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"Jehovah showed (Moses) a tree (cross - 1Pe 2:24-note) and he threw it into the (bitter) waters and the waters became sweet" Ex 15:25 |
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CONTEXT |
TRUTH |
TRUTH |
TRUTH ABOUT HEALING |
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What is the Progressive Revelation of God's Names? Genesis 1 - Elohim - Creator - He created you for His glory & you are His workmanship created for good works in Christ Jesus Genesis 2 - Jehovah - I Am that I Am - see Exodus 3:1-14 Genesis 14 - El Elyon - God Most High - Sovereign & In Control of every event in your life, all filtered through His fingers of love & designed to conform you to the image of His Son Genesis 15 - Adonai - Lord, Master, Owner for you are not your own but bought with a price Genesis 16 - El Roi - God Who Sees All your trials & afflictions. Angel of Jehovah appears Genesis 17 - EL Shaddai - God Almighty - All Sufficient & able to complete His good work in you Genesis 22 - Jehovah Jireh - God Will See & Provide the sacrificial offering Exodus 3:14 - Jehovah the great I Am Who is anything & everything I will ever need Exodus 12 - Passover Lamb - Redeemed by the blood of the lamb Exodus 15 - Jehovah Rapha- God your healer of all your diseases Exodus 17 - Jehovah Nissi - Lord Your Banner Who wins the victory Exodus 31:13, Lv 20:8, 21:8,15,23, 22:9,16,32 - Jehovah Mekeddeshem - Lord Who Sanctifies You & makes you holy unto Himself Judges 6 - Jehovah Shalom - LORD is your peace even in the midst of tumult & distress
The longer Israel journeyed
with God, the more He revealed to them His character & His ways - a
progressive revelation. When He delivered them from Egypt, Israel came to
know God as Jehovah Who heard & responded to their cry for deliverance
because of His covenant with Abraham (Ge 15:13-21; Ex 2:24; 3:7, 8; 6:5)
So Israel learned as Abraham
had in Genesis 22 that God was Jehovah Jireh, the LORD Who provided the
sacrifice they needed to be redeemed from slavery - the Passover Lamb.
Ex 14:10, 13, 14, 31 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked & behold, the Egyptians were marching after them & they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah... But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by & see the salvation of Jehovah which He will accomplish for you today for the Egyptians whom you have seen today you will never see them again forever Jehovah will fight for you while you keep silent... When Israel saw the great power which Jehovah had used against the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah, & they believed in Jehovah & in His servant Moses
Ex 15:1, 2, 3, 11, 17, 21: Then Moses & the sons of Israel sang this song to Jehovah & said, "I will sing to Jehovah for He is highly exalted. The horse & its rider He has hurled into the sea. Jehovah is my strength & song & He has become my salvation; This is my Elohim & I will praise Him, My father's Elohim & I will extol Him. Jehovah is a warrior; Jehovah is His name... "Who is like Thee among the gods, O Jehovah? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders... "You will bring them & plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, the place, O Jehovah which You have made for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Adonai, which Your hands have established... Miriam answered them, Sing to Jehovah for He is highly exalted. The horse & his rider He has hurled into the sea." What an incredible praise chorus. Imagine you were there & had just seen the entire Egyptian army destroyed... as Israel reached the other side of the shore they began to sing this song extolling Jehovah's for His great & marvelous deliverance. Is He still the same Deliverer? How does my life show I truly believe that? What thought do I need to take captive & replace with the truth that He is able to deliver me either in the trial or through the trial? (cf Da 3:17,18) How does
faith relate to worship?
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See column on context for additional truths about God
So clearly Israel is not at Marah by "chance" but by providence, being led by El Roi Who sees all things, even before they happen & Who as El Elyon is in total control of every detail even whether the water tastes bitter or sweet.
These same tests are allowed into our lives as believers. Will we trust Him? We must remember that the disappoints are also God's appointments & every extremity is an opportunity to see God's great & mighty deeds & to learn something about ourselves.
As Max Lucado put it...
God had one Son without sin, but He never had sons without trials. It is not known what quality grapes yield until they come to the wine press. When we are squeezed what comes out indicates what's on the inside! When you came to "Marah" this week, what came out? Grumbling like Israel or crying out like Moses?
There is little doubt that the
"healing" of the bitter waters by a tree foreshadowed another "healing"
tree, the "tree" of Calvary. The Greek Septuagint translates the Hebrew
for "tree" with xulon,
which is used in...
And not coincidentally the
same Greek word (xulon)
is used for the "tree of life" in Gen 2:9 and Rev
22:2,14 which also was for healing!
Not everyone agrees with this explanation of the tree -- in the "Shabbat Shalom" column in the Jerusalem Post (2/7/02) Rabbi Riskin writes "Clearly the tree... is a symbolic reference to Torah [The Law] as well as to perfection"
To which Paul would respond...
These verses show that as El Elyon, the sovereign Most High God holds the power to "put plagues" on anyone He chooses but it is always in the light of His perfect justice. He also has the mercy to heal whoever He chooses (Ps 103:3-note, Spurgeon (1), (2) .
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Warren Wiersbe adds "Life is not always battles and bitter waters. God brings us to the refreshing oases from time to time, and for this we should praise Him. However, we can never claim our inheritance if we linger at Elim. We are pilgrims, not residents. Life is a combination of the bitter and the sweet, triumphs and trials. If we are following God, however, we never need fear what comes our way. And after the trial there is often a spiritual Elim where God refreshes us. We must accept the bitter waters with the sweet, knowing that God knows what is best for us." |
So we see that from the outset many in the camp had a grumbling, murmuring spirit, reflecting the fact that they really did not trust Jehovah to deliver them out of this "tight spot".
How often we too are like Israel, having experienced Jehovah's redemption & deliverance from bondage & yet quickly shrinking back into unbelief thinking that the next trial is too big for Him to handle &/or why did He even allow it in the first place?
As the last notes of the glorious song of victory fade away...we come to the next scene...
Are you surprised that when after great victory, you experience defeat, discouragement, dissension or depression? Have you noticed how the spiritual "attacks" of the enemy (which are allowed by God) are intensified immediately after we experience spiritual victory? Be alert.
So here we find Israel, 3 days after victory and in a "no water" situation with parched & burning. Their physical plight made it easy to forget the past mercy & provision of Jehovah which are "new every morning." When the pain comes it is easy to let your mind slip from the truth of past provisions isn't it? Israel's physical condition began to impact their spiritual joy. Nothing is more paralyzing than thirst. Place yourself in their sandals: dust & rocks everywhere, children crying, nothing but sand & more sand in your path & then on the horizon the hope of water as someone sees a palm grove. Your expectations are high. Your anticipation almost uncontrollable. You bring the cool water to your lips & spit it our because it is so bitter. All hope destroyed, what else is left but to grumble at Moses.
But Who were they really grumbling against?
Obviously Jehovah Who had led them by the "pillar of cloud by day & the pillar of fire by night". (See Shekinah glory of the LORD) It's God's fault we're in this fine mess!
"Life is a great laboratory, and each experience x-rays our hearts to reveal what we really are. The waters of Marah revealed that the Jews were worldly, thinking only of bodily satisfaction; they were walking by sight, expecting to be satisfied by the world; they were ungrateful, complaining to God when trials came their way." Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament
Contrast: Bitter circumstances drove Israel to grumbling & Moses to prayer. Where do they drive us? Moses Cried to LORD (He Prayed) He threw tree in water (he Obeyed what he heard)
Note progression of water: Too much water (Red Sea) > No water > Bitter Water
Warren Wiersbe writes
The people went from rejoicing to complaining! It is easy to sing when the circumstances are comfortable, but it takes faith to sing when you are suffering. God tests us in the everyday experiences of life to see whether we will obey Him. He is able to change our circumstances, but He would rather change us (Php 4:10-note, Php 4:11, 12-note, Php 4:13-note)."
J. Vernon McGee in his unique style wrote:
"Friend, there are many frustrations, disappointments, and
sorrows in life. Your plans can be torn up like a jigsaw puzzle. You may
have a little grave on a hillside somewhere. I have. May I say that we all
have our Marahs. You will not bypass them. You cannot detour around them,
skip over them, or tunnel under them.
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Every complaint against our circumstances, every grumble about the weather, our job, our parents, our health, our foes, ultimately is directed against the El Elyon, God Most High Who works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11, Spurgeon)
This is the mistake Israel made at Marah. Because their eyes were not on Jehovah (and they literally should have been since He was there in a pillar of fire by night & smoke by day), they grumbled and blamed God's appointed leader Moses for the bitter water.
Doesnt that sound familiar?
When God surely and wisely leads us to a Marah experience our response is a telltale indication of where our eyes are.
When they are not on the Lord, we grumble loudly and blame our wife, our employer, our friend, or our government.
Who have you blamed this week?
Cry out to Jehovah Rapha & then cling to the Tree He made available at Calvary.
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RELATIONSHIP OF THE HEBREW WORD RAPHA TO THE GREEK WORD IAOMAI
In Exodus 15:26 the context clearly emphasizes Jehovah's provision, His healing touch and thus His Name, the LORD our Healer. While this healing can be physical, our greater need and the one most emphasized in the OT uses of the root word rapha/rophe is for spiritual healing. And so for example in Hos 6:1 the prophet writes
Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal (rapha; Lxx= iaomai) us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
As noted in Hosea 6:1, the Lxx translates rapha/rophe with the verb iaomai which means to heal physically, but more importantly in many contexts refers to "healing" from the "wounds" we have all suffered from sin. And so in the NT, 1Peter 2:24-note uses the same verb iaomai explaining that "by His (Jehovah Rapha's) wounds (stripes) you were healed (iaomai quoting Isa 53:5b which uses rapha for "healed")." In context Peter is clearly speaking not of physical, but of spiritual healing. Because of Adam's sin, we have all been "infected" with the deadly "sin virus" (Ro 5:12-note), which is "eternally terminal" unless cured by the Great Physician, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus our Messiah! We all have "hardening" of the arteries (Gk = sklerokardia, Mt 19:8; sklerotes = stubbornness in Ro 2:5-note) of our spiritual hearts. Jehovah Rapha "cuts us open' (so to speak), circumcising our heart in effect giving us a "heart transplant," a new heart heart of flesh in place of our old sin-sick heart of stone. (cf Ezekiel 36:26-note).
