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Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals (Rapha) all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103: 1-5 (NIV)
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INTRODUCTION
The Lord is our YAHWEH RAPHA. He is the God who heals, the Great Physician, our healer, and deliverer. He heals us from our sins and iniquity, from emotional and mental wounds, and even physical ailments. The word rapha means to cure, mend, heal, and restore. The letters containing the word Rapha reveal how we are healed.
GOD IS WILLING
A leper approached Yeshua one day. He knelt before Yeshua and in humility addressed him.
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Matthew 8: 1-4 (NIV)
This leper knew Yeshua could heal him but he struggled with believing the miracles he heard about could be available to him too. Who in their right mind would possibly want to heal him, right?
Not only was Yeshua willing though, He even went so far as to touch that which none else dared to touch. The leper left per Yeshua’s command and showed himself to the priests fully cleansed and restored.
Truly nothing is impossible to the Most High. He can heal us from anything so long as we believe and are humble enough to ask. He is after all the YAHWEH RAPHA.
YAHWEH RAPHA
The word YAHWEH means HE THAT IS, Lord. Rapha means to mend, heal, restore, make whole, make complete. (2) Together the two words mean the God who heals.
God is our Great Physician, our healer. He can heal our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wounds. Whenever we are in need, we should turn to Him and will receive as is stated in Matthew 7: 7-8 (NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7: 7-8 (NIV)
RAPHA
The Hebrew spelling of the word Rapha reveals how we are healed. Rapha consists of the letters
reish
pei
aleph. (3)
The letter aleph represents God Almighty. The One from whom all healing comes. The letter pei represents mouth or the power of speech. It is true confession, prayer, and speaking that we are healed. Then there is the letter reish. It represents repentance. In some instances, our past sins are responsible for our ailments. By repenting we release forgiveness into our life and are instantly healed of the affliction. (3)
CONCLUSION
Yeshua is Yahweh Rapha, the Great Physician and healer. The word Jehova means the existing One, Rapha on the other hand means to heal, mend, make whole, make complete, restore. There is no ailment God can not heal if we only believe and are humble enough to ask. For if we ask, we shall receive (Matthew 7: 7-8).
Application
Ask the Lord to show you if there are any emotional or mental wounds you still need to heal from. Listen throughout the week and let Him bring healing. Those of you who need physical healing turn to Him too. Write down your observations and testimonies.
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SOURCES
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Bible Hub. Rapha. Accessed on 24.11.2024. Available on https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7495.htm
Chaim Bentorah. Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God (Volume 1). June 21, 2016. Available on https://amzn.to/3OIGiYB (Amazon)
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