"... I am the LORD, who heals you." Exodus 15:26
This is one of the names of our mighty God. The Lord who heals you, or Jehovah Rapha. The Hebrew word rapha means to mend (by stitching), to cure, to heal, to be a physician, to repair, repair thoroughly, to make whole.1
I read the following quote about this word in a blog by Alan Kearns way back in January and it has stuck with me, there in the back of my mind, all this time.
"Thus, besides its basic meaning of 'to heal,' the word, rapha, can mean, 'to restore,' or 'to mend.' So Jehovah Rapha can mean 'the Lord who restores,' or 'the Lord who fixes broken things.'" -- Alan Kearns
God is "the Lord who fixes broken things." I have been just resting in, soaking in that truth for six months.
I am a broken thing. We are all broken things. I wanted to see where else in the Bible the word rapha is used.
He heals (rapha) the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals (rapha) all your diseases ... Psalm 103:2-3
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (rapha). Isaiah 53:5
Rapha is also the word that is used in 2 Chronicles 7:14 speaking of healing the nation.
... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal (rapha) their land.
Yes, our land is another broken thing. (Lord, heal our land!) Then I found this:
Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips." Hosea 14:2
And the most wonderful, most piercing and poignant response from God:
"I will heal (rapha) their waywardness (faithlessness, apostasy, waywardness, backsliding) and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them." Hosea 14:4
How wonderful that He heals our faithlessness, apostasy, waywardness, backsliding!
Let us take words and return to our Lord. Whatever has caused our brokenness – trauma, abuse, rejection, abandonment, a broken heart – let us take it to our precious Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who Heals You. And if our response to these things that have happened has been fear, doubt or unbelief, unforgiveness, idolatries, stubbornness and pride, clinging to sin, anger at, or outright rebellion against, God – let us take words and come to Him.
Heal us, oh Lord! Forgive us, restore us, mend us, repair us! Fix our brokenness as only You can do.
No more will you turn to another for help
Nor will you turn to yourself, to yourself
Nor will you say, "Our God" to some other
For in Me you'll find mercy
I will heal your wrong ways
I will love you so freely
You will dwell beneath My shadow
I will be as the dew to My people
And they will blossom as the lily
Your beauty will be like the olive tree
Your fragrance as Lebanon, Lebanon
You will live as a well watered garden
And you will flourish like the vine
I will heal your wrong ways
I will love you so freely
You will dwell beneath My shadow
I will be as the dew to My people
And they will blossom as the lily
Comfort ye My people2
Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. Hosea 6:1 (ESV)
Photo, Broken Up, in the Public Domain from Flickr
1 Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
2 Comfort Ye My People by Joel Chernoff, Rick Coghill
No comments:
Post a Comment