My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Job 42:5

The Egyptians wrote a medical book in 1552 B.C. called “Papyrus Ebers.”  Inside were prescriptions and incantations for all kinds of illnesses. Their remedy for hair loss was to apply the fat of a horse, a hippopotamus, a crocodile, a cat, a snake, and an ibex.  The drugs they mentioned might turn your stomach: lizard blood, swine teeth, putrid meat, and moisture from pig’s ears.  Aren’t you glad you live in this century?

Moses was alive in Egypt when this book was written. He probably saw some of these applications in the palace. Years later, he would live to experience God revealing Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.

The Book of Job is 400 years older than Genesis, so I’m sure many of these primitive methods existed during Job’s suffering. We don’t know if Job’s wife encouraged him to try any of them.  

Job had always been a righteous man. He would arise early in the morning to offer sacrifices to God for himself and each of his children.  They were offered to prevent harm, not because harm existed.  It was Job’s way of ensuring his children’s well-being.  Job did all the right things, yet God permitted Satan to afflict him.  Suffering isn’t always due to sin. 

Job also suffered from the spiritual interpretations of his three closest friends. Though they claimed to speak for God, they did not, eventually driving Job to take his case directly to God. At this point, his relationship with God became personal and intimate. Before this, sacrificing animals to interact with the Almighty had been largely impersonal by comparison.  I know that because of what he said in today’s scripture.  My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.  Job 42:5

To know God as Jehovah-Rapha, I had to meet Him in places I would never have chosen. There were seasons of bitterness, long enough to strip me of easy answers. I was desperate for something deeper than relief. Suffering drove me into the heart of God. Scripture stopped being beautiful words on a page and became oxygen. Promises I had known for years suddenly carried my full weight. Somewhere in the pain, knowing God became more precious than getting my life back the way it was.

I have known Your healing in my body, and I have known the deeper mercy of Your healing in my soul. You have touched what could be seen and what no one else could ever reach. What a Healer You are! Amen