Meat for the Hungry

“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,” (Exodus 15:25) Helpless and angry, Israel berated Moses because Marah’s water was toxic. He cried to the Lord for help and at the Lord’s command, Moses tossed a Tree into the water and it became drinkable. Tell me, once the Tree submerged, how did the Israelites know the water was pure? Did God use special effects like Hollywood? Was there a magic wave that changed the appearance of the water?

Three hard days of trekking in the wilderness had depleted Israel’s water supply and when they finally found water at Marah, it was bitter and undrinkable. Being three days without water and on the verge of death is something no one wants to encounter. However, this time-period is very significant for Israel because it pictures resurrection – the final portion of the baptism they experienced in the cloud and in the Sea (I Corinthians 10:2). Baptism has three components:  Death, burial, and resurrection. In the whole of scripture, all things point to the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Cloud separating the Israelites from the Egyptians on the shore of the Red Sea pictured death – light to Israel (believers) and darkness to the Egyptians (unbelievers). Then, descending into the Red Sea and walking through it on dry ground to the other side, symbolized burial. Finally, these three days of waterless travel, dimly foreshadowed the three days and nights Jesus spent in ...

“So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea…out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.” (Exodus 15:22) In the dry, barren, sun-baked land, Israel traveled three days without water. Remember, it was not only men, women, and children, they also had livestock. No water meant death. Even if they found enough for the six-hundred thousand plus people, would they be able to save their animals? In this barren wilderness, probably not. Finally, they came upon the bitter waters of Marah, so named because the word Marah actually means bitter. Water normally preserving human life, here caused death. Frustrated, “…the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” (Ex. 15:24) Let’s take a step back for a minute.

“By faith they (Israel) passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29 The descendants of Abraham had just participated in God’s great miracle and final act of judgment, fulfilling His ancient prophecy (Genesis 15: 13-14). This morning, joy gushed from their hearts in a song of praise. Songs, music, don’t we love it? Musical instruments, radios, CDs, MP players, and iPods are everywhere. But did you know God created music? Yes, He set seven notes in place and we named them. Seven, the number God uses to indicate perfection and completion. Now, although an octave has eight notes, notice the eighth goes back to the first and all others are only variations of the original seven.