2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The more time that I spend with the Scriptures, the more I can see a gulf between believers and those who are not. There is a danger here, that I could become self-righteous and forget that every present non-believer is a potential future believer. Only God knows which individuals will come to faith, and that is a matter of His sovereignty and not for me to judge. There are times when we are brought into the presence of people who we find repugnant, and yet, we must remember Christ’s message of MT 25: 40. “The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’” The “it” here is care for the needs of the person in question. There is no question that some of the most repugnant people we encounter are ones who have the greatest spiritual need for the healing that Jehovah Rapha can supply. There are some citations which reveal that Christ understood this principle well. MT 9: 12-13, “Jesus heard them [some Pharisees who saw Christ eating at Matthew’s house with tax collectors and outcasts] and answered, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. Go and find out what is meant by the Scripture [MT 12: 7] that says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices. I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.’” In MT 12: 13b, Christ is citing HO 6: 5 b-6, “What I [the Lord] want from you is plain and clear. I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices . I would rather have My people know Me than have them burn offerings to Me.”
Jehovah Rapha asks us to break through our barriers of pre-conceived notions, prejudices, and selfishness, so that we can be used by Him to bring seemingly unattractive people to faith. We must replace reticence with kindness, insincerity with genuine caring. Now look at MT 12: 7. “The Scriptures [MT 9: 13; HO 6: 6] say, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty.” This is particularly true when it is difficult for us to approach people who we have felt were our enemies. Yet, Christ in MT 5: 44-45 teaches us to love our enemies. Mark in MK 2: 17 and Luke in LK 5: 31 reiterate the same story about the Pharisees criticizing Christ for eating with outcasts and His response to them. I mention this, because my experience tells me that when God wants us to learn a lesson well, He inspires more than one person to write about it or repeats it many times for emphasis. God sees through our human foibles and knows that one way we avoid dealing with real issues is to engage in some behavior, like offering animal sacrifices is here, to set up a smoke screen supposedly to protect us from having to deal with what we find difficult or painful.
Another message that is repeated many times throughout the Scriptures is Jehovah Rapha’s desire that we should turn to him in times of sickness. The story of King Asa’s experience at the end of his reign over Judah serves as a wonderful example. 2 CH 16: 12-13, “In the thirty-ninth year that As was king, he was crippled by a severe foot disease, but even then he did not turn to the Lord for help, but to doctors. Two years later he died.” We may assume that these doctors were not men of faith, for any healing doctors do is because God has inspired and allowed it. It’s a shame that Asa chose not to turn to God as King Hezekiah, who reigned over Judah from about 715-685 BC during Isaiah’s ministry, had done [2 K 20: 1-6]. Asa had been a good king who had instituted a number of important reforms during his time. Asa reigned from 911-870 BC over Judah and took ill in 872 BC. You will remember that Hezekiah turned to Jehovah Rapha when he fell ill, and the Lord saw fit to grant him recovery and another 15 years of life, rewarding this king’s faithfulness.
Another principle is that not to deal with sin separates us from the forgiveness and healing our Jehovah Rapha offers us. This, too, is repeated often. David understood this well and spoke of it in the Psalms. PS 38 is the Prayer of a Suffering Man. PS 38: 18, “I confess my sins; they fill me with anxiety.” Earlier in that same prayer in (15), David, amidst considerable pain, utters, “But I trust in You, O Lord; and You, O Sovereign Lord, will answer me.” God’s complete knowledge and care is revealed in PS 139. The Psalmist here exposes the depth of his trust in God in PS 139: 2 & 5, “You know everything I do; from far away You understand all my thoughts….You are all around me on every side; You protect me with your power.” More of that trust and the true heart of an obedient believer is revealed in PS 139: 23-24. “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me and discover my thoughts. Find out if these is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.” Paul demonstrates that same trust in Jehovah Rapha and acknowledgment of His power to bring healing in 1 COR 4: 4-5. “My conscience is clear, but that does not prove that I am really innocent. The Lord is the One Who passes judgment on me. So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; He will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people’s minds. And then everyone will receive from God the praise he deserves.” Jehovah has not only made His will known to us, He has demonstrated His power to heal or not to heal through the stories cited here from the Scriptures. He awaits our willingness to turn to Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have asked us to come to where the rubber meets the road. Your desire is for us to confess sin, acknowledge illness, and come to You for healing. Through the story of Asa’s failure to do this, You demonstrate Your sovereign decision to not grant him healing. Through Hezekiah’s willingness to conform to Your will, You demonstrate Your righteousness and compassion by granting him an extra fifteen years of physical life. That does not mean that every time we turn to You when suffering that You will always grant us physical healing. We must accept that You have higher purposes than we can understand at times, and allow physical death to occur despite prayers to ward it off. This morning You used a friend of mine to remind me that people of faith we love die sometimes, because it is Your will that they should be in a better place with You. We cannot be selfish at times like that or turn away from our faith in Your ultimate wisdom. There are times when You bring us to people who are not attractive or likable or who have been our enemies. Sometimes, You desire to use us to bring them closer to You. We should never turn away from that command if it comes from You. Our willingness to obey You, even when it is difficult for us, is a measure of the trust and love we have for You. Today, we approach You, our dear Jehovah Rapha, in humble adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, and obedience to offer You honor, glory, praise, and thanks for all that You are in our lives and all the blessings You make available to us. In Christ’s name, we pray, amen.
Tomorrow, we should complete our examination of citations about Jehovah Rapha, so that we can go on to what our Lord wants us to learn about the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. He reveals Himself to us in amazing and wonderful ways. This alone is enough to propel me forward upon the path our loving Abba is taking us. It is one thing to know in our minds that God loves each and every one of us. It is another most wonderful gift to have that knowledge in our hearts. It gives us comfort, equips us to deal with pain, sin, and suffering, encourages us in our faith, and stimulates us to share that faith with others. The knowledge that we are never abandoned or alone when times of sorrow come is something only our dear Jehovah Rapha can give us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn