What other scriptures show God's willingness to heal after repentance and turning to Him? Isaiah 19:22—Repentance Opens the Door to Healing “And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will hear their prayers and heal them.” Key idea: God’s discipline awakens repentance; repentance invites His healing. Echoes in Israel’s History • Exodus 15:26 — “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God… I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.” • Numbers 16:46-48 — When Aaron makes atonement, “the plague was halted.” • 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 — “…if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” Voices of the Prophets • Hosea 6:1-3 — “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us… He will bind up our wounds.” • Jeremiah 30:17 — “But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD.” • Jeremiah 33:6 — “I will bring to it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.” • Isaiah 57:18-19 — “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him… ‘Peace, peace to those far and near,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will heal them.’ ” Songs of Assurance in the Psalms • Psalm 103:2-4 — “He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases.” • Psalm 107:17-20 — “Fools suffered affliction because of their rebellious ways… He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.” • Psalm 147:3 — “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Jesus: The Ultimate Expression of God’s Healing Heart • Luke 5:12-13 — A leper falls on his face: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus replies, “I am willing. Be clean,” and “immediately the leprosy left him.” • John 5:14 — After healing the man at Bethesda, Jesus warns, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” • Luke 17:15-19 — One of ten healed lepers returns to give thanks; Jesus affirms, “Your faith has made you well.” Healing Bound to Forgiveness Through the Cross • Isaiah 53:5 — “By His stripes we are healed.” • 1 Peter 2:24 — “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree… by His stripes you are healed.” Threads That Tie These Passages Together • God’s discipline aims at restoration, not destruction. • Humble turning to Him—confession, faith, obedience—removes the barrier sin creates. • Healing flows from His covenant love, fully revealed in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Across Scripture, from Egypt to the empty tomb, the pattern holds: repent, return, and the Lord who strikes also binds up, the Lord who wounds also heals. |