The Eternal Offers Healing.
The ETERNAL Offers Healing.
Even the healthiest among us, need this healing.
Many of us, on the long walk we have been on, before this revelation of truth by the ETERNAL, have been involved in what is called the healing ministry. Healing has become an industry. Multi-millionaire evangelical showmen, usurping the healing power of the ETERNAL for themselves, invoke the name of a self-proclaimed 'son of god', a non-existent deity, to bring about healing and prosperity (mainly their own), to those who worship their non-existent deity. The simplicity of the ETERNAL's teaching about healing has become distorted, abused, and a deliberate means of hiding the truth.
As with most things taught in 'christianity' the opposite is the truth. The Torah does not record individuals who had a healing ministry. Healing happened for very specific reasons and no one was taken by surprise. Most people knew why they had become ill and what steps they had to take to seek healing. The major step is always a repentant and contrite heart but you may have to do something to undo a wrong you have committed as the following example shows:
(Genesis 20:15-18)[1] (KJV) 15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 16And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. 17So Abraham prayed unto the ETERNAL: and the ETERNAL healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. 18For the ETERNAL had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
On other occasions not only was it necessary to repent and seek the forgiveness of the injured party but there was a penalty to be paid. You do not just get away with it as the next Scripture shows:
(Numbers 12:10-15) (KJV) 10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. 13And Moses cried unto the ETERNAL, saying, Heal her now, O ETERNAL, I beseech thee. 14And the ETERNAL said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. 15And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
The ETERNAL makes it very clear that, He is the ONE who has the power to heal. Moreover, He does not share that power with anyone:
(Deuteronomy 32:39) (KJV) See, now, that I, I am He, and no 'god' is with Me. I put to death and I bring life, I struck down and I will heal, and there is no rescuer from My hand.
Followers of other religions also knew the power of the ETERNAL. In the following excerpt from the Tanakh, we also see the need for a guilt-offering which was to do two things. First, it would enable the ETERNAL to heal, and second, it would give an understanding of why they had been afflicted. This is an important point because the ETERNAL does not simply afflict us, there is a reason, and we are to seek that reason. It is not always a personal failing, as many of the illnesses during the Exodus were a corporate punishment.
(1 Samuel 6:2-3) (KJV) 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the ETERNAL? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3And they said, If ye send away the ark of the SOVEREIGN of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
Here again, we see that the ETERNAL is the ONE, who does the healing. In the same way that He spoke all of His creation into existence, we see that first, the ETERNAL speaks, and then the healing happens:
(2 Kings 2:19-22) (KJV) 19And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord [Elisha] seeth: but the water is naught [bad], and the ground barren. 20And he [Elisha] said, Bring me a new cruse [jar], and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the ETERNAL, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
Therefore, we should be careful about the things we say. How often do we speak circumstances into our lives that are not what we wish to experience? If you continue to read on after this passage, you will see the story where some young boys insult Elisha, and he speaks a curse on them in the ETERNAL's name, which causes forty-two of them to die. (2 Kings 2:23-24). Words have power.
Another very encouraging matter is that, the ETERNAL will change His mind, for His own reasons. For example, He asks us to put Him in remembrance of His words. But, you can only do that, if you are studying His word and know what it says. In this next passage, we see that Isaiah (who has a terrible bedside manner) reveals the truth to Hezekiah. Hezekiah then reminds the ETERNAL, that 'he had always walked in the ETERNAL's ways and been faithful to Him', which then causes the ETERNAL, to change His mind. Isaiah has not even left the building before he is sent back to reveal the new truth to Hezekiah:
(2 Kings 20:1-6) (KJV) 1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the ETERNAL, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the ETERNAL, saying, 3I beseech thee, O ETERNAL, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the ETERNAL came to him, saying, 5Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the ETERNAL, the Mighty One of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the ETERNAL. 6And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
As you see, the ETERNAL changed His mind, to protect the city and for His own, and David's sake. There was a reason for the ETERNAL to change His mind, but Hezekiah first had to pray the prayer, with tears shed in sincerity. We all have a need to repent. Every day we will have said, done or thought something that requires our repentance. It is a wonderful thing that the ETERNAL, the CREATOR of the universe, takes time out to listen and respond to our prayers of repentance, with His forgiveness. Even though He dulls our understanding, closes our ears, shuts our eyes, and cuts off our healing, in His great love for us, He promises to help us mourn and confess our sins, because our repentance is not only for ourselves [Israel]; it is for all mankind; the very souls that He has made:
(Isaiah 6:9-10) (TLB) 9And he said, Yes, go. But tell my people this: Though you hear my words repeatedly, you won't understand them. Though you watch and watch as I perform my miracles, still you won't know what they mean. 10Dull their understanding, close their ears, and shut their eyes. I don't want them to see or to hear or to understand, or to turn to me to heal them.
