to argue that you must choose between the kinds of healing; it is either one or the other. Therefore, if a believer accepts physical treatment of some kind from a doctor, he is sinning against God because God has promised to heal him supernaturally.

Is that what this passage teaches? Let us look a little closer. First, one should note that Asa’s sin was primarily in the fact that “he did not seek help from the Lord.” That statement clearly reveals the backslidden state of his heart (see verses 7-10).

Second, and more significantly, a better translation of the Hebrew would be:

… even in his sickness, he did not make inquiry of the Lord, but rather of the physicians. (Hebrew)

The Hebrew term is a technical one referring to a religious inquiry — “the prophetic inquiry of Yahweh (according to 1 Sam. 9:9, originally through a seer or man of God) in a crisis situation, temporally limited to the monarchic period. Here, too, the inquiry does not primarily seek information, but is intended to bring about the removal of the inquirer’s distress.”1

Thus, there is the idea of sorcery here. It is not merely that Asa sought natural healing through the help of a normal doctor; Asa sought help from pagan physicians who were practicing some kind of occult healing.

The same Hebrew term is used twice in 1 Chronicles 10:

So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:13-14, emphasis added)

It was this kind of “seeking” that Asa committed in 2 Chronicles 16 — a religious, spiritual kind of seeking. What Asa must have done in 2 Chronicles 16 would have been similar to the sin of Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1.

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” (2 Kings 1:2)

Our obvious conclusion is that 2 Chronicles 16:12 does not condemn natural healing through a physician, but it does condemn the use of occult healing practices.

The Woman with the Discharge of Blood

The case of the woman with the discharge of blood is also frequently used by extreme faith teachers as an example of the failures of medical science.

And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. (Mark 5:25-26)

However, Jesus never rebukes the woman for having gone to the physicians. He simply heals her in response to her faith.

This passage does show the limitations of medical science in the face of chronic illness, but it should not be used as a justification for believers to never accept medical care.

In summary, in both testaments, God allows natural healing through physicians for His people. He considers it appropriate. It is a normal part of life. God even commands it as part of His law (Ex. 21:18-19).

However, when it comes to supernatural healing, God demands that His people turn to Him alone. Moreover, God is willing to heal us when we turn to Him.

God’s Willingness to Heal His People Supernaturally

There is abundant evidence in both testaments of God’s willingness to heal His people through His supernatural power. Here are a few passages in the Old Testament:

… saying, “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)
“You shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” (Exodus 23:25-26)
“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god beside Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39)
Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness You restore him to full health. (Psalm 41:1-3)
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:2-5)
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:7-8)

Moreover, here are several passages in the New Testament that show the same willingness by God to heal His people:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)
… to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit … (1 Corinthians 12:9)
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15)

What wonderful promises! Throughout the Bible we find a clear revelation of God’s willingness to heal His people today.

Extreme Faith Teaching

In contrast to the biblical balance, extreme faith teaching promotes the idea that God forbids His people to go to doctors or to use natural means of healing. Such teaching is extremely dangerous!

Such extreme teaching turns the provision of healing into a binding obligation and a terrible burden. In the doctrine of some, true believers must choose between dying or trusting God for miraculous healing, under the aphorism of, “I would rather die than doubt God!” In contrast, the Psalmist offered praise to God for the wonderful benefit of healing.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases … (Psalm 103:2-3)

There is nothing but blessing there!

If a sick Christian rightly understands that God does not condemn natural means of healing and he goes to the doctor, then he will continue to pray and look to God while receiving medical care. He will stand in faith for God to touch his body supernaturally.

However, if he believes that there is a contradiction between natural healing and God’s healing, then he will fall under condemnation for having gone to the doctor and he will be unable to pray or to look to God for his healing, thinking that God is angry with him and that he has no grounds to expect God to heal him while he is receiving any medical treatment. In this way, supposed “faith” teaching actually undermines the faith of God’s people by bringing them under a sense of condemnation and rejection by God at the very time when they most need to stand in faith!

Moreover, if we believe that God forbids His people to receive medical care, where do we draw the line? Is it acceptable to use Band-Aids or to set a broken bone? Can a Christian clean a wound or is that “not faith”? Is it “faith” to use preventative measures related to physical health? Can a believer use a needle or tweezer to remove a splinter? Should a Christian use vitamins? Where do we draw the line? In this very way, many sincere Christians have been brought under confusion and condemnation by such teaching.

Additionally, there have been many sincere believers who have allowed themselves or even their children to die for lack of medical treatment, all along believing they were doing what God required of them. Not only has this kind of tragedy brought great agony to the lives of those involved but it has also been a very bad witness for the Christian faith.

The biblical teaching of divine healing is a positive message of hope and blessing through the grace of God; it is not one of guilt, fear, condemnation and death.

Must We Choose One or the Other?

Extreme faith teachers promote the idea that we have to choose — either God or medical science. According to them we cannot have both. If we go to a human doctor, we have by that action declined to trust God. Moreover, the most extreme of them even go so far as to say that when a believer receives medical care, he is in disobedience to God.

However, this is not at all a biblical perspective!

Of course, there are some things that are “either/or” matters with God. For our eternal life, for example, we must choose. It cannot be both faith and works – we are saved by faith alone.

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28)

There is only one Name by which people can be saved.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

We must choose God alone and reject all idols and false gods.

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him …” (1 Kings 18:21)

But when it comes to many things in our daily lives, God expects us to use our common sense.

For example, God promises to provide us food — and He even did miracles to feed His people: manna, quail, bread for a prophet delivered by birds, the flour and oil that did not deplete, and the two miracles of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes. Certainly, no one would seriously propose that it is a lack of faith or “helping God” to prepare a meal by growing food or buying groceries at the market and preparing the meal in a kitchen to be eaten at dinnertime.

What about the clothes we wear? Israel in the wilderness had shoes that never wore out through all their lifetimes.

I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. (Deuteronomy 29:5)
Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. (Nehemiah 9:21)

Jesus tells us to trust God like the birds and the flowers do – that we would be clothed much more finely than even Solomon! Yet no one imagines that it is lack of faith to weave cloth or sew, or that we are compromising to shop for shoes.

For another profound example of this, look at the actions of Nehemiah when he was threatened by his enemies:

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. (Nehemiah 4:9)

Nehemiah did both — he prayed to God and he set a guard! He did not think that God would count him as unbelieving since he set a guard day and night after having prayed for divine protection.

Paul did the same thing in Acts 9 when the Jews were plotting to kill him. He learned of their plan and, even though he knew God would deliver him and bring him before kings in the future (Acts 9:15), he did all he could to escape as quickly as possible.

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. (Acts 9:23–25)

In Proverbs 21 there is a beautiful affirmation of working hard while trusting God.

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. (Proverbs 21:31)

From our side, we must work to be prepared for the battle, all along trusting in God alone to deliver us and give us the victory.

There are many such examples of this in Scripture. To declare that we must choose either divine healing or natural healing may sound spiritual and uncompromising, but it is error and, if believed and acted upon, will result in untold pain and tragedy.

In Conclusion

In Scripture we find a balanced theology of divine healing:

The Word of God, and not the errors of men, is the basis of our faith. An extreme and unbalanced faith will not help the people of God but will only lead them into bondage, pain and disaster. In the Word of God there is life and victory!

Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 347–348.

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