WALKING THROUGH EXODUS - HOW THE BITTER BECOMES SWEET
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
While studying the Exodus it has become
very clear that the Wilderness of Shur is a most important location for
determining the exodus route. The
scriptures in Exodus tell us; “after crossing the Red Sea Moses led the people
to the Desert of Shur.”
That one simple little statement has
stood the world’s scholars and translators on their heads. It has caused great confusion among the wise
and educated masses. It has turned over
some apple carts and made some people rethink the whole original route of the
Exodus as it is traditionally told. Some have
determined a new location for Mt. Sinai because of this. So
many scholars have endlessly debated this subject, yet if you look at the scriptures recorded you will probably conclude along with everyone else that it all comes down to starting out by knowing precisely where
the Wilderness of Shur is located. This
location is one of only a few KNOWN places on the list of 50 Exodus stops
mentioned in the scriptures. The places
named that we can KNOW are Goshen/Ramses, Wilderness of Shur, Ezion Geber and
Mt. Nemo.
Shur is the location mentioned several times in past studies of this blog; such as when we studied the flight of Hagar from Sarai where the Angel of The LORD found her by the fountain in the desert. If you want to go back to review that lesson here is the link: http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2015_02_10_archive.html.
In years after our current story took place, the location of Shur is also mentioned as the place where Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah.
Marah is located in the "Wilderness of Shur."
Looking back into the pages of history before the crossing of The Red Sea, it seems that the Wilderness of Shur was the place where Ishmael had settled in the transjordan and modern Saudi Arabia.
Shur which was known as Ishmael's home turf, was near Midian of old, which is also in modern day Saudi Arabia.
I’m not ready to go into the debate
about whether the old traditional locations are correct or the new supposed
locations are more accurate. I’ll let
you do your own research and study on that subject; though I do have many of my
own thoughts and opinions.
We are only here to unfold the story, where ever
it happened; so excuse me if anything seems slightly not accurate with
geography in any of these lessons, because it all depends on who you listen to
and follow and what they think is accurate.
For the purpose of this study, I
am simply recording the events that happened from the scriptures I have read in Exodus, and stating what I think it all means to us
today. It is not my intention to do any
archaeological discovery. I will use what
seems most accurate to me, but I encourage you to do your homework too. For the moment, it is my simple intention
to stay with the scriptures whenever I can and not move apart from them.
Just keep in mind that The Children of
Israel traveled through the desert of Shur for three days and three
nights. Does anything about that time
frame sound familiar? That was exactly
how long it took for Jesus Christ to resurrect from the grave. It really puts your mind to thinking about
how the people of God were being resurrected into a new life. Right before they walked to Shur they had
been singing a victory song and dancing in celebration of the physical freedom
that they had received.
They were physically free, yet; were
they spiritually free?
How long can a
person who still has the mentality of a slave in their heart enjoy their
freedom?
God still had some work to do
with these people as He was forming them into a nation.
He had some spiritual work to do now that the physical work had been
accomplished. They had moved into
freedom with their bodies; but could they make the journey with their minds and
hearts?
We can build huge buildings and go to them and sit in praise and worship. We have the freedom to do this, and our bodies are able to be there; but are we always present with our minds, our hearts and our souls? Are we looking for God or just wanting something "different" to do? God inhabits the praises of His people. When you go to a place of public worship; do not go just to see what is there. Do not go just to be with your friends and neighbors or to meet new people. It is not a social function; it is a time of worship. Do not go to hear what a man will tell you. Men will always disappoint you. Go simply to listen to what GOD has to say. Do not go to be entertained. Go to worship God with your whole heart. That is the only true worship. Whether you are in a public place that is considered sacred by many, or in your own closet with the door closed inside your own home; worship can only happen when you truly want to approach God with your whole heart. That is healthy, healed worship. The people of Israel needed for their worship to be healthy and to be healed. They were sick and needy in spirit. Jesus called this "poor in spirit." They no longer knew how to approach God. What a sad state for the ancestors of Abraham.
At the end of the three days they came
to Marah and they were very thirsty and they were hoping to find fresh water there.
Here again is some sketchy
geography. The exact location of Marah is not certain. The places they traveled after Marah, Etham,
Shur and Elim are not certain either.
