God and I shall be, I am His
and He is mine. If you get that, you've got enough. The wise man in Proverbs 27 makes
this observation, the full soul loatheth an honeycomb. But to
the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. Alone short of that is just this.
If you've come here tonight full, I'm sure you'll go out just like
you came in. I have nothing for you. But if you've come here tonight
a hungry soul before God. I have a bitter thing upon which
I trust the Spirit of God will feed you. If He will, you shall
find this bitter thing sweet and satisfying to your soul and
you'll go home full. So I ask you to come with me
to the waters of Mara in Exodus chapter 15. And sitting down by the stream
of bitter waters, let us each ask God the Holy Spirit to be
our teacher and ask him to write upon our hearts the lessons that
this bitter place are intended to teach us. Let's begin reading
at verse 22, Exodus chapter 15. So Moses brought Israel from
the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness, went out into
the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness
and found no water. And when they came to Marah,
Mary is the word, bitter. When they came to Marah, They
could not drink of the waters of Mara, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was
called Mara. And the people murmured against
Moses, saying, what shall we drink? 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. There
the Lord made for his people a statute and an ordinance, and
he proved them 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, for I am the Lord
that healeth thee. And they came to Elam, where
were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten, that is,
seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters. After the Lord God had so graciously
delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and across the Red
Sea. After he had made for them the
ordinance of the Passover, picturing Christ our Passover sacrificed
for us. And by blood sprinkled upon the
doorpost had redeemed them from death and destruction. After
he had brought him across the Red Sea, miraculously opening
the path for them to cross the sea, and then drowning Pharaoh
and all the armies of Egypt in the depths of the sea, the Lord
brought Israel into the wilderness of Shur. And there they wandered
for three days in the desert. Not a wilderness like we'd have
in Kentucky. Not a wilderness like you'd have
in the mountains of West Virginia. Wilderness like you'd have out
in the deserts of the West. They're in the desert for three
days without water. The scorching sun beat down upon
them. The desert sands scalded their
feet. Their cattle were perishing.
Their children's tongues swelling in their mouths. Their lips were
parched. They had roamed for three days
in the barren wilderness without water. Then at last they come
upon a flowing river, streams of water, lots of water. The fountain or the river, the
streams of Mara. When they saw the waters of Mara,
how their hearts must have rejoiced in hope and expectation as they
approached Mara. They could almost taste the water.
They could almost taste the, oh, we're going to have some
water now. After three days in the scorching sun, they could
almost feel the cool, refreshing water going down their throats
to quench their thirst. But when they got there, the
waters were bitter, so bitter that they couldn't be drunk.
Can you imagine the frustration? Can you imagine the disappointment?
Can you imagine the anger? Immediately, they turned against
Moses and murmured against Moses. Immediately, they turned against
God and murmured against God. They found nothing good in God's
providence, in their immediate experience of it. And so they
found nothing good in God. And they were angry with God. Though the Lord had led them
by the fiery and cloudy pillar these three days, Though he was
with them, though he miraculously and graciously delivered them
from bondage in Egypt and promised to do them good all their days,
they couldn't see him. All they could see and all they
could think about were the bitter waters before them and their
desperate thirst. And they murmured. Do you know anyone like these
Israelites? I blush to acknowledge that I
do. When these chosen redeemed people
should have remembered God's goodness, they thought only of
their trouble. When they should have looked
to their merciful deliverer, they looked only upon the bitter
waters of Marah. When they should have prayed,
they murmured. When they should have believed, they grumbled.
But God, the psalmist later wrote, being full of compassion, forgave
their iniquity and destroyed them not. For he remembered that
they were but dust. Oh, how faithful. is our God. And when we believe
not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. The children
of Israel had just three days earlier learned a new song, Song
of Redemption. And they sang the song of God's
salvation. They were standing three days
earlier on the borders of the Red Sea And they had that great
sight fresh in their minds as they marched into the wilderness
of Shur being directed by God. They had been redeemed. And all
their enemies had been drowned in the sea, swallowed up in the
Red Sea. They were now on the march toward
the promised land. They traveled for three days
and they found no water. And when they came to the waters
of Mara, there was water in abundance. but it was bitter, and they couldn't
drink it. They murmured against Moses,
and Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree.
