Exodus 15:25-26
“So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
God is redemptive in all His ways. He is merciful and compassionate, always loving and caring. In every circumstance that confronts us in the daily course of life, He seeks to intervene with the intention to fulfil His purpose in our life. The extent of His intervention depends on the level of our release into His arms. Our measure of trust, confidence and faith in the Lord will empower the Lord to work in our life’s situation.
It is not evidential from the Scriptures that God executes His will and purpose for us, irrespective of our resistance. What seems very feasible is that He works within the ambit of our total surrender and submission to Him. It is evident also, that He constantly tests our love and trust in Him. Every confession of love for the Lord will be tested.
Our daily life’s experiences and challenges are testing grounds for us, which if we recognise and accept will uncover great blessings for us (Psalms 23:4). His promise is not to bail us out of our shadows of death but to walk with us through the valley.
God took His promise of healing for Israel and the Church to a covenantal level. He bound Himself by a covenant, which was established with Israel shortly after crossing the Red Sea. A covenant is a commitment made by God with a second party. It is not the same as a contract.
A covenant is perpetual and covers generations to come. A covenant is sealed for all times by a sacrifice and while it involves God and man, God puts all the onus of fulfilment on Himself.
Genesis 17:1-14 is a beautiful example of the perpetual nature of a covenant. However, on the part of man, there are expectations and components to fulfil. Another example of a covenant from a biblical perspective is the husband and wife relation. Marriage is not a contract rather it is a covenantal relation.
The covenant of divine healing which is made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are entitled to as covenant people. God sets the conditions for man. In this particular case: – On the part of Israel
a) Israel was supposed to hear the Word of God when Moses declared it. Carefully, pay heed to every aspect of the Word.
b) They were to meditate on the Word day and night.
c) There were to obey unconditionally every aspect of the Word.
On the part of God, He commits Himself to the following:-
a) He will put none of the diseases on Israel, which He brought on the Egyptians.
b) He will heal them of all sickness
c) He will protect and preserve them in the wilderness journey.
The Lord made it possible for this covenant to have implications and impact for the Church of today. The introduction of the tree which tuned the bitter water into sweet pre-figures the Cross and redemption for all. It is at this junction, the church is involved. God brought His Son into this covenant to consolidate the fact that the covenant of healing applies not only to Israel but also to the Church.
God’s covenant of healing belongs to all believers today. He will do for us what He did for Israel. Deuteronomy 29:5-6,
For forty years, I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but He provided for you so you would know that He is the Lord your God.
Paul Mursalin is a member of the International Board of Barnabas Fund from Guyana
Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash
For Other Articles by Paul Mursalin
1. “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25-26)
2. The Bitter Waters of Marah and the Cross (Exodus 15: 22-27)
