Exodus 15:22-27
"Marah Carries" • 12.9.10 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study
Intro.
- The Red Sea is now behind them. There had been a miraculous display of God's power and judgment upon the Egyptian armies that pursued the people of God.
- When the Israeli's saw dead Egyptians washing up on the shore, they knew that God had won the war and that they would never have to worry about their cruel slave masters again.
- They sang deep into the night and celebrated their past, as well as their future. From there it was time to start walking toward the promised land, which is where we find them.
- The history of the people of Israel has been preserved, so that we might be confronted with stories that closely resemble situations that we might face.
- They are written for our example, given that we might walk more closely to Christ. Let's dig in.
Text
• Exodus 15:22,23 : "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah." Having looked on the map, it seems like a small jaunt down to Marah, but when you are moving 2 million people, in the hot desert sun, it does take time, especialy when you are looking for water.
- The wilderness of Shur was the farthest reach of the Egypt's kingdom. Some form of barricade or walls stood there to ward off hostile desert dwellers.
- The problem has become a lack of drinking water for the people. Whatever supplies they had brought, had been minimal, as they left Egypt with haste. Now, they have nothing left of their reserve.
- How does one actually find water out in the wilderness? I always assumed that you needed one of those trusty sticks! There are actually several ways to find water.
- There is the dig, usually around any kind of plant life. Plants can actually have water within them, such as the cactus. Sometimes the crags of rocks can collect enough dew to get a little drink.
- I read this week, that one can actually sponge the dew from a plant and drink. And if worse comes to worse, I saw the survivor man filter his own urine! There you go!
- But we are talking about finding water for a massive group of people. This would need to be an abundant source, such as a large stream.
- As they went, they found nothing. Now, let's remember a few things here. They had the presence of God with them, leading them along the way. They are not alone out there.
- God was leading them, even in that dry period. He had not left them.
- Often, when we walk with the Lord, we are prone to believe that dry spells are abnormal. We wonder: "Has God left us?" Not at all.
- However, He often allows us to walk and to deal with lack, whether it be for physical water in their lives, or blessing and favor in our own. They found no water.
- There will be times when we say the same thing. We have searched and searched and have not found what we have need of.
- Water is essential for survival. If you have nothing else, but water, you can make it. They are running on empty here, dangerously close to the edge.
- They finally come upon Marah and water is seen, but the water was too salty or what they today call "brackish." It was appropriately named for the experience.
- It must have been heartbreaking for the people of Israel, as they finally come upon water, only to discover it's non-potability.
• Exodus 15:24 : "And the people complained against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?'" : We'll see this over and over again in the life and times of Moses' tenure as leader of the people of God. The people will murmur against him over and over again.
- Why did they complain against Moses? It was God who was leading them! It was God who was moving them through the desert.
- Instead of complaining, why did they not just cry out to the Lord? Why not call for a time of prayer where they would ask the Lord to bless them and provide for them?
- They complain against Moses because that is always easier to do! Find some person, especially a leader and make them suffer!
- Instead of crying out to God, which they could easily have done, they chose to complain against Moses, not realizing that doing so was actually to complain against the Lord.
- God had chosen this trial of faith for them. Moses was thirsty as well!
- "What shall we drink Moses!? What are you going to do about this? We can't go on without water MOSES!!"
- We can complain against our spouses, our employers, our neighbors, or our situations. It's better to go straight to the Lord and cry out to Him!
• Exodus 15:25a : "So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. " : Moses does the best thing. When the complaints rise, he cries...out to God! Every time that this word is used, there is a sense of desperation surrounding it.
- "God I need you to answer me!" The leader of God's people can only lead when he is lead!
- Moses was not an independant agent, working daily to determine direction. He was working co-operatively with the Lord.
- When he cried out, the Lord answered him, this time, by showing him a tree. It's difficult to determine from the original language, just what sort of tree this was.
- Various translations have various words. Some translate it branch, log, twig, etc. The idea is that it was a part of a tree and the tree changed the bitter waters and made them sweet or pleasant.
- The tree had the affect of reversing the taste of the waters to it's exact opposite, from bitter to sweet. Is there a tree that does that?
- I read this week of a tree that could have grown in that area, that has this exact type of effect. It's called the Moringa Oleifera.
- Scientists have been studying this tree since the 70's and are currently looking to this as a viable solution for drinking water crises in Sudan and the surrounding regions.
˚ "When moringa seeds are crushed and poured into a pot or bottle of dirty water, the water turns transparent within seconds. The seeds' anti-bacterial properties can turn low, medium, and high turbidity waters into tap-water quality in an hour or two."[i]
- As we saw last week, the Lord used an east wind that blew the entire night to separate the waters of the Red Sea. Could He have used this tree or one similar? Absolutely.
- Could it have been a regular tree? Absolutely! Moses could have thrown anything in the water and God could have used it! The fact is that God chose to use a tree.
- Trees are quite important throughout the Word of God. It was at a tree in the book of Genesis where Man lost his innocence, sinned and began to die.
- It's at a tree where man will have His hope restored when Christ is crucified. And, there is a third tree that we'll find in heaven, whose leaves will be for the healing of the nations!