May God's Spirit grant that every reader of these truths about Jehovah Rapha, receive Him as their Savior or if already saved, be continually enabled to walk in His sin healing (sanctifying) power (cf Col 2:6-note, Gal 5:16-note) for the glory of the Name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen |
The answer to this question can be discerned from a survey of the 60+ uses (and additional discussion) of "rapha" the Hebrew word for "heal". The 1st use (Ge 20:17) refers to PHYSICAL healing (of barrenness) by Elohim in answer to Abraham's prayer (The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Jas 5:16b, Spurgeon) The next use is translated "physicians" in (Ge 50:2). In 1Ki 18:30 we get a picture of what rapha means when Elijah "repaired (rapha) the altar of the Jehovah which had been torn down". In a scene similar to that at Marah's bitter waters Elisha "went out to the spring of water & threw salt in it & said, "Thus says the Jehovah, 'I have purified (rapha) these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer." (2Ki 2:21) So clearly rapha conveys the idea of restoring something to its "normal" or useful state. In (2Chr 7:14) we see the famous statement "I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin & will heal (rapha) their land" So the land polluted by the sin of idolatry could be "healed" & made useful & fruitful by Jehovah Rapha (in answer to repentant prayer). In (2Chr 30:20) after Hezekiah prayed "Jehovah heard Hezekiah & healed the people." In context this clearly refers to "spiritual" healing as they had been remiss in celebrating the LORD's Passover (cf 2Chr 30:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) Eliphaz trying to "comfort" Job reminds him of the Almighty (Shaddai) saying "He inflicts pain & gives relief. He wounds & His hands also heal (rapha)." (Job 5:18, cf Dt 32:39; Isa 30:26; Hos 6:1) Clearly God alone is the Source of all healing (even if He chooses to use human vessels or other means). Echoing a similar usage of rapha in the Psalms, David cries out to Jehovah Rapha "O Jehovah, be gracious to me. Heal (rapha) my soul, for I have sinned against You." (Ps 41:4-note), here referring to SPIRITUAL healing. And in (Ps 107:20-note) we see Jehovah answer sinful Israel's cry of distress -- "He sent His word & healed them & delivered them from their destructions" In (Ps 147:3-note) we see the tenderness & compassion of Jehovah Rapha Who "heals (rapha) the brokenhearted & binds up their wounds." referring to EMOTIONAL (spiritual) healing. (Je 6:14) speaks of false healing "They have healed (rapha) the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace." (Click Jer for all 11 uses). The 5 uses of rapha in Hosea refer primarily to spiritual healing of apostate Israel. ><>><>><>
In sum Jehovah Rapha, the Great Physician heals physical, spiritual & emotional ills. Although physical healing is important, man's greater need is for healing of relationships & our spiritual disease called sin. All around us we see the ravages of sin & the need for healing. The need today is not much different from Isaiah's time as described in (Is 1:5, 6-note) where Isaiah describes Israel as a physical body sick from head to heart to toe. How wonderful in that same chapter (Isa 1:16, 17, 18, 19, 20-note)
Isaiah gives preview of a clear prophecy that by Messiah's "scourging we are healed (rapha)" (Isa 53:5)
Peter (see
note on preceding column) reaffirms this great truth in (1Pe 2:24-note)
- "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the
cross,
so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds
you were
healed." It follows then that...
Ken Hemphill in his excellent book [which I highly recommend] The Names of God answers with the following practical suggestions: "First, listen earnestly to the voice of God. What is God trying to say to you in your present circumstances? Sometimes we tend to hear God clearly when we are on the mountaintop of spiritual victory. When we get to Marah, we must tune our ears attentively to the voice of the Lord. Ask yourself what God is saying through your circumstances. What does God want to do in your life? What have you learned about God from these events? Second, do what is right. In other words, behave righteously. Instead of responding by grumbling & complaining when you find yourself at Marah, do what is right. You can overcome your circumstances by focusing on the reliability of the nature of God. Because He never changes, you can know that He is loving & trustworthy & will meet your every need. Third, obey God's commands. When you find yourself with bitter waters, look to see if there are areas of disobedience in your life. Our desire to obey Him emerges from the fact that we know His character. Thus our obedience is the response of joyous confidence."
Truth to Remember About Illness & Healing
Pr 28:13,14 (note) He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes (leaves behind, departs from) them will find compassion (mercy, pity, tender affection). How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. (adversity, affliction, distress)
Unforgiveness is an example of a sin that can lead to one being given over to the "torturers" (Mt 18:34,35). John MacArthur comments that...
When believers forget their own divine forgiveness by God and refuse to extend human forgiveness to fellow believers, the Lord puts them under such torturers (the word can refer to inquisitors) as stress, hardship, pressure, or other difficulties until the sin is confessed and forgiveness is granted. As James tells us, Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy (Jas 2:13). (Matthew 16-23)
Wiersbe says that...
The worlds worst prison is the prison of an unforgiving heart. If we refuse to forgive others, then we are only imprisoning ourselves and causing our own torment. (Bible Exposition Commentary)
Craig Blomberg adds...
Counselors often discover that a clients unwillingness to forgive someone lies deep at the heart of all kinds of personal problems. (The New American Commentary)
Related Resource: Links related to forgiveness/unforgiveness
Jn 9:1, 2, 3 "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. & His disciples asked Him "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind ? Jesus answered "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." Jn 11:4b referring to Lazarus' illness Jesus said "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."
1Cor 11:23-34, 29, 30 "For he who eats and drinks, eats & drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak & sick, and a number sleep. (metaphor for death)"
Jehovah
Rapha Who heals is also the One Who must judge sin, even in the life of a
child of God who will not judge it himself. (see Dt 32:39, Isa
45:6, 7)
Isa 53:5b The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed [rapha]. 1Peter 2:24-note and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE" Rev 22:2-note On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every * month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
There is healing for your deepest pains & disappointments. There is victory over addictions, past hurts as well as past failures. There is physical but even better spiritual healing available by running to the strong tower of Jesus your Jehovah rapha. If you have become sidetracked at Marah, bitter in soul & spirit, feeling that life is unfair or God is unfair, the only way to go from Marah to Elim & find sweet water is to run to Jehovah rapha, the God Who heals.
Spurgeon's sermon - Jehovah Rophi
Jehovah Rophe - by Nathan Stone
Commentary on Exodus 15 by Bob Deffinbaugh (click here for his thought provoking applications) J.C. Ryle-Sickness (including "general benefits which sickness confers on mankind" - Michael Brown in Israel's Divine Healer however says Ryle "overly extols the positive benefits of sickness" so read with Biblical discernment!)
Israel's Divine Healer by Michael Brown and Walter Kaiser |
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STUDY THE FOLLOWING
SCRIPTURES |
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RAPHA IN Heal (Physician) (07495)(rapha/rophe) means to heal (both figurative and literal healing), to make whole, to restore to normal (restore health), to cure, to repair. In 1Ki. 18:30 it refers to repairing the altar of the Jerusalem temple. Rapha in its participial form, rophe (meaning one who heals) is the Hebrew word used of physicians in Jer. 8:22; Gen. 50:2; 2Chr 16:12; Job 13:4. Rapha is usually translated in the Septuagint with the Greek verb iaomai (see discussion below). Related Resource: "Hebrew Honey" = Hebrew Word Studies - a work in progress Brown and Kaiser remark that the root Hebrew rp' "fundamentally means "to heal"....The Lord as rope' (rapha) could be supplicated to make infertile wombs fruitful, mend earthquake-torn lands, make poisonous waters wholesome or restore an apostate people....the Hebrew usage of rp' (includes ideas) such as "heal, fix, mend, restore, repair, remit, make wholesome/fresh,", etc....Thus in Ex 15:26..."I am the LORD your Healer"...fits quite naturally in a context that recounts (a) the Lord's making undrinkable waters wholesome (Ex 15:22, 23, 24), and (b) His promise to keep obedient Israel free of all the "sickness" (mahala) he inflicted on Egypt (including, presumably, making the Nile waters undrinkable, along with smiting Egypt's land, people, cattle). Clearly, He was more than Israel's "Great Physician," in twentieth-century, Western terms. Rather, He was the Restorer, the One Who made them whole. Thus one of the reasons why I translate yhwh rope 'eka as "the LORD your Healer" is that "Healer" conveys a wider ranger of meanings than do the terms physician, doctor, Arzt (German), or medecin (French). (Israel's Divine Healer) Renn - Miraculous healing by the hand of God is found in Gen. 20:17; Ex 15:26;Dt 32:39; 2Ch. 30:20. In Nu 12:13, Moses successfully pleads with Yahweh to cleanse Miriam from her leprosy. A promise of healing is given in 2Ki. 20:5, 8; and in Ps 6:2 the psalmist begs for healing. Divine refusal to heal, as part of the covenant curse, is noted in Dt 28:27, 35. Physical healing of an indeterminate or general nature, without the mention of any agency, is recorded in Ex 21:19; Lev. 13:18, 37; 2Ki. 8:29; Job 5:18....The metaphorical use of rapha is found in a variety of contexts for example, in 1Ki. 2:21, 22 the water is healed in the sense of making it potable. The healing, or restoration and renewal, of the land of Canaan occurs in a number of places (cf. 2Ch 7:14; Ps 60:2; Isa 19:22). In Ezek 47:8 ff. a spectacular vision of renewal describes the divine promise to bring about a transformation of Canaan through the healing effect of the river flowing out from under the sanctuary of the visionary temple.Rapha also indicates healing in the sense of personal renewal (cf.Ps 41:4; 147:3; Eccl 3:3). Isa. 6:10; 30:26 both speak of heart renewal, or conversion. Especially significant is the use of this term to indicate the forgiveness of sin through the vicarious suffering of the Messiah in Isa. 53:5. Similar references to such divine healing are found in Jer 3:22; 8:11; 30:17; 33:6; Hos. 6: 1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:4. A plea for healing in the sense