The tree had been there all along, but Moses couldn't see it or
didn't see it or wouldn't see it until the Lord showed him
the tree. And when the Lord showed Moses
the tree, He cast the tree into the waters, and the bitter waters
of Mara were made sweet. Let every ransomed soul personally
apply this to himself. Children of God, when you read
the scriptures, read the scriptures for personal benefit. Study the
scriptures with a personal application to yourselves. It is altogether
proper, yes, to read the scriptures and instruct others in that which
you have learned. But learn that the scriptures
apply to you personally. And when you've experienced them,
then you can declare them to others. The Lord, my God, has
brought me out of Egypt. He's led me through a new and
living way. through the Red Sea of Christ's
precious blood. And in that same fountain of
blood, he has drowned all my spiritual enemies forever. He's
put a new song in my heart. He has become my strength and
my salvation. He is my redeemer and my redemption,
and he is my song. Yet, as he brought Israel through
the wilderness of Shur, so he is bringing you and me through
the wilderness. And in this wilderness, we ought
to expect such experiences as one finds in a wilderness. When you're walking through a
desert, you need not expect anything pleasant. When you're walking
through a bleak empty, barren wasteland. You ought not expect
anything except that which is bleak, empty, and barren. You oughtn't to expect anything
but thistles and briars. This is the wilderness. It's
not the land of promise. Though we often do, we should
never call into question the wisdom and goodness of our God
for leading us through this wilderness. Though we blush to acknowledge
that we do, we should never question God's faithfulness because he's
placed a worm in some apple that we have been hoarding up for
ourselves and we bite into that luscious apple and find a rotting,
decaying core because a worm has spoiled it all. And we should
never doubt our Father's mercy, love, and grace, because He sends
us some bitter thing by which He has purposed to sweeten us
and to sweeten Himself to us. Now listen to me, children of
God. Every bitter thing your Father sends you, He sends for
the purpose of sweetening your soul and for the purpose of making
himself sweeter to your soul. Remember, it is God who brought
Israel to Marah. He brought them there on purpose.
He brought them there to teach them, to prove them, and to make
himself known to them. He did it to teach them and to
teach us, and to make himself known to them and make himself
known to us. All these things, we're told,
happened to them for examples for you and I. We read in verse
25 and verse 26, Moses 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 and said,
if thou wilt 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 commandments and keep his statutes. That is,
if you will walk before me and be perfect. If you would be holy as I am
holy, then I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which
I brought upon the Egyptians. For I am the Lord that healeth
thee. In his wise and adorable providence,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of Israel, brought the children
of Israel to the bitter waters of Marah, so that he might make
himself known to them by this special character I am the Lord
that healeth thee I am the Lord that healeth thee
my name is Jehovah Rapha I am the Lord that healeth thee I'll
talk to you about that in a few minutes for now Let me call your
attention to a few lessons. Number one, understand this. God Almighty does not deal with
all people alike. He never has, He doesn't now,
and He won't tomorrow. People have this notion that
they dare set in judgment over God, as if somehow God must answer
to them. I recall years ago listening
to a local pastor on the radio. He said, he said, God's going
to have to answer for a lot. And I said immediately to my
wife, to whom you reckon he's going to answer? God's going
to have to answer for a lot. Oh, no. God Almighty answers
to none. None can stay his hand. Nobody's
going to slap God on the wrist and say, what are you doing?
God Almighty does as he will. And he does as he will always
with everyone. So that's not fair. Take it up
with God if you dare. The Lord did not deal with the
Egyptians as he did with the Israelites. He sent judgment
upon the Egyptians, and by sending judgment upon the Egyptians,
sent salvation to Israel. He did not even tell the Egyptians
about the Passover lamb to be sacrificed. He said to Moses,
you go tell this in the ears of the children of Israel. The
Egyptians were altogether unaware of what was about to happen.
God only said, I'll harden Pharaoh's heart. I'll harden Pharaoh's
heart. I'll harden Pharaoh's heart.
