Marah to Elim Exodus 15:23

Introduction

  1. Israel had just witnessed great miracles 10 plagues upon Egypt

  2. Israel was led by Moses out of Egypt

  3. Israel had just passed through the Red Sea

  4. The Song of Miriam 15:20

  5. The next two stops in Israel’s 40-year journey to the promised land were Mara and Elim.  Mara was a place where they found bitter water and Elim was an oasis

The problem no water in the desert

  1. 15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea then they went out into the WILDERNESS of Shur.  And they went THREE DAYS in the wilderness and found NO WATER

  2. Back to reality

  3. Most of the time there will be a valley after a mountaintop experience

  4. 15:23 And they went three days in the WILDERNESS and found NO WATER

  5. Humans can go about 3 to 5 days without water.  If they did not find water the Israelites were going to start dropping dead

  6. The Lord God led them to a place where there was nothing to drink or sustain life

  7. 15:23 Now when they came to Marah they could not drink the waters of Marah for they were bitter.  Therefore the name of it was called Marah = bitter could have been brackish

  8. When and where does the miracle occur in the Wilderness at 11:59

Don’t get bitter in life

  1. Disappointment things don’t always work out the way we think they should

  2. Poor perspective on life.  We often can’t believe that anything bad would happen to us.  Tragedy is a part of life

  3. Entitlement mentality:  the thought that one is owed.  Salvation is free. Here and now God blesses hard work

  4. Lack of forgiveness

  5. Unresolved anger:  anger turned inward = depression.  Eph 4:26 Be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your wrath

  6. Being filled with negativity or listening to the wrong source

  7. Lack of submissiveness.  Many decisions are not going to go your way

  8. 15:24 And the people complained against Moses saying, What shall we drink?

  9. Complaining focuses on the problem, not the solution complaining magnifies the problem

The Solution

  1. 15:25 So he CRIED OUT to the Lord and the Lord showed him a TREE.  When he cast it into the waters the waters were made sweet

  2. Cry Out to Jesus

  3. Invite Jesus into the middle of your bitterness

  4. Jesus is the tree of life that can make the bitter waters of life sweet again

  5. Miracles can happen!

  6. In the same way, complaining magnifies the problem PRAISE MAGNIFIES THE GOD OF THE SOLUTION

  7. Get busy serving the Lord

  8. Lowercase h to upper case H in verses 25 and 26 a shift from the voice of Moses to the voice of YHWH.  He made a statute and ordinance and He tested them

  9. 15:26 and said, If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you

  10. Obedience to the Lord is the key to success in this life

  11. I AM Jehovah Rapha

  12. Sometimes you gotta go to Marah before you can appreciate Elim

  13. Elim there were 12 wells of water and seventy palm trees.  Water, Shade, Dates, an oasis