[0:00] Seeking the Lord's blessing, let us now turn back to the portion of scripture that we read together in the book of Exodus and chapter 15, and we'll read from verse 22.
[0:15] Exodus 15 at verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
[0:29] 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?
[0:42] And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed 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.
[0:55] 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.
[1:14] For I am the Lord that healeth thee. And they came to Elam, where there were twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters.
[1:28] When we look at the book of the Bible, we can look at its immediate context.
[1:44] But we must also look at the wider context. For the Bible is a unit. It's got one simple theme.
[1:58] And that is the redemptive plan or purpose of God. God is moving in different ways and preparing the world for the coming of his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world.
[2:21] That through his life, death, and resurrection, that he would finally deal with sin. And the New Testament continues upon the theme from the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, until he comes to bring the redemption that he purchased on the cross to completion.
[2:47] The book of Exodus brings before us the true history of Israel's salvation from Egyptian bondage. But it also shows us the pattern of our salvation through Jesus Christ.
[3:07] That is why the New Testament describes the work of Christ in terms of the Exodus. Jesus Christ, just as the children of Israel were enslaved to bondage in the land of Egypt, so we are enslaved spiritually to sin.
[3:27] And just as they were delivered through the blood of the Passover Lamb, so Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb, who shed his blood on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins.
[3:42] So that we can say that the Exodus from Egypt was a foreshadowing of an even greater Exodus, the deliverance from sin through the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[3:58] The experience of Israel living in slavery, trusting in the shed blood of the Lamb, embarking on a long pilgrimage, and living by God's word, and finally reaching the promised land, is also the experience of God's people, who are the new Israel of God.
[4:30] We too pass through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, across the Jordan, into the promised land. And like Israel, during our wilderness journey, we also fall into doubt, we fall into sin, and we must also receive the chastisement of God.
[4:57] We must also repent. And through it all, we also experience God's help and God's faithfulness to his covenant and to his promise.
[5:14] Paul reminds the Corinthians, he says to them, now all these things happened unto them, that is, the children of Israel, all these things happened unto them, for examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
[5:35] So that Israel's experience is for our benefit, what happened to them, should be an avenue of teaching for us.
[5:50] We should learn from what happened to them. God has just brought his people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.
[6:04] Saving them from Pharaoh and his chariots, as Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And we read here, and Israel saw that great work, which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses.
[6:26] The deliverance and the display of God's power enabled Israel to cross the Red Sea. And this is celebrated now by Israel in this song that we have in chapter 15.
[6:43] Israel has just been delivered. They are on the other side of the Red Sea. They are out of the ridge of the Egyptians. Egyptians. The Egyptians can no longer take hold of them.
[6:59] The taskmasters can no longer come and give them any trouble or pain. And they join in praising and thanksgiving for their deliverance.
[7:16] But God took them out of Egypt to begin a journey. And he brought them into the wilderness.
[7:28] Now the wilderness was a hard and difficult place. The wilderness was barren and desolate. Moses later on was to say to Israel as they were to reflect upon their wilderness journey.
[7:44] And he described the wilderness as that great and terrible wilderness wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought where there was no water.
[7:58] However, going through the wilderness was necessary for Israel. Necessary for their own learning and necessary for their sanctification.
[8:13] Once a sinner turns to Jesus and is justified and adopted, what next happens? Well, the answer is sanctification.
[8:26] That process that goes on until the person is conformed to the image of Christ. Christ. And it is in the wilderness that this process goes on.
[8:41] As Moses was also later to remind Israel that the Lord tested them in the wilderness in order that they would come to understand their own hearts.
[8:55] That they would come to understand what their heart was like. And also they would come to understand in a better way the long suffering and the patience and the goodness and the mercy and the love and the grace of God.
[9:13] All these things they were to learn in the wilderness. And as it was for Israel so it is also for me and you if we have turned to Christ.
[9:24] The work of sanctification goes on in our life in our wilderness journey where we see who we are what our heart is like. And at the same time we see the sufficiency of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
[9:44] Now several passages in the Old Testament describes the wilderness or desert in a positive way. As the place where God came to meet his people and demonstrated to all his special care for his special people.
[10:03] For there we read in Deuteronomy and in the wilderness where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bear thee as a man doth bear his son in all the way that he went until he came into this place.
[10:21] In the prophecy of Hosea we read therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her. In the book of Nehemiah we read these words yea forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing their clothes walked not old and their feet swelled not.
