TITLE: TESTED BY GOD
TEXT: EXODUS 15:22-27
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- As we study each passage, we’re asking the question, “What does this passage tell me about honoring God?”
- Last week, we saw the children of Israel singing a song of celebration after God miraculously parted the Red Sea for them to cross through to the other side.
- In the process, Pharaoh and his army pursued, but God caused the waters to fall in on them, completely destroying his entire army.
- So, the Children of Israel had every reason in the world to celebrate.
- They sang a song of celebration because God is victorious, because God cared for His people, and because God delivered His people.
- This week, we’re going to see the Israelites tested by God.
- When I was a kid, I hated taking tests, especially the state tests we had to take to see how much we’d learned.
- I’d get so nervous leading up to the test, and then while I was taking it, I’d be so distracted by how little time I had to take the test that I’d take too much time on certain questions and then worry about finishing the rest of the test.
- I don’t know how many times I saw the clock ticking down, and in order to finish on time, I’d circle random bubbles, hoping that I at least circled some of the correct answers.
- Educational tests aren’t fun!
- They’re stressful, especially when they have a huge impact on your final grade…
- All the midterms and finals I took in school probably took about ten years off my life!
- The most stressful test I ever took was the ASVAB, which is the test you take for the military to determine what types of jobs you qualify for and would suit you best.
- It’s got math and engineering and English problems…
- It’s a multiple choice, fill in the bubble test…
- Some of the kids taking it didn’t care how they did because they didn’t want to enlist, but I really wanted to do good on it because I wanted to go in the military.
- It didn’t help that both the Active Duty Recruiter and the National Guard Recruiter were walking around in uniform, and both of them wanted me to enlist in their Branch…
- They kept coming over, asking me how I was doing and telling me to come talk with them afterwards.
- So, any type of educational test is stressful, but that one was extremely stressful…
- When it comes to life-tests, the tests that are sent by God, many of us probably feel the same way…
- Those kinds of tests are usually stressful, they make us nervous, and we wonder how long they’re going to last…
- We stress out about whether we’re going to pass or fail the test…
- That’s where we find the children of Israel this morning, being tested by God.
- So, let’s look at three things about this test and what it meant for the Israelites.
FIRST: THE TEST WAS SOON AFTER THEIR DELIVERANCE- VS 22-23
- When I went to Army Basic Training, there were several different phases we had to go through before we could graduate as soldiers.
- Each phase had several tasks we had to successfully complete before we could move on to the next phase.
- So there was a lost of testing…everything from our Physical Training tests to the obstacle courses to the gas chamber to the rifle range qualification…
- There were a lot of tests we had to pass.
- I remember how nervous I was with each task because I wanted to pass and become a soldier…
- I didn’t want to be recycled and have to start over just because I couldn’t pass certain tests.
- So, when I passed one of the tests, I’d be really excited and proud of myself because it brought me one step closer to becoming a trained soldier.
- I’d be pumped up and feel on top of the world.
- However, soon after passing one test, the Drill Sergeants would tell us there was another test we had to prepare for.
- So those feelings of excitement didn’t last long…
- They were replaced by feelings of nervousness and anxiety, wondering if I was going to pass the next task or not.
- Here in Exodus 15, we find the Israelites having some similar feelings…
- They’ve just been delivered from Egypt and seen their enemies perish, so they’re feeling really excited; they’re on top of the world!
- The song we looked at last week, in the first 21 verses, is proof of that…
- They were praising God and thanking Him for His goodness…they were in a good spot.
- However, vs 22 tells us that Moses brought them 3 days journey into the wilderness, but they couldn’t find any water…
- So, they went from being on top of the world to feelings of anxiousness and despair.
- Put yourself in their shoes for a moment.
- You’re in the heat of the desert, over 100 degrees during the day, and you’re walking along with a lot of baggage.
- You’re not following the major trade route along the sea where there are lots of people and plenty of water…
- I’ve been to the desert before, and the heat can be overwhelming at times, even if you’re only walking a short distance…
- The Israelites, however, had walked 3 days journey…some of the Jewish Rabbis estimate that in 3 days, they travelled about 45 miles, 15 miles per day.
- So, by this point, they’re hot and sweating, they’re exhausted, and they want some water to quench their thirst.
