The Balm and the Physician
Scripture Reading: 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?
The nation which miraculously rose from the ashes of Egyptian slavery and had seen the apex of glory at the dedication of the temple under King Solomon had become a sickly, emaciated shell of herself. The prophets who had long pointed the way back now found themselves as hospice chaplains, standing beside the bedside of a once lively, vibrant, and strong people who were now awaiting their inevitable tragic end.
Jeremiah often called the weeping prophet for good reasons, took no pleasure in announcing the impending doom awaiting the Jewish people. Jeremiah was grieved by his people’s idolatry. He was grieved because of the coming destruction of Judah. But he was also grieved because he knew it was unnecessary.
The first two questions Jeremiah asks in 8:22 imply a resounding “yes.” There is a balm (a healing medicine for Israel’s sickness), and there is a physician (some think Jeremiah is thinking of the prophets who brought the message of repentance as being the physicians who applied the balm). So, if there is a balm and a physician, why aren’t his people healed? The answer is they weren’t availing themselves of the remedy.
Isaiah said, “The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear…” (Isaiah 59:1). Having a cure available is not the same as having the cure applied. There is a cure for the problem of sin. There is a balm – the blood of Jesus Christ. There is a physician – The Holy Spirit of God. Why, then, are some not saved? They haven’t presented themselves by faith to the Physician for the balm to be applied.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
