Balm In Gilead

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:22)

The prophet, in the preceding verse, had said, “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt…astonishment hath taken hold on me.” Why was he hurting so; why was he gripped with astonishment? Why was he so wounded in spirit? He gives a threefold reason. First, at the deep wounds under which Zion lay in anguish; secondly, at the greatness of the remedy that God had provided; and thirdly, with a condition so desperate and the remedy so great, why was the health of the daughter of his people not recovered?

It would seem as if the daughter of God’s people, that is, the Church of God (“the daughter of God’s people” is a Hebrew idiom for God’s people) was suffering under wounds that put them in need of a “balm,” and under serious diseases that should require a “physician.” This is just what sin has reduced the family of God to – “full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.” When Adam fell, he fell with a crash that, as it were, broke every bone, and bruised his flesh with wounds from head to toe. Man’s understanding, his conscience, and his affections were all terribly maimed. The fang of the old serpent sent deadly sin coursing through every vein and artery, penetrating the inmost soul and body.

Now, it was seeing and feeling this that made the Prophet cry, “I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.” But it would seem that while he was thus overwhelmed with the awful sight of putrefying wounds and running sores and diseased bodies (spiritually speaking), he was reminded that God is the healer of sin-sick souls. He therefore cries out, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” It is a desperate case; must the patient die of her diseases? Must the poor sinner sink under his sin? Is there no hope for him? When the sinner wanders far away from God; when he has forgotten Him, neglected Him, repaid all His favors with ingratitude, requited all of His bounties and mercies with carnality and foolishness – is there no remedy? Must he perish under the load of iniquity and guilt? Is there no balm for such a sin-sick soul? Is there no Physician who can handle the hopeless cases?

What did this balm in Gilead actually signify? Gilead was a country beyond Jordan that was known for a certain tree of great value and rarity, which grew only there. From the trunk and branches of this tree distilled a gum which was known to have great healing qualities. It was the sort of thing that an ambassador might offer as a gift when negotiating for his King. Jacob would propitiate the chief lord of Egypt by sending “a little balm” with his sons when they returned taking Benjamin with them. (Gen. 43:11) This was a valuable gift because it was rare and because of its celebrated healing powers. The weeping Prophet saw the daughter of his people pining away in their iniquities, and knowing that there was a Divine Remedy; he cried out, using this metaphor, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Must she die in her sins without seeking Him out, and without turning to Him for pardon and peace? God, Himself calls out to the sinner, “Turn ye, turn ye, why will you die?”

Spiritually viewed, what is this precious balm? Is it not the Savior’s blood – that precious blood that the Scriptures testify “cleanseth from all sin?” “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth from all sin.” It cleanses not from some sin, but all sin. This is indeed the balm when the conscience is cut, no matter what the nature of the sin. There is a balm and there is an almighty Physician, and if we are enabled by grace to put ourselves in His hands, He will deal with us in a most tender and gentle, and yet the most efficacious manner possible.

We can understand the Prophet’s astonishment, and thus his question: “Why then is not the health of my people recovered?” The bite of the old serpent is deadly! But there is a cure for the deadly disease of sin. There is a balm – the blood of Christ. There is a great Physician. Jesus Christ has never lost a patient. God Himself says, “Why will ye die?” Why would anyone die in his sins, when there is such a balm and such a Physician available?