From Marah to Elim
Crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites just witnessed the display of God's mighty power by dividing the body of water and drowning the most powerful army in existence, the Egyptian army. As a result, the Jews feared and praised the Lord.
And then after such a great experience, some time passed as the Israelites continued their journey in the wilderness. They reached the Desert of Shur and for three days, they found no water. After three days, they found Marah only to be disappointed that its water was undrinkable; it was bitter. Thirsty, the people were in a difficult situation. Instead of praying, the Jews started to complain.
To make the long story short, through a piece of wood, God turned the bitter water of Marah into sweet water. That's a miracle! And then God gave the Jews a law saying that He is the Healer of His people. And then finally God brought them to Elim where the Jews found an abundant water supply. There God provided twelve springs and seventy palm trees.
The title of this article is From Marah to Elim. By sharing with you the story of the journey of the Jews in these two important places in the wilderness, I would like you to see important lessons we can learn from it that we can apply to Christian life and service.
God can show you the solution to any problem or any crisis whether personal or national if you will pray.
The Jews were thirsty. They needed water. That's a legitimate need. However, instead of praying, they complained:
Then Moses 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.
Our society today is facing a lot of problems. Many people are angry. That's expected for they see no hope beyond the natural realm. But in the case of God's children, we know that our God is all-knowing and powerful. He can provide solutions to our social ills if Christians will pray and take the necessary steps.
To see Christians joining the majority of people in their anger and complaints is something not pleasing to the Lord. God does not like it. He wants us to lift to Him all our concerns. And I think this is the first lesson we can learn from the journey of Moses' generation from Marah to Elim.
Throughout my three years and seven months of stay in South Korea way back in 2012, I saw the hand of the Lord had been good to me. The first day I arrived there, I made a commitment to the Lord that serves as my guide. I keep three core values in mind to guide me in my Christian service:
Pray hard
Give your best, and
Enjoy
After almost four years, these values were still with me though I struggled with that "pray hard" part due to my inclination to use my spare time in reading. Nevertheless, I believe that prayer helps me a lot to sustain me during my long stay in that country. Since I enjoyed my work there, it seems to me that those years were very short.
God has provided us with His law for our good.
After turning the bitter water into sweet water, "the Lord made a decree and a law" and said:
If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.
The Jews needed to be reminded of this truth that the Lord is their Healer and that is why God made such law. With a water crisis, they easily forgot the fact that God protected them from all the plagues that afflicted Egypt.
Such forgetfulness is not unique among the Jews. Modern-day Christians also tend to forget the fact that God is our Healer. He can heal all kinds of wounds and diseases whether they are economic, emotional, or relational. There is nothing beyond the capability of God's healing power. And that's the reason why God made a law for Israel, to remind them that in times of crisis, it is God whom they need.
However, the giving of the law entails a responsibility to keep it. This obligation is not unique to Moses' time. God expected the same duty from the patriarchs. The task given to Abraham to direct his family and keep the way of the Lord is the same task followed by Isaac and Jacob.
Anticipating my return to the Philippines at that time, I was thinking of a new task. I describe this task as a director. This is taken from Genesis 18:19:
For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. . ."
This task is not limited to Abraham but to all Christian fathers.
God knows our situation and our needs.
It was shameful that instead of praying, the Jews complained. But despite their ugly attitude, God in the abundance of His grace still turned the bitter water into sweet water. And not only that, God even led them to Elim where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. This truth tells us that there is no need to be anxious for God knows your situation and your need.
After knowing the fact that I was about to return to the Philippines, my wife started to get anxious. She was concerned about the education of our children and the necessities of the family. I told her that I already set aside a budget for that for at least a year and she didn't need to be worried about it. I even told her that I believed that God would provide an alternative source of income before the saved fund would run out. Hearing such assurance, she felt relieved.
God knows our situation and our needs. There is nothing to be worried about. Pray, plan, and do something. If God is delighted with your plan, He will bless it and make it successful. That is also my prayer upon my return.
Conclusion
In this article, we learned that the story of the Jewish pilgrimage from Marah to Elim teaches us that God can solve any problem provided that we pray and that God has given us His law to show us that He is all we need for our good and that there is nothing to be anxious about for He knows your situation and your needs.
I remember an experience way back in 1996 when my firstborn son was still one year old. I had been a pastor at that time for 20 years but I still did not pass the "provision test." By "provision test" I mean a particular situation where a child of God is in great difficulty and starts to complain instead of praying. I experienced such a test and failed. Amazingly, despite my attitude the Lord provided. I felt ashamed for my attitude.
The following year, the same situation happened again, but that time I already learned my lesson. Instead of worrying and complaining, I started to thank God and prayed. The Lord provided with abundant supply.