Bitter Waters of Marah

Let’s look at a passage about the Israelites. The people had just been saved from the army of Pharaoh by God. He had miraculously led them through the water to safety. (Of course you all know that story!) That’s where we pick up the story.

Exodus 15:22-26

22 Then Moses led 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.

23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. (Which means bitterness, obviously.)

24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

They had just had too much water, and now they have the wrong kind of water!

The word grumbled is the Hebrew word LUWN, meaning to obstinately complain, and it comes from word meaning to stay stubbornly in place.

Things weren’t going exactly like they wanted, so they had bitter disappointment. Remember what these people had seen! They had seen all the plagues God sent on the Egyptians, and then had seen God PART THE RED SEA! Immediately after the Red Sea was parted, they sang the song of Moses, and part of it was:

Exodus 15:13

13 "In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;

In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.

How did they go from that faith that God had led them out and redeemed them, to stubbornly complaining about the water? Where’s the faith? It always makes me feel better to study this group of people on this journey, because I am sometimes guilty of taking for granted all that God has done for me. I have seen God come through for me (and so have you, {{name}}!); but they had seen unbelievable miracles, and still didn’t trust God! But of course, God still rescues them.

25 Then he (Moses) cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.

26 And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."

God had sent them to the wilderness for a test; which they failed because of bitterness.

God’s purpose in this experience is to manifest the weakness of God’s people and their failure under pressure; therefore to magnify the power of the One who brought them there.

One other interesting principle about this passage: Think how they felt when they first saw the water that they had been looking for. They thought they had exactly what they needed - water - but it turned out to be bitter! What are you looking for to make you happy? Money, good friends, happy family? Did you ever get what you thought you wanted and have it turn out to be bitter? Don’t be like the Israelites! Only what God provides for you can really make you happy!

Notice also that the solution was not provided for people who were good, but for grumblers, complainers, and SINNERS!

I hope everyone gets the analogy here to the cross. Tree = Cross = God’s solution to sin and bitterness!

The tree was the solution that none of them deserved; just like the Cross of Jesus Christ is our solution that none of us deserve!