THE BALM OF GILEAD
JEREMIAH 8:22
Gilead
was
a city east of Jordan. The meaning of the name is “strong, rocky”.
Israel captured it from
the king of Sihon, and Og the king of Bashan, and it was occupied by the tribes
of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. It is situated in the modern day Jordan.
It had been a city of
great iniquity, stained with blood [Hosea 6:8].
David fled there from
Absalom and it was the home of Elijah.
Chapter 8 deals with backsliding
Israel and their ignoring of God’s warnings to repent. They followed graven
images and strange vanities.
Jeremiah was sent as a
prophet to the surviving tribes of Israel and Judah, in a time of political and
spiritual decay. They ignore his warnings and are carried away to Babylon. He
predicted that the captives would return after 70 years to rebuild Jerusalem
and the temple.
In chapter 8 he laments
Judah’s breakdown, and asks the pain filled question,
“IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD”
In v 21 he says because
his people are hurt, he is hurt. He is mourning and astonished. In 9:1,
Jeremiah says “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears
that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people”.
Is There No Balm IN
GILEAD?
Is There No Physician
There?
Is there No Recovery For
The Health Of The Daughter Of My People?
Jeremiah is suffering for
the state of his people because he loves them. He could see that they were
about to go into captivity and could not stop it, and he spoke these words in
absolute grief and pain.
The Balm Of
Gilead
There was an actual plant
in Gilead which was an Arabian balsam tree known as the Terebinth tree, which
produced a rare fragrant balm that was used medicinally.
Jeremiah is using this as
a metaphor to apply to their spiritual condition. His cry was for a Balm which
would heal them.
God’s people were
Spiritually sick. They were morally diseased. They provoked God Almighty.
Jeremiah was really saying
that there was a Balm, yet the people were not healed. This Balm was THE MERCY OF GOD.
God the Great Physician
was always there to apply that Mercy to all who cried out to Him. For us, it is
finished work of Jesus on The Cross. Jesus is the BALM OF GILEAD sent
by God, and we have Salvation through the beautiful sweet fragrance of His
Redeeming Healing Blood.
On The Cross He was the
sacrifice for our sin, peace for the troubled mind, and healing for our
sickness. But we have to take the Balm of Jesus and apply Him to our
circumstances.
Like Jeremiah, we grieve
over those who refuse Him and choose rather eternity in hell. There is no
escape for all who refuse His Salvation from sin.
Sin has prevailed since
Adam sinned against God, and the wages of that sin is separation from God and
eternal punishment. Sin affects the soul in the same way that sickness affects
the body. It is invasive, deceitful, controlling, and it consigns all who are
unsaved to the terror of the “second death”.
But friends, There
is a BALM IN GILEAD, and it is the person of Jesus. He is the sweet fragrant balm
whose Blood will save the sin sick soul. He knows every person. He knows every
need. He knows the horror of hell and wishes that no man would go there, but we
all have freedom of choice. If you’re reading this and have never given your
life to Jesus, then friend you are lost for eternity. You can accept Him as
your Saviour right now and have your sins forgiven by the Grace of God.
The voice of Jeremiah
would cry out today, There is a BALM IN GILEAD. There is
Forgiveness. There is Mercy. There is Salvation. There is the Cross where Jesus
died for the sin of the world. My sin. Your sin.
A person is lost because
they simply have not had their spiritual sickness dealt with because they will
not take the remedy offered freely by God. The Blood of Jesus cleanses white as
snow. If you continually reject Salvation you are already condemned.
Proverbs 29:1 – “The person who continually rejects reproof,
hardens the heart, and will suddenly be destroyed without remedy “. A
“remedy” is something that removes or corrects an evil of any kind. The remedy
for sin is the Blood of Jesus.
A “Remedy” Restores
something to its proper condition. It is something that removes or corrects
an evil of any kind.
In
2 Kings 8:1 Elisha Restored the dead son to life.
In
Psalm 23, David said that The Lord Restores his soul. David
experienced the Power of God in his life to turn his circumstances around. God
does this today, and it is now through the Power of Jesus and His death on the
Cross. He will turn our circumstances around if we believe.
In
Jeremiah 30:17,18 God speaks of the Jews deliverance and
their privileges Restored. He says “I will Restore health to you and heal your
wounds because they had been seen as outcasts. “This is Zion, who no man seeks
after”. God will Restore for His Name’s sake. Here, He would not have His
Glorious Zion mocked. Zion is now the “Secret Place” of Jesus. God Restored
what satan had robbed, and it is now the dwelling place of Jesus.
In
Isaiah 58:8-12, it talks of Restoration. So great was
this that V12, says that they would be called “The repairer of the breach”, and
“The Restorer
of paths to dwell in. How great was their calling after God had Restored
them. Same for us today friend. When Jesus Saves us we become vessels to bring
others to Him.
Jesus is The Healer and The Restorer.
THE BALM OF GILEAD, is a Healing, Restoring
balm. JESUS is that BALM.
He
will bring you to your Rightful existence as a Child of God
He
will Re-establish you
He
will bring back your Health
He
will bring you back to a former place before you strayed
He
will give you back all that was taken from you
He
will Save you from sin and death
He
will Restore the joy of your
salvation
He
will Restore your paths to dwell in
He
will Restore what satan has robbed
from you
These are just some of the
things which are ours through the Cross of Jesus.
In Acts 3:21, we are told
that Heaven received Jesus “until the times of Restitution of all things
which God spoke by the mouth of His Holy prophets since the world began”. Jesus
will rule in the millennium when all things since Adams fall will be restored.
There will be peace, harmony, prosperity and perfect governmental control.
JESUS is the Balm of Gilead. He is the sweet fragrance of Restoration and Healing.
When Jeremiah posed the
question, there was great need. Our world is in chaos, and the same question
could be asked today. But we have the answer, and His Name is Jesus. But the
world rejects Him, and that’s the main reason for the state of the world today.
There is a balm but mankind rejects Jesus and in doing they choose satan.
What about
you friend? Do
you reject Him? If you die without Jesus as your Saviour, you are headed for
eternity in hell.
You can accept Him now.
Believe that He is the Son of God, that He died on the Cross for your sin, and
that He arose from the dead three days later.
Confess that you are a
sinner, repent of your sin, and ask Jesus to come into your heart in Faith. If
you do that you will be born again.
Jesus Bless you,
Larry Wilson
September 2020