Jehovah Rapha – The Lord Who Heals

The nation of Israel has just been freed from slavery in Egypt. God has shown His great power in their Exodus through the plagues that Egypt endured and in the overthrow of the armies of Egypt in the Red Sea.

Imagine walking on dry ground through the sea then turning to watch the most feared army in the world destroyed as the walls of water come crashing down. How could this special people not see God’s power? How could they question His ability to care for them?

This is where we find the nation of Israel in Exodus 15:22-26. Their “big problem” of chapter 14, the army, was solved. That leaves them with a new problem: water (v 22). Moses finds himself being responsible to find water for ≈ 2.5 million people along with their livestock.

Marah

Three days into this problem they arrived at a place called “Marah” where there’s a pool of water. “Marah” means bitter, and as it’s name indicates that water was bitter and they couldn’t drink from this pool (v. 23). We don’t know from scripture if they were being water snobs and the water didn’t taste good enough for them or if the foul taste indicated something worse. Either way this source of water wasn’t the solution they had hoped for.

So what do they do? Do they pray about it? Do they encourage Moses that they’re with him and trust him? No. They complained… They didn’t ask God to heal the waters, they went straight to complaining.

“And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?” 
Exodus 15:24

Moses however went to God with this problem. He prayed and God showed him a tree to cut down into the pool and the “waters were made sweet.” (v. 25)

God gave them a decree. As they stood before the waters that they knew God had healed, He gave them this message:

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” 
Exodus 15:26

The LORD Who Heals

“The LORD that healeth thee” translates the name of God “Jehovah” (see a previous article in this series for more on this Name) and the Hebrew word “Rapha” which means “to mend (by stitching), i.e. (fig.) to cure^⁠1”

In this context this word most specifically refers to the idea of treatment, prevention, or the alleviation of the symptoms of a disease. But the word itself meaning “to mend” refers back in the context to the healing of the “waters of Marah.”

It’s special for God to speak about healing in this way. They may have been in great fear of the power of God. They had just seen God unleash some terrifying plagues on the people of Egypt just before their release from slavery:

Water becoming blood (Ex 7:14-24)
Frogs (Ex 7:25-8:15)
Dust becomes lice (Ex 8:16-19)
Flies (Ex 8:20-32)
Plague among the animals (Ex 9:1-7)
Boils (Ex 9:8-12)
Great Hail (Ex 9:13-35)
Locust (Ex 10:1-20)
Darkness that could be felt (Ex 10:21-29)
Death of the First-born (Ex 11:1-10, 12:29-30)

Many of these things could, and did, cause great health problems, or physical injury. And then, think, if God could do all of that what other harm could He cause.

But now they’ve seen God heal. They’ve seen God restore this water to something that can be used. He is no longer just a God that releases destruction on those who stand against Him, He is the LORD who gives healing to those who walk in His way.

The Lord WILL Heal

God makes another promise of healing to the people of Israel in the book of 2 Chronicles.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 
2 Chronicles 7:14 (Emphasis mine)

This is in the context of the completion and dedication of Solomon’s temple. God wanted His people to know that He stood ready to heal them. “Heal” in this verse is translating the same Hebrew word as the one used in Exodus 15:26.

While the primary application of this promise belongs only to the Children of Israel, we as God’s people can apply a few of these principles ourselves.

Listen to and obey God

We can and should humble ourselves to God (James 4:10 see context), pray to God, seek God’s face and leave behind any evil ways we’ve been traveling down.

Prayer for His healing

The world around us and all the people in it are broken. Our hope is to call on the Lord Who Heals

We can not only pray for our own healing but also for the healing of those around us. God will hear, and He will Heal.

Studying and Application:

Read Job 1-3. How could the evil of this world and the ways God leads us to growth give us a fearful view of God’s power?
Think over your perspective of God. Would you say you view Him as being more destructive or healing?
Review your prayer list. How has God worked in these areas you’ve been praying? Take a minute to add any new requests to your list now

Footnote:

¹Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 2, p. 110). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Adonai

If the president of the United States, or the Governor of your state walked in to the room right now how would you address him? How do you address your boss when you want to show him/her proper respect?

I often use terms like “sir” or “ma’am.” If I want to show respect I won’t call them “dude”. I also don’t ignore the place of authority they have over me.

