Exodus 15:26. 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.”
Devotion to God begins with growth in knowing God. In Exodus, God reveals part of His nature and character. Knowing God in truth will dramatically impact our lives. Exodus gives four keys to make our lives more faithful and fruitful.
1. Ex. 3:14,15 Understand that God is. His name is "I AM WHO I AM." Rest on this foundation. Be grounded and established in Him.
2. Ex. 15:25,26 Receive God as "The LORD Who Heals You." His nature is to heal; His Will and Compassionate desire is to make us whole. OT Divine Healing Covenant. It is called a "covenant," because in it God promises He will keep His people free from diseases and conditions the promise upon their diligent obedience. The covenant is made absolutely certain by the fact that God joins His mighty name to the promise, calling Himself Yahweh-Rapha. To recover to health and to sustain in health.
The words used here for "diseases" (makhaleh) and "heals" (rapha) are regularly used for physical sickness and bodily healing. This is not only a spiritual concept, but also an intensely physical one.
3. Ex. 17:15 Rely upon God, who is "The LORD Your Banner." Surrender to Him, for the battle and the victory belong to the Lord.
4. Ex. 31:13 Pursue God, for it is He who sanctifies us. His life in us makes our holiness possible.
While sin and disobedience are not always the direct causes of sickness, man's fall into sin is the original and underlying cause of all disease. Those who seek healing will benefit by looking to Christ Jesus our sin-bearer, along with pursuing renewed consecration. (James 5:14-16; I Cor. 11:29-32; Numbers 12:1-16).
Numbers 12:1-16 Healing Repentance and Humility, DIVINE HEALING. This passage relates how Moses' sister, Miriam, was healed of leprosy. She received physical healing through the intercession of Moses. However, her healing was delayed seven days because of her sin in defying the God-given leadership of Moses.
Is it possible that delays in receiving answers to our prayer may sometimes be the result of a sinful attitude? Is there instruction in the fact that the progress of the whole camp was delayed until Miriam was restored? Repentance and humility will not earn healing, but they may, as with Miriam, clear the way for God's grace to be revealed more fully.
Numbers 21:5-9 The Focus of DIVINE HEALING. The plague of fiery serpents sent upon God's people was, in reality, a self-inflicted punishment, resulting from their frequent murmuring. God's judgment was in allowing what their own presumption invited, and many died from the bites of the serpents. But in answer to the repentance of His people, God prescribed the erecting of a bronze serpent to which any might look in faith and be healed. Jesus referred to this account in John 3:14, 15. He clearly implied that the bronze serpent typified His being raised upon the cross. Our healing both spiritual and physical, comes from looking to the identifying with Christ crucified, "by whose stripes you were healed" (I Peter 2:24)
Growing in Godliness - Building a life characterized by a constantly growing capacity for God is a vital message found in Numbers. Godliness grows as we are intentional in our pursuit of God. From the way we regard the community of God to the way we embrace the truths of redemption, every aspect of godly living is important.
Trust in God's salvation (John 3:14,15). The bronze serpent was God's temporary means of salvation; Jesus is God's eternal means of salvation.
~NSFB Commentary
