Jehovah Rapha // Exodus 15:22-27

JEHOVAH RAPHA

 

Today, we are going to continue our study on the names of God.  Names of God help us to DEFINE and IDENTIFY people.  Each one of us call ourselves something depending on the people or the environment that we find ourselves in.  At home, I am Daddy,  most everywhere else I am Todd, here at church I am pastor, to some of my close friends, I am “bro”

 

Yes, its true that sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never HURT you.  And that may be true for our relationships with one another, but the greater truth revealed in our relationship with God, is that sticks and stones may break your bones, but the Name of God will HEAL you. 

 

There are many names of God and scriptures that include numerous descriptions of who He is.  The name of God is not something that we should take lightly, or use in vain.    These are extremely important to understand not just for Teaching and Instruction, but for Presence and Power.  As we look at these different names, we see a God who reveals Himself not primarily for the TESTS in the CLASSROOM, but for the TESTS in our CRISIS.  

 

Today, we look at the name God gave Himself, Jehovah Rapha.  I am the Lord that heals you.  God reveals Himself to the people of Israel in the wilderness just three short days after they had crossed the Red Sea, and when they were parched and needing a drink of fresh water.  So, lets turn to Exodus 15 and read the account. 

 

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[a]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to 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.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

 

Three days after one of the most epic miracles in all human history and these Israelites are filled with a song of complaining sung with a dry mouth and a fatigued soul.  Three days before this moment, there was a song of praise and worship that was filled the air with lyrics of exuberance, energy, the atmosphere was charged on the other side of the Red Sea, as they looked back and saw their enemies drowning in the water and dead on the sea shore, they were fully realizing that God just rescued them from 400 years of slavery, Through a miraculous parting of the Red Sea, these thousands of people, young and old started singing, shouting, what the scripture calls the Song of Moses

 

I hope today, each one of us have had moments where we have seen the enemies of our past dead on the seashore.  Where God’s salvation and redemption and deliverance was fully realized in our lives.  Those moments right, are filled with energy, exuberance, hope and expectation.  The song of Moses was loud and clear, we trust you, we believe in you, JEHOVAH is the God who is glorious in power!

 

God’s people were not meant to stay on the seashore of the Red Sea, they were meant to move into the promised land.  Their journey would be through a wilderness of wanderings, where it would appear that God set them up for disappointment and disaster.  This is the very first mention of those wanderings.    

 

The people of Israel, were thirsty.  Three days without water, from what I understand is the limit for any human being.  Dehydration will begin to set in and typically what happens is more than just a dry thirsty mouth.  You will experience fatigue, dizziness, reduced cognitive function and your organs will begin to work harder, increasing your heart rate and bringing you to a life-threatening situation.

 

Hey, some of you, have been brought to your limits.  To moments in life that were life-threatening.  Afflictions that didn’t seem light and momentary in the moment, but were heavy and extremely difficult.  So, lets give these folks in the wilderness some slack, this is not a very comfortable or light affliction, children are involved and momma’s are afraid for their children.  Moses, what are you going to do?  You parted the red sea with that staff…what now? 

 

Sometimes, God will bring you through great victories in your life, moments that just fill your lungs with praise…but then God will bring you into afflictions that make you question, that make you complain, that make you bitter that deflate the praise out of your lungs, taking your breath away.

 

Moses is showed a tree, he throws into the water.  Most likely translated a piece of wood.  And the bitter waters are turned sweet.    Now, most likely the waters at Marah, were ‘bitter-sweet”, scholars believe that these waters were partial fresh and partial salt. So, when the wood was placed in the water miraculously it purified the water for drinking, making a sweet or translated “pleasurable” to drink. 

God then says, I am making and establishing a moment with you right now, to remind you that I tested you here.  To see if you would hear my voice, that you might listen to me in your affliction, that you would continue to trust me and worship me and fear me.  That you would not be overcome by the voice of your complaining, your doubts, your fears, your worries, but you would continue to tune in to the frequency of my voice in the middle of your affliction.    The voices in your head and in your heart must not drown out the voice of the Lord.

 

The Lord links our healing to heeding the voice of the Lord.   Healing is essential to our relationship with God.  And here in this moment, the test of Israel’s affliction for water, was meant to reveal God as Healer.  Jehovah Rapha.

 

God is attracted to your weakness and to your affliction.  GOD LOVES IT WHEN YOU NEED HIM!   Rapha, means to mend or fix.  So, He is saying, I am the Lord who mends and fixes you. 

 

I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians.  The ten plagues that afflicted the Egyptians in the book of Exodus had both historical and symbolic significance. From a historical perspective, these plagues were extraordinary events that demonstrated God's power and authority over nature and the gods of Egypt. Each plague targeted a specific aspect of Egyptian life, including their economy, religious beliefs, and health.

 

When it comes to the diseases mentioned in Exodus 15:26, the plagues can be seen as symbolic representations of the diseases or afflictions that the Egyptians experienced. Overall, the plagues serve as both a historical account of the judgments against the Egyptians and yet a symbolic depiction of the suffering and devastation that can arise from various diseases and afflictions.   Today, we have diseases and afflictions that are being generated and discovered even right now as I speak. 

 

Jehovah Rapha is God revealing His power to protect and heal His people when they are obedient and faithful to His voice.

 

We understand now that the wood thrown into the bitter waters of Marah was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ being nailed to a cross that was shaped and formed out of a wooden tree and Jesus would be thrown into the bitter waters of our sinful fallen world.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Jehovah Rapha because He embodies and demonstrates God's healing power Jesus possessed divine authority to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, restore sight to the blind, and even raise the dead. In Matthew 9:35, it is mentioned that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, healing every disease and every affliction among the people. His healing ministry demonstrated His power as the Son of God and His ability to bring physical and spiritual healing. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus' deep compassion for those who were suffering. His' heart was moved with compassion for the sick, the demon-possessed, and the broken-hearted. Beyond physical ailments, Jesus also offered spiritual healing. He forgave sins, released people from guilt and shame, and brought reconciliation between humanity and God. Jesus recognized the deeper need for spiritual healing and restoration, understanding that true wholeness comes from being reconciled with our Heavenly Father.

 

When He was on that cross, one of His statements was “I am Thirsty”…and he was given a bitter sponge to drink…it was the moment that Jesus was saying I understand your condition, I feel your thirst, your pain, your affliction and even more I taste your bitterness…but on this cross I am purifying the waters of your affliction…I am Jehovah Rapha!  The Lord who heals you.

 

Today, the Bible says if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.  But maybe today, you don’t hear his voice in your affliction.  Let me give you just three short encouraging ways to hear His voice today.  Call on the elders of the church, and let them pray over you. (James 5:14-16). Second, read the Holy Scriptures out loud confessing with your mouth the promises of God written down for you to believe with your own ears. (Romans 10:9-10). Lastly, invite the Holy Spirit into the room of your affliction, and I promise you, you will walk out of that room with His anointing moving you towards the greater complete healing promised in Revelation, where Jehovah Rapha, our Healer will be revealed in His complete glory!