Does God afflict sickness on people in order to teach them a lesson in humility?
Rather, is it Satan and demons who afflict sickness on people when people violate the law of love in the way they think, speak, and act?
Did Jesus come to destroy the works of the devil and heal all who were oppressed by the devil (see 1 John 3:8; Acts 10:38)?
Is there a connection between accusing thoughts or condemning words and the manifestation of disease within a person?
Can a person’s immune system be restored and reverse the process of disease when a person truly embraces the reality that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1-13)?
The blog post shall briefly explore such questions further through the three verses in the NASB1995 which mention both “lion[s]” and “bones” within the same verse.
“Lion” & “Bones” Verse #1: Isaiah 38:13
“Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; as a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me. 13 I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He breaks all my bones, from day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; my eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.
–Isaiah 38:12-14 NASB1995
In this passage, King Hezekiah had an inflammatory boil, an illness from which he would otherwise have died. Job also had inflammatory boils which would have killed him as well. Modern medicine might call their condition “elephantiasis.”
Both men were righteous people who feared God and turned away from evil the best they knew how. Likewise, both men complained to God with similar language as they suffered from the attacks of the disease. Both attributed their suffering to God and felt like God was oppressing and attacking them.
Hezekiah compared God to a lion, accusing him of breaking all his bones. Lions are sometimes used to describe influential rulers, kings, or authorities. They can represent power, strength, authority, might, and courageous leadership in the political or administration realms (see Proverbs 19:12; 28:1,15; 30:30; Ezekiel 32:2; etc.).
Jesus Himself, the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (see Revelation 5:5; 17:14; 19:16). Other times, Satan and demons are described as lions (see 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 91:13; 2 Timothy 4:17; etc.).
This can also apply to the proud, violent, accusatory, or wicked people under their influence (see Psalms 7:2; 10:9; 17:12; 22:13,21; 35:17; 57:4; 58:6; etc.). In such cases, we might conclude that lions can sometimes represent “accusing spirits.”
The following passage contains Job’s complaint where he compares God to a lion:
‘If I am wicked, woe to me! And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am sated with disgrace and conscious of my misery. 16 ‘Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion; and again You would show Your power against me. 17 ‘You renew Your witnesses against me and increase Your anger toward me; hardship after hardship is with me.
–Job 10:15-17 NASB1995
Here in Job 10:16, Job compares God to a lion that is hunting him down, just as Hezekiah compared God to a lion who broke all his bones. Both godly men with the same disease used the same imagery in their complaints to God. Modern science surrounding the “mind-body connection” has taught us that the body responds to our thoughts. Job and Hezekiah manifested the same sort of disease as their physical bodies responded to the same sorts of thoughts and impressions when both God-fearing men experienced their own traumas.
Job’s trauma occurred when he lost his children, possessions, livestock, and assets, followed by losing his health, hope, and joy. Hezekiah’s trauma occurred when Egypt disappointed him by failing to supply aid against the king of Assyria who was laying siege to Jerusalem, causing her citizens to despair, starve, thirst, and lose access to resources and mobility outside the city.
Job and Hezekiah accused or complained to God that He was hunting, attacking, and/or breaking or crushing their bones. Was God really breaking Hezekiah’s bones like a lion or hunting Job like a lion?
Or rather, was that simply how Hezekiah and Job felt? Was it really God who was oppressing Job and Hezekiah? Or rather, was it their adversary, the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour? Personally, I believe it was the latter.
“You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
–1 Peter 5:5-11 NASB1995
“Lions” & “Bones” Verse #2: Jeremiah 50:17
“Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.
–Jeremiah 50:17-18 NASB1995
Jeremiah 50:17 is the second verse containing the words “lion[s]” and “bones.” Nebuchadnezzar is likened to a lion who has broken the bones of Israel. Israel is compared to a scattered flock. God’s people are frequently represented by sheep, especially throughout Jesus’ teaching (see Isaiah 53:4-6; John 10:1-30; Luke 15:1-7; etc.).
If God’s people are like sheep, and oppressive rulers are like bone-breaking lions, could there be a parallel lesson when it comes to “accusing spirits” and sickness via a compromised immune system?
Could condemning, accusatory thoughts really compromise a person’s immune system and result in sickness or disease? According to Psalm 69:20, “Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none” (NASB1995). “Reproach” can connote “accusation,” “insults,” “rejection,” “shame,” etc. depending on the context of the 99 times the word “reproach” appears in the NASB1995.
The psalmist’s heart was broken by reproach in Psalm 69:20. According to Proverbs 15:13, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken” (NASB1995). Proverbs 17:22 says that “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (NASB1995).
The immune system is primarily contained within the bone marrow. The science of the “mind-body connection” has become widely accepted in the modern medical, healthcare, and mental health industries. In light of this science, is it possible that those who listen to accusing thoughts surrounding their negative circumstances are more likely to suffer from compromised immune systems, resulting in disease or sickness?
“Lions” & “Bones” Verse #3: Daniel 6:24
“Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had [Lit eaten the pieces of Daniel]maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”
–Daniel 6:23-24 NASB1995 [footnote inserted into the text]
Daniel 6:24 is the third and final verse in the NASB1995 which contains the two words “lion[s]” and “bones.” Ironically, it was Daniel’s accusers who suffered very fate that they had plotted for Daniel. Daniel’s accusers were thrown into the lions’ den themselves. The lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
According to the footnote in the NASB1995, the Hebrew language of the text literally says that Daniel’s accusers had “eaten the pieces of Daniel” when they maliciously accused him.
Does not such symbolic language liken those men to ravenous, flesh-eating lions? Therefore, might lions sometimes be compared to “accusing spirits” that may operate within a person?
Conclusion
Throughout these three passages, lions broke or crushed the bones of the people whom they attacked. Could a person struggling with condemning, judgmental, accusatory thoughts towards themselves have trouble within their physical bones, the marrow of which contains the immune system?
Could self-condemnation due to the stress of toxic guilt and perfectionism also contribute to a person’s compromised immune system and/or chronic disease?
“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.”
–Psalm 6:2 NASB1995
All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You, who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?” 11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know…16 Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions.
–Psalm 35:10-11,16-17 NASB1995
“O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger. 2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.”
–Psalm 38:1-3 NASB1995
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”
–Proverbs 3:7-8 NASB1995
“Bright eyes gladden the heart; good news puts fat on the bones.”
–Proverbs 15:30 NASB1995
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
–Proverbs 16:24 NASB1995
For more information on good news which refreshes the bones (or restores the immune system to function properly), see “Four Spiritual Laws for Experiencing Joy” and/or “Four Spiritual Laws for Healing a Broken Heart.”