The voice of prophet Jeremiah to the exilic Jews rang in this manner, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved. Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?”
These haunting yet grilling statements from Jeremiah 8:20-22 cannot simply be answered without knowing its historical context. Gilead was a region under the territory of Israel and was known for balm that heals almost every physical malady. People from afar would travel all the way just to buy this precious healing medicine. The Israelites then, were known for trading this famous brand of balm to other neighbouring nations.
Now, the pressing question of the prophet, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” is a rhetorical one in seeking to answer as to why the traders or possessor of this “well-known healing balm” be so sick and unhealthy themselves? It also delves much deeper into understanding a spiritual point as to “Why the people of God with the book of God’s law were so spiritually sick and sinful?”
This description gives a light into our present Naga situation. What have gone so wrong with us? Do we not possess the healing balm that cures every disease of sins and divisions in our society? Do we not have enough Christians to diagnose our own illnesses applying the principles of God’s book? Whom do we blame? It is not ‘them’ but ‘us’ who is erupting disorder in our own land! “Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has removed the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares.”Let’s admit it: “We’ve done wrong! We’ve all got our hands dirty!” Blame game is a direct result of sin and guilt before a holy God. Primarily, we have not sinned against one another but God Himself. We have demoted and destroyed His reputation. We let loose our ‘God-given identity’ before our own inherent evils.
The people’s expectations of goodness and peace are replaced with terror on every side. We are indeed religious or say, very religious but that did not restrain or transform us. We sought for waters in our own broken cisterns that failed to satisfy our thirsts. The thirsts for greed, money, power, idolatry and worldly pleasures has blinded us and left us emptier and wanting. We have forsaken the spring of living water. We have turned our backs to God and not our faces yet when we’re in trouble, we say, ‘Come and save us!’ It is nothing but a pure façade of what should be real. Our cry is not real as it arises only in the need of the moment. God has become for us a help-mate in dire need, not the real deal. Therefore, the possessor of the healing balm is now in pain and anguish.
The actual description of the above paragraph is indirectly quoted from the mouth of prophet Jeremiah to our context. The exilic period of the Jews extended for 70 years under the rule of the Babylonian empire. It was a humbling experience for this tiny Jewish nation to retrospect their own sins and failures to obey the God of their fathers. As we see it, what could be worse than our present situation now? We shouldn’t ask for more! It’s time that the government officials humble before God and seek forgiveness for their own sins and the sins of the people they govern! It’s time the Churches cry for forgiveness in failing to uphold the name of God’s holy name! It’s time we all say, “We are guilty.”
Prayer: May the healing balm of God’s word heal our people and restore the dividing walls of the sins of hatred and division within our God-given land.
Vebu Khamo Seoul Christian University