(Isaiah 57:7-10) (TLB) 7You have committed adultery on the tops of the mountains, for you worship idols there, deserting me. 8Behind closed doors you set your idols up and worship someone other than me. This is adultery, for you are giving these idols your love instead of loving me. 9You have taken pleasant incense and perfume to Molech as your gift. You have traveled far, even to hell itself, to find new 'gods' to love. 10You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. You strengthened yourself and went on.
(Isaiah 57:13) (TLB) Let's see if the whole collection of your idols can help you when you cry to them to save you! They are so weak that the wind can carry them off! A breath can puff them away. But he who trusts in me shall possess the land and inherit my holy mountain.
(Isaiah 57:15-19) (TLB) 15The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. 16For I will not fight against you forever, nor always show my wrath; if I did, all mankind would perish; the very souls that I have made. 17I was angry and smote these greedy men. But they went right on sinning, doing everything their evil hearts desired. 18I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and to confess their sins. 19Peace, peace to them, both near and far, for I will heal them all.
Everything we need to know about healing is in the Tanakh (OT). We particularly need to know that our healing will come out of our personal relationship with the ETERNAL. You do not need anyone else to intercede on your behalf. You are chosen, or else you would not be reading these articles, because the ETERNAL wants to participate in your life for the good he wants for you:
(Hosea 6:1-3) (NLV) 1Come, let us return to the ETERNAL. He has hurt us but He will heal us. He has cut us but He will cover the sore. 2After two days He will give us new life. He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. 3So keep on trying to know the ETERNAL. His coming to us is as sure as the rising of the sun. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain giving water to the earth.
It is a challenge to each one of us from the CREATOR, to take into our hearts the Scriptural passage that is the foundation of obtaining healing from the the ETERNAL:
(2 Chronicles 7:13-14) (KJV) 13If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people; 14If 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.
Does your land, or body, or soul need healing? They surely do. And what a good example the ETERNAL's healing in your life will be for others to see, when your land, or body, or soul is healed, and others can know that their sins can be truly forgiven as well.
Footnotes:
[1] [a] All scriptural links point to the Bible Gateway, A Searchable Online Bible In Over 100 Versions And 50 Languages, located at "BibleGateway.Com", a vast biblical resource containing all the major texts and reference materials useful for in-depth bible studies. Most scriptual quotations are from the (KJV) of the Bible, however versions noted in (parentheses) should also be consulted. [b]All Strong's scriptural references point to the Blue Letter Bible Lexicon, located at "BlueLetterBible.Org", another vast biblical resource which has over 4,000,000 links available, pointing to more than 165,000 pages of concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, images, and several Bible versions. NOTE: Scriptures in this article, are from Artscroll Series/Stone Edition Tanakh 1996, unless noted. All emphasis is the author's or Editor's.
[2] Editor's Note: The English word orifice comes from the Hebrew word rechem (rekh-em) #7358. Strong's states it means the womb and is comparable with racham (rakh-am) #7356 which has sometimes been translated in the KJV as bowels.
Gesenius' states it means inner parts. Thus, the Stone's translation as orifice better fits with the context because it states that Abimelech was also healed and he did not have a womb. In the past I have wondered about Abimelech being healed and that if the wombs were shut, it would take several months for the folks to realize there was no impregnating happening.
However, it would attract Abimelech's immediate and undivided attention if his and the other folks orifices were closed because there would no way for them to relieve themselves. This incident shows the great sense of justice and humor that the ETERNAL CREATOR has. Since Abimelech was trying to penetrate Sarah's womb orifice, I cannot think of a punishment more suitable to the crime, than to have ALL orifices shut up tight immediately, his and the other folks. Also, notice that when Abraham prayed the folks were relieved.