Exodus 15: Introduction

Transcription

1 Exodus 15:22-27 Introduction A year and a half ago, we introduced the book of Exodus. (Since that time, we ve been in a lot of other places besides the book of Exodus!) As we looked ahead, we saw that Exodus pretty naturally divides into four main parts. In Part I we see that Yahweh is the God who delivers His people from Egypt (1:1-15:21) That s what the first fifteen chapters have all been concerned with. But now that the Egyptian army has been destroyed in the Red Sea, and the Israelites have sung their song of praise and triumph, the first section has come to its conclusion. We can say now that Yahweh is the God who has, already delivered His people from Egypt. So this morning, we begin Part II: Yahweh is the God who provides for and protects His people in the Wilderness (15:22-18:27) Part III will be: Yahweh is the God who makes a covenant with His people at Mount Sinai (19-24) And Part IV: Yahweh is the God who desires to dwell among His people (Mount Sinai; 25-40) I. Exodus 15:22 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. How many of us read these verses and subconsciously think to ourselves: No big deal; I ve been thirsty before as if we really know what this was like? As usual, it s always easier to read about no water when we re surrounded by an abundance of water at every faucet. The people would have filled up their water containers and water skins at their last place of encampment. But there s no way these water supplies could last very long under any circumstances much less in the heat of the desert. This might help to explain why the text says that Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur. Looking back at our past circumstances in light of what God has already done is always far easier for us than looking at our present or future circumstances in light of what God is able to do. It s amazing how we can rejoice over God s mighty deeds and provisions in the past, only in the very next moment to be in total fear of the future. So as the Israelites look at their very minimal water supplies, and then at the hot and dry desert with no sign at all of where the next drop of water might be found, it seems that they were suddenly very hesitant to set out. But, apparently with Moses prodding, they did set out, only to have all their fears confirmed as they went three days without finding any water at all. For three days, no sight or sound of water! And now their own supplies of water are dwindling fast. Now, of course, water is not a luxury for us human beings. Without water we die very quickly. So it should be pretty easy to imagine a kind of frantic panic setting in, and beginning to grip the people s hearts. And if this isn t stress enough, it s about to get even worse. II. Exodus 15:23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. When the people did finally find water in the desert, what an awesome feeling of relief that must have been(!!!) only then to have that relief just as quickly and suddenly turned back into an even worse kind of desperation. When they finally do find water in the desert, it s bitter 1

2 ( Marah means bitter ); it s undrinkable. Now if the people were beginning to feel frantic before, what do you think they re feeling now? If the people were feeling a bit panicked before, what do you think they re feeling now? Humanly speaking, the initial exhilaration of finding water has only set them up for the worst kind of anxiety and distress. Where are they going to find water? When are they going to find water? Now so far, we ve been looking at things purely from the human perspective. And since we are humans, that s the perspective that comes the most easily and the most automatically to each and every one of us. But there s always that other perspective God s perspective. Of course, the people can see with their own eyes the pillar of cloud and fire going before them. So they could say to themselves: The reason we re here is clearly because Yahweh has led us here. The reason we re at the bitter waters is clearly because God Himself is the one who has led us to the bitter waters. So, therefore, let us trust Him and cry out to Him. Or they could respond as they actually do respond in verse twenty-four: III. Exodus 15:24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? The people know that to grumble against Moses is really to grumble against the Lord (cf. 14:31) It s just that Moses is someone they can get at. And so instead of saying, Let us cry out to the Lord and put our trust in Him, the people choose to say, Let us make demands of the Lord and put Him to the test. How often do we do the same thing? How often do we essentially make our own demands of the Lord instead of surrendering ourselves to the Lord s will and trusting implicitly His promises and His purposes? The people grumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? In other words: If you are Yahweh s servant, give us water now. IV. Exodus 15:25a 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. The Hebrew word for log (es) can be translated either log (or wood / timber ) or tree. Both meanings are numerous throughout the Old Testament. So why does God have Moses throw a log and not just any log, but a very specific log (or tree ) into the water? 1 One very good answer would be that God just wants His people to implicitly, unquestioningly obey Him whether what He says makes sense to us or not. 2 I m reminded of when the prophet Elisha told Naaman, the leper, to wash in the Jordan River seven times. 2 Kings 5:11, Naaman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and 1 I don t see any evidence in the text that God was using (even miraculously) the natural, chemical properties of the log. Additionally, most commentators seem to agree that there s no symbolism or theological significance about this piece of wood no more than there s any symbolic significance in the salt that Elisha used to make the waters of Jericho drinkable. (2 Kings 2:19-22) 2 Moses faith in being willing to do what God commanded him, without understanding why or how it would work is what is implicitly commended here. (Stuart) Calvin says: It is not certain why He preferred to apply the tree, except to reprove their foolish impiety by showing that He has many remedies in His power for every evil. (Calvin tends toward the opinion that God used the natural properties of the tree in a miraculous manner.) We also see that by showing Moses a log to cast into the water God reminds the people that Moses is His servant and therefore he is to be obeyed, while at the same time reminding the people that even Moses is still totally dependent on His word. 2