of renewal, possibly forgiveness, is found in Jer. 17:14. See also Lam. 2:13. Ezek 34: 4; Zec. 11:16 refer to healing in the sense of being cared for from a negative perspective Israels leaders have sorely neglected the people and failed to heal and nurture them. (Stephen Renn - Expository Dictionary) W E Vine - To heal may be described as restoring to normal, an act which God typically performs. Thus, appeals to God for healing are common (Ps. 6:2 Jer. 17:14). Not only are human diseases healed, but bad water is restored to normal or healed (2Ki 2:22); salt water is healed or made fresh (Ezek 47:8); even pottery is healed or restored (Je 19:11). A large number of the uses of rapha express the healing of the nationsuch healing not only involves Gods grace and forgiveness, but also the nations repentance. Divine discipline leads to repentance and healing: (Hos 6:1). God promises: (Je 30:17). Even foreign cities and powers can know Gods healing if they repent (Je 51:8, 9). False prophets are condemned because they deal only with the symptoms and not with the deep spiritual hurts of the people: They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace (Je 6:14; Je 8:11). (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson) William White - The meaning is straightforward in virtually all passages. In the initial occurrence (Gen 20:17) in which God heals Abimelech, the Qal stem is employed. The root is also used of human healing, as a substantive, physician (Ge 50:2). Rapha is also used of the healing and forgiveness of Gentile nations (Isa 19:22; 57:18). In the Piel and Hithpael stems the causative aspect is foremost (1Kgs 18:30), He healed (repaired) the altar. However, a human subject is generally the object of the healing (Ex 21:19), He shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. The Hithpael has the passive mood characteristic of the stem (2Kgs 8:29; 9:15), In order that he could be healed. The other occurrence of the Hithpael is 2Chr 22:6. Possibly the most significant usage is in the Niphal stem (1Sa 6:3), Then you shall be healed; (Dt 28:27), of which you cannot be healed. The stem is also used for the restoration of objects (Je 19:11); the turning of salt water into fresh (2Kgs 2:22). The themes of healing and restoration as connotations of rapha are combined in the usage of Isa 53:5, With his stripes we are healed. In many of the occurrences, it is God who causes healing or afflicts with disease or catastrophes which cannot be healed but by divine intervention. (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press) Baker - A verb meaning to heal, to make fresh. It describes the process of healing, being restored to health, made healthy, usable, fertile (Baker, W.. The Complete Word Study Dictionary : Old Testament. Page 1070. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers) The Open Bible - Rapha is a verb, which means quite literally to heal of hurts. Sometimes God is the Healer as He is in Gen. 20:17 and Ps. 107:20. At other times humans are the healers or physicians (2 Chr. 16:12; Eccl. 3:3). In the figurative sense, God heals the hurts of the nation, which indicates restored favor and forgiveness. There are many uses of the word in this context. The other figurative use of the word comes in the context of individual distress, which can be healed as in Job 5:18 and Ps. 41:5. (The Open Bible : New King James Version) The NAS translates rapha as -- become fresh(3), completely healed(1), heal(24), healed(22), healer(1), healing(2), heals(3), physician(1), physicians(4), purified(2), reappeared(1), repaired(2), take care(1). The KJV translates rapha as - heal 57, physician 5, cure 1, repaired 1, misc 3; 67 Below are all 62 verses in the NAS that use rapha - Take some time and study these passages to increase your understanding of this beautiful Hebrew word. Note that you can click on each link to read the verse in context and some of these passages are associated with sermons (see right hand side of page). You may have to click the "back arrow" twice to return to this page. Ge 20:17; 50:2; Ex 15:26; 21:19; Lev 13:18, 37; 14:3, 48; Num 12:13; Deut 28:27, 35; 32:39; 1Sa 6:3; 1Kgs 18:30; 2Kgs 2:21, 22; 8:29; 9:15; 20:5, 8; 2Chr 7:14; 16:12; 22:6; 30:20; Job 5:18; 13:4; Ps 6:2; 30:2; 41:4; 60:2; 103:3; 107:20; 147:3; Eccl 3:3; Isa 6:10; 19:22; 30:26; 53:5; 57:18, 19; Jer 3:22; 6:14; 8:11, 22; 15:18; 17:14; 19:11; 30:17; 33:6; 51:8, 9; Lam 2:13; Ezek 34:4; 47:8, 9, 11; Hos 5:13; 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:4; Zech 11:16 Note that many (if not most) of the uses of rapha refer to spiritual healing. Some refer specifically to spiritual healing of the nation of Israel (eg, Hosea 14:4), a national healing which Jehovah Rapha will bring about at the Second Coming when "all Israel" (all who believe in Messiah) will be saved. (See Ro 11:25, 26, 27-notes) Genesis 20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children.
Spurgeon: David sent up prayers for himself and for his people when visited with the pestilence. He went at once to head quarters, and not roundabout to fallible means. God is the best physician, even for our bodily infirmities. We do very wickedly and foolishly when we forget God. It was a sin in Asa that he trusted to physicians and not to God. If we must have a physician, let it be so, but still let us go to our God first of all; and, above all, remember that there can be no power to heal in medicine of itself; the healing energy must flow from the divine hand. If our watch is out of order, we take it to the watchmaker; if our body or soul be in an evil plight, let us resort to him who created them, and has unfailing skill to put them in right condition. As for our spiritual diseases, nothing can heal these evils but the touch of the Lord Christ: if we do but touch the hem of his garment, we shall be made whole, while if we embrace all other physicians in our arms, they can do us no service. "O Lord my God." Observe the covenant name which faith uses -- "my God." Thrice happy is he who can claim the Lord himself to be his portion. Note how David's faith ascends the scale; he sang "O Lord" in the first verse, but it is "O Lord my God," in the second. Heavenly heart music is an ascending thing, like the pillars of smoke which rose from the altar of incense. I cried unto thee. I could hardly pray, but I cried; I poured out my soul as a little child pours out its desires. I cried to my God: I knew to whom to cry; I did not cry to my friends, or to any arm of flesh. Hence the sure and satisfactory result -- Thou hast healed me. I know it. I am sure of it. I have the evidence of spiritual health within me now: glory be to thy name! Every humble suppliant with God who seeks release from the disease of sin, shall speed as well as the Psalmists did, but those who will not so much as seek a cure, need not wonder if their wounds putrefy and their soul dies.
Psalm 41:4-note As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." Spurgeon: Heal my soul. My time of languishing is come, now do as thou hast said, and strengthen me, especially in my soul. We ought to be far more earnest for the soul's healing than for the body's ease. We hear much of the cure of souls, but we often forget to care about it. For I have sinned against thee. (Ed Comment: Note that "for" is a term of explanation - David explains why he needs soul healing - sin wounds the soul [cf Ps 32:3-4] - do we understand that truth? Then why do we so often commit sins with nary a second thought or a somber concern? May God's Spirit remind us all that sin injures our innermost being and may the Spirit use this truth to enable us to turn to God so that we turn from sin. Amen) Here was the root of sorrow. Sin and suffering are inevitable companions. Observe that by the psalmist sin was felt to be mainly evil because directed against God. This is of the essence of true repentance. The immaculate Saviour could never have used such language as this unless there be here a reference to the sin which He took upon Himself by imputation; and for our part we tremble to apply words so manifestly indicating personal rather than imputed sin. Applying the petition to David and other sinful believers, how strangely evangelical is the argument: heal me, not for I am innocent, but I have sinned. How contrary is this to all self righteous pleading! How consonant with grace! How inconsistent with merit! Even the fact that the confessing penitent had remembered the poor, is but obliquely urged, but a direct appeal is made to mercy on the ground of great sin.
O trembling reader,
Spurgeon: As a house in time
of earthquake is shaken, and the walls begin to crack, and gape with
threatening fissures, so was it with the kingdom. (Ed:
United States of America -
Are you listening? May God revive us that once again we would truly be
one nation UNDER [submitted to, yielded to] God! Amen) Psalm 103:3-note Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Spurgeon: When the cause is gone, namely, iniquity, the effect ceases. Sicknesses of body and soul came into the world by sin, and as sin is eradicated, diseases bodily, mental, and spiritual will vanish, till "the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick." Many-sided is the character of our heavenly Father, for, having forgiven as a judge, he then cures as a physician. He is all things to us, as our needs call for him, and our infirmities do but reveal him in new characters.
In him is only good,
Comment: Beloved, do not miss this truth! The Word of God is not only for our spiritual nourishment and growth in godliness but is the divine balm for the healing of our sin sick souls! Run to the Great Physician's book, taking in His prescription for spiritual health.
Spurgeon: Man is not healed by medicine alone, but by the word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God is man restored from going down to the grave. A word will do it, a word has done it thousands of times.
Spurgeon:
This the Holy Spirit mentions as a part of the glory of God, and a
reason for our declaring his praise: the Lord is not only a Builder, but
a Healer; he restores broken hearts as well as broken walls. The kings
of the earth think to be great through their loftiness; but Jehovah
becomes really so by his condescension. Behold, the Most High has to do
with the sick and the sorry, with the wretched and the wounded! He walks
the hospitals as the good Physician! His deep sympathy with mourners is
a special mark of his goodness. Few will associate with the despondent,
but Jehovah chooses their company, and abides with them till he has
healed them by his comforts. He deigns to handle and heal broken hearts:
he himself lays on the ointment of grace, and the soft bandages of love,
and thus binds up the bleeding wounds of those convinced of sin. This is
compassion like a God. Well may those praise him to whom he has acted o
gracious a part. The Lord is always healing and binding: this is no new
work to him, he has done it of old; and it is not a thing of the past of
which he is now weary, for he is still healing and still binding, as the
original hath it. Come, broken hearts, come to the Physician who never
fails to heal: uncover your wounds to him who so tenderly binds them up!