And Pharaoh and all the Egyptians will know that I am God. Now
you tell my people, there's a lamb to be sacrificed and blood to
be sprinkled, and I'll pass over them. And the Lord brought Israel
out with a high hand. and by an outstretched arm, and
he spoiled the Egyptians. That is, he caused Israel to
spoil the Egyptians. They took all the wealth of Egypt
out with them. He brought them to the Red Sea,
and opened the sea, and Israel walked across the sea. And then
they got to the other side, and Pharaoh and his chariots thumping
and beating the hooves and the horses breathing loud and hard
about to catch them. Suddenly God overwhelmed them
with the sea of His wrath. And so it is in the sacrifice
of His own Son. By the cross of Jesus Christ
the Lord all shall be judged both those who are redeemed by
his blood and those who despise his sacrifice all judged alike
on the same basis we being redeemed accepted of God made perfect
in his sight so that he has become the Lord who heals us and they
who despise his blood forever drown in the sea of God's wrath
displayed in the sacrifice of his son. Not only does God not
deal with all men alike, God doesn't even deal with his elect
in the way we expect him to. I wrote down God doesn't usually
That's not right. David, God doesn't ever deal
with his own the way we expect him to. Find me any place in
this book where you see God doing something, and as you're reading
along, say, that's just what I would have expected. Find me
any place. Everywhere we read the history
of God's people, you're reading along, say, Well, that wasn't what I expected.
Man, if I had been planning this, I wouldn't have planned it that
way. If I had been working this thing out, I wouldn't have worked
it that way. God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not
our thoughts. His ways and His thoughts are
as high above ours as heaven is above the earth. God never
deals with His own. the way we would expect him to.
He always deals with his own exactly according to his purpose. And he does it for the purpose
of doing them good. Who would have thought that God
who divided the Red Sea would send his children three days
into the wilderness with not a drop of water? who would have
dreamed it. They looked for a promised land
flowing with milk and honey, and they found Mara. We might
have expected that God would cause water to gush up out of
the ground. Why, He had plagued Egypt. He had opened up the Red Sea.
Later on, we read that He caused water to gush out of a rock.
Surely it would be reasonable to expect that God, such a God
as this would cause water to gush up out of the ground as
soon as I get thirsty. But instead, he leads them on
deeper into the desert and deeper into thirst until at last they're
nearly dead for thirst and at last brings them to water. And
now there's an abundance of water and they can't drink a drop of
it. because it's bitter why? because God was determined
in great mercy love and grace to prove his children and to
prove them they must be tried he was determined to make himself
known to them in his redemptive glory as Jehovah Rapha the Lord
that healeth thee But in order for him to be known as the Lord
who heals, his people must be brought down to the place where
they must be healed by him. They've got to be brought down
to the place where only his hand can lift them. They've got to
be brought down to the place where only by his outstretched
arm can they be raised up. I hope you see the parallel.
We're not in a dress parade here. We're pilgrims in this world,
marching through a wilderness, a bleak, barren wilderness to
a land of promised rest. And it is a stern march through
rough ground, which flesh and blood would never choose. I look into your eyes and see
the things that I've seen you go through. And I realize that
you haven't shared the most intimate things with me. The most intimate
difficulty is you can't share with anybody, just you and God.
And I think to myself, who would ever choose to walk in this way?