3 wave his hand over the place and cure the leper But his servants came near and said to him, My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, Wash, and be clean? So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. So here in Exodus, Moses could say, Lord, why do I have to throw a log into the water? Is that really necessary? Can t I just wave my hand over the water? Or, Moses could say in humble, simple faith, Yes Lord, right away Lord I ll throw a log into the water if that s what You command and then I ll rejoice in Your miraculous provision. To quote an abbreviated version of Alfred Lord Tennyson: Our is not to reason why, ours but to do and in this case, be saved. 3 Having said all this, could there be a possible theological significance to God s choice of a tree/log? So Moses threw [the log] into the water, and the water became sweet. What s the point of this whole episode? Why did God first let the Israelites go three days without water in the desert, and then after that bring them very purposefully to a supply of water that s undrinkable until He makes it sweet? We go on to read in verses 25-26: V. Exodus 15:25b 26 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. Notice that the Lord did two things there at Marah: There the Lord made for [the Israelites] a statute and a rule, and there He tested them. When we put God to the test, our motives are never good. When we put God to the test, we re being selfish, and proud, and rebellious. But whenever God tests us, His purposes are always loving. God s testings are a powerful way and sometimes the only way of teaching us, and convicting us, and maturing us, and growing us. God s testings open our eyes to our sinfulness, and they also help us to see our need to depend upon Him trust in Him. So when God let the Israelites go three days without water in the desert and then brought them after all that to a supply of water that was undrinkable, He was testing them. What would this reveal about their hearts about their willingness to trust Him and obey Him? Well, when the people responded by grumbling against Moses, this revealed plenty about their hearts. In similar situations later on, this might have been the end. But on this occasion, God still isn t finished. God still has plans to use this test, even including the failure of Israel, as an opportunity to teach and grow His people. And so not only did the Lord test the people at Marah, but there in connection with this testing He also made for them a statute and a rule. The statute and the rule that God makes for the people are meant to be received and understood in light of this test that they ve so recently failed. And so it s only after Israel has been tested and failed the test, and only after God caused the bitter water to become sweet only then did God make for the people this statute and this rule: 3 Tennyson says in The Charge of the Light Brigade : Our is not to reason why, ours but to do and die. 3

4 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. So let s put it together. What did the test reveal to the people about their hearts? It revealed how prideful, and stubborn, and unbelieving they were. It revealed how deserving they were of God s judgment. And so it also very clearly revealed their need to diligently listen to the voice of the LORD [their] God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes The point here isn t simply being good enough in one s own strength, but rather living humbly in obedience to the Lord by faith. So if this is what God s testing revealed about the need of the people, then what was it that God was revealing about Himself when He caused the bitter water to become sweet? 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. Here s the heart of this whole passage. And so we need to take a minute to unpack those two words that go together: diseases [mahalah] and healer [rp ]. What are the diseases that God put on the Egyptians? We assume this is talking about the ten plagues. In light of how the Bible uses the word disease, we could say that all ten of the plagues (including the frogs, and the hail, and the locusts) were diseases whether on humans, or on animals, 4 or even on the land itself. 5 The key, then, is to see that diseases is a simple oneword summary of all the different plagues of God s wrath that He pours out on sinners. Later on, in Deuteronomy, Moses warns the people: Deuteronomy 28:15, 27, (cf. 28:35) If you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God then all these curses shall come upon you The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed The LORD will bring on you afflictions and diseases [halah] grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt Every disease [halah] also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. So once again, the key is to see that diseases, here, doesn t refer to just any kind of sickness or affliction. None of this has anything to do with the health and wealth prosperity Gospel of today. Instead, diseases has become, here, a theological term referring specifically to the wrath of 4 Cf. The plague of boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. (Exod. 9:9) 5 In another place, Moses mentions diseases [halah] with which the Lord [makes the land] diseased [halah] so that the whole land [is] burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout. (Deut. 29:22-23) Jeremiah speaks of the diseases [halah] of famine (Jer. 14:18) In 2 Chron. 7:14, Yahweh speaks of healing the land. 4

5 God the curse of God s law poured out on sinners. 6 So now listen again to what the Lord says here in Exodus fifteen: 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 [if you will live in humble obedience to the Lord by faith], I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians. And then the Lord finishes with these awesome, beautiful, wonderful words: For I am the LORD, your healer. So the real emphasis here is not on the people and their own obedience and faith, but rather on the Lord Himself who is their healer. In light of what God s testing of Israel revealed about the sinful bent of their hearts; and in light of God s promise that if they will trust Him and obey Him He won t put on them any of the diseases that He put on the Egyptians, then what does it mean when the Lord tops everything off with these words: For I am the LORD, your healer? It means this: For I am the Lord, who turns My wrath away from you. For I am the Lord, who removes my plagues from you. For I am the Lord, who takes away my judgments from you. In Deuteronomy thirty-two, the Lord says: Deuteronomy 32:39 7 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal [rp ]. Can t you see that the point here in Exodus fifteen is not Israel s obedience, or anything at all that Israel deserves? To the contrary, the emphasis in this passage is that the only thing the people will ever truly deserve is plague and disease. And so even when we live in obedience to the Lord by faith, we know that if we re not experiencing the righteous judgments of God, it s ultimately ALL BECAUSE OF THIS: He is the Lord, who turns His wrath away from us. He is the Lord, who removes His plagues from us. He is the Lord, who takes away His judgments from us. He is the Lord, our healer. And that s exactly what God wanted to show His people when He caused the bitter water to become sweet. Listen to this account from the book of Kings: 2 Kings 2:19 22 Now the men of [Jericho] said to Elisha, Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful. He said, Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it. So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it. So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. 6 In Egypt s case, the specific sin they were being judged for was their treatment of God s people, and so also their idolatry and their hatred of Yahweh. Since they weren t part of the covenant people, the plagues they experienced could not have been called covenant curses. 7 Deuteronomy 7:12, 15 [If] you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers the LORD will take away from you all sickness [halah], and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. Deuteronomy 28:27 (cf. Deut. 28:35) The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed [rp ]. Exodus 23:25 You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take disease [mahalah] away from among you. 5