- So, I’m sure they were complaining under their breath during those 3 days, but when they come to Marah, there is a sign of hope…
- They find water…but then they realize they can’t drink it because it’s bitter!
- Most likely, it was brackish, which means it was a mixture of salt water and fresh water…completely undrinkable.
- God knew this, and it was part of His plan…
- He led them here because He was testing them, and it had only been 3 days since their deliverance!
- I believe He tested them so soon after their deliverance because He wanted them to learn to depend on Him, no matter what the circumstances were.
- What about us as Christians?
- I talk with believers all the time who talk about the ups and downs they go through as followers of Christ.
- It will seem like everything is going great, God is blessing, and there’s a lot to be thankful for.
- But soon after, a trial comes, and it looks like things are going downhill.
- So, it seems like they’re always looking over their shoulder, wondering, “Okay God, what’s coming next? I just know something bad is going to happen.”
- I’ve been like that before, and it really steals the joy you should be having as a result of experiencing God’s blessings.
- I don’t believe God wants us to live on our toes like that, always afraid of what test is coming next.
- In Philippians 4:6-7, we’re told, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
- I believe when God sends a blessing our way, He wants us to enjoy it instead of worrying about what trials might be around the corner.
- So, we turn to Him in prayer, and we ask Him to guard our hearts and minds, so that our focus remains on God, not the blessings or the trials…our focus needs to be on God Himself!
- 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
- Don’t miss that…
- In all things, at all times, having all that you need!
- So, let me slightly reword that for you…
- “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, even trials, at all times, even the tough times, you’ll have all that you need, to learn to depend on God, and you’ll pass the tests as you abound in every good work.”
- If you want a Biblical example, look at the life of Joseph.
- His father Jacob loved him and gave him a coat of many colors as a gift…that was a blessing from God…
- Then his brothers got upset and sold him into slavery…that trial was a test from God.
- Then, he was purchased by a high-ranking military officer in Pharaoh’s army, Potiphar…that was a blessing from God because he found favor in the eyes of Potiphar and was promoted to manager of the entire house.
- Then, Potiphar’s wife tempted him and tried to get Joseph to sleep with her…this wasn’t a test from God because God doesn’t tempt people with sin, but it was a temptation Joseph had to fight through with God’s help.
- When he refused to sleep with her, she lied about him to her husband, and he had him thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit…this trial was a test from God.
- Yet he was blessed by God while in the prison and the prison-keeper put him in charge of the other prisoners…that was a blessing from God.
- Then he interpreted the dreams of 2 prisoners, another blessing from God, and one of those prisoners was released and restored to his position working for Pharaoh.
- Unfortunately, he forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s gift, so Joseph was still stuck in prison…another test from God.
- Yet Joseph was patient and eventually, that man remembered, and told Pharaoh Joseph could interpret his dream…
- When he did interpret it for him, Pharaoh promoted him to 2nd in command of all Egypt…that was another blessing from God.
- Then, his brothers came to Egypt asking for food, the ones who had betrayed him and sold him into slavery…that was a test from God because Joseph had to either forgive them or not…
- Of course, he did forgive them, and then all his family came to Egypt, and he got to see his father again before he died…that was another blessing from God.
- As you can see, things went back and forth in Joseph’s life…
- Blessing, test, blessing, test, blessing, test…up and down, up and down, up and down…
- Yet we know that God used all of this for His glory and used it for His people’s benefit.
- Just like Joseph, and just like the Children of Israel here in Exodus, you and I can expect to experience blessings and tests, and many times they will come one right after the other…up and down, up and down…
- When they do, we can keep our eyes on Christ and know that He won’t leave us alone and He will bring us through.
SECOND: THE TEST WAS DIFFICULT BUT HAD A SOLUTION- VS 24-25
- When I was in High School, I joined the Academic Decathlon.
- I figured that it would look good on my High School Transcript for Colleges, so I joined.
- Academic Decathlon is a very challenging extra-curricular activity where you study Art, Music, Social Science, Science, Economics, Literature, and Mathematics.
- They give you huge binders with essays and books and articles on these subjects…
- They give you flash cards with difficult questions and answers you might run into during the test.
- So, you study all year before going to the competition where you compete against other schools in the state.
- Anyways, I never really took it seriously and I didn’t study enough because it wasn’t a part of my grades.
- So, the day of the tests came, and I remember sitting down, looking at the first question, and feeling a sense of panic.