Ecclesiastes 3:3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
Comment: Spiritual healing for spiritual repentance!
Spurgeon: See his devotional Comment: Spiritual not physical healing is the primary sense. Sin is a "disease" which the "stripes" of the Messiah can heal
Comment: Again see the incredible love and lovingkindness of God to stoop and heal the repenting soul.
Comment: False teachers offer what they cannot give, for true spiritual healing and healing for broken hearts comes only from God!
Ezekiel 47:9 "It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
Ezekiel 47:11 "But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.
Comment: Note the repetition of repentance and healing. Amazing grace indeed!
TO
HEAL
Heal (2390)(iaomai) means to cure, to heal, to restore. Iaomai is used literally of deliverance from physical diseases and afflictions and so to make whole, restore to bodily health or heal. To cause someone to achieve health after having been sick. In the passive it means to be healed or cured. Figuratively, iaomai speaks of deliverance from sin and its evil consequences and thus to restore (to spiritual good health), make whole, renew (Mt 13.15). In the passive, iaomai figuratively means to be restored, to recover or to be healed as in 1Pe 2.24.
Iaomai refers primarily to physical healing in the NT (although clearly there is overlap because some of these instances involved demonic oppression - Lk 9:42), and much less commonly to spiritual healing or healing (saving) from "moral illnesses" and the consequences of sin. When used in this sense iaomai has much the same meaning as sozo, to save, make whole, restore to spiritual health. Here are the uses of iaomai used with a spiritual meaning = Mt 13:15, John 12:40, Acts 28:27 - preceding quotes from Isa 6:10, 1Pe 2:24 = quote from Isa 53:5.
It is interesting that most of the NT uses in the Gospels refer to physical healing by Jesus (excepting the physical healing that resulted by release from demonic oppression). However in the OT (Lxx) uses iaomai refers primarily to spiritual healing by the Messiah (Isa 53:5, Isa 61:1, et al).
Presumably the fact that Luke was a physician explains why he made frequent use of iaomai (14/26x). The related word iatros (Mt 9:12 Mk 2:17 5:26 Lk 4:23, 5:31, 8:43, Col 4:14) is derived from iaomai and is actually the word used for "medical doctor" in modern Greece (cf English "iatrogenic" illness or malady caused by or secondary to medical treatment)! In ancient Greece this word group was extended from it's medical use to convey a sense of restoration or to making good. The word iatros is also ascribed to several Grecian deities (Here is an interesting background article = Healing deities, healing cults).
The Septuagint (Lxx) translates Rapha in Ex 15:26 with the verb iaomai. It is interesting that the first use of iaomai in the Lxx is in answer to Abraham's prayer for Abimelech's wife, and both were "healed...so that they bore children." (Ge 20:17). In Lev 14:3 iaomai refers to healing "in the leper." In Nu 12:13 Moses interceded for Miriam when she sinned asking "O God, heal her, I pray!" but He did not immediately heal her but had her shut up 7 days to bear her shame (Nu 12:14-15). In the cursings to Israel for their breaking the Mosaic covenant God promised boils that "cannot be healed." (Dt 28:27, 35). In Dt 30:3 Moses wrote that Jehovah would "restore you (Israel) from captivity," where restore (Heb = shub) is translated "heal" (iaomai) in the Lxx. Clearly this has to do primarily with "spiritual" healing, resulting in restoration. In 2Ki 2:21 after salt was thrown in the spring, Jehovah said "I have purified (rapha; iaomai - also in 2Ki 2:22) these waters." While a number of OT uses of iaomai signify physical healing, the majority use iaomai primarily of spiritual healing (although some uses are difficult to classify and/or overlap with physical healing, eg, Nu 12:13, Dt 28:27, 35) - Dt 30:3, 2Chr 7:14, Ps 6:2, Ps 30:2, Ps 41:4, Ps 147:3, Pr 12:18, Isa 6:10, Isa 19:22, Isa 30:26, Isa 53:5, Isa 57:18, 19, 61:1, Jer 3:22, 6:14, Jer 15:18, Jer 17:14, Jer 51:8-9, Lam 2:13, Hos 5:13, 6:1, 7:1, 11:3, 14:4, Zech 11:16.
One of the most familiar OT verses uses iaomai...
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal (rapha; iaomai) their land. (2Chronicles 7:14)
In one of the most important OT passages Isaiah writes of Messiah...
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed (rapha, iaomai). (Isaiah 53:5)
Comment: Healing here refers to forgiveness of sins and that is how 1Peter 2:24 interprets iaomai.
God emphasizes His sovereignty declaring...
'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded (Heb = machats = smite, wound severely) and it is I who heal (Heb = rapha, Lxx = iaomai), And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. (Deut 32:39, Job 5:18)
Iaomai - uses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Ge 20:17; Ex 15:26; Lev 14:3, 48; Nu 12:13; Dt 28:27, 35; 30:3; 32:39; 1Sa 6:3; 1Kgs 18:30; 2Kgs 2:21f; 20:5, 8; 2Chr 7:14; 30:20; Job 5:18; 12:21; Ps 6:2; 30:2; 41:4; 60:2; 103:3; 107:20; 147:3; Pr 12:18; 18:9; 26:18; Eccl 3:3; Isa 6:10; 7:4; 19:22; 30:26; 53:5; 57:18f; 61:1; Jer 3:22; 6:14; 15:18; 17:14; 19:11; 51:8, 9; Lam 2:13; Hos 5:13; 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:4; Zech 11:16.
Septuagint Lexicon - to heal Ge 20:17; to repair, to restore Hos 14:5; to quench 4Macc 3:10; to soothe (of pain) Isa 30:26; to purify 2Ki 2:21; to deliver 2Chr 7:14; to forgive 2Chr 30:20. Passive - to be removed from (of a disease) Lev 14:3; to be healed, to recover 1Sa 6:3, those who need correction Pr 26:18; your healer Ex 15:26; Is 7:4 I will heal
Iaomai - 26x in 26v in the NT - NAS Usage: curing(1), heal(4), healed(16), healing(2), heals(1), perform healing(2).
NOTE: (P) representing physical healing and (S) representing spiritual healing precede each of the NT verses below that use iaomai -
(P) Matthew 8:8 But the
centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but
just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
(P) Luke 14:4 But they kept
silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
(P) Luke 17:15 Now one of them,
when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God
with a loud voice,
(P) Luke 22:51 But Jesus
answered and said, "Stop! No more of this." And He touched his ear and
healed him.
(P) John 4:47 When he heard that
Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring
Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of
death.
(P) John 5:13 But the man who
was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away
while there was a crowd in that place.
(S) John 12:40 "HE HAS BLINDED
THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH
THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL
THEM."
(P) Acts 9:34 Peter said to him,
"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed."
Immediately he got up.
(P) Acts 10:38 "You know of
Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with
power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
(P) Acts 28:8 And it happened
that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever
and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he
laid his hands on him and healed him. (S) Hebrews 12:13-note and (continues from the exhortation in Heb 12:12-note) make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Wuest - The exhortation is to the born-again Jews who had left the temple, to live such consistent saintly lives, and to cling so tenaciously to their new-found faith, that the unsaved Jews who had also left the temple and had outwardly embraced the NT truth, would be encouraged to go on to faith in Messiah as High Priest, instead of returning to the abrogated sacrifices of the Levitical system (Ed: Those who returned to the Law were never truly born again. And to do so would make them "spiritually sick" and would result in eternal death if they were never healed by the wounds of Messiah - 1Pe 2:24). These truly born-again Jews are warned that a limping Christian life would cause these unsaved Jews to be turned out of the way. These latter had made a start towards salvation by leaving the Temple and making a profession of Messiah (Ed: Without possession of the life giving, indwelling Spirit of Christ). But they needed the encouraging example and testimony of the saved Jews. The words turned out of the way are the translation of another medical term, ektrepo to turn or twist out. (Ed: So clearly "be healed" in this context speaks of "being healed" of the tendency to go back to the ritual of the Temple sacrifices and the keeping of the Law of Moses as supposed means of meriting salvation or of growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.)
MacArthur says "The writer of
Hebrews also used it (iaomai) metaphorically to speak of spiritual
restoration." (P/S)? James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Comment: Here while the healing may be physical, it is associated with spiritual intervention (prayer) and with the implication that the healed party is restored to spiritual soundness.
MacArthur says "James uses it to
refer to God's forgiveness, making the repentant believer spiritually
whole again." (S) 1 Peter 2:24-note and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Comment: By simple observation of the context one can discern that Peter is not referring to physical healing in this verse as some interpreters claim. Peter explains ("for") in the next verse that the healing was "for" or "because" (see term of explanation) his readers were continually straying like sheep, clearly a picture of "sin sickness" not physical sickness. In fairness, there is a sense in which Christ's substitutionary death did bring about the potential for "physical" healing -- in the sense that it guaranteed our future glorification when we receive our new resurrection bodies and when all sickness will be forever eradicated and believers will experience no sickness, pain, suffering, or death (Rev 21:1-4-note, Rev 22:1-3-note). Some falsely teach that physical healing is present in the atonement making reference to Isaiah 53:5 passage and the passage from Matthew 8 where we read...