- From this, we can see just how vital this picture is. Let's deal with it this way: There was a real problem where drinking water was scarce. This tree, however it was used, affected change.
- His creativity and power to create change in our lives, using something that would not have occurred to us, will ever stand as a testimony to His provision in our lives.
- Speaking typically, there are a few points theologically that we might take from this passage. First, it would take a tree to reverse the affects of the bitterness that had been their lives.
- It would be the cross of Calvary that would effectively take the bitterness of our existence, the slavery that once overpowered us, and reverse it all by making it sweet.
- Only the cross of Christ, the place where love and justice meet, where sin is judged, can a person find a life where the most bitter of experiences will yield to the sweetness of the life in God.
- That is what the the Lord can do when He introduced into a life. Now, I feel that there is one more thing that we need to grab from this section.
- When Christ has come into our lives, when we have appropriated the power of the tree of redemption, sweetness needs to come from our lives.
- If our hearts have changed, then our lives and lips will prove that. I'm often surprised at how much of a challenge this can be, especially in the area of my mouth.
- There are days when it seems that only criticism, sarcasm and vitriol escape my lips! Perhaps you can relate.
- Even further, I am surprised at many who have no problem uttering language that a generation ago, would have been uttered only under extreme duress!
- The cross is meant to bring blessing and sweetness out of our lives as the rule!
- I would challenge us all to consider this point further. Is there a sweetness coming from my life? Has there been a change? Can other drink from this fountain without making a sour face?
• Exodus 15:25b,26 : "There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, 'If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.'" : God used this occasion to bring out a law, to lay down some conditions.
- There are things that they, being God's people, need to live by. What God was about to say was an ordinance for them to keep.
- It was at the waters of Marah that God proved them, allowing them to see their character. Do you realize that this is the reason that He allows us to come to Marah?
- He knows what is in our hearts. He sees our deficiencies. Unfortunately, we do not, so we need a test to reveal that to us. We need to understand that trying times reveal our true heart!
- The principle that God is about to expose to them begins with His Word.
- We would do well to heed this command as a principle for our lives. It begins with diligently heeding His voice. In the Hebrew language, there are two words of hearing, set side by side.
- It's as if Moses wrote, "Hear, Hear!" The message is always clear, that obeying God begins with giving yourself to the hearing of His Word.
- We do this corporately twice a week, both in the Old Testament, as well as the New. It's vital for us to do this together. But this is not enough.
- We need to consistently feed on the word of God individually. The importance of taking in His word daily, meditating on what has been written, cannot be understated.
- We are to hear His voice and then do what is right in His sight. There is no mystery here. To hear and then not do, is the same as not having heard at all.
- What is God speaking to you about this week? Have you clearly discerned His Word for your life? Have you done what He has told you? Have you committed to making a change?
- I think that it's interesting that what we hear and what we are called to do is "right in His sight." That is an elemental concept.
- We are called to do things that He considers right. Frankly, they may not make sense to us. They may actually go against our own natural instincts. Do what He says!
- These people, the children of Israel, were to live by every law and statute. If they would do this, God would keep them healthy!
- God's laws, especially those concerning their diet and hygienic practices, did in fact keep them from the bacteria of the world.
- Several of the nations that surrounded Israel faced great dangers from disease because they did not have those same laws. God's law kept them from self-destruction.
- How true this is for our lives! We do not relate to God based on the law of the Old Testament. Dietary, hygienic or sacrificial laws have been fulfilled in Christ.
- However, we do follow the law of love! We do follow as law, the principles of God's Word. We consider things written in the Word to be laws for our hearts.
- When we follow the Word of God, we find that we don't get the diseases of the world! We are kept safe from what often ails them.
- Because He set out these laws, because of His foreknowledge and wisdom, He had become their healer, their physician, by preventative measures!
• Exodus 15:27 : "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters." : After their time is Marah, after their testing, came a time of refreshment.
- They came to Elim. The word "Elim" means "Trees." Trees of course need water and in this place, there were 12 wells of water!
- It was a place of abundance that happened out of the place of desperation and lack. It had taken a miracle before just to sustain them. This place was an oasis!
- It would have take a miracle for them to exhaust the resources of Elim!
- I can't help but take note of the principle. Testing has occurred, God has shown them their need for Him and instructed them in how they should live.
- The time was severe and difficult and their hearts have been stretched. Now, God leads them a short distance away to this wonderful place of rest.
- Right around the corner, there is blessing waiting for you. There are seasons of time when God just pours out blessing upon you.
- When we have to dwell in Marah, we never believe that we'll ever leave. After awhile, we do not believe that anything else exists, but the truth is that Elim is our next stop.
- Ayun Musa, the modern name for Elim, still boasts of 12 wells of water today.
- There were 12 wells. One for each tribe. And there were 70 palm trees. One for each elder. God had brought to them to a great place.
- They camped there for some time, many believe that it was about a month.
Conclusion
- God's leading in our lives is a mysterious thing. There will be dry seasons in your life and there will be times of desperation.
- God is allowing you to see something of your own character in those moments. Cry out to Him! Move as close as you can to His heart!
- When He has proven you, know that He also plans times of blessing. He plans for tests and He plans for rest. Keep following Him wherever He leads!
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