- These tests were way more difficult than I thought they would be!
- There were tests for each of the 7 subjects…and none of it was easy!
- I remember guessing on almost every question because I didn’t have a clue!
- These tests were extremely difficult, and I didn’t know the material, so I knew I was going to fail!
- That of course didn’t make me any less nervous, so I just kept guessing.
- I remember walking out of the classroom with a bunch of kids from the other schools, and I joked with my friend, “Those tests were too easy! I’m sure I aced them all.”
- I guess I figured it’d intimidate them, but they all just ignored me!
- Anyways, my test scores were so bad that our coach didn’t even give me my results.
- I remember I was embarrassed and thought, “I should have studied.”
- Anyways, as we look back at this test from God for the Israelites, I think we can conclude that this test they faced was a difficult test, and it certainly wasn’t one they were prepared for!
- So, when we look at vs 24, we can somewhat understand their frustration, as they complain against Moses and say, “What shall we drink?”
- It’s interesting because 3 days is the maximum amount of time that a body can go without water in the desert.
- So, the Israelites needed water for their survival.
- They should have known that God would take care of them and not let them die of thirst since He’s already shown them that He loves them…
- They should have remembered that He shielded them from the 10 plagues in Egypt, He delivered them from their enemies and even destroyed them before the people’s eyes, only 3 days before…
- God wasn’t going to let them die, and the same God who did the miracles in Egypt could do another miracle for them right then and there.
- But that’s not what was on their mind.
- They were probably like me when I took a look at those Academic Decathlon tests…panicked and distressed!
- “How are we going to survive without water?!”
- So, the Israelites complained…
- Think about how that must have made Moses feel…
- He’s their leader, he’s just led them out of Egypt, and has told them over and over again that God is with them…
- Yet instead of trusting God, they complained.
- I believe that this was a test for Moses as well.
- God knew the Israelites were going to be complaining a lot during their 40 years in the wilderness.
- He knew it was going to be very difficult for Moses…
- So, I believe he’s using this test to get Moses used to their complaints.
- Of course, with the test, God provided a solution.
- Vs 25 tells us that when Moses cried out to the Lord, God showed him a tree and told him to cast it into the waters.
- When he did, the waters were made sweet, so that the Israelites could drink from them.
- There are a couple of theories on how exactly God used this tree to make the water drinkable.
- One is that the tree was simply a tool God used, like the rod of Moses, and that the tree didn’t have any special power to cleanse the water…it was simply a miracle of God.
- The other theory is an interesting one…
- Jamie Buckingham, in his book written about the Exodus journey, says, “The chemicals in the sap of the broken limb drew the mineral content down to the bottom of the pools and left only good water on top.
- He further speculates that even though the waters were now drinkable, there was still a significant magnesium and calcium content in the water. The laxative effect of this would clean out the digestive systems of the children of Israel, cleansing them of common Egyptian ailments such as amoebic dysentery and bilharzia, a weakening disease common among Egyptian peasants.
- In addition, calcium and magnesium together form the basis of a drug called dolomite – used by some athletes as a performance enhancer in hot weather conditions. At Marah, God provided the right medicine to both clean out their systems, and prepare them for a long, hot march to Sinai.”
- So that’s an interesting theory, and of course it’s possible…
- Remember, when God parted the waters, He did so supernaturally, but He used natural means, by using the winds to divide and dry the ground for His people to walk through.
- So, it’s the same idea here…God performing the miracle but using the tree to make it happen.
- It’s possible, but personally, I believe it wasn’t the tree that caused the water to be cleansed, I believe that it was only by the power of God to make it happen!
- The Aramaic translation of the Torah says, “…the word of the Lord showed Moses the tree on which he wrote the great and precious name of Jehovah, and then threw it into the waters, and the waters thereby became sweet.”
- I believe the tree didn’t have the power to cleanse the waters and make them sweet…it was God alone who did this miracle.
- After all, the water had to be cleansed enough for over 2 million people and their animals to drink.
- Could one tree have made that happen? Maybe…
- Anyways, in the last part of vs 25, we’re told, “God made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them.”
- The fact is that the people of Israel had to believe that God had in fact cleansed the bitter waters…
- In order to find out if it happened or not, they had to actually drink the water.
- And that took an act of faith, because for all they knew, it didn’t work, and the water was still bitter.
