THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #106 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #88
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3790
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #106
THE LIFE OF MOSES #88
Lesson from the Bitter Waters of Marah #1
THE WATER METAPHOR
So far in our study of the Patriarchs, WATER as a symbol of life has featured prominently.
Recall the wells of Abraham and Isaac, the watering holes where Eliezer ( Abraham's trusted steward ) encountered
Rebecca (Genesis 24:17) and where Jacob first encountered
Rachel (Genesis 29:2), and later the watering troughs where Jacob’s sheep miraculously multiplied (Genesis 30:38).
Consider further if you will Joseph‘s water journey — beginning in an empty pit, notably devoid of water (Genesis 37:24), and culminating in Pharaoh’s dreams of the Nile (Genesis 41:1) which eerily foreshadow the increasingly prominent role that will be played by the Nile throughout Exodus.
Now at Marah, three parched days after the Crossing of the Red Sea, comes the famous incident of bitter waters (undrinkable brackish saltwater).
“When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.”
The word Marah means “bitter”, and that was certainly an appropriate name for the place!
At Marah, there was a large pool of water. The people must have rejoiced greatly when they came to Marah. At last! Here is water! This is what we need!
And so there is a mad scramble as all of them rushed to the waters to drink.
But when they took the water into their mouths, it tasted so bitter and foul, that they spat it out. It was not fit to drink. Here they needed water, and then they came to water, but it was impossible to drink it!
After God delivered the Israelites so gloriously by parting the Red Sea and then drowning all their enemies, we might have thought that He would then lead them into a Paradise. However, instead, He led them into the wilderness of Shur.
And, rather than having every need and want supplied by this omnipotent God who had parted the Sea, they went three days without water.
My friends, God does not lead us to heaven on a beautiful sunny day on a path strewn with rose petals.
No, it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.
This is the first lesson of Marah. The Promised Land of milk and honey comes after a life of sanctification in the School of Hard Knocks, the School of the Holy Spirit.
To die to self is not an overnight transformation. We must be brought to a point of real need - either the life-giving waters of YHVH Jireh or the poisoned cup of the world symbolised by the Egypt they still carried in their hearts.
So they switched to a murmuring and complaining mode accusing their leaders that they brought them to the wilderness only to die - away from well-watered Egypt where at least they were still alive albeit as slaves.
As Joshua would challenge His people in the Promised Land in
Joshua 24:15
(King James Version):
15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
