What the First Healing in the Bible Reveals
Genesis 20:17 (WEB)
“Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.”
Genesis 21:1-2 (NKJV)
“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”
In Genesis 18 Abraham is promised a son by the Lord. Abraham and Sarah had no children at the time, and in their own words, Sarah was an “old woman well past childbearing years.” However, it is in this context that God promises them a son. Sometimes God will make a healing promise to you that seems absurd and impossible given all the natural information at hand.
As the months progress after that encounter, Abraham meets Abimelech and a rather scandalous story unfolds in Genesis 20. In short, all the females in Abimelech’s households become barren. What I find most fascinating is how Abraham responds - he prays for their healing before his own wife has received the very same thing. Here, the nature of God is revealed as the first healing in the Bible takes place - God heals Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants and they all conceive and have children.
It isn’t until later, in Genesis 21, that Sarah herself would be healed, conceive, and give birth to their first son. What if a key to breakthrough in healing is not only believing God for you to be healed but for others to be healed of the same thing even when you have not experienced it yourself?
As a side note, there is a biblical interpretation tool called “The Law of First Mention” that is very helpful in understanding the gravity of this verse. In essence, the Law of First Mention says that the heart of a theological matter can be determined by the first time it is mentioned. Here, with the first healing in the Bible, we see that God wants to heal both Jew and Gentile. His will is to heal everyone, not just a select few. I do believe that in the same manner, God wants to use His people to be a conduit of healing as a means of both showing His love and power to the world, and drawing the lost unto Himself.
Reflection Questions:
Is there something you need healing for in your life that is naturally and medically impossible? Ask God what He wants to do in light of this information.
Are there others around you that you could pray for that need the same healing? Will you commit to praying for, and celebrating, healing even if you don’t see it yourself?
