Promised Health

Deuteronomy 7:15

“And the Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.”

We are on the third verse of the healing series and here is what I have learned so far. Both of the first two verses seem to suggest that a key ingredient of health is listening to the voice of God. Now, I suppose that should not come as a surprise but at the beginning of this series, would you have expected that to be the first point Father expressed? And, don’t be surprised that I said that this is what I am learning because I am right there with you. The first verse said, “give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments,” (Exodus 15: 26), so I am asking and listening along with you.

Today’s verse comes from a section in Chapter 7 subtitled, Promises of God. So, now you can say you have a promise from God regarding healing. He promises He will remove sickness. Here is the interesting bit though. You can tell that verse 15 is a continuation of previous verses. It even seems that it might express the result of what came before and, in fact, this is true. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but maybe God does. You have to go back to verse 12 to find out the context of this passage. Verse 12 reads, “If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the LORD your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you.” How great is that!? Even more interesting is that the verses between 12 and 15 include blessing your food and drink. So, here we are again. If we will listen to the Lord our God and obey Him, He will remove sickness from our midst.

Do you remember that the Jews had specific dietary guidelines and that those differed from other populations? What is that about? Do you think those guidelines were exactly what these verses speak to? I am not suggesting that God is telling you to go kosher. I am saying that He speaks to His people, leading them to healthy choices. I want to be clear in this too, what He speaks to me may not be the same as what He speaks to you. Maybe one person is advised to give up dairy or wheat while others are not. What I am explicitly saying is that Yahweh wants to remove all sickness from you because of the love covenant He made with you. He leads us to good health because that is what love does. It is imperative that we learn to inquire of Him and then to listen and obey.

Now, here is the hard part, listening. Tell the truth, do you sometimes get a little nagging feeling down inside of you about what you are eating? Do you get thoughts that would lead in a particular direction if you heeded them? Or, perhaps you hear a thought go through your head about drinking more water or getting up and walking a bit. God is rarely a loud voice in your head. He is gentle, more often nudging than pushing. We all need to become experts at hearing God’s voice and that often begins by listening to some of the quiet thoughts which float across your mind.

God is removing sickness from among us, as He promised to do. Our part in the bargain seems to be listening to His commands and faithfully obeying them.

Health and Healing

Exodus 15: 26

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

There is healing, and then there is health. Yahweh, our Father is also known as Jehovah Rophe which is translated as either Jehovah heals or Jehovah my health. That is fascinating because, while they are similar offices, the names certainly imply a difference in application. Our father, who is our health, prefers that we walk in health. When we walk in health, we do not need healing. However, if we need a super-natural healing, just a one touch and you’re done, He can do that as well.

Today’s verse reveals God, our health. Since His plan was that we would walk in health, He is careful to give us the life strategy which will yield that end result. Therefore, He told the Israelites, “In order to walk in continual health, listen to my counsel. I will always lead you in the paths of health and wholeness.” He told them to give heed to His commandments, statutes and to follow His voice. Now some people will read this verse as a threat, as if God is saying do what I tell you or else I am going to curse you with plagues and disease. That is not the case at all. He was telling them to keep His words because He was telling them things that would prevent them from getting sick. He was leading them into wellness.

God was daily giving them the inside scoop on that which would make the Israelites healthy and wealthy and do know what, He is still doing that today. Some of the healing He wishes to give to us comes by way of lifestyle changes. Maybe He wants you to give up soft drinks or smoking. Maybe He is encouraging you to drink water everyday or take a walk. There are so many things He is trying to teach His people today about living healthy. Some of us, though, are so busy praying for a supernatural healing that we cannot hear His counsel on health. One minor adjustment in your diet may be all you need to restore you to health.

Quiet yourself down and listen to the voice of God in your heart. Pray while you grocery shop. If you will tune into God’s voice I believe you will hear him telling you many ways to be healthy. He will also lead you to scripture after scripture with wisdom for health. God’s will is for you to be healthy and whole so He always seeks to lead you in that direction. Hearken to the voice of the Lord and be made whole.

Believe It

Exodus 15: 26


I am the Lord that heals you.

That is short, sweet and to the point. You would need help in confusing this scripture because it is so simple. And yet, we really are not walking in this simple belief. Most of us believe that God heals. All you have to do is go to a hospital to see that truth. People will receive prayer when they are sick even if they have refused God all of their lives. Why do we ask people to pray for us if we do not believe God heals? Well of course we do believe. Then why are we not all walking in health? Somehow in the body of Christ we have let this simple truth slip away from our daily walk. We know that He is our Lord that heals us. We know it! But I think we only know it with our minds. We don’t believe it with our heart of hearts. We pray for healing when someone is seriously sick hoping that God will heal them rather than believing that God is going to heal them. Then in our daily lives we receive all manner of sickness, pain and suffering. We do not mean to. We have just been led along by the world; by those who do not have a hope of healing. We have started acting like them instead of acting like children of the great healer.

It might be a great task for all of us to get ourselves turned back around but we can do it because all things are possible in Him and to those who believe. We just need to take one small step and then another. We need to encourage one another and we need to keep on praying as we have been but now with greater expectation that the God of miracles really is present for us and that He really will show up on the scene. Help your friends increase their expectation and demands on God’s promises. Encourage them and when you have a sickness or a disease attack your body, ask them to pray for your health too. Working together we can turn around the body of Christ and reclaim the promises of God in our life.

Revealed and Healed

Isaiah 53: 5               Index Card 14

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Are you beginning to notice that I have a lot of verses on healing in my private collection? I told you, there are these old injuries. Frankly, I am quite active despite the injuries but I really don’t think I would be able to be active if I was not receiving a revelation of “I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15: 26).

Peter quoted this passage of scripture in the New Testament. He says, “ … by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2: 24).  So, I am trying to let the revelation that I WAS healed penetrate every cell and membrane in my body. I don’t need to GET healed, I am healed. Jesus was wounded so that I would be whole. My healing was in the miracle he wrought for us in his scourging, the cross, the grave and his glorious resurrection. He took those injuries, sicknesses and diseases to the cross and then buried them in the grave. Then he arose, renewed and restored. We now have that resurrection power working in our bones. “By his wounds we are healed.”

Lordly Duties

Exodus 15: 26        NIV    Index Card 11

I am the Lord that heals you.

There is something about the tone of this verse which blesses me. It is almost as if God is saying that healing is in His job description, like healing us is part of what it means to be Lord.

One of the key points I take from the last two days’ verses is that they are both from the Old Testament. Do you know that old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same?” It seems the same can be said of scripture. Many of us think of healing as a New Testament theology but it is not. God was into healing long before Jesus’ amazing healing ministry. We know that God is not one to change (Hebrews 13: 8). Therefore, we can have confidence that He wants to heal us today. The God of the Old Testament was a Lord who heals. Jesus healed multitudes of people; therefore, they will heal us today. I love good news, don’t you?