Water out of a rock

In our previous post we talked about how the Israelites escaped from the mighty Egyptian army by going through the Red Sea. Now the people of the Lord are in another big desert. How are they going to get out of this desert? How are they going to survive? Where are they going?

After the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they found themselves in the Shur desert. This desert is a dry place. No human could survive on foot in this desert for a long time. So they traveled for three days before they could replenish their water supply.

Eventually the Israelites saw water! Like a pond! They were very excited to see the water and being able to drink water. But the water was bitter. The Hebrew word for bitter is “marah”. So they called the place Marah- where the water is bitter.

So the people started to complain to Moses saying that it would have been better to live and work as a slave in Egypt than to rot dry in the middle of a desert. So Moses prayed to the Lord and He gave them a way out,- a solution.

The Lord of Israel led Moses to a specific tree. Moses was to take a branch of the tree and to throw it into the bitter water supply. Moses did as the Lord commanded. After Moses had thrown the branch into the water, the water became drinkable.

There at Marah the Lord spent time with Moses and His people. The Lord cured their disease’s and instructed them in His commands.

What can we learn from the events at Marah?

·         Trust in the Lord, He knows your needs and will provide for you and your family.

·         It pays off to pray to the Lord and to tell Him what you need. The Israelites needed water, they prayed and the Lord provided.

·         The Lord can make a place like Marah-to be bitter- a place where His followers can survive.

Till next time!!