Where these places are located is heavily dependent on the correct
location of Mount Sinai, and there are two, if not more, suggestions as to where that location exists.
Traditionally
Sinai was equated with one of the mountains at the south of the Sinai Peninsula
which would lead you to conclude that Marah was at Ain Hawarah (where it is thought that Hagar stopped in her flight from Sarai http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2014/12/come-as-child-lesson-46-who-can-know.html)
at a salty spring about 47 miles southeast of Suez.
However; as I mentioned earlier, this
place can be debated. It seems a
majority of scholars and religious leaders believe that the traditional
location of Sinai is inaccurate. They
suggest an alternative with Sinai being in the north and center of the Sinai
Peninsula in the Hejaz, in north eastern Arabah. This would make the location of Marah far to
the southeast of Suez, and that would be a substantial detour from the route
the Israelites had taken so far. This
fact has led some scholars to propose Ain Naba as Marah, which is a brackish
fountain located 10 miles southeast of Suez.
Others have proposed that Marah is located at a place called The Small Bitter Lake, about 20 miles north of Suez.
Whatever the location; we ARE sure about
the name of the place!. Marah earned its name from its
reputation. Marah means “bitter.” The water of Marah was so bitter the thirsty people could
not drink it.
They had been in the desert for a long
time, traveling in the hot sun. They desperately needed water to survive. They finally
came to some water (they must have been worried they would not find water in
time before their death) and when they did find it; the water taste so bad that they could not drink it!
Some people think the water of Marah
contained salt. Salt would only make
very thirsty people more thirsty! The
people were very thirsty by now and so they grumbled against Moses. They kept
asking “What are we to drink?”
I can’t help but feel sorry for Moses in
these circumstances. He must have felt like a glorified babysitter! By following God’s
orders, he had led them out of slavery!
He led them through the Red Sea under a miracle from God! He had conveniently placed them under the
cloud and the pillar of fire by asking the LORD to go with them so that they
would always know where God wanted them to be; but every time some little thing went wrong; instead of being thankful for Moses and his excellent leadership;
they complained! Now they are complaining
about not being able to drink the water at Marah because it was bitter and it
taste bad to them. These people were
physically liberated; but they had a long way to go spiritually!
Moses seemed to be spiritually in tune
to God however, so Moses cries out to God and God shows him a piece of wood. Again, I am reminded of the cross and Jesus saying "I Thirst!" He was given vinegar to drink, there was no sweet water at the cross either. God never asks more of us than He has done Himself.
Before I thought about this incident of the cross, this piece
of wood laying beside the water (or possibly even a tree growing within the water) struck me as an odd thing for Moses to be needing.
How on
earth could Moses use a simple piece of wood?
Well, it was just the same as the time when he used that wooden staff that he held in his hands to bring the plagues of Egypt and also when he stretched that staff of wood across
the sea and it opened up and provided a way where there was no way. Each time something made of wood containing the power of God paved the way to freedom and provided the needs of the people. Of course, it was only because God put the power in the wood. It was just the same with Noah's ark. It was just the same with The Ark of The Covenant. It was just the same with a wooden cross on the hills of Calvary. God was and still is the power!
Moses knew the wood for either purpose was nothing but wood unless God was the power behind the wood! God had shown and supplied Moses with the wood. Moses mustered up all the faith he had and took that piece of wood provided by God
and used it to obtain water when it seemed that there was no water.
This word "wood" as it is translated in many passages is called "a tree." Moses threw the "tree" into the water and it became sweet instead of bitter. Many believe that tree might have been a mangrove tree. The mangrove tree has the capacity to extract salt from sea water. Even if this were true though, the process of extraction usually takes days or at least hours. It seems that the water was instantly changed. God provided the change; even if the tree had the capacity to do so in the long run. God interjected Himself into the power of the tree, and the water was turned from bitter to sweet. It was said that the adding in of the mangrove tree healed the waters at Marah. This healing perfectly mirrored God's words of healing to the people as they stood by the water at Marah; God said to them: "I AM the LORD who heals you."
So how did God make the bitter water become sweet?
