I know that the words above sound like complete heresy to any student of the Bible; but before we dismiss the phrase above, let’s examine for a moment the Hebrew to English translations of the last part of Isaiah 53:5. Our English translations usually say something like this – “…and by his stripes we are healed.”
I have discovered two different translations of that phrase in two separate Hebrew to English resource books. The first translation is written by Rabbi J. H. Hertz who edited The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. He writes the last part of Isaiah 53:5 like this – “…in union with him, we heal us.” The first time I read this, I thought that it must be some kind of mistranslation.
More recently, I was shown a different translation of the last part of Isaiah’s scripture. It’s a very similar translation of these words coming from the Jewish Study Bible, Sinai Publishers, Tel Aviv, Israel. These folks translate the last part in Isaiah 53:5 like this – “…the bond of our peace (or shalom) is upon him and in his fellowship, we shall heal ourselves.” It’s the exact same idea, but only in slightly different words.
According to these two translations of the Hebrew, we have a part to play in receiving healing from God. The Rabbi’s translation says, “in union with him, we heal us.” The Jewish Study Bible says, “in his fellowship, we shall heal ourselves.” These are two very similar translations.
We are called to be “in union with him” and “in his fellowship” so that we can get healed and delivered. What do these phrases mean? We are called to be in friendship with him and in partnership with him. The relationship comes first before we can receive our healing by faith in God’s word. After we get into union with him and into a partnership with him, then we can heal ourselves with what he has already done.
First, we are called to believe Isaiah’s healing account of what our Lord Jesus did while he was on the cross. Second, then we use and apply Isaiah’s healing words to our lives and receive our healing and deliverance. We get healed by believing and acting on the words recorded for us in Isaiah 53:4 and 5.
Mary
