The Diseases of Egypt
By David M. McNabb

This summer has seen an outbreak in the U.S. of West Nile encephalitis, or West Nile Virus, a virus previously only found in Africa, Eastern Europe and West Asia. This disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, was first detected in the U.S. in metropolitan New York City last summer where the virus killed seven and hospitalized scores more. This year, the surveillance area for West Nile virus extends from Maine to Texas (see Figure).

States participating in the West Nile Virus surveillance program

That this virus hails from Africa, and more specifically Egypt, and now threatens our land is no coincidence.

When Israel had been delivered from bondage in Egypt and had received the law, with that law came great promises. One such promise is found in Deuteronomy 7:12-26. Involved in this promise, God says, "Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God ... will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee." (Deut. 7:12,15)

The opposite is also true, as God told Israel later, in Deuteronomy 28. "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, ... then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and thy plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sickness, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed." (Deut. 28:58-61)

Israel witnessed great sickness and disease outbreaks among the Egyptians, and feared an epidemic to emerge within their own nation. God, the loving Father, imposed upon them laws that, if kept, would avert just such an outbreak. If broken, however, sickness and disease would be rampant.

So it is today. The laws of God are given to protect us from harm. As America has forsaken and rebelled against His law, the consequences, promised in His word, have begun to surface. The current threat of West Nile virus is but a blatant reminder of that fact.

A little more than ten years ago, I heard a statistic that 1 in 5 Americans had a venereal disease. Just last year, while in the hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter, Hannah, there was a video running on the closed circuit station about V.D. On that program, they stated that today 1 in 4 Americans had been infected. In the last ten years, the number of infected Americans has risen from 20% to 25%.

Obviously, the many, detailed laws concerning sexual conduct found in the Bible, if observed would avert this problem ... completely. STD’s are a completely avoidable condition. Abstinence and fidelity in marriage, together, could cure the world of this bane to society. God knows this. And man, although loath to admit it, knows it as well.

But medical conditions resulting from forsaking the law of the Creator is not limited to those which are transmitted sexually. Cancer, in its various forms (for example skin, lung and liver) are often caused by neglect or abuse of our bodies, which should be the temple of the Holy Ghost.

And this merely skims the surface. God’s word gives us the wherewithal to prevent these and the myriad of other maladies that plague the wicked and He has promised that if we but obey Him, we shall fear no evil, for His rod and His staff shall comfort us.

King David proclaimed, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases." (Psa. 103:1-3)

Again God said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee." (Ex. 15:25)

Therefore, let us accept Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on Calvary, and keep His commandments, for "by His stripes we are healed."