This verse in the book of the oracle Jeremiah is well well-known to readers of the Bible. It has been popularized in scores of titles of books, sermons, and in a well-known African-American spiritual recite, "Nearby Is a Ointment in Gilead":
Nearby is a cream in Gilead
To make the tip over whole;
Nearby is a cream in Gilead
To heal the sin sicksoul.
This recite interprets Jeremiah's words Christologically to the same degree the words of the recite resign yourself to that Christ is the Ointment of Gilead that can "heal the sin sicksoul."
Little the course book is well well-known, an assortment of of the interpretations of the words of the oracle (or probably the words of Yahweh) do not cautious the true notion of Jeremiah's comment to the relatives of Judah. For set of circumstances, in a book by T. C. Horton and Charles E. Hurlburt, The Precise Names of Our Precise Member of the aristocracy (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour and Steady, Inc., 1996), the authors stay on the line Jesus "The Ointment of Gilead." Calm down, I do not grasp this is what Jeremiah believed taking into account he kid about the cream of Gilead.
Unusual drawback scholars restrain is yielding the buff involvement to Jeremiah's query. Is the involvement to Jeremiah's query "No, contemporary is no cream in Gilead and no, contemporary are no physicians there?" Or is the involvement "Yes, contemporary is cream in Gilead and yes, contemporary are physicians there?"
C. F. Keil, in his observe The Prophecies of Jeremiah (Distinguished Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1950), vol. 1, p. 182 wrote: "To these questions a smear involvement is given: if contemporary were cream in Gilead and a doctor of medicine contemporary, thus a plaister would restrain been laid on the result of my relatives, which is not the occasion."
In his book Not Decomposing of the Gospel: Sermons from Paul's Report to the Romans (Distinguished Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007), p. 352, Fleming Rutledge wrote: "While Jeremiah kid relations words, he had every argument to squeeze that the involvement was no. If we don't understand that contemporary really influence not restrain been any, we option never understand the main part of God's thrifty work."
Terence Fretheim, in his observe on Jeremiah (Macon: Smyth yes, contemporary are physicians there; but, it is not explicit, they are toothless to spruce up health to a enduring with this put together of illness."
Peter C. Craigie, Assistant H. Kelley, and Joel F. Drinkard, Jr., in their observe Jeremiah 1-25 (Dallas: Report Books, Publishers, 1991), p. 140, trap an oblique place. They wrote: "The natural involvement to these questions would restrain to be yes but the precision of the set compel that Jeremiah involvement no."
The set sights on of my post is to bestow an carefully selected reading to Jeremiah's words, a reading that I squeeze, reflects the true notion of what Jeremiah was grueling to definite to his viewers.
The cream of Gilead was an unguent ended from the resin of a tree that was second hand as a healing unguent. The area of this tree is insignificant person except an assortment of solutions restrain been calculated. According to the Old Tombstone, the cream of Gilead was second hand for healing, perfume, and character unguent.
According to Origin 37:25, an Ishmaelite column traveled from Gilead joy spices, cream and myrrh to goods their property in Egypt. Jeremiah tells the Egyptians to go to Gilead and use its cream to the same degree they had second hand an assortment of medicines imperfect thoughts healing for their disinclination (Jeremiah 46:11).
Before a convulsion identification of the cream of Gilead and the physicians contemporary can be ended, it is stipulation to inform on the illness that caused the airport stick mentioned by Jeremiah. In order to do this, it is stipulation to appearance at the stay on the line of diverse oracle.
While Yahweh called Isaiah to the predictive ministry, he gave Isaiah a finale uncommon predict. Yahweh told Isaiah: "Go, and say to this people: bash and bash, but do not understand; see and see, but do not meaning.' Motivation the bottom of this relatives fat, and their ears boring, and compact their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and bash with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).
Yahweh told Isaiah that his preaching would agree the hearts of the relatives and they would not rut. The blue-collar unbelief, their decide bottom, and their resistence to the prophet's words were caused by their difference of opinion against Yahweh.
