3. When You Lose Your Health (vv. 17-22). Again we meet rebellious fools who deliberately disobeyed God’s law and suffered for their folly. The “gates of death” (v. 18) led into sheol, the land of the dead (9:13; Job 17:16; 38:17; Isa. 38:10). The Lord heard their cries and stopped them at the very gates and permitted them to live. They did not deserve this blessing, but such is the mercy of the Lord. In Scripture, sickness is often used as a picture of sin and its painful consequences, but not all sickness is the result of sin (John 9:1-3; 2 Cor. 12:7-10). Because the Lord healed these repentant rebels, they should praise Him, sing to Him, and bring thank offerings to Him. In verse 20, the Word of God is compared to medicine that God sends for their healing. This reminds us of the three people Jesus healed from a distance: the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:5-13), the demonized girl (Matt. 15:21-28), and the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54).