And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill 17 in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES, AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES." (Mt 8:16-17)
Observe that the context of Mt 8:17 is clearly Jesus' healing activity during His earthly ministry so that the prophecy in Isaiah 53:4 was fulfilled (note that verse 17 begins "in order that" indicating the healing just mentioned was in order to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy). When did Jesus perform this healing which fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy? It was clearly before the atoning work of Christ on the cross. The point is that physical healing in this life is not inherent or promised in the atoning work of Christ. There is a false doctrine that teaches one should expect to be physically healed because of Christ's work on the Cross. If physical healing does not occur, the problem is that the ill or sick individual lacks the faith necessary to invoke God's healing power. The upshot of this false teaching is that the faith they teach about is faith in "faith" not in Christ. As already alluded to, clearly when believers die our physical bodies are delivered from the presence of disease in the future resurrection life. Furthermore God can and still does heal physical illnesses because He is a God of lovingkindness and mercy and it is His sovereign pleasure to chose to heal or not to heal. He alone is God, even if He chooses to not heal in answer to our fervent prayers for healing (and we all understand this statement, because we have all prayed passionately for healing of some loved one, and healing did not come about. We must NOT allow anyone to say the reason it did not come about is because we did not have enough faith or the right kind of faith, but because it was the good, acceptable and perfect will of the All Wise, In Control God of life and death, the God of Dt 32:39!). |
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Jehovah-Rophi. Heal us, Emmanuel! here we are, Our faith is feeble, we confess, Remember him who once applied, She too, who touch'd Thee in the press, Conceal'd amid the gathering throng, Like her, with hopes and fears we come, |
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What do you learn from Miriam's being
smitten with leprosy? for context read entire chapter
Numbers 12:1-16 "So the anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses "Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 "Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother's womb!" 13 Moses cried out to Jehovah, saying, "O Elohim, heal (rapha) her, I pray!" |
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King Hezekiah's Illness:
2 Kings 20:1-6:
"In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' (2) Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, (3) "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly (4) Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, (5) "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal (rapha) you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. (6) "I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake". |
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God's Appearance to Solomon after the
dedication of the Temple of God: 2Chronicles 7:12, 1314:
"Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal (rapha) their land. |
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A "Negative" Example on the occasion of
the Word of God coming to King Asa through the prophet Hanani on the
occasion of King Asa's failure to rely on Jehovah to fight the Arameans
(contrast King David's example below) "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars." 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. 11 Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek Jehovah, (as Jehovah Rapha) but the physicians (rapha)." |
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Contrast King David with King Asa above
Psalm 30:2 "O Jehovah my Elohim, I cried to Thee for help, and Thou didst heal (rapha) me." "David sent up prayers for himself and for his people when visited with the pestilence. He went at once to head quarters, and not roundabout to fallible means. God is the best physician, even for our bodily infirmities. We do very wickedly and foolishly when we forget God. It was a sin in Asa that he trusted to physicians and not to God. If we must have a physician, let it be so, but still let us go to our God first of all; and, above all, remember that there can be no power to heal in medicine of itself; the healing energy must flow from the divine hand. If our watch is out of order, we take it to the watchmaker; if our body or soul be in an evil plight, let us resort to him who created them, and has unfailing skill to put them in right condition. As for our spiritual diseases, nothing can heal these evils but the touch of the Lord Christ: if we do but touch the hem of his garment, we shall be made whole, while if we embrace all other physicians in our arms, they can do us no service. "O Lord my God." Observe the covenant name which faith uses -- "my God." Thrice happy is he who can claim the Lord himself to be his portion. Note how David's faith ascends the scale; he sang "O Lord" in the first verse, but it is "O Lord my God," in the second. Heavenly heart music is an ascending thing, like the pillars of smoke which rose from the altar of incense. I cried unto thee. I could hardly pray, but I cried; I poured out my soul as a little child pours out its desires. I cried to my God: I knew to whom to cry; I did not cry to my friends, or to any arm of flesh. Hence the sure and satisfactory result -- Thou hast healed me. I know it. I am sure of it. I have the evidence of spiritual health within me now: glory be to thy name! Every humble suppliant with God who seeks release from the disease of sin, shall speed as well as the Psalmists did, but those who will not so much as seek a cure, need not wonder if their wounds putrefy and their soul dies. (Treasury of David) |
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How is Israel's sin described by Isaiah? Isaiah 1:4-note, Is 1:5, 6-note "Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Jehovah. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him. 5 Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil. |
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God's Words to Jeremiah regarding His promises to Israel for future restoration (physical & spiritual healing): Jeremiah 30:13, 14, 15, 16, 17 (Read entire chapter of Jeremiah 30:1-24 for proper context): 'There is no one to plead your cause. No healing (participle of rapha) for your sore, no recovery for you. 14 'All your lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you; for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy (cf Dt 32:39) , With the punishment of a cruel one, because your iniquity is great & your sins are numerous. 15 'Why do you cry out over your injury ? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great & your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you. 16 'Therefore all who devour you will be devoured & all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity & those who plunder you will be for plunder, And all who prey upon you I will give for prey. 17 'For I will restore you to health & I will heal (rapha) you of your wounds,' declares the Jehovah, (Jehovah Rapha) 'because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her." The prophet is reminding Israel of her sin and its consequences comparing it to the metaphor of an incurable wound & yet promising future restoration to the land of Israel and spiritual healing by Jehovah Rapha. |
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Notice the order in Ps 103:3 - pardoning precedes healing: "Who pardons all your iniquities, Who [Jehovah] heals (rapha) all your diseases." C H Spurgeon commenting on this verse notes that... When the cause is gone, namely, iniquity, the effect ceases. Sicknesses of body and soul came into the world by sin, and as sin is eradicated, diseases bodily, mental, and spiritual will vanish, till "the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick." Many-sided is the character of our heavenly Father, for, having forgiven as a judge, he then cures as a physician. He is all things to us, as our needs call for him, and our infirmities do but reveal him in new characters.
"In him is only good, God gives efficacy to medicine for the body, and his grace sanctifies the soul. Spiritually we are daily under his care, and he visits us, as the surgeon does his patient; healing still (for that is the exact word) each malady as it arises. No disease of our soul baffles his skill, he goes on healing all, and he will do so till the last trace of taint has gone from our nature. The two alls of this verse are further reasons for all that is within us praising the Lord. (Treasury of David) |
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One Other
Tower... From his book - COMMUNION MEMORIES and the chapter entitled The Great Resolve Among those who partook of the Holy Sacrament, doubtless there were not a few members of the ever wide family of affliction. Some, experiencing soul-sorrowshidden, unspoken griefs, too deep for utterance or for tears. In the case of others, trials, the nature of which is only too patent to fellow-worshipers and fellow-communicants, from the sable attire and symbols of mourning. It is blessed for you to think of Him whose love you commemorated, as Himself the King of sorrowsthe Prince of suffererswho, just because He was thus "acquainted with grief," is pre-eminently able to heal the broken in heart, and to bind up their wounds. He proclaims as His Name (and He suffered, and wept, and bled, and died, that He might have a right to say it) JEHOVAH-ROPHI," I am the Lord that heals you." He is the true "Healing-tree," which, cast into your bitterest Marah-pool, will make its waters sweet. Brethren, if other earthly portions have perished, cleave to Him Who is unfailing and imperishable (Joshua 1:5)Whose Name survives, when prized earthly names have either faded in oblivion, or are whispered through tears. When, let me ask, is the name of God most comforting? "I have remembered," says the Psalmist, "Your name, O Lord, in the night" (Ps.119:55). It was at Jacob's fierce struggle-hour, as at many of our own, he was led to prompt the earnest question to Him who was wrestling with him, "What is your name?" And, as with the Patriarch, He blesses us there. That Name of God is like a lighthouse, with its six-sided revolving lamps, it shines brightest in the gloom of trial. If some of the loopholes of your Tower be darkenedif the sun has set; and the midnight sky be over and around you; be it yours to sing"You will light my candle, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness," "God our Maker gives songs in the night." My closing communion wish and prayer is, that that Name, which is above every name, may be to all of you as "Ointment poured forth." "The name of the Lord!" it is spoken of as the badge at a more enduring Feast in the Church of the glorified. "His name," we read, "shall be upon their foreheads." No more; that Name is to form the theme of the saints' everlasting song. For what is the ascription of the Church triumphantthe ransomed conquerors beheld by John in vision, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God? "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify YOUR NAME?" O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Three in One in covenant for our salvationSend us help from the Sanctuary, and strengthen us out of Zion! that the resolve following a transient season of Communion on earth, may form at once the vow and the joy of Eternity "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever." (Micah 4:5) |
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From Henry Law (1877)... A Shepherd heals the ailments of the sheep. His heart is tender love. It is, moreover, skillful care. The flock is subject to variety of ills. Inclement seasons bring disease: contagion may be contracted; injuries from accidents occur, and sickness from many causes weakens. The well-trained Shepherd knows how to use the suitable relief. He watches anxiously, he diligently tends, he wisely nurses, he administers right remedies, and so effects a cure. It is his pride to have a healthy flock. Here the Good Shepherd cannot be hidden. Jehovah-Rophi"I am the Lord who heals you"is His chosen name. (Ex 15:26) Is it not written, "Who heals all your diseases." (Ps 103:3-note) And again, "He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds." (Ps 147:3-note) In the kingdom of grace the lament is never heard, "Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?" (Je 8:22) Over His flock the Sun of Righteousness ever "shines with healing in His wings." (Mal 4:2) When He came to procure for His people everlasting health, miracles of bodily healing were foremost in His credentials. His reply to the disciples of John is, "Go your way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard; how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised." (Lk 7:22) At His word all maladies took flight. No case was too inveterate or too severe. As many as touched the very hem of His garment were made perfectly whole. So, also, He heals the sickness of the soul. His present kingdom is a spiritual Bethesda. "From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." (Isa. 1:6) Each believer is in himself loathsome, as the man "full of leprosy." (Lk 5:12) But let the cry ascend, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean." "Heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved for You are my praise." (Je 17:14) The Good Shepherd will put forth His power, and spiritual health shall be restored. (Gleanings from the Book of Life -see chapter on God as our Shepherd) |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
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The first time we see Jehovah rapha mentioned it is in connection with BITTERNESS in Exodus 15. This is a bitter situation -- do you see how this is so applicable to real life situations? It doesn't matter whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual. Bitter is still bitter. And then the tree in the water makes the water sweet. How does this relate to (Ga 3:13)? As discussed above the Greek word xulon (word study) used to translate the Hebrew word for "tree" in Ex 15:25 is also used for the Cross of Christ n the NT(1Pe2:24-note). So the picture in the bitter situation in Exodus 15 certainly seems to foreshadow the healing power of the Cross in the NT. It seems fair to suggest that when we encounter a bitter situation and flee to the cross of Jesus Christ, then the bitter can be made "sweet" by Jehovah Rapha. The circumstances may still be present but remember what Paul said in Ro 8 that "IN all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." Jehovah Rapha desires for us all to be "super conquerors" even IN THE MIDST of those situations that can otherwise potentially produce bitterness in our soul and spirit (see Ro 8:35) So anytime I have "sickness" of spirit, soul, mind or body, I should to run into is the strong tower of Jehovah Rapha. Run to the Great Physician and to the "tree", the Cross, where He Who knew no sin was made sin for us. This does not mean to suggest that we should never go to human physicians. In fact we should always seek wise counsel from trained medical practitioners in these situations. The point is don't bypass the Great Physician on your way to the doctor's office. And remember you can get an appointment with the Great Physician Jehovah Rapha anytime day or night and He always makes "house calls"!
