Part Six: Jehovah-Rapha, My Healer
Apparently these little extracts are from supposedly real medical records. I’ll let you decide!
· I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
· Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
· On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.
· The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
· Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.
· Healthy appearing decrepit 69 year old male, mentally alert but forgetful.
· The patient refused autopsy.
· The patient has no previous history of suicides.
· Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.
· Patient’s medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past 3 days.
· Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
· She is numb from her toes down.
· While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.
· The skin was moist and dry.
· Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
· Patient was alert and unresponsive.
· Rectal examination revealed a normal sized thyroid.
· She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce.
· Skin: Somewhat pale but present.
· Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities
This morning our focus is on yet another name for God – Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.
1. A Place of DELIVERANCE
This name is first revealed shortly after the Israelites were released from their bondage in Egypt. They have just passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. The people are excited to finally be free and so they express their praise in the first part of Exodus 15.
Look at verses 1-3: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.”
God is referred to by two of His names (Elohim and Yahweh) in this song of praise that lasts for twenty-one verses.
2. A Place of DISAPPOINTMENT
Quote: Remember – Disappointments are God’s appointments.
But then their praising turns into a time of protesting.
In verse 22 we read that Moses led them into the “Desert of Shur.” “Shur” means a “wall.” And that’s exactly how they felt. They had run into a wall of despair instead of a window to blessing.
After wandering in the wilderness for three days, and having no water to drink, the people turn on Moses at a place called Marah, which means “bitterness.” By the way, this is the name Naomi chose for herself after experiencing incredible pain and disappointment in Ruth 1:20.
God’s people go from giving praise to grumbling their protests because when they finally find some water, they soon discover that it had a very bitter taste.
Talk about disappointment! They were probably very excited to locate this water only to have their expectations shattered. In verse 24, they put Moses on the spot: “What are we to drink?”
Their gratitude turns to griping when the memory of God’s faithfulness is somehow forgotten, and it only took them three days to land in the ditch of despair.
Bitterness can blind us to the promises of God. They had forgotten that life in Egypt was terrible even though they ate bitter herbs as part of the Passover to remember the bitterness of slavery (Exodus 12:8).
But now freedom from Egypt has also left them feeling bitter because their expectations are shattered.
3. A Place of DEPENDENCE
Moses does what he should do and cries out to the Lord. Instead of protesting, he prays.
That’s what hard times can do for us. When we’re in pain, we must pray. God answers Moses by showing him a simple piece of wood. Moses takes the wood and whips it into the water and the water immediately becomes sweet.
God then initiates a test and tells them in verse 26: “If you listen carefully to the voice of 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.”
God is linking their holiness with their health as He declares one more name for Himself: Jehovah Rapha.
In the midst of their bitterness and hurt, God reveals Himself as their healer.
The word Rapha is used some sixty times in the Old Testament and means, “to restore, to heal, or to cure” physically, emotionally and spiritually.
In 1 Kings 18:30, we get a picture of what Rapha means when we read that Elijah “repaired” (Rapha) the altar of Jehovah. In 2 Kings 2:21, God “heals” (Rapha) the water when Elisha throws salt in the spring. The word has the idea of restoring something to its original state.
Sometimes we are in need of healing in all three areas at the same time like David was in Psalm 6:2-3: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
ü Emotional Healing.
Jehovah-Rapha heals emotional hurts and broken hearts.
Psalm 147:3: “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.”
The word “broken” means “to burst, to break into pieces, to crush and to smash.”
Some may feel that way right now. Emotional pain is overwhelming.
Friend, whatever pain you’re carrying around, hand it to the Healer today.
Some of you have incredibly intense hurt that others cannot relate to. Maybe it’s something that happened when you were younger. Or perhaps it just happened yesterday. In the midst of your tears, cry out to Jehovah-Rapha and ask Him to put you back together again.
Related to this, relational falling-outs can cause emotional pain. If some of us are struggling with a broken relationship, I encourage you to do what you can to make peace as Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
ü Physical Healing.
Some are experiencing a tough time right now as we’re trying to process the pain and discouragement that comes from physical difficulties.
Maybe it’s personal pain or maybe you’re devastated by the news you’ve received about a family member or a friend.
At times like this, we need to ask Jehovah-Rapha to do His healing work in our lives.
The Bible is filled with examples of God’s healing touch.
In 2 Kings 20:5-6 we read that Hezekiah became very ill and was about to die. As a result of intense intercession, he was healed and his life was even extended. This is really an amazing account: “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you…I will add fifteen years to your life.”
In the Gospels we see that Jesus spent a surprising amount of time healing people.
ü Spiritual Healing:
This is by far the most important of the three realms of healing.
Jehovah-Rapha sees that we are spiritually sick and He provides healing and wholeness through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross.
Our diagnosis is bad and our prognosis is terminal.
Jeremiah 17:9 records the incurable condition of the human heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
We are sinners who have been inflicted with the disease of death and destruction and we’re in desperate need of a new heart.
Early in His ministry, Jesus got up in the synagogue one day and quoted from the Book of Isaiah, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
Once we are set free spiritually, Jesus can break every other bondage we are under, including addictions and deep-seated sin patterns.
While it’s certainly true that Jesus healed a lot of people physically, He is always more interested in curing our sin problem.
Do you remember what Jesus passed along to John the Baptist when he wanted to know if He was really the Messiah? Listen to these words from Matthew 11:5: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Evangelism, not physical healing, must always be the main point of our ministry as well.
The problem of sin in our souls is pictured very vividly in Isaiah 1:5-6: “Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness — only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.”
Our wickedness is total, affecting every part of our lives.
Isaiah 1:18 provides the good news, showing the cleansing power of forgiveness: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Wrapping it up:
- Does Everyone Get Better?
Sometimes people still die. The children of Israel walked in a preserved state of health, yet a generation passed away before entering into the Promised Land.
Why? They refused to serve God wholeheartedly and refused to enter the Promised Land when opportunity arose (Duet 1:9-40, esp. 26 and 34). So some died through war, others through natural old age!
God’s healing does not mean an eternal physical life! It does mean that we can enjoy a full life though!
Illustration: Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. He prayed boldly for the man’s healing and that next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, “You prayed for my husband. He had cancer.” Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense that his cancer had been eradicated! But then she said, “He died.” Campolo felt terrible. But she continued, “Don’t feel bad. When you saw him he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.” But the lady told Campolo, “After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.” And then she said something incredibly profound. “Tony,” she said, “He wasn’t cured, but he was healed.”
- Making the Bitter Better
Maybe you’ve fallen recently and it feels like you’ve crashed so quickly you don’t even know what happened.
Whether you’re hurting emotionally, physically or spiritually, turn to Jehovah-Rapha right now.
Let’s go back to Exodus 15 for a moment. After God made the bitter waters sweet, He then led the Israelites to a place called Elim.
We read in verse 27 that Elim had twelve springs and seventy palm trees. God led them to a place of plenty.
Even if we’re not cured we can be healed by Jesus.
He is both the wood and the living water as He said in John 7:37: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
The only way to go from Marah to Elim is to turn to Jesus, who is Jehovah-Rapha.
If you’re in need of healing right now, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual (or all three), would you please stand and allow me to pray for you?
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