[10:48] These passages and other passages speak of the wilderness period as one in which God showed his love and his grace towards his people.
[11:03] And this is God's normal way of working. It is that entry into glory does not immediate follow salvation.
[11:20] Entry into glory does not immediately follow one's conversion. Rather there is a time of preparation to make his people ready for the inheritance that he will give to them.
[11:39] Israel was free from the hand of Egyptian bondage. No more taskmasters. They were dead. dead. But Israel still had much to learn.
[11:53] Their faith was still weak and it would take time for their trust in the Lord to develop so that they were put into times of difficulty so that their spiritual faculties would develop.
[12:10] They would develop their faith and their hope, their love and so on. Because they were to grow in the knowledge of God and in growing in the knowledge of God they were also to grow in the grace of the Lord.
[12:30] Now the Lord never promised that the Christian life was going to be easy. As scripture says we must pass through much tribulation and then enter into the kingdom of God.
[12:47] However that does not mean that our salvation is not secure. It is secure and God will bring us to the journey's end.
[13:00] But the way is still difficult for we face disappointment and we face hardships we face discouragement and doubt and just in case anyone may be switching off now because we speak of the Christian life as one that is not easy and although that may sound quite negative and perhaps undesirable there is the positive and helpful side as well for we must remember that we do not walk the Christian life on our own.
[13:36] the children of Israel for instance although they were brought into the wilderness which was time of hardship and difficulty and trials and temptations yet they were guided all the way by the pillar of cloud and fire which was the visible presence of God.
[14:00] The great lesson that we learn during all our problems and difficulties that we encounter is that they teach us to depend on God alone and there were many times when Israel forgot about the presence of God and maybe there are many times when I and you can be going through difficulties and hardships and we forget that the Lord has promised to be with us the lesson they had to learn was to depend on God alone to have absolute confidence in his promise and in his faithfulness and that is true for me and you also tonight that that is a lesson that we have to learn as we encounter our problems and difficulties to depend upon God alone to have absolute confidence in his promise and in his faithfulness however after the first victory came the big test
[15:20] Israel had now travelled three days when they found themselves in real difficulty for they were empty of one of the most basic of all physical needs and that is water we read here and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water obviously they were looking for water but finding none they must have been getting desperate for it for it would have been very hard for them to go forward it would have been very hard for them to go for more than three days without water and especially that in the wilderness with the sun beating down upon them
[16:21] I think there are at least two things that we can learn here first how quickly our circumstances can change three days before this they were all gathered at the Red Sea and they were singing praises to the Lord they were full of the spirit of celebration but now after three days we find that they are tired and thirsty and weary and they have no water how quickly circumstances can change within three days they have gone from the spirit of celebration and joy and rejoicing to this point where we will find them murmuring against
[17:28] Moses and the second lesson that we may learn from this is that they must have felt very perplexed at the situation because here they were following the Lord who had redeemed them only to find themselves in a dry and weary place and many of the Lord's people have gone through such a period of confusion when at the beginning everything looks so bright and beautiful we're full of the joys of the Lord and then suddenly circumstances change sometimes we become aware of our sin maybe we did or said something that took the spirit of celebration away we find ourselves in a dry and thirsty land with no water and we can be confused and perplexed we saw that this morning when we were considering
[18:45] Jeremiah how confusing and perplexed it was for him that the wicked was prospering while those who were loyal to the Lord was suffering and this may be a very perplexing situation for the children of Israel and when they saw water at a distance they must have leapt for joy but when they came to Marah and bent down to take a drink they had to spit it out for it was bitter it was more than simply distasteful it was unfit for human consumption perhaps even poisonous maybe that is the reason that the Lord speaks of healing later in the passage what great disappointment that this was for
[19:46] Israel that they had gone three days journey in the wilderness looking for water and finding none and now when they found water it was too bitter for them to drink Marah was a literal place but it was more than just a geographical place it was a place of circumstances a place of events and experiences experiences that is so common to us in our life journey Marah is a picture of us for us of any place or circumstance or experience that brings pain that causes bitterness in our life they were disheartened they were disappointed their expectations were crushed and they felt it and sometimes we can be brought to experience those things that leaves a bitter taste in our lives and what is so mysterious is the fact that
[21:11] God was leading Israel when they came to Marah that that pillar of cloud was moving and leading them to Marah leading them to where the waters were so bitter that they could not drink it and that is a hard truth to reckon with and there are no easy answers for it maybe there has been bitter experiences in your own life and that you find it hard to reckon with and you look for answers and you find no easy answers Israel could say well three days ago we sang so joyfully and now we are so cast down that there are those bitter waters why why are those are we here experiencing bitter waters well maybe they would be coming to conclude that
