Names are important and they help to identify someone or something. If I list several names of people, places, and/or things, you would instantly identify what was listed. For example, “Abraham Lincoln” would most likely be identified as the 16th president of the United States. “Eiffel Tower” would cause you to picture the wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. If you saw “Ferris Wheel” on the list, you might be picture a Ferris wheel you rode at the amusement park or county fair.
There are over 50 names/titles of God listed in the Bible. Each name represents the character and nature of God. You might be familiar with some of the names, but there are possibly dozens you’ve never read or heard about. For me, one of the most powerful names of God is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who Heals. Exodus 15:26 says, “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.”
The Hebrew word “rapha” or “rophe” means to retore, to heal, to cure, or to make healthful (make whole). The Hebrew scriptures reveal God as the one who heals. The Old Testament is where we first see God as the one who heals. When the Israelites fled from Egypt and were in the wilderness, God instructed them that, if they listened and paid attention to Him, He will not put any of the diseases on them which were inflicted on the Egyptians. A list of these diseases can be found in Deuteronomy 28. Jesus is revealed in the New Testament as The Great Physician and His miracles point to the kingdom of God.
Jesus came to heal not only physical needs but emotional and spiritual needs as well. He healed all who came to Him and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Here are a several scriptures to reveal that God wants everyone to live healed and whole.
Psalms 103:2-3 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals (rapha, rophe) all your diseases
Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore (rophe) health to you And heal (rophe) you of your wounds,’ says the Lord
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to heal (rophe) the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal (rapha) their land.
Leviticus 13:18 If the body develops a boil in the skin, and it is healed (rapha).
From the scriptures above, we can see the heart of our Father and that it is His nature to heal physically and emotionally. Just as God released miracles from all types of diseases and challenges while Jesus walked on earth, He promised through His Word that Jesus took all pain, sickness, and disease on the cross over 2,000 years ago (Isaiah 53:5). Through the promise of His Name, Jehovah Rapha, we have the assurance that He wants His children to live healed and whole.
We should take great comfort in all the different names of God. Here are a few in addition to Jehovah Rapha: El Shadday (God Almighty), Yahweh Yireh (The Lord will Provide), Yahweh Shalom (The Lord is Peace), Yahweh Roi (The Lord is My Shepherd), El Elyon (God Most High), and Yahweh Nissi (The Lord is My Banner).
As you read and study the Bible, take time to find the different names of God which reveal His identity, character, and nature from Genesis to Revelation and generation to generation. He is the God of miracles and He has never changed. What He did for His people in the Bible, He is still doing today. Spend time with Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that Heals.
~Donna Jones