Interpretation. This answer is an interpretation or an open question.
This question assumes two things. First, that we have the best medicine ever. Second, that people in the Word of God lived longer without the help of medicine.
The Word never says that people before the flood, who lived past 900 years, did not use medicine. What we do see is that after the flood, life spans quickly dropped to what we think of as normal today. In the United States, the average life span was about 47 years in 1900. By 2024, it was about 79 years, according to the CDC. The Word does show people living past 120. But in a Psalm written by Moses, a normal life was 70 years, and 80 years was more than usual (Psalm 90:10).
The Word does not tell us why or how people lived longer. That leaves a lot of room for guessing. But one thing we should not assume is that there was no helpful medicine back then.
In fact, the Word holds a lot of medical wisdom. For example, it names the eighth day for circumcision, and that is when a newborn’s blood clots best. It also teaches ways to make water clean, rules about food, how to handle leprosy, and more. Some of these practices were not discovered, or rediscovered, until fairly recent times.
So it may not be wise to assume we have the best medicine ever. The rest of this answer comes from history and health reports, not from Scripture. Our medicine is great in many ways, but it has also caused what the CDC calls an “epidemic.” Many people who die from prescription drug overdoses never even knew they were overdosing. CDC numbers show that in 2024, almost 8,000 people in the U.S. died from overdoses that involved prescription painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone. That is about 22 people every day. Some of these pills were given by doctors, and some were misused. Either way, thousands of people die each year from them.
Answered by Taught of Yah
