Read
The Song of Miriam
19The Lord covered the royal Egyptian cavalry and chariots with the sea, after the Israelites had walked safely through on dry ground. 20Miriam the sister of Aaron was a prophet. So she took her tambourine and led the other women out to play their tambourines and to dance. 21Then she sang to them:
“Sing praises to the Lord
for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses
and their riders into the sea.”
Bitter Water at Marah
22After the Israelites left the Red Sea, Moses led them through the Shur Desert for three days, before finding water. 23They did find water at Marah, but it was bitter, which is how that place got its name. 24The people complained and said, “Moses, what are we going to drink?”
25 Moses asked the Lord for help, and the Lord told him to throw a certain piece of wood into the water. Moses did so, and the water became fit to drink.
At Marah the Lord tested his people and also gave them some laws and teachings. 26Then he said, “I am the Lord your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won't punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians.”
27Later the Israelites came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and 70 palm trees. So they camped there.
Reflect
Israel’s wandering in the desert was a training ground. God needed to teach the people how to be faithful to what they knew to be true about him; to trust and not complain.
Israel’s massive camp began to move from the sea out to the relative safety of the Desert of Shur. Now, after three days, the supplies were running low. Their search for water proved a disappointment. The only pool they found was bitter, likely due to stagnation and minerals.
Once again, the people grumbled against Moses. He rightly understood their grumbling as a complaint against God, since it was the Lord who was really leading them.
Moses cried out to the Lord Jehovah. Notice again how God used natural elements to work his purpose. The Lord showed Moses a piece of dried up dead wood. God used the branch to make the waters sweet; something only God could do. God brings life out of death.
God gave to them, through Moses, a decree and a law. This is the beginning of instruction on how to live as God’s redeemed people.
In v. 26 there is a twofold injunction. The first is to listen to the voice of the Lord. The Israelites are to live in intimacy with him.
Secondly, God’s people are to live in conformity to the revealed nature of God. We see this in the phrase “do what is right in his (the Lord’s) eyes.” God’s people are not just to listen but to obey his commands and his decrees.
The test is completed and God leads Moses to Elim where the people find an abundant supply of palm dates and fresh water.
We are to love the Lord Jesus because of who he is. The Lord God is the one who delivers, who fights for us and who heals us from disease.
Respond
Father, we thank you that you are the God who heals. Forgive us for when we lack trust and complain. You must tire of our grumbling. Help us to remember that you supply our needs, not our wants. You are the God who delivers. Give us the strength to listen to your voice and to obey.
Bill Fietje
Dr. Bill Fietje became President of the Associated Gospel Churches in July 2008. Prior to this role, Bill served for five years as our Canada East Superintendent. Before joining the AGC team, he was the National Director of OMF International-Canada for eleven years. He and his wife Lois also served for two terms with OMF International in Thailand as church planters and developers. Bill also served as pastor of Forward Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario. In 1999, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hamilton, Massachusetts. His vision and leadership have helped to birth both MissionFest Toronto and MentorLink Canada. The Fietjes reside in Niagara-On-The-Lake and have four adult children and six grandchildren.