Elim: The Place Of Rest

ELIM: THE PLACE OF REST

"22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters." Exodus 15:22-27.

The children of Israel were finally delivered from bondage. Egypt is now behind them. Finally, they were on their way to the Land of Promise. The joy of finally being free from the oppression, and slavery of the Egyptians made them to compose a Song of Deliverance. Yet what followed after the Red Sea was a journey through the wilderness. In the wilderness, the terrain is unfriendly; the ground is hard and the heat is unbearable. The Israelites did not accidentally ended up in the wilderness. God led them in! Psalm 78:52. It was part of His plans for them! They were in His perfect will. But after three days journey through the scorching heat of the wilderness, the people were exhausted, weak and thirsty. If they did not find water they were going to die. You can imagine their joy when they found water in Marah! But when they drank it, it tasted bitter. The water was not fit for drinking. So they started to complain. They murmur against God and Moses. The people grumble in a low voice. After witnessing the great power of God while there were in Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, the children of Israel were still blind to the fact that God is more powerful than every situation. Instead of trusting in Him, they murmured and complained! They forget all the great things God had done for them. "But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold." Psalm 106:13. Sadly, we often do the same.

Have you ever been angry with God when things don't go as planned? Are you blaming Him for an unmet expectation? Maybe you’re going though a seemingly hopeless situation. If you have ever been angry with God and blame Him for your suffering, rest assured that you’re not alone. One of the most common expressions of anger toward God in the Bible is the “how long, O Lord?” prayers of David. Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 6: 3-6; Psalm 10:1-2; Psalm 35:17; Psalm 44:24; Psalm 89:46; Psalm 79:5-7; Psalm 74:10-11; Psalm 94:2-3. Job was also in a depressing place, and his wife’s reaction was, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” Job 2:9. "10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips." Job 2:10. Naomi also reached a point in life where she was angry with God and blamed Him for her pain. Her name means "sweet" and "pleasant" but life for Naomi was no longer pleasant. Her husband and two sons are dead, and she blamed God for it. She was empty, bitter and broken. Naomi was angry that God allowed bad things to happen in her life. "20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:20-21. But God hadn’t abandoned Naomi. He doesn’t abandon us, either. Most times anger at God is a result of our inability to trust Him when we do not understand what He is doing behind the scenes. Bring your anger and frustration to God! He's not angry when we questions Him. But be careful not to sin, rebel, curse, or abandon God in your anger and frustration.