Jehovah-Rapha

“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.” Exo 15:26  

Isrealites had just witnessed the ten plagues that God released over all of Egypt prior to their release from slavery. And here the Lord reassured them they will not suffer or be exposed to such diseases. God called himself the name Rapha! In the widerness God has kept them and promised healing to them.

The incident that lead to the conversation is significant. They were thirsy and only water available is bitter. The Israelites named the river  Mahra (bitter). They had no alternative. They needed miracle and God did! Bad water was changed for them to drink. Of course, God used Moses, God divinely cleansed the waters by instructing Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water, thereby making it drinkable.

The lesson here is clear; God is interested in our wellbeing and will not afflict us with sicknesses or diseases. The event also highlight the root of sicknesses. Sin is the rootcause of sicknesses. But not necessarily mean you sin or your parent sin. Actually, it may have nothing to do with your parent parent sin either. But we know how the fallen world got infected.

Many people believes God uses sickness to train or test his children but in the passage God made it clear that He will not! Sin causes sickness. Sin brought sickness into the world and sin still propagates sickness. Christ came as a solution to sin and sickness.

Jesus said, ‘As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’ (John 9:1–3). This passage does not explicitly state that God inflicts sickness to seek glory in a person’s life. Instead, Jesus’ response suggests that the man’s blindness was not a direct consequence of his own sin or his parents’, but rather presented an opportunity for God’s work to be displayed through his healing. Jesus did not explicitly state that the man’s blindness was not due to sin in general. He specifically addressed the disciples’ question about whether the man’s own sin or his parents’ sin caused his blindness, affirming that neither was the case.

John 9:1–3 confirmed that the disciples had been taught that sin caused sickness, and that is why they asked the question. Jesus never denied that sin causes sickness. He just stated that in this particular case, neither the afflicted man nor his parents sinned, but this blindness existed so the work of God might be displayed.

Was there sickness in the Garden of Eden? Sin causes sickness. However, it does not have to be your personal sin. Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel was a righteous man, but we know he died because of his brother’s sin. According to the Word of God, the sins of the fathers (ancestors) are passed down to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 34:7). Some sicknesses are not directly related to your personal sin or your parents’ sin. It could stem from a nation’s sin. There are instances in the Bible where the actions of individuals or nations can have consequences that affect others. In the case of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites from slavery led to a series of plagues that affected the entire nation.

Within the Israelite camp, there are instances where the disobedience or sin of individuals brought consequences upon the community as a whole. For instance, in the story of Achan in the book of Joshua, the sin of one individual led to defeat in battle for the Israelites until the matter was addressed.

What is my point: Christ redeemption paid for our sin and sicknesses. Isaiah 53:5 reads, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” Whatever the direct causes of sickness the origin of it has been dealth with.

Kay Alli