EXODUS 15:22-16:36 INTRODUCTION

EXODUS 15:22-16:36 INTRODUCTION Moses has led the people out of Egypt they have witnessed God's power at work through the 10 plagues and also through the destruction of the Egyptians. Moses knows where the people are going for God told him in 3:12 that they will worship the Lord of this mountain that is the mountain of Horeb or Sinai. He knew that God would be with him and his people and he has the symbolic presence of God with him in the pillar of cloud and fire. But the people are not at their destination yet and in these incidents that we are looking at this morning we see God testing and preparing his people for the encounter at Mount Sinai. Let's look at this first test. 1. THE LORD TESTS HIS PEOPLE AT MARAH (15:22-27). Now the people have just been celebrating God's goodness and grace to them in being their warrior God and in displaying his power with the drowning of the Egyptians (chapter 15). They were confident that God would fulfil his promises to them and establish his worship in the Promised Land. But immediately following this period of joy and celebration comes a period of very real testing. That is how it is so often in the Christian life. As soon as we have a time of celebration and joy, some real encouragement, then we can be sure that a period of testing is just around the corner. But what sort of test are we talking about. It is the Lord that is testing them (v 25) is he looking to set a test to see if they pass or fail? That is how it is in the school exam. A test is set to see if the student understands the subject and they either pass or fail. Is that what God is doing? Does he want to find out if his people will pass or fail? Well that is not the type of test that is meant here. The best way to describe this test is to think about someone who goes to the gym. He is going to test his muscles by lifting different weights. But why does he do that; is he only interested to find out how much weight he lifts whether he passes of fails the test. No! He tests himself against the weights because he wants to tone his muscles he wants to stretch them to make them stronger. At first the man might be able to lift very little but as he goes each week and tests himself he soon finds that he can lift weights that he couldn't do before. Why? His muscles have developed and toned as a result of the tests of lifting different weights. Well that is the test that God is bringing into the lives of his people here. He is testing them in order to develop their faith in order to stretch or tone their faith; He is strengthening their faith through the test. You see God's principle is that testing is the means of strengthening our faith. God wants to teach these people what it means to trust God, and the only way they are going to learn that is through testing. You see if a man prays to the Lord for more patience what does he expect to happen? Perhaps he is impatient by nature and is quick tempered and longs to be more tolerant, more patient. Well having prayed for patience does he lie down at night and expect God to send down a gift of patience during the night while he is asleep. So that the next morning he wakens up and, would you believe it, he is now more patient. Of course it doesn't work like that, God will answer his prayer by putting him into testing situations that will develop his faith and will develop his patience. Now let s look at this story. The people have been in the desert for three days. They have left the Red sea with plenty of water but now they are unable to find water. After three days their own water supplies will have been running out. Just as they thought they were never going to find 1

