Exodus 15:22-26
HE IS LIFE – THEREFORE HEALING. YAHWEH ROPHE Millions of people who had been delivered from Egypt The Blood. The water, Red Sea. They danced in victory at Miriam’s’ lead. But now they complain. After all God has provided. But let’s remember this is the desert. They are thirsty. And they see this water. Run for it. Drink it. Find it’s undrinkable. Anger. Despair. Ready for rebellion. They go to Moses. Moses goes to God. And God shows him a tree. One particular tree. Tells him to throw it in the water which Moses does. The water becomes sweet. A miracle. What kind? A miracle of wisdom? A chemical in the tree that neutralized the bitterness. A word of wisdom. Or a miracle of power. Nothing in the tree but God uses it for His purpose. Whatever the case it was a miracle. A tree full grown. 50 years old. God put it there to take care of His people. When they would pass by and need it. God has planned blessings in advance for us. Trees along our path
- If we go to God instead of complaining – He will show us the provision
But with this blessing came an ordinance. As you come to bitterness and need sweetness. Remember Yahweh Rophe. Lord Health. Rophe – to heal diseases of all kinds. Also – to heal a whole person. Totality of healing. Not just physical. Prosperity. Not cash. Wholeness in life. Contentment. To heal a person morally. A change in lifestyle. To heal mentally. Bringing the thought life together. A renewed mind. To pardon and forgive. Passage is conditional. You must keep these laws which have deep meaning to the human person. In the context of the wisdom of my laws you will find a life of health. I have made the design of life in which is wholeness.
- (Not a trade off – you do this for me and I’ll do this for you – Our
- Live according to my design and you will find health and you will walk
The first important part of the Law — Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength. How the people could be right with God. Know the love of God. That was by substitution. A sacrifice of atonement. Realizing they should die but God has provided.
- What has that do to with healing? – spiritual – guilt.
- We have dumping grounds for the things that go wrong. Guilt.
- Stomach in knots. Headaches. Ulcers.
- What happens in our spirit affects our body.
- Guilt burdens the whole man… and Christians often carry more guilt
Second. Love neighbor. Thou shalt not….
- But when we love our neighbor the “shalt nots” disappear.
Go and love the world the way I have loved you.
- Love for all was built into the law.
No pride. Because realize all we have is from God. No envy. Because realize all they have is from God. Love of God. Love of neighbor. You will find healing. Don’t write it off because it doesn’t always happen. – Don’t come under condemnation because of lack of faith. Whatever bitterness in life. Jesus Christ. Yahweh Rophe. Touches our humanity. Jesus when he began his ministry. Stood up in the synagogue and said He has come to bind up the broken hearted. The announcement of what He was going to do. Bind up those who have been beat and battered by life. Jesus embraced our bitterness on His tree and offers us sweetness. Why did Jesus have to suffer so? The lambs of the Old Testament who were sacrificed experienced no suffering. Quick and painless. Jesus came to do more than to pay the price of our sin. He came to take to himself the result of a broken law. The bitterness – the distortion – and the hurt that has come through disobeying God’s wisdom. Not only did He pay for our sin but He took upon Himself the curse of the Law. Read the curses of the Law. You will find a description of everything Jesus went through.
- Thirst. Chased. Tossed by enemies. People just take from you.
All the pain and sufferings that sin has brought to us – Jesus took to Himself. Not only the sin but the results of sin. One man for all men. By His wounds we were healed. Not only our guilt but our pain. He knows the pain – the suffering – the despair that we go through. He died because our sin was upon Him. He was raised to proclaim to us our justification.