All through Jeremiah we find the phrase "you did not listen" (click link for examples) (compare "if you give earnest heed" in Ex15:26?). How often we too are like Judah, unable to hear the voice of the Lord. Instead they listened to false prophets who had
"healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace." (Jer 6:11, 8:14).
The balm of Gilead is needed.
"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored? (Jer 8:22)
God was not the problem. Judah was. They refused to listen to God or His prophet. Gilead was a city of refuge, where fugitives could go to find refuge. Balm was used for medicinal purposes and cosmetic purposes. Take the balm of Gilead and you not only heal a sin sick soul but you have a beauty which shows forth on that person's countenance. Is there a balm in Gilead? Yes, there is. The "balm" that is always available to the humble heart, the one who has ears to hear His Word and the truth about Jehovah Rapha Who healed Israel when they cried out by sending "balm" in the form of His word (Ps107:19, 20).
So what do we do when we need healing? If we are hurtingbitterness, trauma, even from the sins we have committed. Run to Jehovah Rapha, to Calvary and find the "balm in Gilead". And lay hold of the "balm" -- lay hold of truth in His Word (the "balm of Gilead"), truth like "God causes all things to work together for good" (Ro 8:28) and then hold fast the Word of life for it is your balm that brings healing to your soul and spirit. When you need healing from bitterness -- Run to Jehovah Rapha. Go to Him first. Cry out to Him "God what shall I do? Is there sin I am unaware of" (Ps 139:23, 24, 1Cor4:4). If so, confess and forsake the sin (Pr 28:13, 1Jn1:9). Go to His Word of promise (Ro 9:9) and saturate yourself with the "balm" of His Word, laying hold of His "precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2Peter 1:4) |
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Effects of Sin
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The moral & spiritual sickness of mankind is an open, running sore. The heart of man is desperately sick, says Jeremiah ("The heart is more deceitful than all else & is desperately sick; who can understand it? Jer 17:9). Herein its fundamental disease the sin which alienates it from Godthe sin which manifests itself in open and secret evil of every sort, in high places and in low, which brought the judgment of Jehovah in times of old, and ever since, and must yet. How sorely mankind is in need of a healer, a physician! The world lies in the bitterness and bond of iniquity. It is like the waters of Marah to which the children of Israel came in the wilderness. It is not sweetness and life but bitterness and death. Yet the antidote to its poison, the remedy for its sickness, is ever neareven at hand, as it was near the waters of Marah. For there God performed His miracle of healing by means of a tree growing nearby. It was the tree of God cast into the waters there that healed and sweetened them....Now Marah may stand for disappointment and bitter experiences in the life of God's children, who have been redeemed, as was Israel in Egypt through the Passover Lamb, and snatched by divine power from the terrible pursuing enemy; who meet, like Israel at Marah, with severe testing and trial, and in their disappointment and discouragement sometimes murmur with a bitter and faithless complaint, forgetting the great salvation and power of God. Certainly Marah stands for the sweetening of those bitternesses, the curing of the ills to which both flesh and spirit are heir. True, God has implanted healing properties in waters and drugs even to the present day for the healing of bodily ills. He has made man capable of wresting secrets from nature which have marvelously advanced the art of healing. It is true that His is the healing hand behind it all. But this incident is intended chiefly as a lesson and warning against that sin and disobedience which lie at the root of all sorrow, suffering, and sickness in the world. The tree there cast into the waters is obviously a figure of the tree on which hung the Jehovah of the New Testamenteven Jesus, the only remedy for the cure of mankind's illsand which alone can sweeten the bitterness of human experience through that forgiveness of sin and sanctifying of life which it accomplished. - Names of God (online) |
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JEHOVAH-ROPHE |
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THE NAME Jehovah-rophe (rapha, rophi) means Jehovah heals. It is the second of the compound names of Jehovah. The name Jehovah-jireh arose out of the incident of Jehovah's provision of a substitute in place of Isaac whom He had commanded Abraham to sacrifice upon the altar. We learned that it stands for Jehovah's great provision for man's redemption in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world, and who was offered up on the very spot where Abraham had predicted--"In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen" --that is, Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the scene of Calvary. There is a wonderful and significant order in these compound names of Jehovah as they appear in the Scriptures (in contrast to the waste and desolation which certain critics have wrought upon the Scriptures; whose "assured results" have only obscured the light for those who accept them). In these names there is a progressive revelation of Jehovah meeting every need as it arises in the experience of His redeemed people--saving, sustaining, strengthening, sanctifying, and so on; and not only for the redeemed of that day but for God's saints in all ages. The things that happened to Israel, the apostle Paul tells us, were our examples (1Cor 10:6)
"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come," he again remarks in 1Cor 10:11.
For this name of God, Jehovah-rophe, arises out of one of Israel's earliest experiences in the wilderness as told in Exodus 15:22, 23, 24,25, 26. Indeed it was their first experience after the crossing of the Red Sea and the singing of the great song of triumph. But the same chapter which records Israel's triumphant song also records the first murmurings of discontent and bitterness. In Exodus 15:22 we read:
"So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water."
In the first flush of victory they went along joyfully the first day, and perhaps even the second day. But the way was hot and weary, and their water was giving out. The third day was well along and still there was no water. Their throats were parched. They felt their plight becoming desperate. They forgot the might and mercy of the God who had so marvelously delivered them. In their anxiety and anger they murmured against Moses in bitter complaint. Then in Ex 15:23:
"And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah" (which means bitter).
We can imagine their feelings of relief and joy as they first came in sight of this well, but what angry disillusionment when they find the waters bitter--an aggravation and a mockery of their thirst. They were maddened by this setback to their hope and expectation. What were they to do? Were they and their children to die there of thirst? Then God showed Moses a certain tree, which, when cast into the waters, turned them from bitterness to sweetness so that the people drank. They were refreshed and strengthened and heartened for the journey ahead. Their murmuring was turned to praise as their confidence in Jehovah and His servant Moses was renewed. But it was not God who was there on trial. It was the people. He was proving them, and saying to them (Ex 15:26) :
"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight . . I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that healeth thee" (i.e., Jehovah-rophe)
The word rophe/rapha (see word study) appears some sixty or seventy times in the Old Testament, always meaning to restore, to heal, to cure, or a physician, not only in the physical sense but in the moral and spiritual sense also. As out of Abraham's trying experience in the mount there came a new and comforting name of God, Jehovah Jireh, so out of Israel's bitter experience in the wilderness there comes another new and comforting name of God, Jehovah-rophe, Jehovah heals. And Jehovah here pledged Himself on condition of their obedience to be always their Healer.
MAN'S NEED
Perhaps the first lesson we may draw from this story, since these events are all examples to us, is humanity's need of healing, of a physician--even in a physical sense. The Old Testament reveals a number of instances in which God's power is manifested, even though sometimes by natural means, to heal the bodies of men. A notable instance is that of King Hezekiah who was not only healed but granted a definite additional span of years to live. Nothing is more obvious and tragic and costly than the toll which sickness has exacted from human life and happiness. Disease is rife and often rampant the world over and has wrought untold havoc. It is no respecter of persons and stretches out its tentacles into all classes and communities and climes. It is a grim fact of human existence with which mankind has always had to cope and which has called for the exercise of its best brains, and effort, and resourcefulness. Terrible plagues and scourges have at times threatened the existence of an entire continent and have actually destroyed large portions of populations. Yes, mankind is physically sick and is in constant need of a physician, of healing. According to the Old Testament, God, Himself the one who heals, has used sickness and disease present in the earth as an instrument of judgment upon sin. For David's sin against Him, God otters him the choice of one of three punishments. The responsibility of the terrible choice involved is so great that David simply places it in the hands of God who chooses to bring pestilence (1Chr 21:12, 13, 14). The many hospitals and asylums and institutions everywhere, built and maintained at great cost, bear witness to the prevalence and tragedy of sickness in the world. What a mass of disease and sickness upon the earth when the Great Physician walked upon it in the flesh. Healing is certainly a great and noble and effective part of the missionary enterprise of the Church. How appropriate to the physical need of men is the name Jehovah-rophe! But man's need of healing is even greater in the moral and spiritual realm. For here the ravages of sin are even more grim and obvious. The tragedy and sorrow and pain and woe are even greater. In a figure of the physical the prophet Isaiah describes the moral and spiritual condition of his own people:
"The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment" (Isaiah 1:5, 6).
The moral and spiritual sickness of mankind is an open, running sore. The heart of man is desperately sick, says Jeremiah 17:9. Herein is its fundamental disease--the sin which alienates it from God--the sin which manifests itself in open and secret evil of every sort, in high places and in low, which brought the judgment of Jehovah in times of old, and ever since, and must yet. How sorely mankind is in need of a healer, a physician! The world lies in the bitterness and bond of iniquity. It is like the waters of Marah to which the children of Israel came in the wilderness. It is not sweetness and life but bitterness and death. Yet the antidote to its poison, the remedy for its sickness, is ever near-even at hand, as it was near the waters of Marah. For there God performed His miracle of healing by means of a tree growing nearby. It was the tree of God cast into the waters there that healed and sweetened them.
