THE LORD REVEALED AS ISRAEL’S HEALER
Part 12
Exo. 15:23-27
Morning Meditation 11/13/16
Verses 22-27 say, “ . . . and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.”
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur.” This was on the coast of the Red Sea on their road to Mount Sinai. Israel is going to have a lot of desert life for the next forty years. However, they do not know it at this point. Moses has told them of a land flowing with milk and honey. When they first arrived in the desert of Shur, which was when they climbed up out of the dry sea bed, they were caught up in praise to God and their minds were occupied with praise for the great miracle of the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. But when they came down from the mighty wings of praise and set their feet on the ground, they noticed it was desert sand, a lot of sand. Everywhere they looked they saw mountains of sand.. In fact, it was not too much different from Egypt. On our recent trip to Cairo, Egypt one of the things I observed was that it is a desert watered by the Nile. If it were not for the Nile, it would also be an arid desert. So far this deliverance has been a deliverance from a scenery to a scenery of the SAME SORT. Israel got hung between Egypt and Canaan, and frankly, they did not celebrate the Passover (the celebration of their salvation) but one time in the wilderness. One time in forty years. I mean, after all, what was there to celebrate? They were delivered from the garlic and onions that they liked and they ate manna for breakfast, dinner, and supper for forty years without a change in diet! Hey, I like banana puddin’ but not for breakfast, dinner and supper for forty years!
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.” The three days here is interesting. Exo. 3:18, “And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.” Here we are three days journey into the wilderness. This is what God told Moses to tell Pharaoh. Now they are here. It has been a long haul. Moses has requested this many times. God brought many judgments upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians because they refused the request. Now they have arrived. Guess what this place represents. THE PLACE OF WORSHIP. Israel desperately needs water. They are thirsty, very thirsty. And they came to Marah and here is water. They filled their canteens. But when they lifted them to their mouths, and took their first swallow, they found themselves spitting all over the place. They could not drink the water for it was bitter. It was just too bitter to drink. The word “bitter” means “bitterness” and is used to describe the taste of water or food. This is an awesome disappointment. They have legitimate needs. God has committed Himself to taking care of this Nation. They have a need and they are in the place of worship and there is nothing but bitterness.
When Israel drinks of the water and tastes its bitterness, they are simply drinking of the reflection of their own lives. They are a bitter people. It will come out in the next verse. God knows how bitter the circumstance of Egypt has made them. Israel is unaware of the “root of bitterness” that has become a part of their lives so that they just accept it as normal. But God intends to be the Great Physician and the healer that goes to the source of the problem. So He just delays His supply, allows them to respond the way bitter human nature responds, and it spills out of them as naturally as the river Nile flows between its banks. Verse 24 says, “And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?” The word “murmuring” means “to show oneself obstinate, to be stubborn, from the idea of remaining and persisting, taken in a bad sense; hence to murmur, to complain..” The idea in this definition of “remaining” means that they complained continuously. It is also a passive voice verb which means they did this because of the absence of good drinking water. They definitely had a need but no cause for complaint. It is time to pray!!! Prayer is the way FAITH handles a genuine need. God would have welcomed a nation on its knees. But He will eventually judge this nation for their murmuring. God is not pleased with murmurers.
Verse 25 says, “And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.” The word “cried” means “to cry out in distress.” Moses realized the need for water. He never justified the “murmurings” of the people but he probably recognized a genuine need. So he cried out in desperation for this need to be met. Moses is a man of faith. He responded to the situation correctly. When Moses had prayed our verse says, “ . . . and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet . . .” The waters along with its bitterness represents what the Jews were by nature. I am sure the Jews did not get this lesson. But it illustrates this truth so completely that it is obvious that this is what God intended to teach here. The tree represents the cross. When the tree was cast into the waters according to the direction of the LORD, the waters became sweet. Is there hope for those who are eaten up with the bitterness of this life? Yes, but only at the cross. The cross (the gospel) is the only thing that will turn the bitterness of the fallen life of Adam into drinkable waters. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (for others to drink)” (John 7:37-38). These are the waters that the tree made sweet. And those who live at the cross have rivers of living water flowing from them. Not rivers of murmurings.
Our text says, “ . . . there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.” Now I don’t agree with most of the commentaries in their attempt to explain this passage. I am not criticizing them. They have taught me so many good things. But I must depart at this point. When a man is carrying a glass full of water, full to the brim, and you bump him, it is going to spill. It will do it every time. Israel was full of themselves. They had been in a pity party over their slavery for longer than the people that were now alive could remember. When a man is in a pity party, he is only thinking of himself. If you bump him, he will spill all over the place. Somebody will need to mop! The LORD bumped Israel and they spilled. Our verse says that the LORD proved them. What did He prove? He proved that they were all He claimed they were, i.e., sinners beyond the hope of self help. He did not choose them because they were a great people or a righteous people. He redeemed them in spite of what they were. This is GRACE. Grace is Jesus getting what I deserve (the cross) and me getting what He deserves (Heaven and all that goes with it).
I have no doubt there were some things that the LORD said to these people that is not recorded here. I say this because of the words, “. . . there he made for them a statute and an ordinance . . .” We are not told what it was. I believe it had to do with an improper response to trials. “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (vs. 26). Here we have the promise of the prevention of disease. It is to be conditioned on obedience. The LORD says, “ . . . for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” The word “healeth” translates “rapha” and means, “to make healthy.” How had He healed them on this occasion? As they looked into the waters they saw themselves as ungrateful, bitter, delivered people whose nature remained the same as in Egypt. When they drank they had to spit it out because of the bitterness. It was undrinkable. And if you were to attempt to drink from their lives, there would only be bitterness flowing from them. They continued to complain. Moses cried out to the LORD and He showed him a TREE and told him to cast it into the waters and promised that this would make the bitter waters sweet. He obeyed the LORD and the waters were made sweet. God heals the bitterness but He does it with a tree.
We do not get rid of the bitterness that is a part of our old sin nature even though we are under the blood of the Passover Lamb. When we discover the bitterness, we must go to the tree (the cross) and cast it into the waters. They will be made sweet. I find many of my brothers and sisters who are saved, and yet full of bitterness over some past offence, either drinking the bitter waters because they have become accustomed to the taste, or they are trying to build their own water filtering system to make the water palatable. There is a better way. The LORD said, “I will heal you.” But you must do what I say. First, you must reckon yourselves dead to the past (Rom 6). You must forgive those who have made you bitter. Second, you must forgive yourself and forget what God has forgotten, i.e., your sins.. Don’t dig up the past. Forget it and look unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. The only alternative to allowing God to heal you is to choose to wallow in your own self pity and make everyone around you miserable the rest of your life. NOT A GOOD CHOICE!
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
