Water to Drink

Exod 14:30

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.(KJV)

Exod 15:22

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.(KJV)

For three days they are in this wilderness area, this desert, probably hardly any scrub brush for even the livestock to eat. Likely they had a supply of food for the livestock with them. But by three days they must have been out of water. It just wasn’t around. The number 3 again. I will show you a connection to the New Testament in a short time, but let’s see what happens here.

Exod 15:23-24

23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?(KJV)

They finally arrived in a spot that had some very bitter water. Who knows whether this may have been a pool full of minerals that made the water undrinkable or what. Perhaps is was muddy or perhaps it was salt water with lots of minerals in it besides. It just was not drinkable. And what happens here? The people start complaining against Moses, and saying what are we going to drink? What are you going to do about this, Moses? Then they more than likely started complaining how Moses was a lousy leader. This is an assumption, but if you have ever read their behavior and attitudes enough before in reading Exodus, you can say it may be a fair assumption. And what did Moses do?

Exod 15:25a

25 And he cried unto the LORD;

which is the sensible thing to do. He knew only God could direct him and help them all. They were in a bad situation now and no doubt needed badly to replenish their water supplies, plus these folks and the animals all were getting thirsty.

Exod 15:25b

25 and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved {tested}

them,(KJV)

God showed him a tree. And this tree changed everything, didn’t it? The waters were made sweet, made drinkable.

This event really has a lot of significance for us in connection with Jesus. First off, the 3 days in the wilderness. For virtually 3 days the disciples were without Jesus’ presence because he was in a grave. You can bet they missed Him. They wanted Him back. But here they are in a spiritual wilderness because of Him being buried. But what was the solution? The time of bitterness they had arrived at not only caused them to long for Him, but also to long for relief from the grief of losing the one they thought was the Messiah, and here He was dead. Have not times of grief, stress, bitterness even led you to wanting relief? Sometimes God has to lead us into a desert spiritually, as He did the disciples, to sharpen our desire for Him and to put us to a test as to whether we are serious about following Him. Even Jesus experienced a wilderness experience. Now God already knows what we are going to do, but the testing time is for our sake, not God’s. It is to show us whether we really mean it. Well, of course the answer has come to us by the cross. The cross was also referred in scripture to a tree. Why? Because it was made of wood. Probably crosses were hewn from tree trunks. Being hung on a tree was considered a curse, because of the verses,

Deut 21:22-23

22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and {if} thou hang him on a tree:

23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.(KJV)

Now you know why they had to hurry up and get His body removed from the cross. They couldn’t for several reasons leave His body on the cross overnight.

What was the result for us because of Jesus dying on that piece of tree? The result was deliverance, salvation. It opened the way for the Water of Life to be given us, Jesus, that we might have that relationship with God that Adam and Eve had before they sinned, that relationship with God that Jesus Himself had with the Father. The relationship was available now. And of course His resurrection was the proof that He did what He came to do.

What happened with the tree that Moses threw into the water. It sweetened the water. The bitter water became sweet. The Water was now available to drink. [relationship available, water available]

Now, if you take a look at my analogy, you see it fails a bit in comparison, but look at it this way. Many times we have to go through desert times to sharpen our recognition of our need for God, and our thirst for God. But God always comes through at the right time and of course He did then. You know three days is about the limit a body can go without water, so like I say, God was right on time. He led the people perfectly.

Now notice, when the water became drinkable thanks to the tree being thrown in, (and it was a particular tree-specifically chosen by God), God did something else here.

Exo 15:25c

there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,(KJV)

The something else was a statute and/or an ordinance. I presume that is given us in the next verse.

Exod 15:26

26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.(KJV)

A treaty, a covenant was establashed by God. For us in connection to Jesus, the New Testament as we call it was established and ratified by Jesus death and resurrection. The New Covenant came into force. The New Will came into force.

Heb 8:7-9:1

7 For if that first (covenant) had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them.

12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more.

13 In that he saith, A new (covenant) he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away. (ASV)

How was this possible by Jesus’ death?

Heb 9:14-18

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it,

17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.(NIV)

So everything in the Old Testament regarding our relationship with God has foreshadowed events in the New Testament. Remember

1 Cor 10:11

11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.(KJV)

Lots of people have had the attitude that the Old Testament is not important, but it is not only important, but extremely important. The New Testament is based on the truths revealed about God in the Old Testament and based also on God’s promises He made during the Old Testament times. The New Testament and the Old Testament explain each other. And there is much more in the Old Testament that points to Jesus than most people ever realize.

Have you honestly accepted the work of the tree, the work of the cross, and received that water to drink from God, that water from the well of salvation? Have you ever been in a time of being in kind of a desert, and found yourself thirsting for God, thirsting to see evidence of His operation in your life, thirsting to walk by faith much closer to Him, thirsting even for His very presence in your life? God is the one who gave you the thirst and God is the one who will satisfy it. Get into the Word, read it and read it and read it. Let it start entering you like water does a sponge. And start praising Him for His ways. Throw out any complaining, throw out any of your discontent with Him, and start accepting by faith all He has promised you. Start thanking Him for His wisdom no matter if you can see its sense or not. Recognize He is God, He loves you (all the time) and is capable of taking care of you all the time, and knows all your needs-far far more than you even recognize. Quit wishing things were different in your life. The people in the wilderness were doing that all the time and never saw how truly God was taking care of them.

Col 3:17

17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.(KJV)

Eph 5:20

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;(KJV)

Last time’s Bible Trivia: How did the crowd respond to Paul’s testimony when he got up to tell everyone who he was and why he followed Jesus Christ? Remember, this occurs after Paul has been attacked by a crowd and the Roman authorities had thought they caught an Egyptian terrorist leading a revolt against Rome. Well, as you read on in Acts 22:22 the Jews whom he spoke to were ready to have him put to death. They were not only anti-Christ but anti-Gentile. They listened only till Paul indicated that Jesus had said to him that he was being sent to the Gentiles. So this crowd was just plain anti-Christianity period. Well, when the crowd got so vehement against Paul, the chief captain decided to have Paul whipped to see if he could learn why Paul was being treated as such an evil person by this crowd of Jews.

This week’s Bible Trivia Question: What stopped them from whipping him?

That is all for today folks. May the Water of Life fill you today. Your Good News Lady

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem even more so now. "They shall prosper that love thee." Psalm 122:6 Pray also for wisdom for President Bush as enjoined us by I Timothy 2:1-03 and pray for our troops. Continue especially to pray God’s protection around our soldiers that are still in Iraq and other parts of the Arab world.