Ole Miss FCA Weekly Devotional:  3/8/10

The Power and Passion of the Master Coach, Elliot Johnson (Used by permission)

Thought of the Week: 

God’s Glory is Declared in His Name, Yahweh-Rophe, “The Lord Who Heals”

Verse of the Week: 

He (God) said, “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 diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” Exodus 15:26

Bob Weiland lost both legs when he stepped on a Vietcong land mine in 1969. Subsequently, his courageous spirit inspired millions. Bob undertook a four-year “Walk for Hunger” across America on his hands, which he completed in 1986. Later, he “ran” the New York Marathon, finishing in four days, two hours, and seventeen minutes. Although 19,412 runners beat him, Bob was not discouraged. “I knew I could handle the marathon,” he told The Los Angeles Times. “I’m a born again Christian and this was a demonstration that faith in the Lord Jesus will always overcome the impossible.”

Can Bob Wieland hope for physical healing in this life? Possibly not. It seems that God used his life more as a disabled veteran. But there is no doubt that God did heal him emotionally and spiritually. In eternity he will be housed in a body that is “out of this world.” That’s because we serve Yahweh-Rophe—The God who heals!

The order in which the compound names of Yahweh appear is very significant. Progressively, the Lord reveals Himself to His redeemed people as the God who is capable of meeting every need. The name Yahweh-Rophe was given through one of the first experiences of Israel after deliverance from Egyptian slavery. Only three days out of Egypt, Israel’s water was gone, and they became thirsty in the arid desert. Upon arriving at a place called Marah, they found a well! But when the water of Marah (which means “bitter”) proved unfit, they complained against Moses. They failed to realize that God was teaching them a lesson about Himself. The Lord showed Moses a tree which we was to cast into the water to purify it (Exodus 15:25). When Moses did so, the water was made pure! Thus He proved Himself to be Yahweh-Rophe: the God who heals.

Rophe appears sixty to seventy times in the Old Testament and always means “to restore,” “to heal,” “to cure,” or “a physician in the physical, moral and/or spiritual sense.” God pledged to be the Great Physician to Israel upon condition of their obedience.

Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has been in need of healing. He needs healing from the sin of his heart. Just a touch from the Lord can remove the blight of sin and restore our relationship with God. Man needs emotional healing because of damaged relationships with others. Only the Great Physician can heal us emotionally. Finally, man often needs physical healing. As Nathan Store writes, “The Yahweh who heals in the Old Testament is the Jesus who heals in the New.” He began His public ministry by declaring, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18 19). Yes, God is still in the healing business today!

How sad that mankind has rejected the healing touch of the Great Physician. He doesn’t want to harm us, but to heal us of the spiritual sickness of sin and ultimately of the physical and emotional consequences of our rebellion against God. His suffering on Calvary’s cross was on our behalf, that we might experience wholeness in our spirit. His great love motivates Him to heal damaged emotions which have been frayed by the ugliness of sin. When physical healing accomplishes the greatest good, His healing touch means health to broken bodies. We praise Him for being Yahweh-Rophe—the God who heals.

Time Out:

(1)   Reread Exodus 15:26. What four conditions was Israel to fulfill in relation to the Lord?

(2)   When Israel did these things, what did Yahweh-Rophe promise?

(3)   How did Jesus reveal Yahweh-Rophe in the following passages?

• Luke 8:26-39

• Luke 8:40-48

• Luke 8:49-56

• Luke 13:10-17

(4)   How has Yahweh-Rophe healed you?

• Spiritually — by restoring my relationship with God?

• Mentally — by calming my troubled mind?

• Emotionally — by touching deep hurts inflicted by self or others?

• Physically — by raising me up from sickness?