The theology of navels

“It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
-Proverbs 3:8

At one time in my life, I would have looked at this verse in a certain way. I would have seen healing and refreshment and said, “Ah, yes, so it is. When we turn to the Lord in times of trial, it is like healing and refreshment. He comforts us and gives to us peace. He guides us through the hard times, just as in Psalm 23:4, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.’”

That’s what I would have said. And I would have been true, but rather missing the point.

And while I love the ESV translation of the Bible (which is why I use it almost exclusively now), the ESV misses it here too.

The King James Version is a bit more literal when it says, “It shall be health to thy navel.” Navel? Yeah. Well, doesn’t that just mean it provides the body with healing, just like it says in the other versions? Well, yeah.

But the image here is not one of momentary and occasional healing, but of a feeding and provider through an umbilical cord. That image is so important to the verse, because if you don’t get that image, you’re going to miss what Solomon is saying.

I once saw the provision and healing of God as something we need in times of trouble, when our soul gets heavy and we become weary. Then we would turn to God and be drawn into Him, and He would heal our spiritual (and sometimes physical) wounds.

That is true, but it is more than that. God’s healing does not come like a meal – at certain times of day and to varying degrees – but it is rather like a mother’s provision for her unborn child. We are constantly connected to God, constantly being protected, guided, fed, and formed. So, yes, God is with us when we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but Psalm 23 never tells us that this is the ONLY time He will be with us.

So too is the next image. By “refreshment to your bones,” Solomon, I believe, is speaking of the constant circulation of blood through the marrow that keeps the bones strong. If you remove that source of life, the bone becomes brittle and breaks.

In other words, it is not that we should turn to Him in times of trouble, but “In all your ways acknowledge him” (Proverbs 3:6).

Guidance and provision come from God continuously. When we accept Jesus as Lord, we are given the Holy Spirit. Not for a moment, but for the rest of our days. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus is always making intercession for us with the Father. James 1:5 tells us we can go to the Father for wisdom.

Finally, Jesus told us this, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is truly with us always. Though He died for us on the Cross, He rose again, and lives still. He is eternal, and through Him we can live forever with Him. Repent and believe in Him, and you will find Him. He will not leave or forsake you, not even after death.