The condition of Judah and Jerusalem was in an awful state. Every facet of society, all those who held high offices, even the common populace enjoyed their sin. Jeremiah cried out in favor of his people for some healing. Balm with the sap of the tree that grew in the area of Gilead. It was considered medicinal. The side of the tree was pierced so that the balm could flow for future application. It was highly valued and was exported to other nations for their use.
The contrast before us in this text is that the nation was bankrupt in every sense of the word while at the same time in need of a spiritual cure. The sin cited by the prophet is that to him the cure of the people’s needs was missing. He wondered where is that cure and where are the physicians that would apply it to the wounds of the nation.
Jeremiah was alluding to the poor health of his nation that was in ruin. He used the common practice of applying balm as a way to ask if there was any method by which his people could be healed. Referring to the physician in this text he asked if there was not someone who could lead the people from despair to hope.
Symbolically, the balm can easily be applied as a symbol of Christ. The stabbing of the tree is like that of the piercing of our Lord on the cross. The sap from the tree can easily refer to the blood of Christ. Through Christ our sinful nature is healed. Yet, most people turn away from the healing of their souls as did those in the time of Jeremiah. In the context of our Scripture sin is considered a disease that needed to be healed. Balm (Jesus) is the only one who can do that.
The calamities of his doomed nation were overhanging all of the prophecies that he offered to warn the people. Think about Christianity that has become diluted from what Christ established through his sacrifice. Today religion does not offer spiritual healing. It offers social reform. Applying this verse to ourselves gives us two options. Either we continue as we have with a church system where Christ is standing outside the door asking to enter. (Revelation 3:20) The other option is to answer the question Jeremiah propose. Certainly, the world has no cure for its own miseries. The balm (Christ) has brought healing to sin sick souls. He who receives Christ as Savior has the cure he needs when he faces eternity.
Christian Writer 