It matters here that we remember the fact that God used a tree. The scriptures do not elaborate on this point. A lot is left to your imagination. God often does that to us. He wants to see if we will pursue the things which He has done. When we do; we are deeply rewarded; we find great hidden treasures!
When you look at the Hebraic
translations of the scriptures, and when you read the verses given in Exodus 15; you are simply told that God
showed Moses a tree.
A tree!
The only other thing we can notice about the tree, was that it provided healing.
What does this mean?
Many others, like me, have instantly thought of the cross that was formed from a
tree, and that IS the final symbolic tree that resulted at the end of the story. It is true and a very worthy thing to
conclude; but first we must go back to the beginning of the story and think of Torah, because the scriptures as well as
the One that gave his life on that very tree, say; that Torah is The Tree of Life.
It was as if God was shouting out "THROW IN THE TORAH MOSES!"
The Torah was the tree that brought healing to the people!
By looking at how the tree healed the waters at Marah, the people were getting their first glimpse at Torah.
Most of you already know that the Torah is the record of the words of the law written down in the first five books of the bible that were dictated by God to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Few actually think about the fact that other men had been given pieces of this message in the past too. That is often forgotten and overlooked. Noah, for example; knew God's laws. Abraham knew God's laws. Isaac knew God's laws. Joseph knew God's laws. They had all kept them and honored them in their lives; because in their childhood they had memorized the words of the unwritten Torah.
There is a written form of Torah, and an oral form of Torah. Long before Moses came to live in this world, the important mysteries contained in the Torah had been memorized by God's people and the ancestors of Abraham. Remember Isaac being sent to school at Mt. Moriah? This was the school formed by Seth (Son of Noah) who taught the mysteries of God. These words were much LATER written down by Moses into the five books that we now call Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Mostly they contain the laws of God given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. This is part of the story which we have yet to study; but Moses wrote what God instructed, and what God instructed had already been studied and passed down through generations before the people went into slavery.
Why is it that God shows them this now? Moses hasn’t yet climbed up to Mount Sinai to
receive the Torah from God; but perhaps here at Marah, Moses and the people
begin to get a glimpse of it!
Do you remember another person who got a very good glimpse? I must refer you back to another lesson in an earlier blog: Remember how Jacob limped out of Peniel? It was because he had seen the face of God and lived! Jacob got a glimpse! http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2015_09_03_archive.html
Why would this be happening here and now in this scene at Marah? Why would this moment at Marah become the first glimpse that the people
have of the Torah, and just how is the Torah known as The Tree of Life anyway?
We must stop a moment and look back.
Remember how Joseph was sold into slavery to
the descendents of Ishmael? Remember
that is how he came to be Potipher’s slave and how he eventually became
powerful as a leader in Egypt? Remember
that is how the ancestors of Abraham, Jacob/Israel and all of his sons came to live in
Egypt? They were following Joseph. For so long the ancestors of Abraham had been blessed
because God had protected Joseph, and through him God had helped all of them to
thrive. 400 years had passed since that
time; and these things had been forgotten! They had become slaves in a foreign land who worshiped foreign and
false gods. The teachings of the God of
Abraham had been pushed aside, except by a few who had memorized the old ways and
passed them on, but had no opportunity to actually live them out, since they were bound in slavery. Even these few had no power or way of carrying out the things
of God in a pagan land.
The ancestors of Abraham had been
overcome by others who did not know or care for their God. Long after the death of Joseph, the ways of God
handed down from Noah had become less and less significant in the lives of
these Israelites as they lived out their hard-working,tortured lives, serving
day-in and day-out, a pagan culture of totally different people who did not
believe in their God.
Most of these Hebraic people
still had the concept of The God of Abraham; but they had lost the teachings to another culture's teachings. Their day-to-day lives had been rearranged and planned out for them by others for so long that they did not know where or how to start to honor God in their
freedom.
Way back in history, God had warned them to always guard and keep
His words and His ways. They had not done this. Even though
faithful Abraham had been so careful to do this, and to teach his sons to do
this; by now enough generations had passed and enough pressure from a pagan
culture has happened; that they had forgotten a lot of the basics. God had to teach them all over again!
