Is there a Balm in Gilead?

The site of medical care in ancient Ephesus. 

Jeremiah 8:11 They dress the wound of my people

    as though it were not serious.

“Peace, peace,” they say,

    when there is no peace.

21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;

    I mourn, and horror grips me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?

    Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no healing

    for the wound of my people?

Throughout the scriptures we read references to wounds. In this case Jeremiah was concerned that the religious leaders were not caring for the deep wounds of his people. We are living in a season where there are many wounded individuals that we are encountering on a daily basis. However, there are different kinds of wounds, and each one is treated differently. Jeremiah acknowledged this in his words. He didn’t want the leaders to overlook the types of wounds that they were encountering, including the fact that some didn’t take the wounds very seriously, addressing them only with words of peace, “when there is no peace.” 

Ultimately, Jeremiah helps us to see the wound, one in which his people are crushed, and therefore, he, too is crushed. Their wound becomes his wound and he cries out for treatment. Not far from Jordan was the region of Gilead which was known for its healing creams and salves which were used for the treatment of wounds. Sadly, Gilead didn’t have the right prescription available, and there was no doctor who would respond to the cries for help. The wound would not heal for there was no treatment provided — no one responded. 

Not all wounds are alike. Some of us have encountered fresh wounds, like those you get when you cut your finger working in the kitchen. This is a messy wound and there can be a great amount of blood. The best treatment is to apply pressure and get yourself to an emergency room. This wound is sutured, bringing together the two sides so that they will knit together from top to bottom. Hopefully, when this wound heals there will be very little scarring, and for the most part you will go on with life, hardly remembering what happened. Fresh wounds and scratches are treated with bandaids, sutures, staples, and even superglue! They can be brought together quickly and the healing process can begin. 

Other people have experienced deep and chronic wounds. These are the ones that may be caused by a disease, such as diabetes, or from long-term pressure, which results in bed sores. Old wounds which have developed over a long period of time are much more difficult to treat than fresh wounds. These wounds develop deep into the skin, sometimes exposing underlying tissue and even bone. If you tried to stitch up one of these wounds, it would simply hold in the necrotic tissue and tear back open. 

Treatment of long-term, old wounds takes a whole different type of care, and it is time-consuming and painful for all involved. The old wounds have to heal from the inside out and this begins by going in and debriding, or cleaning out all infection and dead tissue. This can be painful, but it must be done if there is going to be a chance of healing. Sometimes vacuums are attached to these wounds to help keep the skin clean and fresh and to keep new infections from developing. After the wound is cleaned, it may be treated for a period of time with light therapy. Then, the wound is often packed, and this with a special type of gauze that is impregnated with salt. Finally this area is covered with a dressing, to protect the area from additional damage. This whole process takes time — and must be done on a daily basis. These kinds of wounds can take months to heal, but they can, when they receive meticulous care, day after day. 

We have friends and loved ones, especially those in the African-American community who have old, chronic wounds, which have developed after years of pressure. We cannot think that those wounds will heal with a band-aid, or even fancy suturing. If we try to find some kind of a quick-fix, we will discover that the wound will burst open and be worse than it was before. 

Is there a balm in Gilead? Is there a physician there? Jesus is our great physician and he provides a cure for all of his brothers and sisters, and that is an invitation into his mission. We are to become Jesus’ assistants in his healing process for the wounds. Is there a balm? Just as Jesus preached in his Sermon on the Mount, we are to be salt and light — we are to be the treatment for the wound — and this, on a daily basis. 

This will be a long journey for all involved, as we intentionally come back to the wound day after day, allowing for the salt and light of Christ to be administered, which will become the balm in Gilead. Only in this way is there a possibility for complete and total healing, from the inside out.