[22:22] God had forgotten them we have no easy answers at all but it is a lesson for us to depend upon God he knows what he is doing while these things may be hidden from us it is not hidden from him he has a wise purpose in every way in which he deals with his people and he had a wise purpose in dealing with the children of Israel in this manner at this time as we shall see in a moment what did the people do well we read and the people murmured against Moses saying what shall we drink when you feel that the Lord has led you to Marah and when the question why lurks in your mind maybe we should reach back to the words of the New
[23:32] Testament in the words of Paul who says and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose that is quite easy to throw off from our lips but it is not so easy when you are actually going through a bitter experience and someone says to you well look all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose and that is the point where we need to exercise faith trust that these words are true although we can't reckon how it's going to work out in our experience in our life yet to believe that these words are true and however bitter the experience may be that it is going to work out for our good the hymn writer says ye fearful saints fresh courage take the clouds you so much dread are baked with mercy and shall break in blessing on your head you see the real important point for me and you to remember is not whether
[24:57] God brings us to Marah or not but that he will come with us to Marah remember as we said he is with us his presence is with us if only Israel had looked up to see the pillar of cloud but that was hidden from them in unbelief and doubt when they tasted the bitter water they forgot that God was actually with them at Marah they weren't on their own his presence was with them at Marah God comes to us at Marah he is along with us at Marah but the people murmured against Moses here we see how weak and fickle the people really were they began immediately to grumble and here we see the leadership of Moses
[26:01] Moses did not grumble what did he do he took the matter to the Lord in prayer you see we lose so much as we neglect this great privilege which is to pray to the Lord as the hymn says oh what peace we often forfeit oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer how with trials and temptations is there trouble anywhere we should never be discouraged take it to the Lord in prayer you see Moses knew that there is only one thing that can change matter and that is the supernatural intervention of God himself and what did God do he showed Moses a tree or a log and when
[27:03] Moses puts it into the water the bitter water became sweet how this happened we just don't know but this we do know that they drank from the same water as was there before it was the bitter water that had been made to be sweet the same water water but notice they had to taste the bitterness first before they could taste the sweetness we would all like to taste the sweetness and avoid the bitterness but it cannot be that way I remember a missionary long ago telling a story of when he was a young boy and a group of them were walking along the macher at nests and they came upon a bees nest and they knew that honey was there so one by one they put in their hand and they got stung by the bees but he said sore as it was that when they tasted the sweetness of the honey the bitterness of the sting went away and is that not true in our own experience that when we taste the sweetness of the
[28:36] Lord that the bitterness goes away each of one of us have our own peculiar experiences of Mara but I am sure that whatever experience of Mara that God has put into your cup and his providential dealings with you that you would not exchange it for anything different sometimes when we feel that the lot of others are much easier than our Lord but whatever Lord he gives me and you he also gives us the grace to sustain us and to the bitterness he puts the lock of his grace which brings healing how many bitter wounds have been healed through his healing power of grace one reason to trust
[29:42] God is that he can turn what is bitter to be sweet he cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree which when he cast into the waters the waters were made sweet why does the Lord do this he does it to show his mercy and his grace he does it because he wants us to have a deeper dependence and trust on him and on his ability to provide for us in times of hardships and difficulties and trials and then we read that he made for them a statue and an ordinance and they reproved them and said if they will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God and will do that which is right in his sight and will give ear to his commandment and keep all his statutes I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the
[30:46] Egyptians for I am the Lord that healeth thee God will come to us in Marah and he will say I am the Lord who heals you don't miss that point my friend we can go to different places perhaps to look for healing but the Lord is the ultimate healer he is the one who can turn that which is bitter into sweetness but here you notice also that he gives them a statue and an ordinance you know he requires obedience and with obedience comes the blessing just as we cannot take this weakness without tasting the bitterness neither can we have the blessing without the obedience he brought them into the wilderness where there was no water then he brought them to Marah where there was plenty of water but bitter water that they could not drink that was made sweet by the supernatural intervention of grace and then he brought them to