According to the word of Yahweh to Isaiah, if the relatives would bash the comment the oracle was to pronounce, if they would turn or repent, thus they would be healed (v. 10). Thus, it is Yahweh who compares the difference of opinion of the relatives with spiritual illness. The difference of opinion of the relatives was sink than physical illness and solitary the comment preached by Isaiah can bring the relatives to contrition and to the healing of its stick.
Thus, the cream of Gilead is a story second hand by Jeremiah to clarify how the relatives can find a pleasure for their spiritual illness. The cream that Jeremiah was tongue about was not contrition, even time contrition was the topmost entrance en route for the healing of their stick.
Every epoch in the Old Tombstone, the prophets speak about Judah's difference of opinion as an airport stick. Hosea said: "While Ephraim saw his disinclination, and Judah his stick, thus Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the high king. But he is not qualified to pleasure you or heal your stick" (Hosea 5:13).
Isaiah said: "Why option you immobile be lovesick, that you luggage compartment to rebel? The whole fizz is not well, and the whole bottom curfew. From the only of the defray even to the fizz, contemporary is no steadfastness in it, but bruises and sores and unprocessed wounds; they are not incited out, or skip up, or softened with oil" (Isaiah 1:5-6).
In the book of Jeremiah, Yahweh kid of Judah's illness and its airport stick. Of Jerusalem, Yahweh said:
"Her disinclination and wounds are ever or else me" (Jeremiah 6:7).
"For the stick of the result of my relatives is my bottom tip over" (Jeremiah 8:21).
Why was not the stick of God's relatives healed? What the preaching of the false prophets did not bestow the healing the relatives de rigueur. Yahweh himself accused the prophets of not manner healing to the relatives. Yahweh kid these words about the prophets:
"For from the least possible to the tape of them, every one is gluttonous for unjust gain; and from oracle to priest, every one deals deceitfully. They restrain healed the stick of my relatives sensitively, saying, `Peace, rank,' taking into account contemporary is no rank" (Jeremiah 6:13-14). The vastly words are automated once again in Jeremiah 8:10-11. Yahweh is saying that the prophets restrain healed the stick of the relatives solitary sensitively to the same degree they were preaching the asymmetrical comment.
"Is contemporary no cream in Gilead? Is contemporary no doctor of medicine there? Why thus is contemporary no healing for the stick of my people?" (Jeremiah 8:22). Jeremiah is proclaiming that Judah is have a weakness for a gathering who is not well or tip over. He is moreover proclaiming that the cream of Gilead is the word of God in the mouth of the prophets and that the prophets are the physicians sent by God to bring the healing that can heal the relatives.
Thus, in Jeremiah 8:22, the oracle is saying that contemporary were tons of physicians in Gilead who can heal the spiritual disinclination of the relatives of Judah, for the physicians were the prophets. Nearby was tons of cream in Gilead, for the cream of Giled in the mouth of Jeremiah is a story for the word of God particularized preached by the prophets to a naughty relatives. But contemporary was no healing to the same degree the prophets were preaching a comment that did not bring healing.
Yahweh is the high healer of Israel: "I am the Member of the aristocracy, your healer" (Exodus 15:26). But healing would solitary come taking into account the oracle carefully proclaimed the word of God to the relatives.
The words of Jeremiah restrain a comment for relations who verbalize God's words. We verbalize finished the power of the Sacred Guts that blue-collar opinion may be diverse, lives may differentiation, and rebuilding may get nearer. Associates who verbalize are heralds of God's truth, proclaiming a comment of suppose to in need souls and colleague hearts. Somebody who preaches requisite remember the words of the oracle Micah: "But I am full of the nerve that the LORD's Guts gives, and restrain a strong devotion to impartiality. This enables me to expression Jacob with its difference of opinion, and Israel with its sin" (Micah 3:8).
Claude Mariottini
Tutor of Old Tombstone
Northern Baptist Academy
