JOURNEY FROM SOURNESS TO SWEETNESS
TEXT: Ex. 15: 22 – 27
By
Pastor Zacch Olorunnipa
Key Verse: And he cried unto the LORD; 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 them (Ex. 15:25).
Introduction
As the old adage goes, the road to success is not always paved with gold. The experience of the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to the land that “flows with milk and honey” was laden with various obstacles that had to be surmounted. Among these were the pursuit by Pharaoh’s army, the Red Sea, drought, hunger, gluttony, wars, and sins (e.g. idolatry, unbelief, theft, disobedience, murmuring, etc). The focus of this message is on the particular experience of the Israelites at the wilderness of Shur in terms of miraculous transition from sourness to sweetness. This experience typifies changes that take place when a sinner becomes saved (by Jesus Christ) and embarks on the journey to heaven. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help you learn the lessons that are pointed out in this message that can change all your life’s waters of bitterness to waters of sweetness in Jesus name.
The Background
The Faithful God had promised to bless and make Abraham great and give him and his descendants plenty of land and other assets (Gen 12: 1-3; 13: 14-16;15: 1-7; 17:1-8, 15-19; 22: 16-16; 26:2-5; 28: 13-15; 35: 9-12). Along the way the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and made to serve with rigor and to suffer many afflictions. They cried to God and He decided to have pity on them. “And it came to pass in process of time that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them (Ex. 2: 23-25). Are you under any affliction or bondage today? Cry to God and claim His promise in Psalm 50:15 which says “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me”.
Moses was divinely prepared and chosen to be used in delivering the Israelites from bondage (Ex. Ch. 2&3). Note however, that his preparation and training did not come easy. For example, he suffered human abandonment and loneliness as an infant caged in a basket and dropped in a river until picked up by Pharaoh’s daughter. Also, he lived in the wilderness as a shepherd for 40 years exposed to dangers and various environmental hazards. However, God was with him, and he was able to learn many things including endurance, caring attitude, dependence on God, leadership skills, etc. Have you been abandoned by you’re parents, spouse, fiancé, business partner, Church member, etc? Are you facing any form of hardship or unpleasant situation? Take heart and learn from Moses’ experience. The LORD who was with Moses has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Remember, “ --- that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rm. 28: 8). You present situation is preparing you to learn lessons that will help you get to your sweet destination.
It was while Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law – Jethro the Midian Priest – that the angel of God appeared to him and announced his new job. He who has been leading animals to find water, grass and safety has been called to become leader of the entire nation of Israel which was about to be delivered from bondage. “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. -------- Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt” (Ex. 2: 7- 10)
From the Red Sea to Wilderness of Shur
Moses took God’s message to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh was adamantly stubborn not to hearken to the voice of the long suffering God, despite 10 successive plagues rained on him and his people. However, the straw that broke the carmel’s back, was the plague that killed every Egyptian first born including Pharaoh’s. The stubborn Pharaoh had to bow to God and freed the Israelites after 430 years under Egyptian bondage (Ex. 12: 29- 41).
Immediately after the Israelites left Egypt the Pharaoh pursued them all the way to the Red Sea which became an obstacle to the Israelites. God miraculously parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross on dry land but closed the Red Sea against their pursuers and drowned all of them. In celebrating the victory at the Red Sea, Moses and the Israelites must have had a thanksgiving service when they sang a song penned in Ex. 15: 1 – 21. In Jesus name, every enemy pursuing you intending to stop you from reaching your destination of sweetness will drown in Jesus name.
To further drive home the point that the road to sweetness may not always be smooth all the time, consider what happened to the Israelites right after celebrating their victory of crossing the Red Sea. Their experience in the wilderness of Shur teaches us several lessons that I wish to point out in the rest of this message. To facilitate this let’s consider we are on a journey to a destination called Sweetness. Navigating to Sweetness will take us through five stations called Diligence, Dryness, Distastefulness, Discontentment and Divine Solution. Each station will give us situation report on our journey. Put on your seat belt, open your Bible to Ex. 15: 22 - 27 and let’s go. Born Voyage in Jesus name.