[32:11] Elam where there were twelve wells of water and three score and ten palm trees and they encamped there by the water they came from a place where there was no water to a place where there's plenty of water but bitter water which had to be made sweet by the supernatural intervention of God and now he leads them to a place where there are twelve wells and seventy palm trees the journey that he has taken them on was for their blessing and benefit although at times it could have been difficult for them to see that how it was all going to turn out again as the hymn writer says God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform he plants his footsteps in the seas and rides upon the storm deep in unfathomable minds with never failing skill he treasures up his bright designs and works his sovereign will judge not the Lord by feeble sins but trust him for his grace behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face there was now enough water for them all enough water for them all there were twelve wells of water three score and ten palm trees and there they encamped by the water when we pass on to the new testament you know john in his gospel tells us that jesus on the last day of the feast said if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink in his conversation with the woman of samaria jesus said but whosoever drinketh of the water that i shall give him shall never thirst but the water that i shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life and the last call that we have in the bible says and the spirit and the bride say come and let him that hear it say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely whosoever will let him take the water of life freely and whosoever it includes me and you it includes us all but notice what it says whosoever will and that is the great problem that is the great problem with sinners that they are unwilling to take off the water of life that they are unwilling to take the salvation that
[35:23] God offers to them it's for whosoever but it is for whosoever will whose will is renewed so that they become a willing people in a day of God's power to take the salvation that is offered to them you know if you saw a person die with thirst beside a pool of water your conclusion would be that about that person is that well he must be blind and you know in a spiritual sense that is through regarding sinners we are spiritually blind we are spiritually blind there is a pool of water beside us there is the salvation of God and Jesus Christ beside us if you were to say to that person who was there dying with thirst beside the pool of water if you were to say to that person the pool of water is beside you just stretch out your hand and drink and that he would refuse to do so you would probably regard that man as being very foolish even conclude that he's mad well there is a sense in which that kind of madness that kind of foolishness is displayed every time that the gospel is preached for what the gospel says to you is there is a pool of water beside you there is the salvation of
[37:13] God beside you just stretch out your hand of faith and drink from that pool of salvation and be saved but yet you refuse you refuse you have come close to the wells of salvation and the well is for whosoever will but the sad thing is that you are unwilling and you refuse to take from the well of salvation my chain said when free grace awoke me by light from on high then legal fear shook me I trembled to die no refuge no safety in self could I see Jehovah said can you my savior must be my terror shall vanished before the sweet name my guilty fear vanished with boldness
[38:19] I came to drink at the fountain life giving and free my guilty fear Spanish with boldness I came to drink at the fountain life giving and free Jehovah said king is all things to me John saw this pure river of water of life clear as crystal proceeding out of the throne of God and of the lamb not only is the water for whosoever will but it is given freely whosoever will let him take the water of life freely the prophet said oh everyone that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price why won't you take this water of life well the same prophet says wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and that your soul delight itself in fatness incline your ear and come unto me hear and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of
[39:56] David I don't know where you are spiritually tonight you may be wandering the wilderness of this world that John Bunyan was with a great burden of sin upon his back you may be feeling thirsty weary and tired and finding no place to give you satisfaction no place to ease your burden no place to quench your thirst no place to give you rest well the wells of salvation my friend is before you that fountain that fountain that God has opened for sin and uncleanness and his son Jesus Christ and him crucified is set before you the fountain of which the hymn writer says there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains will you not take of this fountain of life maybe tonight you are at
[41:00] Mara going through a hard providence well take it to the Lord in prayer and cast the tree on which Jesus died into the bitter waters and they will become sweet remember also he is with you at Mara sometimes because of our lack of faith like Israel we do not see the pillar of cloud and fire that hovers over us the Lord said fear not for I have redeemed thee I have called thee by thy name thou art mine when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither for I am the Lord thy God the Holy One of Israel thy Saviour so maybe tonight you are a wanderer aimlessly in the wilderness
[42:04] I tell you come to the fountain of life maybe you're at Marah well take it to the Lord in prayer and cast the cross on which Jesus died into the bitter waters and they shall become sweet or maybe tonight you're at Elam maybe tonight you're full of rejoicing maybe tonight you're saying my cup runneth over well what are we to say in conclusion what has the church to say in conclusion oh taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him oh fear the Lord ye his saints for there is no want to them that fear him the young lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the
[43:08] Lord shall not want any good may the Lord bless our thoughts let us pray and