Jehovah-rapha – The Lord who Heals

Jehovah-rapha heals; He heals the wounds of a nation, spiritual wounds, physical wounds and emotional wounds.

Sin is moral decay, I never thought about sin ravaging us, but it does. To “ravage” means to destroy, spoil, devastate, wreak havoc on, pillage or plunder. This ravaging occurs before we were saved as well as when we stray from the Lord. NOTE not all needs for healing (spiritual wounds, wounds of a nation, physical wounds and emotional wounds) are because of sin, but there are times that sin brings wounds. **Sinners know they are sinning it is impossible in our self to get away from our sins. No matter how hard we try to stop sinning, stop being immoral there is no way apart from God to accomplish it…we are just not strong enough.**

A little background on sin - it began with 1 man (Adam) and 1 act recorded in Gen 3 this is reiterated in Romans 5:12; disease entered the world then God provided a way out to Israel in Exodus 15:22-27. He promised that they would not endure the diseases the Egyptians had just encountered if they would turn their eyes and ears toward Him and obey. These diseases He promised that would not come to them included physical (poisoned water, boils, death of firstborn), diseases of land (gnats, frogs, hail, locusts,). But we see that they “did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25) and did evil in the eyes of the Lord (Judges 2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1…). Below are divided into spiritual and physical, but know when there is a spiritual problem that is causing a physical ailment the spiritual must be dealt with!!

Healing the Wounds of a Nation 

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 (pg. 76) ** sin caused this **– God heals land. In Hebrew this means “Earth” used 3 other times to this point in 2nd Chronicles; it also means “Country/Nation” which was used 6 other times up to this point. BUT first the nation must humble itself, pray, seek God and turn from their wicked ways.
• Isaiah 19:22; 53:5 (pg. 76) ** sin caused this **– God was telling of how He would strike Egypt (vs. 18 refers to it as the City of Destruction) and when they cry to Him and worship Him, He would heal them.
• Jeremiah 30:15-17 (pg. 76) ** sin caused this **– This passage is referring to the restoration of the nation of Israel; the “injury” in these verses is the destruction caused by the siege in 586 BC. God will restore the nation to health to show other nations He keeps His promises from the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and the nation of Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 21:10-14 (pg. 81-82) **sin caused this** David sinned and was given 3 choices, he was to pick one for himself and one for the nation to endure. David chose the sword of the Lord (of which he repented and was shown mercy vs. 27) and the nation lost 70,000 to a plague.

 Healing Spiritual Wounds

• Psalm 103:1-3 (pg. 77) – He pardons/forgives ALL sins
• Matthew 8:16-17 (pg. 77) – He (Jesus) cast out spirits for those who were demon-possessed; Paul warned of the power of spirits in Eph 6: 11-12
• Luke 4: 18 (pg. 77-78) – He restores sight to the blind; this refers to both physically blind as in Mt 9:29 as well as spiritually blind (1Cor 2:14)
• 1 Pt. 2:24-25 (pg. 78) – By Jesus’ wounds we are able to die to sin and live in righteousness

 Healing Physical Wounds

• Numbers 12:9-13 (pg. 82-83) ** sin caused this ** Miriam and Aaron had opposed Moses and talked bad about him; Miriam became very sick with leprosy. They both repented and Moses pleaded with God for her life and she was healed.
• Psalm 38:1-3 (pg. 83) ** sin caused this ** Due to individual sin discipline occurs in the form of God’s wrath impacting health issues “no health in my bones”
• Isaiah 1:4-6 (pg. 83) ** sin caused this ** - The nation is Israel sinned, their offspring were evildoers and acting corruptly. As a result the head is sick, the heart is faint and from head to foot there are all kinds of health problems (bruises, welts and raw wounds).
• 1 Corinthians 11: 27-32 (pg. 84-85) ** sin caused this ** Many had taken the Lord’s Supper without examining him/herself and resulted in them being weak, sick and a number sleep (dead).
• John 9:1-3 (pg. 84) **no one sinned** - Jesus healed a blind man whose blindness was so that God’s work might be displayed for all to see.
• Philippians 2:25-30 (pg. 85) **no one sinned** Epaphroditus was sick to the point of death for the work of Christ. God healed him so that God’s mercy would be displayed to him, Paul and the church at Philippi.
• John 5:5-8; 14 (pg. 84) – Jesus healed a paralyzed man who had not moved in 38 years. Jesus told him don’t sin anymore.
• James 5: 14-16 (pg. 86) If there is sin confess it, call in other believers, pray for one another and the prayer offered in faith will restore the sick. Total restoration may mean our restoration in heaven.
• 2 Kings 20:1, 4-5 (pg. 75) – God hears prayer and He does heal the mortally ill to the point of death. We have a responsibility to get our house in order.
• Psalm 103:1-3 (pg. 77) – He pardons/forgives ALL sins and heals ALL diseases from the Hebrew word “tachalu” which means pain
• Matthew 8:16-17 (pg. 77) – Jesus healed their diseases and infirmities