Diligence
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur;” (Ex. 15: 22a)
Our first station is Diligence which is concerned with Moses’ attitude to his assignment. He was called to go to Pharaoh and bring forth the children of Israel from Egypt (Ex 3: 10). After initial excuses which God refuted, Moses accepted the assignment and stuck to it diligently. As difficult as his assignment was, Moses was diligent about doing what God said. He was very determined to see God’s purpose fulfilled. So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea. Through out the journey from Egypt to the Jordan River, the Israelites moved their camp more than 45 times according to Num 33. Can you imagine how inundating the logistics would be for Moses? Each time, he was there, praying, planning, organizing, giving instructions, supervising encouraging etc. Diligence was one attribute that Moses never lacked, and this enhanced his effectiveness in his assignment. Even in searching for goats for sin offering, the Bible says Moses was diligent (Lev. 10: 16).
What assignment has God given you in your family? in the house of God? in your community?, etc. Who are you called to “bring” from one point to the other? How diligent have you been in this assignment? Don’t abandon it. Be diligent like Moses.
Dryness
“--- and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water” (Ex. 15:22b).
In this station our attention is drawn to the beginning of hardship after the Red Sea experience. The Israelites have just left a massive pool of water (Red Sea) 3 days ago where they witnessed the miracle of God that parted the Red Sea. Then they faced unexpected dryness in the wilderness. No water, not even for their animals to drink. In life’s journey, time of dryness may arise. It could be spiritual dryness, financial dryness, job dryness, dryness of the womb, etc. Pray this prayer right now: Oh LORD, let not my supply or my surplus become scarcity in Jesus name.
Many reasons could cause dryness. For example, the sins of Ahab and his people made Elijah to shut up rain against them for 3/12 years (1 kg 17:1, James 5:17). Also disobedience to the voice of God can provoke a curse of dryness (Dt. 28: 24). Dryness may arise to teach lessons such as preparing for the “raining days” as did Apostle Paul: “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” ( Phil 4: 12)
Distastefulness
“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” (Ex. 15:23).
This third station describes how unpalatable some of life’s experiences can be. Can you imagine the frustration the Israelites faced after searching for water for 3 days without any success. Suddenly they came to Marah and saw waters, but the waters were bitter; all of them. What a disappointment! The waters were so bitter that the place was named “Marah”, meaning bitter. We are not told the cause of the bitterness of the waters. It could be strictly to demonstrate the power of God to cure.
Calamities of life such as accidents, sicknesses, death of loved ones, etc, can create bitter situation in the life of an individual. A case in point is Naomi who lost her husband and her two children in a foreign land. This bitter experience caused Naomi to change her name from Naomi (pleasant) to “Marah” (bitter). She declares “----- Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). May God remove elements of bitterness from your waters of lives in Jesus name...
Discontentment
“And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink” (v. 24)
This station concerned with the reaction to the bitter waters. What do you do when you taste something very bitter? Most of us will spit the thing out with a countenance that portrays discontentment. This was the case when the Israelites tasted the bitter waters. Imagine at least 600,000 (Num 1; 26) people asking Moses same question “What shall we drink? The Israelites specialized in whining and complaining as evident in Ex. 14: 11-12: “And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 2Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Most of us complain a lot – about our spouses, children, jobs, food, country, church, etc. Christians must avoid complaining as this can lead to offending God and his representatives. The Israelites who complained against God in Num 11: 1-2 were consumed by fire. In another instance, a group of complainers and conspirators who rose up against Moses and Aaron were miraculously swallowed up alive (with their belongings) when the earth underneath them opened its mouth (Num 16: 3, 28-35). The more people murmured against Moses and Aaron the more they were punished. It is recorded that 14,700 congregation members of the Korah tabernacle who persisted in murmuring were destroyed by a plague until Aaron atoned for them (Num 16: 41 – 49).