water they look and there in the distance is what looks like water. They must have rejoiced at this find and perhaps some ran ahead in excitement. But when they get to Marah they find that the water is bitter. The text doesn't say why the water is bitter but it was probably contaminated in some way and not fit for drinking. Now here is the test. How are God's people going to react, are they going to have faith in God are they going to trust God? Well sadly the answer is that they grumble against Moses and by implication against the Lord (v 24). The people's faith is not strong and they have not yet learnt to trust God in the testing situation. What the people should have done is what Moses does; cry out to the Lord (v 25), now the word that is translated cried out means something like shouting. But it has the idea of putting your whole self into it. So this is not a casual sort of prayer but this is a prayer by a person who puts his whole self into it, he is wholehearted in what he is doing. Notice that the Lord responds to Moses prayer by showing him a log or branch or piece of wood. He threw it into the water and as a result God does a miracle and the water becomes sweet so that the people can drink. The word that is translated showed is a root of a word that means to teach or instruct. The noun of this word is Torah or law the Torah is what Moses will receive on Mount Sinai. In giving Moses the Torah, God was showing to Moses and his people something of himself. He was displaying what He is like as God. So in answer to Moses prayer God shows Moses what He is like by turning the bitter water into sweet. So what is God teaching his people through this event? How is God strengthening the faith of his people? The whole lesson is that God cares for his people. The people needed to learn to trust their God so the Lord encourages them in their faith by showing them his care for them. Now my dear friend that is exactly how God strengthens our faith in times of testing he shows his care of us. But how does God do that? He does it in response to prayer and he does it through a revelation of himself. Well as New Testament believers, God reveals himself to us in his word, if we want to know what God is like we find the answer in his word. Therefore when we face the various tests of life, then the way to see our faith strengthened is to turn to him in prayer, and not just causal prayer but prayer that is wholehearted and secondly our faith is strengthened as we study his word and learn more about our God. What many of us do is that we face the test and we almost go under. We fail to pray because we don't feel like praying and we fail to read his word because we feel unable to do so because the test has so over powered us. When we face a dilemma and don't know what way to turn then we need to pray and look to the Lord to guide us through his word. If we do that then the Lord shows his care to us, he meets our needs and reveals something of himself to us through his word. This is a continuing principle, as God makes clear in verses 25-27. Here is the decree and law that God made for them that day. If they listen carefully to God if they do what is right and pay careful attention to all God's commands and decrees then they will not face any of the plagues that the Egyptians faced and the reason given is that I am the Lord who heals you. Just as He turns bitter waters into sweet so He heals his people by turning their bitterness into sweetness. This experience was bitter but it became sweet because of the intervention of the Lord. As if to underline this; the very next verse tells us that when they came to Elim they found that there was an abundance of water and there was shade from the hot sun. God is being gracious to his people He is teaching them to trust him and He is doing so in such a way that he proves to them that he will care for them. 2

But he was also teaching the people that they need to learn day by day to depend totally upon him, to lean upon him and to humble themselves before him in submission to his perfect will for their lives. It is because these people are God's people that they are being tested, tested in order to strengthen them in order that they might learn to depend totally on him. This is how Moses puts it later on in the book of Deuteronomy (8:2). That my dear friend is God's purpose in his testing of us, He is strengthening our faith He is teaching us to depend totally on him we are learning that He can be trusted, that He does care for us, and that He will provide for our needs, even when we have not responded to his testing as we ought. However it is God's way to put us through the test so that we experience his refreshing grace within our lives. 2. THE LORD TESTS HIS PEOPLE AT THE DESERT OF SIN It is worth noting that the people are half way to their destination (v 1). It is also interesting in passing that time is measured from the time they left Egypt and distance is measured in terms of distance from Sinai where they will meet God on the mountain. The same pattern emerges in this incident as the previous one. In verses 2-3 the people grumble, even in spite of their experiences at Marah and Elim these people did not trust God they don't really believe He is for them; they still seem to fail to appreciate what God has done for them in redeeming them from the hand of the Egyptians. The people were hungry their food supplies were running out and they seem to doubt that God is able to do anything about it (Psalm 78:19). As a result they grumble and hark after the good old days except of course they seem to have forgotten that the good old days never existed. They seemed to have forgotten their slavery and hardship and now they only remember the meat and food they had to eat. In effect what they are saying is that they wish they could go back to their old life, for they were good days. Now before we are too hard on these Israelites has there never been days in our lives when because of the hardships we have been tempted to think of the good old days before our conversion. Except of course that those days where not as good as we think. Those days were days when we lived according to our sinful nature and gave full vent to our own evil desires and as a result sometimes faced real difficulties because of our sin. Has there not been days in our lives when because of our difficulties we have almost forgotten what the Lord has done for us in Christ when we have forgotten what it cost him to redeem us. All we can see is the good times of living in sin and there are good times when one is living for sin and for self. But notice that this is another test from the Lord and the Lord treats them graciously in order to teach them to trust him every day. For every day the Lord will send manna from heaven and that manna will only last for one day. The very next day they will have to depend once again upon the Lord (vs. 4-5). On the sixth day they will be given enough for two days for none will be sent on the Sabbath day. Would the people obey the Lord and follow his instructions? Well sadly the answer is No! Look at verse 20 and 27. Some people did not listen to the Lord and they tried to keep the manna for another day, but it was full of maggots the next day. Some went out to look for the manna on the seventh day but none was to be found. What lies behind the failure of the people is lack of trust; they find it hard to depend upon the Lord for daily food. They doubt if the next day God will send manna and so they try to save a little as a precaution. The Lord's Prayer tells us to ask for our daily bread but so often we doubt God's ability to provide for us daily and the result is that we feel that we must secure our own futures. Now there is 3

nothing wrong will showing wisdom and planning for the future but I often wonder if far too many Christians feel the need to secure their own futures to the extent that they have no need for the Lord to provide their daily bread. So savings for a rainy day can be so excessive that there is little room for Lord to provide and three is no need for us to depend daily on him for we have provided for ourselves until we die and even after that. I often wonder if Christians really even begin to learn to trust God for their daily bread in our own country. How much money would be released for the work of the Lord and for humanitarian aid throughout the world if we did trust the Lord daily? I must confess that one of our most trying times for us as a family was when I was at Bible College and had no income coming in. Sandra earned just enough to pay our mortgage and then Jason came along and we had no income at all coming in. Those days where hard but we can confess that God met our daily needs and we depended upon him more than at any other point in our lives. Now the Lord's lesson here is to trust him to depend daily upon him to meet all our needs whether they are physical, mental or spiritual. His care of us shows that He has redeemed us and that we are his people and He will not leave us or forsake us. His daily care shows us something of his glory (vs. 6-7). But not only will the Lord provide manna He will provide meat or quail for the people. The people grumbled against Moses but in doing so they are grumbling against the Lord, and who were these people to do such things, people who were in bondage and would still be in bondage if the Lord had not intervened (vs. 7-8). However the Lord demonstrates his commitment to them and shows his grace towards them by giving them meat and manna (v 11). Then the people will know that He is the Lord that He is their God. He demonstrates his glory to them by his provision for them. That, my dear friend, is how God treats us today. Even when we grumble against him even though we have no right to do so for after all who are we? Where we not in bondage and slaves to sin? Where we not following after the way of Satan and we would still be doing so if the Lord of Glory had not of intervened and displayed his glory to us in salvation but also in his daily care and provision for us. If we just take the time to count our daily blessings then as the hymn says we will be surprised just what the Lord has done. We ought not to be but often we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we do not stop to think how the Lord provides for us day by day. Today He has given us homes to live in; He has given us food on our tables, families to care for and to be cared by. He has given us money in our pockets, cars to drive, jobs to go to, clothes to wear and I could go on. Having considered all that; if we still are unconvinced by God's daily provision then look at other parts of the world look at the poor nations of our world and ask yourself what they would give for what we take for granted. Yes there are times that the Lord tests us; times when He puts us into difficult situations in order to strengthen our faith in order to teach us that He is the LORD and that He is our God. There is one final application and it is found in the New Testament. Jesus referred to this episode in John chapter 6:31-33. He went on to explain that He is the bread of life and He feeds his people spiritually (John 6:35). Jesus is our spiritual food today, just as we need physical food for growth so we need spiritual food to grow and Jesus is that bread from heaven. As we need to depend upon him for our daily physical needs so every day we must feed upon Christ. We of course do this by reading, thinking and mediating upon his word. We draw near to him in prayer and commune with him and as we use all the means of grace that God has provided for us we will find food for our souls. 4

But this food must be daily, we cannot have a double portion today and miss tomorrow, every day we must feed our souls on Jesus, every day we must depend upon him to meet our spiritual needs and we can be sure that just as God fed his people for forty years until they reached the promised land (v 36) so God will feed his people until we reach our promised land, which is heaven and then we will be able to see our Saviour and truly feast upon him. So let us trust our God to provide for us and let us feast upon Christ who is the living bread from heaven. Amen 5