Who would ever choose this path? who would ever choose to send
a child in this direction. None but the infinitely wise
and good God who knows exactly what you need and exactly what
I need. Here's a third thing. There is a need. for every trial. There is a necessity for every
heartache. There is a reason for every pain
God's children experience in this world. Our Heavenly Father will not
cause his child a needless tear. by this grievous trial God caused
Israel to see something of the corruption, the unbelief, and
the vile ingratitude of their own hearts. If there had been no wilderness
within, they wouldn't have had to go through the wilderness
of Shura. If there had been no drought in their souls, they
wouldn't have had to endure the drought of the wilderness. If
there'd been no bitterness in their hearts, they wouldn't have
had to experience the bitter waters of Mara. You see, God
intends by our trials to make us know our corruptions, to teach
us to trust him and to correct us from ourselves. There is a needs be. for the
things we suffer in this world. I repeat deliberately, our father's
hand will never cause his child a needless tear. Not only did
God intend to show his people what was in them, he brought
them to Mara because he was determined to show them what is in him. He brought them to Mara to give
them a special revelation of himself. A revelation that could
not be given in any other way or in any other place, though
he's with them all the while. He is with them in the cloudy
and fiery pillar. He is with them in that rock,
following them all the days through the wilderness. He is with them
all the while, yet He could not be known as Jehovah Rapha, the
Lord that healeth thee, except by displaying His healing power. Now, let me show you three or
four things about this character of our God. In verse 25, the tree that Moses
saw that was cast into the waters of Marah, we're told by the Jewish
doctors, and most seem to think they were right, was itself a
bitter tree. Had to have been a bitter tree,
it grew by bitter waters. But this bitter tree being cast
into the waters at God's command made the bitter waters of Mara
sweet and so the Lord God in his infinite wisdom makes bitter
things sweet only by the most bitter thing and that bitter
thing is Christ's sacrifice as our substitute this tree clearly
is a representation of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who is spoken
of throughout the scriptures as a tree. He is that tree described
in Revelation 21. He is that tree spoken of in
Psalm 1. He's often spoken of as a tree
in the song of Solomon. Our Lord Jesus here spoken out
as a bitter tree. It's speaking of him in his crucifixion
as our substitute, dying under the bitter wrath of God, satisfying
the bitter judgment of God. And this tree cast into the bitter
waters makes the bitter waters sweet. So here's the first thing. The Lord Jesus, our crucified
redeemer, is the healer of all our troubles. Who among you has not learned
by bitter experience that though our days on earth are few, they're
full of trouble? Some of you I'm sure are going
through trial of great trouble right now. Sally just lost her
sister, Dave Coleman, down in Tennessee with his family, his
older brother just died Sunday night. Perhaps God has put you
in trouble so that he might make you to know himself as Jehovah
Rapha, the Lord that healeth thee. Let me tell you what I've experienced.
This poor man cried unto the Lord And the Lord heard him and
saved him out of all his troubles. That's what David sang in Psalm
20, or in the second Samuel 22, when he had been delivered from
the hand of Saul. Oh, how the Lord delivers us
from trouble. Turn to Psalm 3. Let me show
you. Give you an example. Here is David. The psalm was written when he
was fleeing from his son Absalom. Imagine that. Imagine that. When I was in the hospital, one
of the reactions I had to whatever happened to my liver and kidneys
and the medication and all with the hallucinations All the while
I was capable of knowing the difference between what was real
and what was just a hallucination. I remember them distinctly, except
for one thing. Just one thing. One hallucination
that became so real and utterly devastating. I was convinced
my family was trying to have me killed, including that lady. I was convinced. But that was
just a hallucination. It didn't last long. What David
went through was real. Absalom wanted his life. His
darling son Absalom, for whom he would give his life, was trying
to kill him. Now look what David says. Lord,
how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up
against me. Many there be which say of my
soul there is no help for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield
for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto
the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. I laid me down and slept. I await
for the Lord sustained me. How come? Because He heard me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves
against me round about. Arise, O Lord, save me! O my God, for Thou hast smitten
all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of
the ungodly. Salvation belongeth to the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. When the children of Israel came
to Marah, they found themselves in great trouble. The waters were bitter. They
were dying of thirst. And they seemed to be mocked
all the while. There's plenty of water before them. plenty
of water, plenty of water, but not a drop to drink. Then God
intervened. He delivered them from their
trouble by healing the bitter water. Sometimes the Lord does that
by just changing our circumstances. At other times he He turns our
sorrow into joy and makes our bitter water sweet by interjecting
something in the waters that makes them sweet. Changes everything. Just like Moses was commanded
to take this tree and cast it into the waters. So our Lord
graciously interjects himself in our difficulties and makes
the difficulties sweet so that we can say with Joseph, You meant
it for evil, but God meant it for good. Don't be afraid. I'm
in the place of God. This is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. Frequently, the Lord makes our
bitter trouble sweet simply by giving us contentment and satisfaction
with his will. Oh, Brother Lindsey said something
to me when he came in tonight. I have repeated it several times
immediately. Oh, may His will be mine. If God will give me grace to
want what He has purposed, to be content with what He performs,
to be satisfied with his will. I can endure whatever, whatever
comes in this wilderness and with peace. Then I can sing,
Brother Ed Hale used to sing, oh, how merciful, how merciful,
blessed Lord, how merciful thou art to me. The Lord Jesus, Jehovah
Raphael, certainly is the healer of all our diseases, of all our
sicknesses. Now, there are several things
here I'm just going to comment on briefly. Clearly, if we had
no sin, we would have no sickness. The Lord said, you walk before
me, do what I said, none of these plagues will come on you. The
fact that you sniffle or get sick The fact that your vision
dims, your hair falls out, and your body decays displays that
you are nothing but sin. That's what we are by nature.