Many think God started this teaching of the people again at Sinai; but actually,
He started at Marah. The ways of God are layered and cumulative. The basic concepts of living a Godly life are built up one step at a time. It is a long process. A simple man’s heart cannot absorb the concepts of a godly life all
at once; no matter how much he intends to do so. It is a long, often slow process; a time period of
transformation that is always going forward.
God created us in this way so that we can learn through our experiences. He shows us only what we can handle and only when He knows we
can absorb it. He lets that sink into our hearts, our minds and souls; then He shows us a little more of the whole picture until
we begin to get it all. Even then; we
can’t get it all!
We will never know all
of the mysteries and marvelous things of God until we see Him face-to-face in
eternity. It is too much! God is too big! He is way beyond our human
understanding! Yet He loves us and
tries to make us a very important part of His world. He desires that we keep and guard what we CAN
learn now. It is very important to God
that we learn and know His ways so that we may one day dwell face-to-face with Him. He started teaching us about the same time that He started teaching those Israelites way back at Marah! He teaches through a constant process of life. He used others to teach them! He has used these ancient Israelites over and over to teach us how to live. We learn how to live by the way He was re-teaching them how to live.
Right there at Marah God began to give His people a glimpse of all the
things He would show them later (in more and greater detail) at Sinai.
God started this lesson by telling Moses to throw the wood into
the water. When Moses was obedient to
God; when he threw in the wood (symbolically The Torah) the water became fit to drink. It
was yet another miracle! Unfortunately,
it often takes a miracle to get people’s attention.
This is yet another time when God took what was bitter and made it
sweet! The people suddenly quit murmuring and
began to pay closer attention to their blessed state. God had their full focus now. It wasn’t
just what was happening with the water folks! God was actually doing something spiritual with the people. He was going to change them from their bitter
pagan ways to the sweet ways of The Kingdom of God. Sometimes it takes a little
bitterness in the wilderness to help us get to the spiritual healing and the sweet of God’s Presence in
our days. Sometimes you have to throw in a little wood (Torah) in order for this to happen! The people need instruction! Torah is perfect instruction. Just like a tree, Torah is layered in its being. We must learn precept upon precept in order to fully understand Torah. At Morah God was placing the very first layer back in place of an old, old tree that needed healing.
At Sinai, God would heal more layers. He would keep on healing until a nation of healed people came forth!
We can always count on God to take a very
bad situation and to use it for good. He
is just that kind of God! This trait is
one of His holy attributes; He is always transforming and changing things from
what they were to the better thing that they can become. He does this by adding Torah (His Holy Word) into our living.
It is Torah, God's written word, that heals us and changes our lives from bitter to sweet. We stand before Him in dirty earthen rags;
but He only sees the blood of Christ that covers us. God never sees us for who we have made
ourselves to be. He is always looking to
see the person that He created us to be.
Our life on this earth is a journey through time from the point of our birth to the point of our eternity. Our life on earth is much like this three day
walk to Shur that was taken first by Hagar, then by Isreal. We humans get thirsty and we look within ourselves to solve the problem, and we begin to feel hopeless. Then God shows up! He shows us how to drink good, clean water. He throws in the wood of Torah, and we find His word sweet and easy to drink. Suddenly everything is changed! His presence among us changes and transforms
us from bitter to sweet, just like the water at Marah.
All through this journey of the
Israelites, when they were still slaves, during the time they were being set free, and all the way into the wilderness; God has been showing the people who He really is.
He is showing them that He is powerful.
He is showing them that he is trustworthy.
Sometimes, just like what happened at Marah; we too encounter situations and
circumstances that are unbearable and we don’t know what to do. We feel frustrated like those Israelites who
traveled three days into the hot desert until they knew they were about to die
of thirst. Then after they found water their relief turns to grief and disappointment when the water is too biter to
drink. We, very similar to them, find ourselves in dire circumstances from time to time and we feel hopeless and alone and think there is no solution to our problems. But God can step into a situation and change
it in an instant. What seems unbearable will become
easier. He will make the bitter water of
life taste sweeter, if you simply remember to call on him in your distress. The words of Torah are a tree of life for those seeking the help of God.