JEHOVAH THE HEALER
This brings us to the second point, that Jehovah is the great Healer of men. He alone has the remedy that can heal the spirits of men. He is the remedy for the healing of man. And the Gospel is concerned primarily and chiefly with the moral and spiritual sickness and healing of mankind, for behind all the evils and physical sickness is sin. The importance of Marah in Israel's and human experience is attested by the fact that God gave Himself this new name here--Jehovah, who heals. The significance of the name Jehovah must be recalled here as "used in connection with beings who can apprehend and appreciate the Infinite." Therefore this name first appears in connection with His dealings with men. We learned that the title Jehovah and its use suggest moral and spiritual attributes in God--righteousness, holiness, love; that He holds man, created in the image of God, responsible for such moral and spiritual qualities. Man's sin and fall therefore called forth the judgment of Jehovah. But the love of Jehovah triumphs over judgment in providing a redemption, as we saw in the name Jehovah Jireh. So, too, the One who heals from the sin which mars and corrupts mankind is again Jehovah, as distinguished from His other names. Now Marah may stand for disappointment and bitter experiences in the life of God's children, who have been redeemed, as was Israel in! Egypt through the Passover Lamb, and snatched by divine power from the terrible pursuing enemy; who meet, like Israel at Marah, with severe testing and trial, and in their disappointment and discouragement sometimes murmur with a bitter and faithless complaint, forgetting the great salvation and power of God. Certainly Marah stands for the sweetening of those bitternesses, the curing of the ills to which both flesh and spirit are heir. True, God has implanted healing properties in waters and drugs even to the present day for the healing of bodily ills. He has made man capable of wresting secrets from nature which have marvelously advanced the art of healing. It is true that His is the healing hand behind it all. But this incident is intended chiefly as a lesson and warning against that sin and disobedience which lie at the root of all sorrow, suffering, and sickness in the world. The tree there east into the waters is obviously a figure of the tree on which hung the Jehovah of the New Testament--even Jesus, the only remedy for the cure of mankind's ills--and which alone can sweeten the bitterness of human experience through that forgiveness of sin and sanctifying of life which it accomplished. Certainly God could and did heal physical maladies in the Old Testament whenever it pleased Him. Moses cried out to Jehovah in behalf of Miriam smitten with leprosy:
"Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee" (Nu 12:13).
The Old Testament clearly reveals God's anxious desire and purpose to heal the hurt of His people, and the wounds and sorrows of all mankind. Certainly God removed plagues and pestilences. But the fact that He visited such plagues and pestilences as punishment is evidence of the underlying root of it all sin. The psalmist acknowledges this when he says:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul ... who [first] forgiveth all thine iniquities and [then] healeth all thy diseases" (Ps 103:2, 3).
Other Scriptures state this even more strongly.
"Why criest thou for thine affliction? Thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee" (Jer 30:15).
"Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee" (Jer 14:19, 20).
Then many references to sickness and wounds are simply figurative expressions of moral and spiritual ills, so that it is rather in this sense that God is known as Jehovah-rophe--Jehovah who heals. This is what Jeremiah means when he says:
"For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah" (Je 30:17)
and again:
"Return, ye backsliding children and I will heal your backslidings" (Je 3:22).
So Isaiah speaks of the day in which
"Jehovah bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound" (Is 30:26).
He predicts the coming of One upon whom the Spirit of Jehovah God will rest in order, among other things, to bind up the brokenhearted (Is 61:1). The will, and the power, and the longing are present in Jehovah to heal. The only obstacle in the way is man himself. The remedy is there--near at hand--as near as the tree at Marah's waters.
"The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart," says Moses (Deut 30:14),
There is salvation for every sin, healing for every evil. The remedy only awaits acknowledgment or application. This, man has often been unwilling to do. A king of Judah smitten with a disease, evidently and appropriately because of a certain evil act, sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians (2Chr 16:12). It was because of sin that the remedy lay for him in Jehovah's hand alone, even though physicians may have been sufficient for the cure otherwise. For the hurt of his people, brought about by sin, Jeremiah asks:
"Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" (Jer 8:21, 22).
The remedy was there--in Jehovah Himself--but they went on and on refusing it "till there was no remedy" (or healing) (2Chr 36:16). And centuries later the word of the Lord Jesus to His people was,
"Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (Jn 5:40).
The ministry of the Lord Jesus began with healing, In the synagogue at Nazareth, having returned in the power of the Spirit from His great temptation, He opened His public ministry by quoting Isaiah 61:1:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18).
In Luke 4:23 we find Him saying to them:
"Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country."
The reference was to acts of healing which the Lord Jesus had performed there. In the same chapter various acts of healing are recorded--the healing of fevers, the cleansing of leprosy, the casting out of demons, So He continued all through His ministry. They brought to Him all that were diseased. And He went about
"teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (Matthew 4:23).
These miracles of healing constantly amazed the people and He cited them as proofs of His identity and mission. When John in prison doubts His identity, He sends back word:
"Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11:4, 5).
"The same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me," He said (John 5:36).
But as with Jehovah of the Old, so with Jesus of the New Testament, physical healing was only incidental to His chief object, which was the healing of the souls of men. His opening words in the synagogue at Nazareth declared His mission to be to preach the Gospel, to preach deliverance, to set at liberty (Ed: Cf Jn 8:31, 32, 36 - see related word studies on eleutheroo = set free, emancipate, set at liberty and eleutheria - freedom, liberty). His miracles of healing were proof of His identity and mission--His credentials. Healing men's bodies was a great and blessed work, indeed. Yet many of the sicknesses He healed were striking symptoms of that dark, dread disease which has its roots in the soul of men and not in the body-the disease of sin. How often He cast out demons! And what does demon-possession stand for but sin-possession? How often He healed the leper! And what is leprosy but a type of sin in its foulness and vileness. The Old Testament is clearest in its teaching of this truth. How often He said to those He healed, "Sin no more!" or "Thy sins he forgiven thee!" And He silences His carping critics and accusers with the words:
"They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (Mt 9:12);
and connecting the idea of sickness and healing with sin, He continues:
"for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mt 9:13).
True, He went about healing bodies and doing good, but His invitation ever was:
"Come unto me and I will give you rest"--"rest [or cure] unto your souls." (Mt 11:28, 29, 30)
Then the Lord Jesus consummated His ministry by becoming that tree which made the bitter pools of human existence waters of life and healing and sweetness. The teaching of Marah is wonderfully fulfilled in Him. There they were taught the corruption and the bitterness of the purely natural waters which are only an aggravation of the soul's sickness and need. Only the tree of God's provision and choice could purify and sweeten and satisfy. To the woman at the well the Lord Jesus said:
"Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall he in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (Jn 4:13, 14).
On a great feast day in the Temple at Jerusalem He cried:
"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn 7:37, 38, ASV).
The Lord Jesus is both the tree and the waters.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed."
He is the Well of salvation (Isa 12:3), the Water of life, sweet, saving and satisfying. In Him the tree of life and the river of life in Eden's garden are free and accessible once more to Adam's sons. This is the picture presented to us in the closing scene of the Book of Revelation:
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:1, 2).
The Word of Jehovah which He spoke by His messenger, the prophet Malachi, has found glorious fulfillment and awaits a yet more glorious fulfillment.
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings" (Mal 4:2).
What Jehovah was to Israel at Marah, so the Lord Jesus is to all who will receive and obey Him, the Great Physician. How sad, that, like Israel of old who refused Jehovah till there was no remedy, multitudes today have refused the healing sacrifice and ministry of Jehovah-Jesus! And along with many who call themselves by His name, they prefer other physicians and remedies to Him--culture, science, philosophy, social improvement--forgers of lies and physicians of no value, as Job calls them (Job 13:4). But praise God for the multitudes who have received Him, and applied His remedy, and have been made whole, and "take the water of life freely" (Rev 22:17). (from Nathan Stone's recommended book on the Names of God) |
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JEHOVAH ROPHI |
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I am the Lord that healeth thee.-Exodus 15:26.
The fainting Israelites thought that when they came to Marah they should slake their thirst. Often enough the mirage had mocked them as it does all thirsty travelers: they thought that they saw before them flowing rivers and palm trees, but as they rushed forward they found nothing but sand, for the mirage was deluding them. At last, however, the waters of Marah were fairly within sight, and they were not a delusion: here was real water, and they were sure of it. No doubt they rushed forward helter-skelter, each man eager to drink, and what must have been their disappointment when they found that they could not endure it. A thirsty man will drink almost anything, but this water was so bitter that it was impossible for them to receive it. I do not read that they had murmured all the three days of their thirsty march, but this disappointment was too much for them. The relief which seemed so near was snatched away: the cup was dashed from their lips, and they began to murmur against Moses, and so in truth against God. Here was the proof of their imperfection: they were impatient and unbelieving. Have we not too often fallen into the same sin? Brethren, let your conscience answer! When you have felt a sharp affliction, and it has continued long, and you have been wearied out with it, you have at length seen a prospect of escape, but that prospect has completely failed you. What woe is this! When the friend you so surely relied upon tells you that he can do nothing; when the physician upon whom you put such reliance informs you that his medicine has not touched the malady, when the last expedient that you could adopt to save yourself from bankruptcy, the last arrow in your quiver has missed the mark-how your spirit has sunk within you in dire despair! Then your heart has begun to wound itself, like the scorpion, with its own sting. You have felt as if you were utterly spent and ready for the grave. The last trial was too much for you, you could bear up no longer. Happy have you been if under such conditions you have not been left to give way to murmuring against God. These poor Israelites were in a very pitiable condition. There was the water before them, but its horrible flavour made them shrink from a second taste. Have you not experienced the same? You have obtained that which you thought would deliver you, but it has not availed you. You looked for light, and beheld darkness; for refreshment, and beheld an aggravated grief. The springs of earth are brackish until Jehovah heals them; they increase the thirst of the man who too eagerly drinks of them. Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.
