What does it mean that God is Jehovah-Rapha?
What does it mean that God is Jehova-Rapha?
Jehovah-Rapha (more properly Yahweh-Rapha) means “The Lord Who Heals” in Hebrew. Jehovah-Rapha is one of the many different names of God found in the Old Testament.
Jehovah-Rapha has the power to heal physically (2 Kings 5:10), emotionally (Psalm 34:18), mentally (Daniel 4:34), and spiritually (Psalm 103:2–3). Neither impurity of body nor impurity of soul can withstand the purifying, healing power of Jehovah-Rapha.
Jesus Christ showed that He was the Great Physician who heals the sick. In Galilee, Jesus went from town to town, “healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23). In Judea “large crowds followed him, and he healed them there” (Matthew 19:2). In fact, “wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” (Mark 6:56). Not only did Jesus heal people physically, He also healed them spiritually by forgiving their sins (Luke 5:20). Every day, in every way, Jesus proved Himself to be Jehovah-Rapha in the flesh.
Click here for reference: https://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah-Rapha.html
Jehovah-Rapha Hebrew origin
The origin of the name Jehovah Rapha can be traced back to two Hebrew words used in the Old Testament, which in combination can mean “God who heals.”
“Jehovah,” which is derived from the Hebrew word Havah can be translated as “to be,” “to exist,” or “to become known.” The Hebraic translation of Rapha (râpâ) means “to restore” or “to heal.”
Jehovah-Rapha is also recognized as Yahweh-Rapha.
When does God first reveal Himself as Jehovah-Rapha in the Bible?
God first revealed Himself as Jehovah-Rapha to the Israelites after their exodus out of Egypt.
After three days of wandering in the Desert of Shur, the Israelites were in desperate need of water. They discovered a river, however, the waters were unfit to drink. As a reflection of the quality of the water and their emotional disposition, the Israelites named the river Mahra (bitter).
God divinely cleansed the waters by instructing Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water, thereby making it drinkable.
Following this miracle, God declared HImself as Jehovah Rapha to His people by proclaiming, “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.” (Exodus 15:26)
This promise was also a gesture of assurance from God to the Israelites, who had borne witness to the 10 plagues that God had released over all of Egypt prior to their release from slavery.
In what ways does God heal as Jehovah-Rapha?
The varying manifestations of God’s tremendous healing power as Jehovah-Rapha can be found in the following biblical passages to combat the following:
Sickness and infirmity (Psalm 41:3)
Healing from mental affliction (Jonah 2:5-7)
Spiritual fatigue (Psalm 23:3)
Emotional suffering (Psalm 147:3)
Anxiety or worry (John 14:27)
Is the name Jehovah-Rapha applicable to us today?
We can call upon Jehovah-Rapha today to heal us of our physical ailments and to provide redemption for our sins. Through the power of the blood of the Great Physician – Jesus Christ –, we can rise from our old sinful life as new creations in eternal fellowship with God.
Additionally, as the Israelites were cleansed of their bitter hearts and resentment at the river Mahra, so we can ask God to examine our hearts and cleanse them of bitterness, pride, and other afflictions of the heart that are rooted in sin (Psalm 51:10).
Click here for reference: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-jehovah-rapha.html
It can also be used when he repairs creation or restores right relationship with his people.
Rapha in Hebrew means not only "healer," but also "to mend, cure, repair thoroughly, make whole." So this title can be used when God not only cures diseases and physical ailments but also when He repairs creation or restores a right relationship with His people. Jehovah-Rapha is used in all these contexts.
God, as Jehovah-Rapha, mends our broken relationship with Him. In Hosea, He promises that when His people return to Him, "I will heal their apostasy" (Hosea 14:4). In Jeremiah, He says, "Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness" (Jeremiah 3:22). This healing of our relationship with God is accomplished through Jesus' work on the cross. Isaiah 53:5 explains, "he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed (rapha)." Jehovah-Rapha has made a way for our right standing before Him to be restored with Jesus fulfilling the requirements of God's wrath. We need only turn to Him and repent of our sins.
What a comfort to know that God is Jehovah-Rapha who can heal our bodies, restore creation, and repair our relationship with Him! Revelation 21:4–5 promises, "'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" God's identity as Jehovah-Rapha makes this future healing and restoration a trustworthy promise.
Click here for reference: https://www.compellingtruth.org/Jehovah-Rapha.html
It can refer to deliverance from death, demons, sickness, and sin.