As the Lord God has redeemed our souls from our transgressions
in the resurrection, he will deliver our bodies from the transgressions. But now we live in this body
of flesh and we carry with us a body of sin. Still, The Lord
graciously heals us of our diseases. He bear our sins in his own body
on the tree and he bear our diseases as well. But the Lord heals in a very
specific manner. This is the first time in scripture
we have any mention of healing. And this healing was done by
the use of specific means. Take the tree, cast it into the
waters, the waters will be healed, your thirst is all gone. We recognize the healing to be
God's. And yet at the same time, we
recognize that faith and good sense go hand in hand. Faith
does not suggest in any way that we should not use the means God
has given us, but rather we should employ the means and recognize
that the healing is God's work and God's work altogether. But
most importantly, this great God of ours, our Lord Jesus Christ,
Jehovah Rapha, is he who heals our soul. I think we're saying it Sunday
night. The great physician now is near the sympathizing Jesus.
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer. Oh, hear the voice
of Jesus. These bitter waters of Mara are
emblems of the bitter curses of God's holy law. The bitterness that is the result
of sin. That must fall upon ruined multitudes. forever in hell. How is it that God heals the
sin sick soul? First thing he does is he makes him bitter. Bitter with himself. Bitter with
his sin. Bitter with his nature. Bitter
under the wrath of God. He strips him. He humbles him. He kills him. Then he makes him
alive. But before the waters were healed.
You'll notice that prayer was made to God. This prayer Moses
to God didn't heal the waters, but there was no healing done
until prayer was made. And I'm going to tell you something.
Don't know how to explain it. Don't need to explain it. No
center. will ever be healed of his heart's
plague until it calls on the God of mercy through Jesus Christ
to heal him. Not going to happen. We pray
for folks, pray for our sons and daughters as well we should. But the reality is until God
graciously forces them personally to seek his mercy, there will
be none. Still something else was needed.
The waters were not healed until the tree was cast into them. Our soul's plague comes only
when Christ crucified comes into our souls. Only when Christ by
the Spirit of God comes in saving grace, making all things new,
only when his blood and His righteousness not only are imputed to us, but
imparted to us, then we're made new and made whole. And once
the tree was cast into the waters, they were completely healed. Will you hear me now? Will you
hear me? The cross of Christ The crucified
Redeemer makes vile, worthless sinners completely whole before
God. And He will never bring upon
Babi Estes any of the plagues and diseases by which He destroyed
Egypt. It won't happen. It won't happen. In Christ, we walk before God. Holy and without blame forever
Let me show you one more thing look at verse 27 How'd you got to show you this
And they came to Elam Where were 12 wells of water a well of water
for each of the 12 tribes of Israel and three scored tea and
70 palm trees a palm tree for every elder in Israel and they
encamp there by the waters. Oh, this tells us there are times
of refreshing to follow the bitter waters of morrow. But it tells
us more. It tells us that Christ crucified is he in whom there is grace
sufficient for all the Israel of God. Grace abundant, grace all-sufficient
for your soul and mine all the time. Oh God, make it yours for
Christ's sake. Amen.