What does it mean that God is a healer?
At Marah, three days into the desert after Israel's rescue from Egypt, the people found water they could not drink — and there God attached a name to Himself that He had not used before. To call God a healer is to ask what He heals, on what terms, and whether the promise reaches bodies, nations, or hearts.
A name given at a bitter place
The title comes at the first crisis after deliverance, and that timing carries its own lesson.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn verse 26 the LORD speaks of Himself as "Jehovah Ropheka," the LORD your Healer. The bitter waters showed them that they needed the LORD in the wilderness as much as they needed Him in their rescue from Egypt and Pharaoh's power. And now He offers Himself as their healer.
The tree that sweetened the water
Before the name is spoken, a remedy is supplied — and the initiative is God's, not Moses'.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinGod had a remedy. The tree is a picture of the cross. The tree was not discovered by Moses, but by the LORD. Christ went into the deep, dark waters of death; through Him the waters were made sweet for those who believe on Him.
Healing offered on terms Israel did not keep
The promise came with an "if." Centuries later, crowds of sick people pressing around Jesus said something about where the breakdown lay.
William KellyYet what was the witness of the man with dropsy before the Lord and before them? And what did all kinds of disease and sickness in the land of Israel mean, as it were crowding round Him to be healed? ... It was not Jehovah-Rophi who had failed, but man generally and Israel in particular.
The Healer standing in front of them
When Jesus told a paralysed man his sins were forgiven and then made him walk, the name from Exodus was being spoken again — this time in person.
The Bible TreasuryThe LORD of Israel now appeared among them, "forgiving all your iniquity, and healing all your diseases." Every sickness and every plague had come upon them through disobedience; but He who had once led them out of Egypt was saying to them again, "I am the LORD, your healer."
The disease underneath the diseases
The clearest healing God performs cost Him wounds of His own, and it treats something no medicine reaches.
Leslie M. GrantFor it is by His stripes we are healed. This is no mere bodily healing, but healing from the dreadful disease of sin: for the stripes are those of God's judgment poured out upon Him at Calvary.
Healing for the one who has wandered off
God also uses the word for people who walked away from Him and came back.
W. T. P. Wolston"I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them" (Hosea 14:4). What could be more blessed than this? What could better encourage a returning backslider? It is love's victory over the lack of it.
Healing for broken hearts
The same title covers grief. One writer draws out how far God went to make good on it.
Hamilton SmithLong ago we read of the LORD that "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Ps. 147:3). In order to heal the brokenhearted He became flesh, and shed His tears to dry ours, and broke His heart to bind up our hearts.
What to expect of Him now
Commentators are careful here. They hold that God can still heal a body, while warning against turning the promise into a rule.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinSome have pressed this promise so far that they say sickness in a Christian is the result of direct disobedience; that a Christian has no need to be sick, and so on. This is wrong, and has led to theories that are far from sane and scriptural.
The alternative is not resignation but a wider trust:
The Bible TreasuryTrue, He does heal at times even now, but He still allows sickness to affect His people. Then the healing will not only be complete, but joined with forgiveness. Some people think the great thing is to have faith in God's power... but He is training us. Sometimes sickness is sent to prevent something, sometimes to correct something; we ought to have faith in His love as well as in His power, and in His wisdom too.
Summary
- Name — At Marah God did not simply fix the water; He revealed Himself as the LORD your Healer, offering Himself for the whole journey ahead.
- Tree — The remedy was God's own find, not Moses' — a picture of Christ going into the dark waters of death so bitterness could turn sweet.
- Person — When Jesus forgave sins and healed bodies in Israel, the healer of Exodus was standing among them saying the same words again.
- Depth — His deepest healing is not of the body but of sin, by His stripes; it reaches wanderers ("I will heal their apostasy") and broken hearts alike.
- Day — He heals at times now and still allows sickness, training us; complete healing joined to forgiveness belongs to the coming day.