Then Moses made Israel
set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went
three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they
could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was
named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we
drink?” And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw
it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a
statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently
listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his
eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put
none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your
healer.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and
seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water. (Exodus 15:22-27 ESV).
At
Marah, the Israelites learn that God is Yahweh
Rapha, “the LORD who heals.” This name comes from the Hebrew word raphe, meaning “to heal, to make
healthy.” The people also learn that God expects his people to trust him in all
things, and he expects them to be holy, as he is holy. Indeed, a few chapters
later at Sinai, he lays out a code for holy living.
In the
New Testament we discover an irony about Yahweh Rapha. There we learn that “the
LORD who heals” suffers to heal us and to forgive our sins. In the words of the
Prophet Isaiah, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5). These words refer to Jesus, the Son of God. “By his
wounds we are healed.” Whatever healing you need today, know that our Heavenly
Father is indeed the God who Heals. And, the greatest healing has already taken
place, our sins have been forgiven.
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