- So that shows us, again, God testing them, seeing if they truly believed in His power…
- If they did, they’d drink the water…if they didn’t, they’d keep complaining, and die of thirst.
- What about us as Christians?
- What are we supposed to do when God tests us with extremely difficult circumstances?
- Turn with me to 1 Peter 1:6-9…
- “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
- Don’t miss that…
- There will be times when we’re tested by fire, as we’re being grieved by various trials…
- Sometimes, it will seem like too much to bear!
- Yet we’re told, “Through this, the genuineness of your faith is proven, which is much more precious than gold which perishes…”
- Maybe it’s your health, maybe it’s your finances, maybe it’s your family, maybe it’s your job…maybe it’s something else….
- Trials come in all shapes and sizes, and as Christians, we will experience them!
- So, do we just give up and hide from the world?
- Of course, not…
- This passage in 1 Peter tells us this testing comes so we “…may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…”
- So, when those difficult trials come, give God praise, honor, and glory…
- Even though we don’t see Him, we know He’s with us, and that He loves us, so we show our love for Him by enduring those tests, thanking Him for them, learning from them, and growing from them!
THIRD: THE TEST WAS FOR THEIR BENEFIT- VS 26-27
- When I was in College working on my Religion degree through Liberty University, I had to take a lot of tests.
- Sometimes, these tests were hard and sometimes they were easy, but they were never fun.
- I had to study hard to pass them…a lot of reading and studying…
- I might not have seen the benefit of those tests at the time, but now that I’m a pastor, looking back, I can see where those tests were for my benefit.
- They helped me to learn and retain the information that would help me be successful as a pastor.
- So those tests were for my benefit.
- Here in Exodus, we see God explaining just that to the Israelites…
- Vs 26 He says, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I won’t judge you with those judgments I sent on the Egyptians…instead, I’ll heal you because I am the God who heals!”
- So, through this test, God was showing the people that if they trusted Him and obeyed Him, He would take care of them.
- Just like He took care of them by cleansing the water, He would take care of them by providing for them and protecting them and keeping them healthy!
- “Dr. S.I. McMillen in his book None of These Diseases says that many of God’s laws to Israel had a direct impact of hygiene and health. Practices such as circumcision, quarantine, washing in running water, and eating kosher made a real medical difference in keeping Israel free from disease. [So, if they were obedient to those laws, they would be healthy]. Beyond the direct medical implications, obedience also [meant they would be] …at peace with God – and free from a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety in life. This [had] an obvious benefit to the health of [the Israelites].”
- So, God would bless their health if they were obedient…
- But also, just to show them He means what He says, in vs 27, when they come to Elim, God provides 12 wells of water for them to drink from and seventy palm trees, so they could have shade for relief from the sun.
- So, after the test, He gave them a time of refreshment.
- So, what were some of the benefits Israel gained from this test?
- They learned prayer, they learned self-distrust, they learned daily dependence, they learned obedience, and they even learned a new name for God, Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals!
- This was a good way for them to start their wilderness journey.
- What about us as Christians?
- What is the benefit of being tested by God?
- We read in James 1:2-4, “…brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
- So, we learn through God’s tests...
- We become stronger Christians and we grow closer to Christ through them.
- And oftentimes, God will allow us to use what we’ve learned through a test to help someone else who is struggling through a test.
- And I can confidently say that God never tests us just to punish us or give us an impossible test, so we’ll fail…
- No, God knows what we can endure, and He walks with us through it, and He helps us become stronger in Him…
- So, as we become stronger, we’re able to endure more, and we fall in love with the Lord even more as He brings us through.
- Being tested by God is nothing to be afraid of, brothers and sisters.
- We are His children and He isn’t out to give us an ‘F’ for failing.
- No, we learn patience, and through this, we become perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
- It’s a process, and it takes time, but you and I can thank God for teaching us.
- And oftentimes, there will be another blessing around the corner!
- In closing, I’d like to speak to those watching on the tv or are here today who have never given your life to Jesus.
- Jesus came to this earth, the perfect God-man, and He died on the cross for the sin of the world.
- He was the only One that could make that sacrifice because none of us are perfect…all of us have sinned!
- Yet He died to make you and me free.
- Make that decision today…turn to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and receive the new life He offers.
- He’ll welcome you into His family and you’ll spend all of eternity with Him!
- Let’s pray.