Healing Emotional Wounds

• Psalm 147:3 (pg. 77) – He heals the brokenhearted
• Luke 4: 18 (pg. 77-78) – He sets free the downtrodden (from the Greek it literally means those “broken into pieces”), the NIV uses the words oppressed.

 The longer Israel journey with God, the more familiar she became with His character and ways. Their revelation of Him was progressive and our journey is as well. I pray that as you encounter wounds on your journey of life you first seek the counsel of Jehovah-rapha.  He loves you and wants what is best for you.

In His Love,

Ellen

Jehovah-jireh – The Lord will Provide

Jehovah-jireh is our first view into compounding a word (jireh) that describes God’s character with “Jehovah” to see additional insight to the essence of God’s being. The word “jireh” in the Old Testament literally means “to see”. Jehovah-jireh sees and because He sees He provides, an example of this is in the account of Abraham and Isaac. (Gen. 22: 1-19)...

Abraham was going to offer his only son that he loved dearly because God told him to.  However, when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, God sent a ram to be offered in Isaac’s place. All of this took place on a mountain in the land of Moriah (also known as Mt. Moriah, Mt. Zion or the temple mount). You may wonder, “what is so important about this piece of land?”…well it is probably one of the most sought after pieces of land. In 966-959 B.C. Solomon built the Temple there (2Chronicles 3:1), it is also where the temple was rebuilt in 516 B.C. (Ezra 5:15), additionally it is where the temple will be rebuilt in the future and the exact location of where Jesus will step back onto this Earth when He comes again (Rev. 14:1). However since 691 Mt. Moriah has been occupied by the Muslims shrine known as the Dome of the Rock.

Here is a video to help us visualize what the scenario with Abraham and Isaac could have been like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvsm3dQGLmc

God sees, He foresees, He is all-knowing, He’s ever-present and eternal - He sees from the beginning to the end and that is why Jehovah-jireh provided a savior in Jesus for us. The picture shown with Abraham and Isaac is a depiction of what God did for us in Jesus. In addition to our salvation, He sees and provides for our daily needs.

Jehovah-jireh reaches beyond Himself and desires to meet the needs of those He created because it is part of His character to do so and as we take on His character we too will reach out beyond ourselves to meet the needs of others. Let us pray for opportunities to meet the needs of others and praise our Jehovah-jireh as He provides for our needs.

In His Love,
Ellen

Jehovah – The Self Existent One

The name Jehovah is used more frequently in Scripture than any other name of God. Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word "havah" which means “to be, to become”.

• As we continue to glean insight of who God is by knowing His character revealed in His name, we are to take on those characteristic and we are to become more like Him.

God said to Moses, say to the sons of Israel “I AM” has sent me to you. I AM is God’s eternal name, a memorial-name to all generations. He is the eternal “I AM”, the Alpha and the Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever; it speaks to God’s essence, the Being who is absolutely self existent, the One who in Himself possesses life.

