A Balm in Gilead

 

My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?” “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (Jeremiah 8:18-22 ESV).

 

In this frightening passage, the prophet Jeremiah refers to Gilead, a region in Israel that was known for its medicinal balm, or healing salve. In the midst of destruction, there was no place of refuge, no place even for the wounded to find help or healing. The prophets Isaiah and Jere­miah lived to see the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem by the invading powers from the north: Assyria and Babylon. The people were being punished for worshiping other gods since the days of Solomon. But they refused to repent.

 

Isaiah says, “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great. . . . They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel. . . . Why should you be beaten anymore? 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 olive oil” (Isaiah 1:4-6). For Israel’s deep-seated rebellion, God allowed other nations to overtake them.

 

I find it of more than a passing interest that we live in a similar circumstance. As we approach Memorial Day this year, my hope is that we will do much more than observe a holiday. Some may not know that Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It originated in the days following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe the day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in other local celebrations. For many more it merely marks the beginning of the summer season. It originally was designed to remember the sacrifice of so many who had given their lives for the freedom we now enjoy. As is true with many other memorial celebrations, the true reason is soon forgotten.

 

The death of Jesus is like that. When Jesus came, he did not come as the builder of an ark like Noah, or as a warrior like David. He came as the Great Physician, healing the lame, the sick, and the blind. He gave his life so that we might be eternally healed. Yet, still today, our world persists in rebellion against God and is full of wounds and welts. Only in Christ can we be saved, brought back to God, and healed. Remember his death along with others who have given so much for our privileges. Jesus is the only real “balm in Gilead.”