With comfortable words and kind, Their sorrows cheer, their wants relieve,
Heal the diseased, and cure the blind, In every place and age the same? Hast thou forgot thy gracious skill,
Or lost the virtue of thy name? The good, the kind Physician, thou Art able now our souls to save,
Art willing to restore them now. Since thou didst in the flesh appear, Thy tender mercies ever last;
And still thy healing power is here! And not regard the sin-sick soul? The sin-sick soul thou lovst much more, And surely thou shalt make it whole.
Thou wilt victorious prove; For everlasting strength is thine,
And everlasting love. Unconquerable sin; Cleanse this foul heart, and make it new, And write thy law within.
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Notes on Application of the truth in Exodus 15 by Bob Deffinbaugh From Exodus: The Birth of a Nation: Lesson 8: The Song of the Sea: |
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"While this chapter appears to have two very distinct accounts, there is good reason for the fact that Moses has placed them side by side. The Song of the Sea and the bitter waters of Marah are contrasting accounts, but accounts which have a direct relationship to each other. Two observations are crucial to our understanding the relationship between the praises of Israel in the Song of the Sea (Ex 15:1-21) and the protests of Israel at Marah (Ex 15:22, 23, 24, 25, 26). (1) The Israelites failed to see the relationship between the affirmation of their faith in their worship (Ex 15:1-21) and the application of their faith in their daily walk (Ex 15:22-26). Israel had just proclaimed her faith in God as her warrior (Ex15:3), but she was unable to trust in God as her "Waterer" (Ex 15:22, 23, 24, 25, 26). That God could handle a problem with the water at Marah should not come as any surprise. After all, God had delivered Israel and destroyed the Egyptians by means of His control of the water in the Red Sea. The winds (which the song describes as coming from the breath of God, v8,10) caused the waters to part. God was able to make the waters congeal, so that there were walls of water on both sides of the Israelites (cf. Ex 15:8). God caused the waters to close in upon the Egyptian army, drowning them all. If God could deal with the waters of the Red Sea, surely He could be trusted to deal with the waters of Marah. Israel should have been able to apply the faith she affirmed in the Song of the Sea to her dilemma at the waters of Marah, but she did not. Lest we become unnecessarily perturbed at the Israelites for their lack of faith, and become a little proud of ourselves, let me suggest that the problem which Israel illustrates is also one of the greatest problems of Christians in every age, including our own. We often fail to apply our faith in God, resulting from one event, to another event which is virtually identical. For example, the feeding of the 5,000 (Mk 6:30-44) should have taught the disciples to trust in the Lord Jesus to feed the multitudes, and yet shortly after this great miracle, the disciples failed to apply their faith to the matter of feeding the 4,000 (Mk 8:1-10). When we gather to worship God, we do not sing the Song of the Sea but we do sing many hymns and choruses which express our faith in God. We sing, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and then go our ways fretting and worrying about the petty details of our lives, as though God was not faithful at all. We sing, It Is Well With My Soul, but when some little irritation comes along, our faith flounders. We sing, O, for a Thousand Tongues, and then, when someone makes fun of our faith, we are tongue-tied and cannot find any words to say concerning our faith. The point is simply this. It is a great deal easier to affirm our faith in public worship than it is to apply our faith in our daily walk.* Here is the real crunch. Here is where the rubber meets the road. It is not that we need to worship less, it is that we must apply in our daily walk those truths which we affirm in our worship. Just as God led the Israelites to the waters of Marah, so He leads us in such a way as to give us ample opportunity to apply our faith, or at least to reveal our lack of faith. One of the contributing factors to our failure to apply our faith in our daily walk is that we tend to create false distinctions between those areas which are sacred (church, public worship) and those which are secular (work, daily living). The result is that we think of our faith as relevant to our devotional activities, but not to our daily activities. It is my contention that God distinguishes between those matters which are holy and those which are profane, but not between those matters which are sacred and those which are secular. A more careful look at the Law of Moses will reveal that Israels faith was to govern and guide them in the minute details of their (secular) lives. (2) Not only did Israel fail to apply their faith to their situation at Marah, they failed to even see the problem as being spiritual. In the text we read that the Israelites protested against Moses, not against God (v24). They demanded that Moses produce water for them, they did not cry to God for water. It is my contention that they did not see their circumstances as demanding a spiritual solution, but only as demanding a secular solution. At least when the Israelites were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea they cried out to God for help (before they began to grumble against Moses, cf. Ex 14:10, 11, 12). Here, at Marah, they immediately confronted Moses, and ignored God altogether. Ironically, the Israelites forgot that the pillar of cloud was still guiding them (cf. Ex 13:21, 22), and that God Himself was present with them in the cloud. If they were wrongly led, God led them wrongly by the cloud.* Imagine the protests of the Israelites, while the cloud hovered over the waters of Marah. The Israelites failed to understand that if God promised to bring them safely out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan, any obstacle which would hinder or prevent them was one with which God was concerned, and which He could overcome. They failed to see bitter water as a matter about which God would be concerned, but He was concerned because water was necessary to preserve His people. At the Red Sea, Israel should have learned that God was able to overcome any obstacle* (such as the Red Sea, which He parted) or any opponent* (such as the Egyptians, which He drowned in the Red Seathe obstacle). Thus, while the Israelites sang that God was going to overcome their opponents (the Canaanites), they did not grasp the fact that He would also overcome all the obstacles to their entrance into Canaan (such as the bitter waters of Marah). How often we fall into the very same trap.* We view God as being concerned only with the big problems of life, those which appear to be spiritual. But anything which hinders our growth, our sanctification, or our ability to do what He has purposed is a matter about which He is concerned, and which He is able to overcome. Frequently, when we encounter a problem in our lives, we do not even consider that it is something about which God is intimately concerned. We immediately begin to turn to secular solutions, without seeking Gods solution. One reason why we fail to view our problems as an occasion for faith is that we have become accustomed to living by scientific principles rather than spiritual principles. The scientific method is a good methodfor matters of science. But it is incompatible when it comes to matters of faith. Here, the scientific method must be set aside (not scrapped, but set aside). Scientific principles are essential for scientific purposes. One does not, for example, design an airplane, load it full of people, and hope that it flies. It must pass a rigorous series of tests and be proven functional and reliable. The scientific method requires that every scientific fact be proven, being performed under controlled conditions, having hard empirical evidence, and being repeatable, time after time. In order for one to accept the account of the Red Sea on scientific grounds, the depth of the sea would have had to have been measured, the velocity of the winds calculated, and all other variables considered. In order to prove that this was something scientifically verifiable, the parting of the sea would have to be repeated time after time. And after being scientifically proven, one could only predict that the event would happen again if it were repeated under identical conditions. Any change in any variable would cause the scientist to question the possibility of repeating the phenomenon under different conditions. The spiritual method is different.* The spiritual method observes what God has done, accepting the event on face value, governed and qualified by the divine revelation which accompanies the phenomenon. The spiritual method then views the event as a manifestation of the character of God.* On the basis of Gods character (as consistent with biblical descriptions of His character elsewhere), the Christian then looks at any future circumstance as an opportunity* for God to act in such a way as to achieve His purposes by overcoming both obstacles (like the Red Sea, or the hardness of mens hearts) and opponents (like Satan, the antichrist, or the armies of men who have been deceived and used by Satan) [Ed note: or even our indwelling sin nature, the old man or old Adam, the flesh]. Variations in conditions do not change the character of God, nor do they pose a problem to the God who is all-powerful. The reason why we fail to see many circumstances as occasions that require a spiritual solution (and therefore require faith as well) is because we are using the scientific method of reasoning*, rather than the spiritual method of reasoning*, which reasons according to Gods revealed will and in accordance with the character of God, as demonstrated in history. As we come to the conclusion of the message, let me attempt to apply this text to a current problem, which I shall call the charismatic problem. Many contemporary charismatics are inclined to think and to teach that life can and will be lived on the spiritual mountain tops. Thus, we should expect the Israelites to continually experience the euphoria and optimism of the Song of the Sea. Such is not the case, however. God did not allow the Israelites to stay by the sea, singing their glorious song. He did not keep them on the mountain. Instead, God led the Israelites into the desert, allowed them to be thirsty, and gave them bitter water. This adverse situation tested the faith and endurance of the Israelites, and provided the occasion for God to teach His people an important lesson. Expecting to live the Christian life on a continuous high is not only unrealistic, it is unbiblical. Thank God for the times of victory and elation, but do not expect things to stay this way forever. Now a word to my non-charismatic reader. While we often accuse our charismatic brethren of expecting the miraculous and the ecstatic to be the norm, we often have become content to expect that things will always happen according to natural laws and practices, so that we expect miracles not to happen. God is not obliged to work a miracle for our benefit, but He is able to do so, and He sometimes does do so. The Israelites saw the miraculous hand of God at work in their passing through the Red Sea, and they expected His hand to work mightily and miraculously as they entered into the land of Canaan to possess it. We, on the other hand, have convinced ourselves that we ought not expect the miraculous. The conversion of souls is a miracle. If we do not look for God to work in miraculous ways, we may as well stop witnessing and trying to evangelize the lost. The process of sanctification as well as the manifestation of the Spirit in the lives of the saints for ministry is a miracle, and we dare not seek to serve the Lord without asking for His miraculous power to do so. Frankly, I do not know which is worsethinking miracles should be the rule, or thinking that miracles have been ruled outbut there must be a balance [Ed note: "Amen"!]. The exodus event is a manifestation of Gods miraculous might, employed to achieve His purposes and to fulfill His promises. The Israelites saw the miracle of God accomplished in the past as a guarantee of His intervention in the future. May God give us the faith to look for (but not demand) the miraculous in our lives, when it is required to accomplish the purposes and promises of God.* If you have not personally come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have not experienced the miracle of being born again, of having your sins forgiven, your guilt removed, and of the joy of fellowship with God and the hope of heaven. It is only when you experience this miracle of conversion that you will look for the miraculous hand of God to work in your life in the future." * (Bolding added by me) |
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