My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
| 45 |
| BALM OF GILEAD |
| Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? |
| What in tarnation is balm? And is there something special about Gilead? The background to the question Jeremiah asks is the utter upcoming destruction of the nation of Israel. The nation created by God, and sustained by God through many trials and terrors is now on edge of captivity. God’s mercies through the ages have been many, and they have been rescued by the Father many many times. Yet Jeremiah fears the worst, for he is calling out to the nation to seek out the balm of Gilead, a medicinal oil that was well known for it’s healing properties in the nation of Israel. Of course Jeremiah was not referring to the literal balm (or oil) of Gilead, for he is speaking of the sickness within the nation of Israel. This sickness, which would bring about the captivity of Israel, was not simply skin deep, but a matter of the heart. The literal balm of Gilead was known to treat surface cuts, heal burns, and relieve pain by soothing the hurt areas on the body. Jeremiah is somewhat sarcastic in this verse, referring to the balm as if that would be the minimum effort for healing on the part of the nation. Yet as we know, no literal balm of Gilead could have healed the nation, but our Balm of Gilead, our Great Physician is able to heal, and He is the One Jeremiah is pointing to in our verse. A little later in Jeremiahs ministry in chapter 46:11, he calls on the nation to retrieve this balm from Gilead. Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you. In our day and age, the balm of gilead may be purchased online. Whether it is the actual balm referred to in our verse, I will leave that to my gentle reader. No matter, for we all need to seek out our Balm of Gilead, the Great Physician, the One who heals hearts and not simply relieves pain on a surface. |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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