Respecting God

The name of God we are looking at today is a term of respect. Adoni is used 772 time in the Old Testament. But only 133 of those are in reference to God. It’s other uses are referring to people who hold a position of authority, whether that’s an office or temporary place of influence and power.

Examples of this are when Sarah calls Abraham her “lord”.

“Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 
Genesis 18:12

Sarah is pointing out the place of authority that Abraham has in her life as her husband.

Later in Genesis 32:18, Jacob calls Esau “my lord”. Esau held no formal place of authority over Jacob, but Jacob submitted to him in this way.

The word formally means: “sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine) [Strong]” This is someone who is in charge for good or ill. But when referring to God it indicates respect and an acknowledgment of the authority that God holds.

Adonai in Prayer

Genesis 18 gives an interesting account where this name of God is used in prayer. Abraham has the unique opportunity to intercede for the people of Sodom before the LORD, face to face.

In one of the most bold prayer times recorded in Scripture, Abraham pleads the case of a wicked people. He looks for God to spare them for the sake of the few righteous peoples that may be in these cities.

Genesis 18 – In Abrahams intercession for Sodom and Gommora he used this title to refer to God in verses 3, 27, 30-32

Abraham hears what God intends to do to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in verses 17-22. The cries of the sin and the oppressed have reached the ears of the Just God of the Universe, and justice will come. Then the “men” that were with the LORD went on toward Sodom. And Abraham began to speak to the LORD.

Abraham begins, “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Genesis 18:23b

As Abraham begins his appeal God agrees to spare the city if 50 righteous people are found in it. (Gen 18:26)

Then Abraham appeals again. This time for mercy if 5 of the 50 are lacking, and God agrees to spare the city if 45 righteous people are found in it. (Gen 18:27-28)

In this second appeal though Abraham makes this statement:

“… Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes” 
Gen 18:27

The word “Lord” is translating Adoni. Abraham is making an appeal based on the ultimate authority that God holds. He acknowledged that he, himself was nothing, just “dust and ashes.”

Abrahams humility is seen further on as well. Through this passage he continues to make appeals to God for the sake of Sodom, each time lowering the number of “righteous” people for whom God would spare the city.

Verse 29 we see God will spare it for 40, in verse 30 God agrees to spare the city for 30, then 20 in verse 31 and finally 10 in verse 32.

In the last three of these appeals Abraham uses the name Adoni in his appeal. Abraham knew God’s authority and he wanted that to be clear in how he prayed.

Application

This prayer session between God and His friend Abraham (James 2:23) illustrate how submission to God’s authority and boldness in prayer can go hand-in-hand.

Just as Abraham interceded with the goal of changing God’s chosen course, we can have boldness to pray on behalf of those that seem to be headed to certain destruction. We can acknowledge and respect God’s absolute authority and pray for God to answer our prayer.

Abraham wasn’t praying to prove a point or to teach a lesson on intercessory prayer, he was pleading with God for the sake of his nephew Lot and his family who had moved to Sodom and been caught up in the depraved lifestyle of that city. (See Genesis 13:1-13 for the story behind Lot’s move to Sodom.)

Pray with concern, real concern. Pray knowing that God holds absolute authority in the matter you are praying about. Pray boldly. Pray.

Studying and Application:

Think back on some answered prayers, how has God shown in these that He has absolute authority? How have these effected your prayer life?
Is there anything that you haven’t had the boldness to prayer for/about yet? In a humble spirit add those things to your prayer list this week.
Review your prayer requests from last week. How has God worked in these areas you’ve been praying about? Take a minute to add any new requests to your list now.

Jehovah

Getting ahold of people

*Ring* *Ring*

I jumped up from my seat and ran across the house to the phone in the kitchen. When I got to the receiver I took a quick breath, because I didn’t want to sound rushed, then I picked up the phone.

“Hello, Spilgers. How can I help you?” I answered as professionally as I could.

“Hello, is Ken there?” Said the voice on the other end of the line. I asked them to hold and went to find my Dad, the person they had called to talk to.

This scene played out countless times between me and my 6 siblings. We would want to be the first person to the phone, but if we were being honest we knew that almost all the calls would be for Dad or Mom.

The first phone call ever was made on March 10, 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant Thomas Watson. The entire call communicated these nine words:

“Mr. Watson–come here–I want to see you.”

