“... wahásìrötîmaHálâmiqqirBeºkä”(Exod 23:25) and John 15:7: A Contextual Analysis

Abstract

Psychologists have proven the instinct of self-defense as the strongest instinct in the human person. This informs why the desire for good health is utmost in every person. Since sickness has remained a challenging experience in the life of the human person, recourse to the invisible and yet believably omnipotent being is the only option to actualize this desire especially in the face of the reality of ill health. The problem is that most often, the fulfilment appears to be in breach. In Exod 23:25, the promise is to remove sickness from our midst. John 15:7 teaches that if we abide in Him and His word abides in us, we shall receive whatever we ask. Interestingly, there is no exclusivity in what we may ask and assuredly receive. Experience has proven the opposite and, in some cases even after administering the sacrament of the sick. This paper concerns itself primarily with an exploration into the exegetical meaning of the texts. Attention is given to the stipulations in the texts as preconditions to fulfilment. A section is devoted to theological abstraction on the practicality of the texts in the present-day dispensation.