“Adonai began oppressing the people of Ashdod;
he ravaged them, striking Ashdod and its
surrounding area with tumors.”
1 Samuel 5:6
So what in the heck were these “tumors” that Adonai inflicted upon the Philistines?
The original Hebrew is OPHALIM or עפלים.
It literally means “swellings”.
The root word is OPHEL or עֹפֶל and means a “mound” or “hill”.
When I visited the Old City of Jerusalem, I noticed the City of David was built on a steep slope.
And Mount Moriah was at the top of that hill.
In case you don’t know, Mount Moriah was where the Temple was built.
Now here’s what’s interesting.
There was a mound in between the City of David and the Temple Mount.
Have any idea what that was called?
It was called the OPHEL or the mound.
So based on this description, we know the “tumors” the Lord inflicted upon the Philistines were some kind of painful swellings or mounds that broke out on their bodies.
OUCH!!!
Here’s another piece off linguistic history pertaining to this word you might find interesting.
Over time, the word OPHEL came to be used to refer that part of our bodies that looks a pair of twin mounds.
In other words, our buttocks.
Apparently, there is another formal word for “buttocks”…
But its use was considered a bit vulgar…
So they chose to go with OPHEL instead.
Onward…
Now the scholarly opinion is the Lord basically inflicted the Philistines with hemorrhoids.
And I think some English Bible translations will use that exact word.
Either way, the Lord made sure the Philistines were very uncomfortable because of His Ark in their territory.
This reminds me of a time when I was a university student and went through a season when I suffered from painful little boils that would break out on my calves, thighs and even my OPHEL (buttocks).
I think the cause was just a lot of stress in my life at that time.
I’d go to the doctor and they’d either give me medicine that would over a couple of days burn them out of my body…
Or they’d take a knife and surgically remove them.
The surgical removal was a pain in the rear end (sometimes literally!).
However, suffering from these boils turned out to be a blessing in my life.
Because it was during this time that I learned to trust God to heal my body.
It wasn’t until I fully trusted Him to heal me that the boils cleared up and never came back.
More recently, I’ve experienced His healing with blood sugar issues I was struggling with…
And when I say “was” I mean exactly that!
In the PAST TENSE…
Cause it’s no longer a problem.
About a year ago I visited the doctor where I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic and given medication to regulate my blood sugars (something similar to Metformim I guess).
However, I only took that medication for a week…
Because through prayer and some strategic diet adjustments, I was able to completely reverse my condition in 3 months.
And I’ve got the lab work to prove it homies!
Another thing I sooooo greatly praise Adonai for is being given the wisdom to sidestep the invasive procedure that in recent years was foisted upon mankind in response to some crazy virus that apparently was created in some lab in an Asian country.
There was a lot of pressure both personal and professional to succumb to this procedure…
And I almost fell for it…
But I felt the Lord saying “Hell NO! Stay away from the thing!”…
He also placed some Godly friends in my midst (Thanks guys! You know who you are!) who helped me stand strong in the face of so much pressure and brainwashing that was going on at the time.
And now there’s a ton of news coming out (even in mainstream media) that I was so so so right…
But I don’t need the news to tell me that…
Because when your faith in God is so strong…
All you need is Him…
And His Holy Spirit dwelling within you to tell you what’s right!
And that’s your takeaway for today.
Medicine and advanced technology have their place…
So don’t get me wrong.
I believe at times, God will use doctors and medicine to heal us…
I ain’t no Christian scientist who believes one should never visit doctors or take medication of any kind.
However, I think it’s important to remember that at the end of the day…
It is God and ONLY God who can heal you.
And there’s a stronger connection between your spiritual struggles and physical illness than you may have realized.
Don’t forget the Lord created you…
And He knows your body far better than any doctor anywhere in the world could ever hope to.
So to close, I leave you with these verses from the Word of the Creator:
“He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!”
-Psalms 103:3-5
So very true, and so very often ignored by Christianity, which so very often misguides people by presenting Yeshua as the source of our healing, the source of our forgiveness, and as God, himself.
Yeshua never took credit for his healing (OK, maybe that one time in Matthew 8:3 when he said he was willing to clean the man with tzara’at, but just that once) and always gave credit for everything he was able to do in the trust people had in him as the Messiah, which was the same as saying their trust in God to fulfill his promises.
The Bible is clear that when Yeshua healed or drove out demons, the people didn’t praise him but gave glory and praise to God.
Yeshua is the instrument of God’s power, not the source of it.
Yup! So sick of the trinitarian terrorism.
Love your last statement: “Yeshua is the instrument of God’s power, not the source of it.”
That sums up things nicely I think!
Great testimony about the swellings and the blood sugar issues. Thanks for strengthening my faith and reminding me of the truth, “there’s a stronger connection between your spiritual struggles and physical illness than you may have realized.”
Amen Eric. Thanks for reading.
Hi, in this post “Either way, the Lord made sure the Philistines were very comfortable” should have been writtien as “very UNcomfortable”
Hello there,
Thanks for catching that for me. I fixed it.
I wish you a very blessed week!
Shavua Tov!
You too! The first post I read on this website was E4-1 (God turns Moses’ staff into a SERPENT-the official symbol of Egyptian royalty); I’ve read every post from then up to this point.
It’s been quite the bible edification & very useful. I’m not sure if anyone’s said this to you but keep up the good work!
Also, it would be good if you could add a feature on this website for those who want to contact you without leaving posts.
Hey, thanks for the encouragement. It’s warm feedback like this that keeps me going. I just sent you a private email. Be blessed!