6 And so here in Exodus, God is giving to His sinful, grumbling people a visible sign, and a tangible assurance, a promise that they can taste as they drink the water: Even as I ve healed this water making the bitter, sweet so you can know that I am the Lord, your healer. If disease is a theological word, shorthand for the wrath of God the curse of God s law poured out on sinners, then what does it mean that God is our healer? It means that He is the one who forgives us. 8 The Psalmist sings: Psalm 103:2 3 (cf. Jer. 14:19-20) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals [rp ] all your diseases. It means that He is the one who justifies us. He is the one who doesn t give us all the things that we do deserve because of our sins. And He is the one who does give us everything that we don t deserve because of our sins. He is the one who heals us of all the wounds and diseases that He Himself inflicts. But why, and how can the Lord do this? How can He heal us of the wounds and diseases that He Himself inflicts? How can He be our healer? The prophet Isaiah spoke of a suffering Servant who would come one day to live among the people. Listen to what he says about this suffering Servant: Isaiah 53:3 6, 9 11 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of pains [makob], 9 and acquainted with disease [halah]; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our diseases [halah] and carried our pains [makob]; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten [hikkit] 10 by God, and afflicted [ nh] Chronicles 6:28 30 If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever disease [mahalah] there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways. 2 Chronicles 7:12 14 I have heard your prayer When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal [rp ] their land. 9 The Hebrew word for pains is also a word signaling the suffering of God s wrath and the curse of His law: Jeremiah 30:15 Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain [makob] is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you. Lamentations 1:12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any pain [makob] like my pain [makob], which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 2 Chronicles 6:28 30 If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever disease [mahalah] there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain [makob] and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways. 10 Deuteronomy 28:22, 27 28, 35 The LORD will strike [hikkit] you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish The LORD will strike [hikkit] you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike [hikkit] you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind The 6

7 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds [habburah] 12 we are healed [rp ]. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has made him to be diseased [halah] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. How can the Lord heal us of the wounds and diseases that He Himself inflicts and that we rightly deserve? He did this by sending His one and only Son, who knew no sin, and then inflicting upon Him every wound, every disease, and every plague that we deserved. Which is to say: Instead of pouring out His wrath on us, God poured out His wrath on His only Son as He hung there upon the tree. I can t help but wonder if this might be why God showed Moses a tree (es) foreshadowing the tree on which the suffering Servant would accomplish our healing by bearing all our diseases. Deuteronomy 21:22 23 If a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree [es], his body shall not remain all night on the tree [es], but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. And then the Apostle Paul quotes this verse in Galatians chapter three: Galatians 3:10, 13 It is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. Brothers and sisters, this is the meaning of the atonement (of Christ s work on the cross) that those who leave out the second verse of In Christ Alone would try to tell you is a recent and unbiblical invention of the Church. But in reality, it lies at the heart, and is the very essence of LORD will strike [hikkit] you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. Isaiah 5:25 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck [hikkit] them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. Jeremiah 14:19 Have you utterly rejected Judah? Does your soul loathe Zion? Why have you struck [hikkit] us down so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror Kings 17:20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted [ nh] them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 1 Kings 8:35 When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict [ nh] them 12 Psalm 38:3 5 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds [habburah] stink and fester because of my foolishness. Isaiah 1:5 6 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick [halah], and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores [habburah] and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. 7

8 the Gospel. It s why we can say with joy and thanksgiving that if we don t experience all the diseases of Egypt, it s ultimately, only, ALL BECAUSE OF THIS: He is the Lord, who turns His wrath away from us. He is the Lord, who removes His plagues from us. He is the Lord, who takes away from us His judgments. He is the Lord, our healer. After leading the Israelites three days in the desert without finding any water, and then bringing them to water that was bitter, look how the Lord follows up this test in verse twenty-seven: VI. Exodus 15:27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water. Conclusion Brothers and sisters, let us diligently listen to the voice of the LORD [our] God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes. Let us trust Him always, and obey Him always, even if He leads us to bitter water after three days in the desert without water. Why? Because He is the LORD, our healer. He is wholly, and completely worthy to be trusted and obeyed. 8