Instead of murmuring you should pray about the issue and ask God for solution. If you have all the relevant facts and are convinced that somebody has made an error or done wrong, find a way to humbly approach the person concerned and present the case. Rather than been accusatory, let it be known you are after finding solution and prevention of a repeat of the same problem. Use Paul’s advice in Phil. 2:14: Do all things without murmurings and disputing
Divine Solution:
“And he cried unto the LORD; 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 them, (Ex. 15: 25)
We have come to the final station which is the desired destination. Applying his Diligence, Moses, realized that the Dryness of the desert, the Distastefulness of the waters and the Discontentment of the people could only be resolved by the Divine intervention of God. It is therefore pertinent to direct our attention to Moses’ cry to the caring God who cured the bitterness in the waters, and gave some commandments to sustain the comfort that ensured from the resulting sweet waters.
• The Cry of Moses
“And he cried unto the LORD”
Moses cried to the LORD because he knew the power of God to make everything beautiful in His time. Moses must have remembered how “the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters” to bring order to the earth without form (Gen 1:1) and how God created the Seas and declared it to be good (Gen 1:10). Moses did not panic or feared. He prayed to the God of miracles. As believers, we must learn to cry (pray) to God for every situation we face. The two blind men in Matt 9: 27-30, and blind Bartimaeus (Mk. 10: 46-52) got their eyes opened because they cried to Jesus. Cry to God about your bitter waters. He has promised to answer (Jer. 33:3)
• The Caring God
“and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet”:
What a caring God we have! Oh that people will learn to cast all their cares upon him for He cares for people (1 Pet. 5:7). He heard Moses’ cry and responded immediately by showing him a tree for curing the bitter water. God knows the problem you are facing right now and he knows how to solve the problem, for, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut 29:29). May God open your eyes to see the solution to your problems in Jesus name. When God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant on the mountain, he saw the innumerable horses and chariots of fire God had put in place to defend Elisha (2 Kg. 6:17).
The tree that the LORD showed Moses represents the cross of Jesus that brings sweetness to the life of anyone who accepts Jesus Christ who was nailed on that cross. There is power in the cross for the redeemed as indicated in 1 Cor. 1:18. When he went to the cross for us Jesus Christ also made provision to neutralize any poison that the devil wants to introduce into our lives. Apostle Paul has put this point so succinctly: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Col. 2:14). On our kneel we can invite the cross of Jesus to sweeten (find solutions to) our bitter waters (problems)
• Commandments
“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 (Ex. 15:26
After purifying the waters, God prescribed for the Israelites the condition that will provide immunity against diseases that may result from the reoccurrence of bitter waters. Essentially, this condition was the need for diligence on the part of the people in obeying the commandments and statutes of God. The believer who wants to have a smooth journey to sweetness must give priority to total obedience to the word of God.
• Comfort
“And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters” (Ex. 15: 27).
The end result of the divine solution is comfort and peace for all the people. As the scripture puts it the Israelites have passed through hardship but God has brought them into a weathy place: “ ----we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place” (Psalm 66:12). There was no more thirst, hunger, dehydration, agitation, anxiety, scarcity, etc. God had terminated the problems. Not only were the bitter waters made sweet, the sweet waters were available in overflowing abundance everywhere they went. For example, twelve wells (of sweet waters) and 70 palm trees were awaiting the Israelites at Elim. The palm trees symbolize wealth as indicated in Ps. 92:12. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon”. May your journey to sweetness end up in a large and wealthy place where you will find comfort in Jesus name.
Conclusion:
The journey of the Israelites form Egypt to the Promised Land provides many lessons for both the unsaved and the believer. In this message we have focused only on the Israelites’ experience shortly after the victory of crossing the Red Sea. The bitter waters encountered at Marah represent the sinful life of any one without Christ as his/her Savior. If that describes you, cry to God right now and invite Jesus into your heart to forgive your sins and be your Savior. He will change your bitter waters to sweet waters just as He did it for Moses at Marah. For the believer, are you facing any unpleasant situation involving dryness, distastefulness and discontentment? Cry to Jesus Christ now to show you the tree of solution that will lead you to comfort.