Alexander Bell needed his assistant. He got ahold of him. He called him by his name. And Mr. Watson understood and came to the room Mr. Bell had spoken from.

Whether he knew it or not Mr. Bell was following the form for most of the phone calls I’ve received in my life. “Jonathan, come here, bring this, get that, go there.” Phones, and now cell phones and texting, have helped us get ahold of people in ways that were unimaginable before their invention.

Who we call is important. And knowing that we can get ahold of them is important.

Prayer is how we get ahold of God.

When we get ahold of God we call Him by His name, not just His title but His name. Let’s look again at the first mention of prayer in scripture:

“And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”
Genesis 4:26

Seth and his descendants were the first to pray to God by His name: Jehovah.

Jehovah is the most frequently used name of God, being used 5791 times in the Bible. This name is identified in the Bible in English by “LORD” or “GOD” in all caps (in some the publisher will use small capitals: “LORD” or “GOD”).

Jehovah means: “self-Existent or Eternal.” This is God’s proper name and the fact that it is specified is significant. It sets an example of calling on God, and that in that call we call on the name of the Lord: Jehovah.

“Jehovah” Explained to Moses

God explains the meaning of this name Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:13-14

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

The term“I AM” in Hebrew means to exist.

God wanted Israel to know that Moses was coming under His authority. God is the only self-existent being. Everything and everyone else was created by Him.

Jehovah’s Invitation to Pray

Later during the time of the Exile from the promised land God again identified Himself by His name, Jehovah, and encouraged His people Israel to call on Him. Speaking to Jeremiah He said:

“2 Thus saith the LORD (Jehovah) the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Jeremiah 33:2–3

Jehovah is the maker, former, and establisher and He is inviting them to call on His name and see answers that they can’t begin to fathom.

Jesus Invites us to Use His Name in Prayer

We aren’t without promises like this in the New Testament era. In John 16 Jesus invites us to pray and ask things in His name:

“23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. [Speaking of when they will see Jesus again] Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” 
John 16:23-24

Jesus is saying that His name means something. When we pray in Jesus’ name we are calling on the name of the Lord. This isn’t a magic trick for getting what we want when we want it, but it is a promise from our savior of answered prayer.

Our prayer in Jesus name can’t be just a set of words “in Jesus name…” It must be sincere prayer, seeking God’s best, accompanied by a confidence in the fact that God will hear and answer prayer.

Studying and Application:

How did men communicate with God before the account in Gen 4:26 of the first prayer? (Look at Gen 1-4 for this information)
Do you use the phrase “In Jesus Name” when you pray? If so, how has God used this in your life and prayer?
Review your prayer requests from last week. How has God worked in these areas you’ve been praying about? Take a minute to add any new requests to your list now.

Elohim

What do we call God? Well, most of the time we call Him “God”. But, what does it MEAN when we call Him “God”?

*Nerd Alert*

Of the 3,336 times the English word “God” is used in the Old Testament it is translating the Hebrew word “Elohim” 2,200 times. The term “Elohim” is used to refer to other beings aside from the One True God. But of the 2,600 times it is used in the Bible, it is used approximately 2,026 of those to refer to God.

In Genesis 1 we can see that the main way it will be used in the Bible is to refer to Jehovah God, the creator of the universe.

“In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

This is God’s office name. It shows to all that hear it that God is divine. This name is intended to show the power and might that God holds as a part of His character. This power is seen very clearly in Genesis 1.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” 
Genesis 1:3

God in His power and might spoke the universe into existence. And in His power He reigns over all things and peoples, and will reign for eternity.

“The LORD shall reign for ever, Even thy God (Elohim), O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD” 
Psalm 146:10

“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God (Greek: Theos) Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” 
Revelation 11:17

Praying to God

Psalm 65 gives a beautiful example of praying to God. Please take a minute and read this Psalm now, a few of the verses will be quoted directly for context, with a few comments.

“1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God (Elohim), in Sion: And unto thee shall the vow be performed 
2 O thou that hearest prayer, Unto thee shall all flesh come.” 
Psalm 65:1–2

God is THE God that hears our prayer. He is worthy of all praise. And we can be sure of an answer.

“5 By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:  
6 Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; Being girded with power:  
7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.” 
Psalm 65:5–7

God’s answers to prayer will come by the same strength with which He made the world. He set the mountains in place and He stills the waves. God alone stands in authority to still the “tumult of the people.”