Jehovah is usually translated LORD - all caps, see Ex 6: 2-4.  NOTE this is specifically the Old Testament since it is written in Hebrew and Jehovah is Hebrew where as the New Testament is Greek.
~ LORD = Jehovah = "havah" = I AM; however, (not all caps) Lord = Adonai = Master ~

Jehovah is the God of covenant; He revealed Himself to His covenant people as the unchanging God who remains faithful to His word throughout generations. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, but will punish the guilty. He is everything and I am blessed to know Him as my everything. He is all I need and as Chris Tomlin describes in the song Enough, He IS more than enough for all of my needs… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW-toYBiF8o  and I pray that he is enough for all of your needs as well.

In His Love,
Ellen

Adonai - Lord & Master

Adonai is acknowledging God as Lord and Master and His right to rule over me. Lord indicates a relationship at a more intense level. We have both benefits AND responsibilities when we acknowledge God as Lord and Master: We have a responsibility to focus our sights on Him and call upon Him (Ps 141:8-10 and Judges 6:14-16), be His servant (Ps 119:125), pray to Him (Deut 9:26) and glorify Him (Ps 8:1, 6-8). We are able to rest knowing He is Lord & Master over: the wicked/our enemies (Ps 141:8-10 and Judges 6:14-16), human understanding (Ps 119:125), our future (Deut 9:26), all the inhabitants of the Earth (Ps 8:1, 6-8) and the Earth (Ps 114:7), rulers (Ps 2:4), and gods of this world (Ps 135:5).

Those who know God as Adonai do not deny God’s lordship over his/her life; they simply call upon Him as Lord and obey His commands and directions. He is God; we are human...He is the creator; we are the created; therefore, every knee should bow. When we submit to God and follow His plans we can be assured that He will give us all we need for the task He puts before us.

Melissa Greene of the group Avalon put is so well, “Oh, if we could just relinquish our desire to be in control and be the master of our lives. Time and time again, God proves He knows what He is doing, and His ways are best. Trust Him daily in the small things and the big ways, because He is not only our Adonai, He is also our Provider, Shepherd, Healer… The list goes on and on. He is the "Father of our hopes and our freedom," This is a video of the group Avalon singing the song Adonai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxfarTiN5Ls  (the song actually starts at 2 minutes 15 seconds).

El Shaddai – The All-Sufficient One

El = might or power

Shaddai = all-sufficient, power of all-bountifulness. It is from the Hebrew word “Shad” which means “the breast” displaying a nurturing aspect.

El Shaddai is God who pours Himself out for His creatures

• When God changed Abram’s name to Abraham; He added the He (the chief latter of His own name “Jehovah” which can only be uttered by breathing outward; making a "ha" sound. He gave something of His own nature by pouring His spirit into His creatures so that they may be a channel of blessing to others.
• Abraham in turn gave everything of himself to God:  circumcision, self-surrender, even sacrifice of his only son. Abraham renounced himself so that El Shaddai (the All-Sufficient One) could fill him up.

 El Shaddai (the all-sufficient God) is my protector, the unconditional lover of my soul. He is there when things are overwhelming, when I have failed, when I am sad, when I am afraid, when I am weak and when I feel defeated. Paul wrote, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’…(2Cor 12:9-10). I rest in knowing that when I face circumstances in life where I just “can’t” I have a God who just CAN.  His grace is all I need, He displays His power during my times of weakness.

This is a link to a beautiful video, the song El Shaddai is by Amy Grant...listen to it now with a deeper understanding of who El Shaddai is.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iNYvjddWc

El Roi – The God Who Sees

In Genesis 16 Hagar was mistreated and fled to the wilderness, God saw and sent an angel who told her to return and she would be blessed.

With rejection comes feelings of inadequacy – you may ask "Where is this sovereign God who promises all things work together for good...Does He know what is going on?"
YES El Roi, the God who sees; the omnipresent God is there and His are not shut.

• When we are mistreated, used by someone we trusted or respected we tend to bury the situation. However the memory and emotions are very real and El Rio (God Who Sees) is there.
• When we are away from family members/friends and do not know what is occurring we can rest in knowing El Roi (God Who Sees) is there.

While on this Earth we may not understand why things happen the way that they do, but we have a God who sees and He does understand.  He will comfort us and care for our needs.