God reveals His will regarding our health by saying in 3 John 1:2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." Therefore, as we prosper in our walk with the LORD, so should we be prospering in our physical health too.
But being healthy is not about the absence of imperfections in one’s body. In fact, in Judaism, if one can constructively contribute to society, then that person is said to be healthy. Therefore, one’s ability to meaningfully contribute to one’s society can reflect their state of health.
In His dealings with Man, through the Mosaic Laws, we appreciate the principles that God delivered to Moses to help the Israeli community live a wholesomely healthy lifestyle. Wholesome health addresses both the individual and the environment in which one lives.
Someone may ask, “Isn’t observing the Mosaic Laws on health tantamount to following the Law yet Jesus Christ took it all at Calvary?” But one might still also ask, “But if Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Law, why do we still suffer physical consequences o f breaking the Mosaic Law as regards health?” The reason for this dilemma is that behind each of Mosaic Laws concerning health is the science within the Laws of Health that is consistent with the Laws of Nature. And Jesus Christ did not come to nullify God’s Laws governing Nature.
Some of the examples of the Biblical Laws of governing healthy living are:
- Refrain from eating fat and blood (Leviticus 3:17, 7:23-27): - There is abundant research that reveals the negative effects of saturated animal fats in humans. One of the major health-related issues is cardio-vascular diseases. Not only is life of anything that breathes lie in its blood, but blood is a medium that carries almost all infections within the body. Therefore, if you can avoid contaminating yourself with human or animal blood, then you will have prevented contracting a huge proportion of infections.
- Control of Diseases from Animals (Leviticus 11:36-40): - there were public health guidelines to do with how to handle carcasses of animals and items as well as persons that have been in contact with such. There are many diseases that are capable of being transmitted from animals to humans. Therefore, proper management of carcasses of dead animals goes a great deal in preventing transmission of such diseases from animals to Man.
- Laws governing Childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8): - God gave the children of Israeli clear guidelines on how to manage mothers who have given birth especially within the first 66 days after birth. Science has demonstrated that the first six (06) weeks; that is 42 days, after a mother has given birth are extremely critical for the mother’s recovery from pregnancy but also the well-being of the newborn. This window 42-day window - scientifically referred to as puerperium, is the time when most of the organs in the mother’s body return to the pre-pregnancy state.
- Quarantines and Isolation (Leviticus 13): - the LORD laid out an elaborate process of identifying a possible infectious disease and prescribed quarantining or isolating an infected person to prevent the infection spreading to other people. So, application of quarantine as a public health measure is not a new phenomenon!
- Disinfection (Leviticus 14:33-48): - the LORD gave Moses an elaborate process for disinfecting a house that is proven to be contaminated with leprosy. Disinfection gets rid of harmful organisms within one’s surrounding and surfaces. It is important that we routinely disinfect and fumigate our homesteads to rid them of harmful micro-organisms and vermin. This the reason behind disinfecting places that have been contaminated with infectious disease agents such as the Coronavirus and the Ebola virus!
- Laws against sexual immorality (Leviticus 18): - the LORD prescribes extensively measures to guard against sexual immorality to prevent proliferation of sexually transmitted infections and perpetuity of hereditary-disorders that increase with inter-marriages between people that already have blood family relations.
- Personal and Environmental hygiene (Deuteronomy 23:11-13): - Mosaic was handed a raft of guidelines on how to ensure proper disposal of human waste. This is an important public health measure because poor hygiene accounts for more than 60 percent of preventable infections and diseases in Man.
In summary, the Bible clearly lays out key Laws that govern the health of individuals and the community in which they live. These Laws have been proven by science as robust enough to prevent and control the diseases of public health concern. In such times as we are in given the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we do observe the SOPs and directives that have been issues by the government. In observing these SOPs, we shall control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and contribute to our being healthy as individuals and as a society.
By Dr. Dennis K. Mugimba