The author
was probably not thinking of a plant that might have looked like this one (see
picture of the Commiphora
gileadensis), nor its
derivative substance, but instead a person, someone even more unique than the ancient
medicine produced from this rare vegetation. Perhaps the one who first imagined
the words to “There Is a Balm In Gilead” was someone who actually handled
another plant or crop – cotton – in a region far from the place where Gilead’s
balm could be found. The healing, or at least soothing, effect of medicine like
this balm was no less necessary from one geographic area to another. And, unlike
those of the biblical era who traded for the balm from Gilead, the therapeutic substance
the writer sought more likely identified with an ancient prophet who asked
plaintively why none was found where it should have been. Perhaps the
circumstances of the writer made him feel that he was, like the prophet,
observing and living in a wounded condition among people who had no other hope
than this precious balm.
The
prophet Jeremiah certainly did not enjoy his mission as the weeping prophet,
and thus his melancholy while watching his countrymen suffer without relief
from the One who could help (see Jer. 8:22) provides a fitting backdrop for “There
Is a Balm…”. It was an answer from a suffering people many generations removed
from the Israelites, who around 600 B.C. failed to avert their own disaster. Perhaps
it was a slave in America’s Deep South in the 19th Century who
identified with the Israelites, a persecuted people. Can you imagine him in a
cotton field, certainly as someone who needed medicine frequently after a day’s
toil in the sun and yet did not receive it? After years of subjugation, maybe
he and the other slaves saw Jesus as the only way to cope with their
circumstances. Discouragement and work that must have seemed pointless except as
punishment (v.1) was undoubtedly a common theme for this people. So, don’t
focus on the visible and physical, but instead on the internal and eternal that
Jesus represents. This poet and his co-laborers knew of Peter and Paul (v.2),
yet instinctively understood that a person need not mimic them. The way to
transport oneself out of destitution was something the plantation owner could
not suppress – Jesus and the love He gives. Jesus was not only the Power to a
powerless people, but also a brother with whom beaten and scourged folks shared
stripes. Jeremiah suffered too, as he watched his people suffer centuries earlier,
and not just from a physical calamity, but also an unbridgeable spiritual
deficit. Both he and slaves over 2,500 years later knew who the Balm of Gilead is,
the One who can span the chasm between the human spirit and the Creator-God. The
sin-sickness (refrain) is especially deadly, no matter what century you inhabit. But, the God-balm is still more potent.
If you’re like
probably most people, you routinely take medicine. The human body doesn’t go for
very long without hurting, and Jeremiah’s words from so long ago underscore that
this has been true for ages. Gilead’s balm is considered a rare commodity, particularly
for combatting gastrointestinal maladies. People traded in it since the days of
Joseph and his brothers, who encountered some of these dealers (Gen. 37:25) who
had evidently learned of its value. Unlike some other hurting parts (a skin
sunburn, for example), something that is amiss in my innards cannot be as
easily managed. I need the Gilead cure that can navigate internally and do its
job. That’s even more true for the Gilead cure that Jeremiah sought. Are you
still searching for that special salve from Gilead?
See more
information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of
Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J.
Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Then
Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan,
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
Also see
background on the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Is_a_Balm_in_Gilead
See a
scientific explanation of the medicine and its source here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balm_of_Gilead
and here
Also see this link, showing all the song’s words: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/i/s/a/tisabalm.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment