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Exodus 15:22-27

Then Moses ordered Israel to 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. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test. He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you." Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water.

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We haven't been able to have a true Bible Study in a long time. But this one was great. In the sermon on Sunday, our pastor highlighted seven words from this passage. They were:

1. Marah
2. Bitter
3. Grumbled
4. Sweet
5. Showed
6. The Lord Heals
7. Elim

Marah was the place where the Israelites wandered without water, and when they finally found water, they could not drink it for its bitterness. They grumbled against God, but God showed (same root in Greek as the root for Torah, the law, or blessings that come from God) Moses a piece of wood. God provided through the circumstances. The water was made sweet and the people were reminded that God Heals. Elim is the perfect place of rest and can be interpreted as a metaphor of rest in Christ.

The message of this sermon was that God can turn our bitterness to sweetness and joy, but only if we trust him. The pastor mentioned that when we complain, it doesn't matter who we are complaining to, or what we are complaining about, because all of our complaints really go to God. When we have a complaint, we are in effect, judging God.

I find it interesting that there are plenty of examples of people and prophets who complain against God in the Bible, and so I think that God allows us to complain against him, but he always reminds them that we are small, insignificant creatures who will never fully understand the ways of God.

We had a great conversation last night about circumstances, and whether or not all circumstances are from God. Because there is evil in the world, not all circumstances are of God, some of them are atrocities committed by other human beings. But can God use these circumstances in our lives? Yes. The pastor always quotes from the Bible saying, "what you have meant for evil, God has meant for good."

It is hard sometimes for me to let go of the bitter circumstances in my life, but when I hold onto them, I become more and more bitter. I have to decide not to be bitter, but to be thankful instead for the numerous blessings I have in my life, and trust in the Lord no matter what.