Psalm of Praise: Psalms 86:12-13
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me.
Background:
In the Old Testament God is referred to as Yahweh, also pronounced Jehovah, and translated in English as ‘Lord’. There are seven occasions where Jehovah is used with a suffix which describes a different aspect of the nature of God.
Today we are going to look at Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Heals.
Bible Reading: Exodus 15:23-26
When (the Israelites) came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter.
So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood.
He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.
He said, "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 Jehovah Rapha, the Lord, who heals you."
A Reflection:
Healing today comes in many guises. First and foremost God has created our bodies with an amazing in-built capacity to heal themselves. For more serious ailments we have the wonderful work of the medical professionals, and behind the scenes we have the scientists and researchers, continually looking for new treatments, remedies and cures.
The Christian faith teaches us that sickness came into the world through the fall; mankind rebelling and turning away from God. This was remedied on the cross when Jesus died for our sins. But Jesus didn’t just defeat the power of sin, he also defeated the powers of sickness and death. St Peter says this of Jesus ‘"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
I wonder how much of the medical healing we see today actually flows form the cross of Jesus, outworked in the medical practices all around the world.
‘Jehovah Rapha’ reminds us that it is God’s nature to heal, and Jesus’ ministry involved healing the sick, a ministry he has handed on to the Church. James writes, ‘Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. (James 5:14-15)
Healing may happen naturally and it may happen with the intervention of medical science. But healing also happens today through prayer. Let us be thankful for all that medicine does for us. Let us also remember to pray in faith to our Lord who heals, for all we know who are sick today.
Pray:
Thank you Father God that you are the Lord who heals.
In faith we come to you for healing for those we know who are sick today. Amen
Be still, for the presence of God, the Holy One is here.
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