Exodus 15:22–26
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. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 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, 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.” (ESV)
Introduction
In the bitter waters of trial, God tests His people not to destroy them, but to sanctify them, and reveals Himself as their healer and provider.
1. The Wilderness of Testing
1.1. God’s Sovereign Leading
1.2. A Test of Faith and a Mirror of the Heart
2. The Bitterness of Grumbling
2.1. Grumbling Reveals Unbelief
2.2. God’s Mercy in the Midst of Complaint
3. The Sweetness of Grace
3.1. God’s Provision Through a Mediator
3.2. The Tree that Heals the Bitter Waters
4. The God Who Heals and Sanctifies
4.1. God’s Purpose: Obedience and Holiness
4.2. God’s Name: Yahweh-Rapha
Application
1. Expect wilderness seasons
2. Beware of grumbling
3. Run to the Mediator
4. Trust the Healer
Conclusion
In the bitter waters of Marah, we see the faithfulness of God, the fickleness of man, and the foreshadowing of Christ. God tests, but He also provides. He reveals Himself not only as the Lord of the Red Sea, but the Healer of Marah’s bitterness.