Remember to seek God for all spiritual healing. Moses had already done that! Moses was on a whole different spiritual
level than the people. Moses actually
trusted God and cried out to Him. The
people were like the water; they had become bitter with anger against
Moses. They could have cried out to God
too; but instead they complained against Moses.
It seemed the people needed deliverance from more than just Pharaoh and
his army. They needed deliverance from
themselves! Their hearts were bitter and
not fit for use. God was the only One who could change this. They did not have it within them to change on their own.
Because of Moses and
his heart toward God; God looked down on them and had mercy. It is the same with us; only it is the heart
of Jesus toward God that saves us. We
cannot take any of the credit; we can only reach up our hands and plead for mercy; and
like the water that lost it’s bitterness; God changes our hearts too. Because One heart was pure; God brought
redemption to many hearts.
So Moses throws the tree into the water
and things begin to change!
So;exactly why do I think God was
giving the Israelites a preview of part of the Torah at Marah?
Why would He let them have a partial glimpse before
He gave it all to them on Sinai?
Exodus
15:25 – 26 says: Then Moses cried out to the LORD and the LORD showed him a piece of
wood. He threw it into the water, and
the water became fit to drink. There the
LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD
your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands
and keep all of his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I
brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.
The Israelites needed spiritual
healing! They needed it right away! The ripples in the water needed to begin!
They had been living too long
without knowing God’s way of life.
God began very slowly and patiently instructing them right there at
Marah. As he healed the water, He healed
them. He also began to test their
faithfulness. Moses had passed the test
of faithfulness by remembering to call on God in his hour of distress. He had done this in Egypt, at the Red Sea and now at Marah; but the
people needed more instruction and more testing. They were far behind Moses in making progress toward a godly life.
It is interesting to note that the
very first thing God said was “If you listen carefully to me……and if you do
what is right in my eyes….” The first
step in healing is to listen to and follow God’s instructions. God's instructions are given in Torah. Next God said; “if you pay attention to my
commands and follow my drecrees….” There
are a lot of “ifs” in those statements.
God knew how the people could be stubborn and selfish and how they often
forgot to listen and remember His ways.
He began to re-teach them just the same.
That is just how much God loves those that He has called. He loves them enough to wait 400 years. He loves them enough to defeat strong nations
before them. He loves them enough to
look the other way and be patient until they get it right. He loves them enough to be merciful and
forgiving even when they are stubborn and headstrong. God IS love.
Right now in America, we are like these Israelites who have picked up pagan ways. We have let our culture influence us to the point that we need to be hit by that tree called Torah. We need to refresh our minds and hearts and souls with the goodness of the ways of God. He makes us the same promise; the one filled with Ifs; IF you do what is right in MY eyes; IF you listen carefully to ME.....When will we heed this warning? It could be the very thing that turns the bitter mess of our country's state right now into the sweetness that we desire; what some of us still remember from a land filled with milk and honey. We are right now standing by the waters of Marah; will we throw in the tree? Will we turn back to the ways and instructions of Torah? We need to go sit under God's Tree of Life for a very, very long time and re-evaluate our lives. Like those Israelites of the Exodus; we need to learn to follow God again.
Because the Egyptians were rebellious
and would not believe or follow The One True God; God removed His protection
from their land. He let them suffer from
diseases and they reaped the miserable consequences of the seeds they had sown. Here at Marah God promises His people, (those who have been faithful to Him) that He will protect them and deliver them from all of these diseases that fell on the Egyptians; if they simply listen and obey His word and keep His ways.
It sounds like a good deal to me!
God certainly had the attention of the Israelites at Marah, and I think it was there that many of the ones who were the most faithful and true decided to turn and change and re-learn the instructions of God, which meant giving up the pagan ways of Egypt and beginning to live life based upon God's commands.
When people decide to be faithful and they turn and repent and trust God for everything; even though there are severe consequences sometimes when they find themselves right in the middle of life's journeies; wonderful things result in the end. The passage of scripture that speaks of the people after the visit to Marah tells us that the Children of Israel went on traveling to a very interesting and exciting new place. It was called Elim.
Elim consisted of a lush lands with twelve springs and 70 palm trees!
Can you imagine what a change it was from Shur? There was ample fresh water and wonderful cool shade in Elim; so they camped there near the water.
