Selwyn now looks at another of God’s titles, Jehovah Rophe, which means ‘The Lord who heals’.
In the verses, set for reading and meditation we have this account of God’s instruction to his people, and a condition under which a promise is given, Exodus 15:22-26 (NLT): “Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded.
So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lordshowed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”
The key point is: IF the Israelites obey His commands THEN they will not suffer any of the diseases – that were sent on the Egyptians. God does sometimes use illness to punish or correct/refine a person – this aspect cannot be ruled out, however, I think it’s an exception rather than a general rule.
Selwyn says: “We can be grateful that medical science contributes to our physical health, but when medical science fails ther is still God. Indeed, I can testify to the direct healing God gave me when medical help proved ineffectual.”
There are some people who believe that ‘today’, God does not heal people – the last time it happened (almost, two thousand years ago) was to demonstrate the divinity of Jesus while He was alive or shortly after His resurrection, to also establish the credentials of His apostles; and, that purpose is not required today – they say, that ‘miraculous healing’ stopped at the end of the Book of Acts’. Their view is that God helps people through their illnesses but he does not heal people. This view is wrong. Like Selwyn I too have been a witness to the healing of people that is difficult to explain by medical science - sometimes, it’s not clear cut, there is a role for faith. Critics will state, ‘how many recorded cases are there of amputated limbs being restored?’ I believe God can regrow limbs, but I also think that there is often (but not always) an element of faith – some room for doubt – to separate the sheep from the goats. What do you think?
Jehovah Rophe
Selwyn now looks at another of God’s titles, Jehovah Rophe, which means ‘The Lord who heals’.
In the verses, set for reading and meditation we have this account of God’s instruction to his people, and a condition under which a promise is given, Exodus 15:22-26 (NLT): “Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded.
So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lordshowed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”
The key point is: IF the Israelites obey His commands THEN they will not suffer any of the diseases – that were sent on the Egyptians. God does sometimes use illness to punish or correct/refine a person – this aspect cannot be ruled out, however, I think it’s an exception rather than a general rule.
Selwyn says: “We can be grateful that medical science contributes to our physical health, but when medical science fails ther is still God. Indeed, I can testify to the direct healing God gave me when medical help proved ineffectual.”
There are some people who believe that ‘today’, God does not heal people – the last time it happened (almost, two thousand years ago) was to demonstrate the divinity of Jesus while He was alive or shortly after His resurrection, to also establish the credentials of His apostles; and, that purpose is not required today – they say, that ‘miraculous healing’ stopped at the end of the Book of Acts’. Their view is that God helps people through their illnesses but he does not heal people. This view is wrong. Like Selwyn I too have been a witness to the healing of people that is difficult to explain by medical science - sometimes, it’s not clear cut, there is a role for faith. Critics will state, ‘how many recorded cases are there of amputated limbs being restored?’ I believe God can regrow limbs, but I also think that there is often (but not always) an element of faith – some room for doubt – to separate the sheep from the goats. What do you think?