Is There No Balm In Gilead?
“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? ” Jeremiah 8:22 NIV
There is a Balm of Gilead that has the power to save us from certain death. It can bring hope to the hopeless and healing to that which is untreatable. It is described as a honey-like aromatic resin with medicinal qualities.
So where is this balm, this honey, this healing medicine? For over 20 years I have searched for this healing of my chronic illnesses, seemingly in vain. My heart echoed the cry of Jeremiah “I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?” Jeremiah 8:21,22
After all these years of searching, I think I finally found the answer.
Genesis 37:25 NKJV is the first time the Bible mentions this Balm from Gilead. Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob, had been attacked by his brothers and thrown into a well. His brothers then sat down to eat as though nothing happened. As they were eating they lifted their eyes and saw a company of Ishmaelite (Ishmael name means God will hear) who came from Gilead with their camels carrying spices, balm and myrrh to bring to the land of Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers went about their business as usual. Ignored by his brothers, God heard Joseph’s cries for help. God sent a band of outsiders to rescue Joseph from certain death. [As the Balm passed by, Judah declared to his brothers that it would be better to sell Joseph into slavery than to kill him. Genesis 37:26,27 NKJV ] This would be the first application of the Balm of Gilead.
Our precious Lord Jesus IS the Balm of Gilead. It was He who passed with that company of Ishmaelite that redeemed Joseph from certain death. There is more to the meaning of this Balm of Gilead. We know that Jesus IS the Great Physician, and in Him there is healing for all needs; so why are there so many people not healed? Why do we read in Jeremiah 46:11(NKJV) “ Go up to Gilead and take balm, virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines; You shall not be cured.”
Here is a reason why there have been no healing medicines for some who are suffering. Here is why our illnesses have remained incurable:
What was the most precious and powerful of the medicines that the Ishmaelite brought to Egypt? What was that Balm of Gilead that was of such great value?
It was Joseph, [a representative type of the Christ] who was the Balm of Gilead. He was the one the Lord would use to save not only the people of Egypt and the neighboring nations, but the nation of Israel itself! Joseph would later bear witness to his brothers, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV).
To be the man God could use to save many people, Joseph, like the substance extracted from the Gilead tree, needed to be crushed, squeezed, refined, purified, even pulverized by a loving God who is wise enough to know that the sweet ointment cannot flow until the alabaster box is broken.
Here is a terrific illustration I read that really explains the process. The making of Pesto Sauce! You make Pesto by putting fresh basil, garlic, olive oil; nuts and Parmesan cheese into the food processor and with a sharp, serrated, metal blade pulverize the ingredients until they become a well-formed paste. The results are delicious! If we took the same ingredients – the basil, garlic and all the rest – and mix those with pasta, but it wouldn’t be the same. Actually it wouldn’t even be worth eating. All the crushing, breaking, releasing, joining and forming are needed to bring out the full flavor, the full value. (Illustration author unknown)
So it is with us.
We are called to be the Balm of Gilead, to each other; to the hurting; to those inside the Church and out. But to truly be a balm that can bring healing, we must be taken from one form and processed to another. We must be made into a sweet perfume, a honey-like medicine that can flow out to others.
It is through our suffering that this is accomplished. It is because of what we have endured that we can say, Come, drink of the healing medicines that now flow from my broken body. Come eat of my experiences and find your healing. Through our struggles and our suffering, we are becoming a Balm of Gilead, just as Joseph before us.
Are you wondering like I was as to why you are not yet healed? Why it seems there is no healing medicines for your condition? Could it be that you too are being formed into a sweet-smelling balm that will bring healing to many? Could it be that your alabaster box is being broken, so the sweet perfume of healing can one day flow out to others?
There are so many people in need, and so few through whom the Lord can bring forth that healing. Why? Because being crushed, squeezed, refined, purified, and even pulverized is not something we embrace. We look for ways out of our trials. We search for means of escape. What would have happened if Joseph had found escape from his prison? What if he had not been there to save many people?
Our Lord Jesus could have made a way of escape for Himself from the cruelty of the Cross. He told us there were legions of angels ready to come to His aid. But He did not choose escape. He suffered willingly, that you and I might be spared.
This is the Balm of Gilead – the willingness to allow ourselves to be poured out for the good of others.
What will you do? Will you be a Balm of Gilead the Lord can use, even if it means being sent to a faraway land? Will you allow yourself to be molded, crushed and formed for a greater good than you cannot yet see?
If there is no healing balm in Gilead, as Jeremiah 8:22 suggests, it is only because so few have been willing to answer the call.
Dear Heavenly Father May I be broken, crushed and spilled out for You!
Invisible Illness Week – Sept. 13-19
One of the ways in which this same question of why is answered for me,…….is in the prayer
“that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings”
We focus on the knowing rather more than we focus on being identified with suffering…with His suffering.
We forget this is a war…..we are soldiers not socialites we are not living in the culture of the Kingdom but in a counter culture where we are meant not to fit….we are meant to stand out like lights, like beacons, to be different.
This life is short and our situation in it could be so much worse than it is….we could be born as an aids orphan in the worst desert slums in Africa with none of the comforts and medical assistance’s to ease our pain…at least in part.
He knows the way I take. I do not ask for it to be worse, but I pray that I may be thankful, and remember that He came to earth…….not for a walk in the park, but on a lonely walk to a cross…..to be forsaken of His Father while He identified with and took on Himself my sin. I hate to be blamed for something I did not do.
He took the blame of the world…and He deserved none of it.
He did it …to become, as you have rightly said, our balm in Gilead, our relief from the well of bitter water into the refreshment of the water of life.
Blessings.
This was a wonderful post Michele. One that all Christians need to read. May I be molded into what He wants me to be and allow Him to use me where ever and whenever for His glory.
Awesome!
Sigh…being pressed for His glory is quite painful but well worth it. No crushing of the grapes, no wine. No brokenness, no anointing. How will the perfume be released if the seal of a bottle or box is not broken allowing the sweet aroma to spread? Pain is most certainly gain. You can actually see the difference in people who have been broken by pain. Their is compassion and sensitivity which is often absent in a life free of trials. Still don’t like the process though. 😉 But we were created for His glory.
Thanks for sharing and thank you for commenting on the red door post. Is this your new blog/page? I wanted to add you to my blogroll but I’m never sure which page you post at more regularly.
This is an upbeat version of suffering and being poured out in a worthwhile way for the glory of the Lord and to help others. Very, very encouraging! I want to keep on in my trial now even though I’m still in the middle place. A wonderful post!
Thanks for dropping by my blog today, Michelle! You are right…Jesus is the healing balm we are all looking for. I am trusting in Him!
Blessings to you, Joan
Not only do I want to refresh myself with this Balm, but I want to be that for others. Thank you, Michele, for such a thoughtful teaching. It truly blessed me today.
Michele, thank you for this post today. It truly blessed me.
Great thoughts today. As always, I am blessed by your writings Michele!
You are right, Michele. WE need to be willing to be crushed and formed for the greater good. It is hard sometimes to get reshaped, but I do agree, God uses our trails to minister to others.
Thank you for sharing from your heart.
This was beautiful, Michele…a much needed reminder for me…..
Such a lovely post sis.
Michele, it can be so hard when there seems to be no relief. So many people long for healing and many are not healed. But God can use us for His purposes. I’ve had the privilege to meet some people who in the midst of pain, continue to praise the Lord. That speaks volumes to me.
Dear Michele,
This is such an awesome and timely post for what I am going through.
Thank you.
Blessings,
Lidj