When God revealed himself to human beings during Old Testament
times God defined himself in terms of a “covenant name.” These names described
God’s own identity in terms of his covenant relationship with his people. Each name
began with the famous “I AM” (or I Will Be), followed by a name that really
constituted a covenant promise. I would love to say more but I really want to
focus on one of those names.
As God was leading the slave-people of Israel out of Egypt he
revealed himself to them in very important ways in the process of establishing
a covenant relationship with them. One of the names he used was given when the
bitter, poison waters of Marah were healed. “If you
listen carefully to the Lord your
God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and
keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the
diseases I brought on the
Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who
heals you” (Exodus 15:26). I AM the Lord Who Heals You. What a
wonderful revelation of God and his covenant relationship with us!
My
question is this: What exactly did God mean by “heal”? We’ve all seen enough
promises of healing, whether natural or supernatural (if there is much of a
difference between the two) to wonder about the nature of God as our Healer.
The (Hebrew) word translated “heal” in Exodus 15:26 is rapha. It means “to sew together, to mend; to heal a wound; to heal
a person or a land; to restore.” In general, this word means to restore
something to its original condition so that it can fulfill its original
purpose. So when God promised to be our healer, he was not just promising to
fix what is broken; God was promising to restore us to full humanity, to make
us whole.
As
human persons we are born sick. The disease of sin has resulted in pain and
brokenness in every part of our lives. Our minds, our emotions, our physical
bodies, our relationships – everything has been twisted by the disease caused
by our separation from God. And every part of our lives needs to be healed by
God.
The word for “heal” is used at some very important points in the
Old Testament. The psalmist gave witness concerning God, “He sent out his word and
healed them” (Psalm 107:20). When rehearsing the benefits experienced in a
covenant relationship with God David sang, “Praise the Lord, my
soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all
your diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3). Through the prophet
Isaiah God promised, “I have seen their ways,
but I will heal them; I will guide them
and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace,
peace, to those far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them”
(57:18-19). When speaking of the houses of Israel the prophet Jeremiah
proclaimed, “I will bring health and healing to it; I will
heal my people and will let them
enjoy abundant peace and
security” (Jeremiah 33:6). The full range of healing was also indicated by
Jeremiah: “I will cure you of
backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22; see also Hosea 14:4). Similarly, David declared, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
God’s
people did not hesitate to pray for healing. David prayed, “Have
mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony” (Psalm 6:2) and “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me” (Psalm 41:4). He
was then able to testify, “Lord my God, I called to
you for help, and you healed me” (Psalm 30:2). Jeremiah prayed, “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be
saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).
When
speaking of God’s Messiah Isaiah foresaw, “But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are
healed” (53:5). Not only has God revealed himself to us as “the Lord who heals
you,” God’s promised Anointed One, God’s Son, provided healing in the wounds he
bore on his body. And that healing was sufficient to bring wholeness to every
part of our lives – spirit, soul and body.
Remember the story in Exodus 15? After going without water for
three days, the Israelites encountered a lake whose water was bitter, or
literally poison. If they drank the water, it would not just taste bad – it
would kill them. And how did they respond to this dilemma? “So the people
grumbled against Moses” (15:24). The bitter water was really a metaphor for the
fact that the people were bitter, and their bitterness was killing them. In
response, God asked Moses to do something very strange: “The Lord showed him a
piece of wood. He threw it into the water and became fit to drink” (15:25).
Somehow a simple piece of word thrown into the bitterness was sufficient to
heal the water. In a similar way, the coming of Christ and his death on a piece
of wood was sufficient to provide healing and wholeness to all humankind. It
was really the hearts of the people, more than the water, that needed to be
healed. That’s why God introduced his promise of healing with the words, “If you
listen carefully to the Lord your
God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and
keep all his decrees” (15:26).
The basis for their wholeness was a return to a right relationship with God. The
promise was that the judgment that had fallen upon Egypt would not touch the
Israelites. If they would return to God, listen to him and follow him, they
would begin to experience healing in every part of our lives.
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