Jehovah-Rapha (The Lord that Heals)

By Peter Crause

Exo 15:26 And said, If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that heals you.

“I am the LORD that heals you!” The original words here in Hebrew are; “Jehovah-Rapha”; and is one of the many compound names of God – as revealed to show His adequacy for every need we may have. This Name is not to be understood spiritually – it is physical healing that is in view here. For salvation of the soul and spirit, the Lord revealed Himself as “Jah-Oshea” or “Yeshua” or “Jeshua” or “Jehovah-Savior” or as we know Him – Jesus! The Lord offers and provides a fully orbed salvation for spirit, soul and body. To stop at spirit and soul is to deny a complete salvation. It is to go hungry by not taking the “children’s bread” that Jesus referred to with respect to healing. It is to walk in only part of our covenant rights and privileges. It is to walk in unbelief. It is to give-in to the lies of the enemy – who is the author and source of sickness of the body.

If the Lord provided physical healing under the Old Covenant and not under the New Covenant; how is the New Covenant a better one? If we are told that He’s the same “yesterday, today and forever!” why do some deny His willingness and provision to heal our bodies in this day and age? We even rationalize that God has provided healing in the medical field through human agency and ingenuity. However, how much healing is actually dispensed by medical science? In reality, all we are provided with is something to treat the symptoms of disease and bring relief – and we should thank the Lord for that – but true healing of the disease is only possible through Jehovah-Rapha!

Jesus called healing “children’s bread” – see Matt 15:26. The children in any family household have rights to the food provided by the parents in that household. No parent would withhold food from their hungry children – would they? Do we dare to suggest our heavenly Father will withhold any of His provisions from us? He is a far better parent than any earthly parent could ever be – He doesn’t send His child “to bed without supper”.

Preaching on divine healing should be an integral part of the presentation of the Gospel. Unfortunately the faith to believe that the Lord can and will heal is often lacking. It is easy for us to tell seekers to have faith regarding their salvation; this is inward and we cannot perceive it with natural eyes – yet we believe it. However, when it comes to physical healing – which is outward and visible to the natural eye – we lose heart and faith and modify our presentation to a watered-down version of the good-news and so rob our hearers of the fullness that is available. This is true regardless of denominational persuasion.

In the following account, we see how the early church approached this.

Act 14:7 -10 and there they preached the gospel. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked.

Here Paul and Barnabas were preaching the gospel. Someone with a great physical need was in the audience. If the apostles were preaching the gospel as many preach it today, how on earth could this needy man get the faith for physical healing? Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. The only obvious and logical conclusion is that physical healing of the body was included in the message of God’s grace that was being presented. Also take note in the account the faith of the apostle was with boldness and assurance. He never laid hands on the man; nor prayed for him; but gave a word of command – and the miracle happened. The account continues from here and reveals that the people were so astounded by what they had witnessed, they venerated the apostles as gods – but were quickly corrected by these men of God.

The Great Commission given by our Lord to his disciples included the preaching of and administering of physical healing.

Mark 16:15-18 and he said unto them, Go into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized will be saved; but he that does not believe will be damned. And these signs will follow those that believe; In my name they will cast out devils; they will speak with new tongues; They will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

If you believe, these signs will accompany the preaching of the Gospel. The result of obedience to this call Jesus gave was evident:

Mar 16:20 so they went forth; and preached every where; the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

How we need a wholesale return of God’s people to the original commission! Sickness abounds. Satan’s vile works abound! Where is the loving healing heart of the Lord? Dear ones, it abides in His Church – you and I. We are His hands and feet. If we would but seek His power from on high; seek His heart of compassion; seek His guidance; fill our hearts and lives with His Word – I believe we will begin once again to see Him working with us; confirming His Word with signs and wonders to give credence to what we are declaring.

In closing I recount what happened in the life of evangelist T.L. Osborn and his wife. At the young age of twenty one, they went to India as missionaries. They never achieved much, except had philosophical interaction with the religions of that country – the people merely added Christ as another god to their pantheon. There were no sign manifestations in their ministry to verify the truth of what they were teaching. They returned home despondent and discouraged. One-day the Lord gave them a vision of Himself – it forever changed them seeing the living Lord. They witnessed instantaneous healings in other ministries and began to pray for the sick. T.L Osborn became a mighty evangelist to the masses. After preaching the Word and allowing many to give their lives to the Lord, he would pray for the crowd en-masse for physical healing – and the miracles happened. The Lord confirmed His word – with signs following.

Dear ones, we can and should expect the same results in our efforts for the Lord – whatever the sphere of ministry the Lord has called us to; He is willing and able to perform His mighty acts.