God sustains the earth. He gives water to the land, provides the harvest, and makes livestock produce bountifully (See verses 9-13). Yet in all this care for the vastness of creation, God doesn’t lose sight of the individual.

“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, And causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, Even of thy holy temple.”
Psalm 65:4

He cares for all of creation, yet He cares for each person that He has chosen. God gives them access to Himself. God satisfies each and everyone with the “goodness” of His house.

God is the God of might. He is also God who hears and answers prayer. He is God who sustains His creation and calms the peoples.

Verse 5 calls Him “God of our salvation”. God’s love for us made the way to salvation for all who will believe in Jesus, God the Son.

“For God (Greek: Theos) so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16

This gift meets the greatest need humanity has: Salvation from the penalty of Sin. And through this we have access to God like we see in Psalm 65.

This is a glimpse of what the Bible shows us of God with His name Elohim. What a comfort to pray to the creator and ruler of the universe!

Studying and Application:

How can the consciousness of God’s power as creator influence how we pray?
List 1-3 things that you are going to begin praying about. Decide on a time of the day to pray. This consistency will help you maintain a focus on the power of God throughout your day.
Study the phrase “God of gods” in Psalm 136:2. What does the phrase indicate about the authority of the One True God?

Names of God (Intro)

What do you call God? Father? Lord? God? All of these are good but there is much more to know about God based on His names. We can learn about the God of the universe from the ways He is addressed in scripture. God’s names show more about Him than our names show about us.

1. God’s names show His Character

God’s names are not like ours; we were given our name or names around our birth, God’s names were given to Him because of His character and acts. Some[ Abraham gave God the name Jehovah Jireh ] of these names were given to God by those who served Him throughout the Old Testament period, some are ones that God chose to call Himself. Overall they hold a significance that can be easy to miss. But if we take the time to appreciate them we gain a greater appreciation for God.

2. God’s Biblical names add a depth that our English words don’t have.

Our English names for God are so inadequate, especially when you know some of the Hebrew names. The English words we have as names for God have been used in such a way that they don’t always show the reverence needed when approaching God. The translators of the Bible have been careful in how they translate the names of God, usually giving us an idea of which name is being translated. Knowing God’s Hebrew names give our English names back some of their meaning.

3. God’s names serve as a definition of God.

God’s names are one of the closest things we have to a definition of God. The more we understand these the more we know God. While nothing could ever fully define God, it is nice to see in scripture how God defines elements of Himself through the names He takes.

Prayer using God’s names

Any time I start a conversation with a friend it’s natural to use their name to address them. This shows them that I want their attention.

When we write a formal letter, say to a government official, you could start it with something like: “To whom is may concern” But would that appeal to any government official in particular? No. But if I started it with: “President Donald Trump” it would be identifying clearly that I wanted the President to pay attention.

When we pray, we address God in this way. We look for His attention and usually we use one or more of His names in this address. We want His attention, but even more than this once you know the character behind those names you can see how important it is to God that we pray.

Prayer is simply talking to God. We address Him by His Name (or Names) and confidently bear our requests to Him. The first reference to prayer as we know it is Genesis 4:26.

“And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.”

Before this men had talked with God, but in more of a conversational way like you would with a friend who was physically in the same room.

Adam and Eve knew a time when they “…heard the voice of the LORD (Jehovah) God (Elohim) walking in the garden…” (Gen 3:8^⁠1) they had an opportunity to access with God that was very special.

Scripture points to God’s Name as a source of help and hope over and over:

"Our help is in the name of the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 124:8

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower:
The righteous runneth into it, and is safe." 
Proverbs 18:10

“8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God:  
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: 
And I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.” 
Psalm 52:8–9

The Bible uses three main Hebrew Names for God, and then uses combinations of those names to form twelve or so other Names of God. Over the next couple months we’re going to look at each of these in scripture. We’re going to see how they can give us great confidence and focus in our prayer.

Studying and Application:

1. Search the English phrase “name of the Lord” in the Bible. How many times is it used? Read through some of them, what significance can be seen in the passages you read concerning the “name of the Lord”?

2. What do Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 138:2 and Psalm 52:8-9 say about God’s Name and how we ought to know and understand it as well as we can?