God often used difficult times so that His character is made known. Now we are going to see about God’s power and character who teach Israel to be faithful to Him. He showed himself as the healer, where we could come to seek help and to remind us that He is the source of everything. Let’s look at the verses in more detail.
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
This is the introduction of the verses that we are going to study today. Three days might not be a long time, but it could be a very long time when we dwell in difficult times. This is the cause of the problem to Israel: that there is no water. Humanly speaking, it is very understandable that it is very difficult to live without water isn’t it? We even can’t stand to not drink just a day, and this Israel has to live without water in 3 days. Sometimes we may face such problem, where humanly speaking it very understandable; but what this passage wants to tell us is: In three days, it is enough for them to forget the power of and the great victory that God has achieved in bringing them across the Reed Sea. In our life, what sort of problem we face? Did those problem or struggle bring us to God, or did it bring us far from God? Even when it is a very understandable problem, and people might say it is very human to react in a way to show that we are struggling, don’t forget that our God is by far bigger than our problem.
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
Marah means bitter, and as Israel face bitterness they started to grumbled. What Israel will do is: they will praise God when God brings them a great victory, but grumbled and forget He how saves them when difficult times come. Today, what sort of problem that made us complains to God? Or do we complaint when we face suffering or difficult time?
We need to know who ourselves is and who God is? Where is our position to God? Who is the actual God is it God Himself or is it us? We often asked God to fulfil our will, and when things does not go according to what we want, we started to complain instead of having a solitude to ask His strength, and to look at ourselves and seek His will. This is what Moses did, Moses cried out to God. Do we?
Then God answered and gives direction to Moses to throw the log and the water became sweet. The log in itself did not make the water sweet, but the Lord Himself made it sweet. He is a faithful God that answered prayer and provides.
26 saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."
God has shown His faithfulness and power to Israel, and now God is going to test them. What sort of test that God gives here? In verse 26, we can see there are 4 things that God asked Israel to observe:
1. Diligently listen to His voice: we have to seek His voice, actively find His will
2. Do what is right in His eyes: God has the standard, and so we have to not just seek but also do what is according to His will
3. Give ear to His commandment: be sensitive to His command, what is pleasant to Him what is not.
4. Always keep all of His statutes: as God is faithful, so then we have to be faithful to Him, we have to persevere all the time, and love His law.
This is the test that we have to obey Him. God has shown His power and faithfulness to change the water to be made sweet, God has shown His power leading Israel to cross the Reed sea, God has shown His power to condemn Egypt with 10 plagues: now all of those, God wants Israel to remember as the basis moving forward. They may face difficult moments, but God wants to test them to be faithful and obey Him all the time.
Just God test Adam to not eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil (which is a test of obedience), here God tested Israel in to obey Him (verse 26), and now He also test us to keep obeying Him.
God said in verse 26 that none of the disease will be put to Israel when they obey Him, as He is the healer. If we be made well, it is He that restores us; He is our life and the length of our days. Do we believe this? And if so, do we want to obey Him as we say we love Him?
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
This last verse is the closing verse to this passage. The question is what’s so important to this verse? It seems like there is no connection between this verses to the previous verses, it feels like there is a sudden gap to this verse. We may question why and we may not know the exact answer, but one thing we can observe here is that: After the time of testing God had a time of refreshing for the people of Israel. He knew exactly what they needed, and he knew to test them and when to rest them. What a care we see from our God isn’t it?
I hope we once again being strengthen with the story we just read, that our God is our healer. He is the source of everything, He is the one that will protect us, restores us and take care for us. By taking care means He will teach us, discipline us to know His will as well as giving rest to us. Let’s be thankful to Him.
~ Paul Hartono
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