[Ezekiel Bathfire]

A question I am often asked is "Why does God give us diseases?" The usual reply is in line with John:9:3 Jesus answered,Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. In other words, God does things to show that He can do them.

We know, for instance that God cures people of leprosy: 2Ki:5:3 the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
and
M't:8:2: And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him,saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
M't:8:3: And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him,saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Then I hear, "What is the point of leprosy?"fortunately, God has revealed the answer unto mankind:

Leprosy is one of the world's oldest and most persistent diseases but the bacteria that cause it may also have the surprising ability to grow and regenerate a vital organ.Scientists have discovered that parasites associated with leprosy can reprogram cells to increase the size of a liver in adult animals without causing damage,scarring or tumors.

Edinburgh researchers built on their previous discovery of the partial cellular reprogramming ability of the leprosy-causing bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae.

Working with the US Department of Health and Human Services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the team infected 57 armadillos -- a natural host of leprosy bacteria -- with the parasite and compared their livers with those of uninfected armadillos and those that were found to be resistant to infection.

They found that the infected animals developed enlarged --yet healthy and unharmed -- livers with the same vital components, such as blood vessels, bile ducts and functional units known as lobules, as the uninfected and resistant armadillos.

Science Daily

God gave us leprosy so that we could cure people with bad livers. It took us a few thousand years to work out God's Bounty, but that is a mere twinkling of the eye in God's terms.

Now bearing, in mind that God told Moses how to deal with leprosy (Lev 13 & 14) you may ask why God didn't tell Moses about the partial cellular reprogramming ability of the leprosy-causing bacteria. My answer would be "Who's to say that He didn't, but then Moses forgot?"

I asked the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, England, fora comment from a Christian perspective but there was no one available. In the meantime, a spokesman for the American Society of the Welfare of Armadillos,said that it was encouraging news and that his members were glad to help God in any way.