Exodus, Message 7: The Experiences of Marah and Elim

Crystallization-Study of Exodus, Message 7:

"The Experiences of Marah and Elim"

In Exodus chapter 15, the children of Israel had already passed through the experiences of the Passover, the exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. They had been saved from God's judgment through the Passover, and delivered from the tyranny of Pharaoh and slavery of the Egyptians through the exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. There was a dividing line separating them from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. They had now received the new resurrected life and entered into a new realm of the wilderness where they were separated unto God and were able to fulfil God's eternal purpose.

This is just a wonderful picture of our experience of salvation in Christ. In typology, the children of Israel represent us as New Testament believers. Their experiences are also ours. We have been saved from God's righteous judgement through the Passover, which represents Christ who died for the redemption of our sins. Furthermore, we have been delivered from the tyranny of Satan (typified by Pharaoh) and the bondage in the world (typified by the land of Egypt) through our experiences of the exodus from the world and the baptism in its real spiritual meaning. We are now living the new resurrected life, which is Christ's life in us. We are living in the wilderness where we are separated unto God, and enabled to have His eternal purpose fulfilled in us and through us.

Exodus 15:22-27 shows us another 2 amazing stories: the experience of Marah and Elim. Even though these stories are not very well known among the believers, their implications and applications are tremendous. They wonderfully depict our experiences of salvation after we have received the resurrected life through the baptism.

 

The Experience of Marah

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.
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.
24   And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
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. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
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." (Exodus 15:22-26 NKJV)

After crossing the Red Sea, God as the pillar of cloud led the children of Israel southward through the wilderness of Shur to the place called "Marah," which means "bitterness." They were very thirsty then because there had been no water for them throughout the 3-day journey. At Marah, they found a lot of waters, but they still could not drink the waters because the waters were bitter. They murmured against Moses. And when Moses cried out to the LORD, he was shown a "tree" in front of him. The bitter waters miraculously became sweet when the tree was cast out into the waters. And then, God revealed Himself to the people as Jehovah Rapha, the LORD who heals them.

There are at least 3 implications that I really enjoy in this passage.

1. Downward experiences are needed for the application of the resurrected life.

Once we receive the new resurrected life in Christ through the experience of baptism, we enter into a new realm of wilderness where we were separated from the world and unto God. We may expect that our lives would go upward only. We expect to have better lives physically, psychologically and spiritually. And of course, resurrection is an upward experience.

From the story, God deliberately led the children of Israel southward or downward to Marah, which was not the direction to the good land. Many times God also deliberately leads us to some downward experiences, even to the bitter circumstances. Not until we have experienced the bitter situation can we see the hidden tree, which signifies our healing tree - the Cross of Christ.

There are times that we behave like the prodigal son who runs away from his father and goes astray. We may also be brought into a bitter situation. We may suffer relationship problems, physical illnesses, and financial catastrophe. We may not understand why God allows these bad things to happen in our lives. Nevertheless, the power of the Cross of Christ is best manifested during those times and our need for God is exposed. God's revelation becomes much clearer to us, and our relationship with Him just becomes more intimate through the experiences. We will greatly cherish the Cross of Christ. And eventually, we all will witness that all things are just for our good and for His glory.

Therefore next time when you are in an unpleasant situation, do not be dismayed. It is an experience of resurrected life. Let the resurrected life of Christ in us be fully manifested in us and through us. God is going to work all things, including bad things, for your good and for His glory.

2. The Cross of Christ is the solution to any bitter circumstance.

When Moses cried out to the LORD, he was shown a tree in front of him. Even though the waters were quite bitter, the tree was there. The tree was the solution of the bitter waters. And this very tree signifies the cross of Christ.

who Himself [Christ] bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness --- by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24 NKJV)

When we are in an unpleasant situation, do not act like the children of Israel who complained a lot. In contrast, let us act like Moses by crying out to the Lord, look to the Cross of Christ and apply it to the situation. Even though God may not change the situation, it will miraculously become sweet to us. We will have joy in the Lord always in any circumstance through the power of the Cross of Christ.

3. The LORD is our great Healer.

After the bitter waters were made sweet, the LORD made an ordinance with the people and revealed Himself as the great Healer.

I do not think that the people of Israel had any severe physical sicknesses. Did they really need a Healer? Why God revealed Himself as the Physician?

Even though they might be physically well, they had something wrong inside their heart. It was exposed by how they acted when they tasted the bitter waters. They murmured.

Murmur is a sign of structural heart diseases. When a murmur is heard, the doctor cannot just ignore it. He has to investigate if the murmur is caused by an underlying heart disease that is life-threatening if untreated. Likewise, the disease of our soul and our spirit may be manifested as a murmur when we complain to the Lord.

Do you think you are sick? You may be physically well, but are you also well psychologically or spiritually? If not, will you humbly admit that you are sick, come to the great Physician and receive the proper treatment?

12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Matthew 9:12-13 NKJV)

At any rate, all of us do need Him to heal our heart condition, so that our heart will be made completely pure, wholly devoted to the Lord. We need Him to remove all the root of bitterness from our heart.

To experience this wonderful healing, we just need to apply the Cross of Christ not only to our situation, but also to our lives. As a result, not only will the bitter situation become so sweet to us, but our inner bitterness will also healed by our great Healer.

 

The experience of Elim

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. (Exodus 15:27 NKJV)

Even though the experience of Elim is only shortly mentioned here, there are some important implications and applications for us.

At Marah, we have the experience of the Cross of Christ. And here at Elim, we have the experience of resurrection, which is signified by the wells or springs of water and the palm trees. The springs of water signify the life that flows out of God in resurrection into His chosen people, whereas the palm trees signify the evergreen life that is flourishing, rejoicing in satisfaction and victorious over tribulation. These 2 items beautifully depict Christ's resurrected life that comes out of God to us, grows in us and flows through us. The experience of this wonderful life will strengthen us and transform us into an army that fights for God's purpose

 

 Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

 

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Exodus, week 7.
• Life Study of Exodus, messages 30-31.