The Hebrew Scriptures, link sickness and sin by presenting sin as the cause of illness just as it is the cause of death. In the New Testament, the corresponding Greek word is iaomai and it can refer to deliverance from death, demons, sickness, and sin.
Jehovah Rapha Found in Scripture
It should come as no surprise that people in Scripture call God Jehovah Rapha when they face something a little more detrimental than a stomach ache or the common cold. Let’s dive into each of the verses mentioned above and discuss the context of what’s happening in each.
The Israelites have just escaped the clutches of Egypt and 400+ years of slavery. Right after they lift praises to God in the first part of this chapter, the Israelites start to grumble (one of the first of many cases of them grumbling in the desert). They’ve reached a bitter spring and can’t drink the water.
Through a piece of wood, God makes the water drinkable. He reminds them that he heals and restores those who follow him and that he preserved them from the 10 plagues in Egypt.
After Jeremiah witnesses the destruction of Jerusalem, thanks to a siege from the Babylonians, and watches his friends and loved ones get taken into captivity, God reminds him that he will restore Israel. He’ll mend their wounds and bring them back home.
Similar to the case with Jeremiah, Israel has turned their backs on God, and now they’re facing a siege from a foreign enemy who will take them captive. Nevertheless, God heals and restores.
Don’t let this uplifting Psalm of David fool you. David had undergone a number of awful trials before he became King of Israel. He ran from the previous king who tried to kill him, lost his best friend to battle, and later in his kingship years, had an affair and massive problems with his offspring.
He has, as this commentary said, a keener sense of his past sin because he’s reached an older and more reflective age. In this verse alone, David declares that not only does God heal us from our physical ailments, but our spiritual ones as well.
In all of these verses, we see that healing itself has many facets. God not only restores us physically but also spiritually. We often witness this same idea in the miracles of Jesus (Mark 2:1-12).
We may ask God to take away physical pain, and he reminds us that restoration doesn’t just happen at the skin-deep level.
God, our Healer, heals intensively, immersively, and extensively.
The Power in Calling on Your God Jehovah Rapha Today
In our own lives, we can call upon the healing name of God in prayer. This can help remind us about how God has stitched the wounds of his people in the past, and he will come to our aid.
Nevertheless, we do need to remind ourselves that although God heals, he may heal us in an unexpected way. We may see a physical ailment and think that our creator should make fixing that his top priority. However, we may have a deeper spiritual wound that can also use a salve.
Our God has many names throughout Scripture. Although we cannot fathom an infinite being in His entirety, we can grasp aspects of his character. We know that the name Jehovah-Rapha carries a number of meanings. God can heal us in far more ways than one.
God does not abandon us in our time of direst need. Even when we think we’ve reached the worst trial of our lives, we can be reminded that we have a God who restores and binds our wounds.
Scripture Truth and Statements
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who. . .heals all your diseases.
From the Father's Heart: My child, sometimes you hide from Me in your greatest pain, thinking I will not know—or care. Other times you think I have abandoned you at your point of need if I do not answer immediately. Trust Me with every symptom—physical, emotional, and spiritual. I am Jehovah Rapha, and in My time, in My way, I still bring healing.
Our Response: Lord, You pour Your salve of cleansing, healing, and forgiveness over my spirit. Time and time again, I lay my complaints at Your feet, yet You never turn me away. Like the woman who touched the hem of Your garment, I feel Your power and life flowing through me once again.
Click here for reference: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/why-do-we-call-on-god-as-jehovah-rapha-for-healing.html
In reference to the messiah
The strongest teaching on our need of God’s healing is found in Isaiah 53:1-5, referring to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord:
”Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of the dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed.”
If we go back to the meaning of this word, “to restore something to its normal or useful state”, we see this purpose beautifully connected with Isaiah’s words in the Apostle Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 2:24-25, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
We were astray, we were broken, we needed fixing, we needed healing. The God who heals, Jehovah Rapha provided that healing in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to forgive us our sins and rose from the grave on the third day to overcome death and give us eternal life with God. He restored our relationship with God through His sacrifice that we might renew the purpose for which we were created, to love and worship God.
Nothing has ever needed fixing more, nor has anything ever been fixed more perfectly, more completely, and more finally.
Click here for reference: https://www.thomasvilleroad.org/blog/entry/god-is...jehovah-rapha
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