God the Healer (Jehovah Rapha)

Exodus 15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

We are going to look at one of the names of God /

Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.

This name is first revealed shortly after the Israelites were unshackled 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.”

This remarkable song is assumed to have come spontaneously as Moses led the nation into the wilderness on the other side of the Red Sea.

But then their praising turns into a time of protesting.

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

They went three days in the wilderness and found no water:

Three days is not a very long time. But it is long enough to forget the great victory and power of God.

“Three days is the maximum time the human body can go without water in the desert.”

Moses led them into the “Desert of Shur.” “Shur” means a “wall.”

And that’s exactly how they felt. There Back was up against a wall

They had run into a wall of despair instead of a window to blessing.

Some of you feel like you’re backs against a wall.

· With your family

· With your finances

· With your life

Picture the children of Israel in the hot desert for 3 days with no water – they come up on this water hole and it’s bitter.

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.”

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.

In verse 24, they put Moses on the spot: “What are we to drink?”

The people are angry with God but they take it out on a person.

The Israelites saw God provide in making a way through the Red Sea but now they’re thirsty.

On top of that, now they have a bitter taste in their mouth.

Some of you may feel that way this evening. You’ve gone from high expectations to great disappointment to heavy discouragement.

Bitter People, Bitter experiences, Bitter places can blind us to the promises of God.

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 tree 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.

Marah was a place of bitterness and testing, but because Israel endured and received provision from God, they genuinely gained from their time at Marah.

· They learned prayer.

· They learned daily dependence.

· They learned obedience.

· They even learned a new name for God.

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: Emotional: “Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint…” Physical: “O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony…” Spiritual: “My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?”

God reveals Himself as Jehovah Rapha when we are in need of…

Emotional Healing.

Jehovah Rapha heals emotional hurts and broken hearts.

Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

The word “broken” means “to burst, to break into pieces, to crush and to smash.”

Some of you feel that way right now. Your emotional pain is overwhelming.

In the midst of your tears, cry out to Jehovah Rapha and ask Him to put you back together again.

Physical Healing.

Some of you are experiencing a tough time right now as you’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.

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.

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.

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?”

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.

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.”

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.”

Verse 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.”

When we go through tough times emotionally, physically or spiritually, we are really entering a testing time.

4 principles better understand the healing power of Jehovah Rapha.

1. Trials and troubles can get us back on track.

Psalm 119:67, 71: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word…It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”

2. The importance of a community of faith.

James 5:14-16 describes what we should do when we are sick.

· Call for the Elders of the church and ask for prayer.

· Second, confess your sins to others.

· Third, pray for each other.

When you’re hurting, you need the help of others.

3. Operate in Faith.

Pray earnestly for healing to Jehovah Rapha, and have faith to believe that He can heal you.

“He sovereignly reserves the right to heal or not heal as He sees fit”

Mark 6:5-6 explains the importance of faith to Jesus: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Faith unleashes the healing power of God.

James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”

4. The Cross is the source of healing.

The Jehovah who heals in the Old Testament is the Jesus who heals in the New.

Don’t miss the significance behind the wood from a tree providing sweetness to the bitter water.

All of our problems began at a tree in the Garden of Eden and our sin problem is resolved because another piece of wood was used to hold up our Sin Substitute on the Cross.

Isaiah 53:5 says that “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

1 Peter 2:24 picks up on this prophecy: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

Only Jesus can sweeten the bitterness of life.