THE LORD AT MARAH
Ex. 15:22-26
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Interviewer to Millionaire: To whom do you owe your success as a millionaire? " Millionaire: "I owe everything to my wife." Interviewer: "Wow, she must be some woman. Interviewer: "What were you before you married her?" Millionaire: "A Billionaire."
2. A newly married man asked his wife, "Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?" "Honey," the woman replied Sweetly, "I'd have married you NO MATTER WHO LEFT YOU A FORTUNE."
3. Wife: You always carry my photo in your handbag to the office. Why? Darling : When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture and the problem disappears. Wife: You see, how miraculous and powerful I am for you? Darling : "Yes, I see your picture and say to myself, 'What other problem Can there be greater than this one?'"
B. TEXT
22So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23And 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. 24And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25And 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, 26And 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” Exodus 15:22-26
C. THESIS
Today we’re looking God's healing nature – He's Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.
I. THE ROAD FROM PRAISE TO PROTEST
A. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
1. The Israelites had just passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. The people are excited to finally be free and so they express their praise in the first part of Exodus 15. Look at verses 1-3: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.” This song of praise goes on for 21 verses!
2. But then their praising was turned into protesting. In verse 22 we read that Moses led them into the “Desert of Shur.” “Shur” means a “wall.” And that’s exactly how they felt. They had run into a wall of despair instead of a window to blessing.
3. Some of you feel like you’ve hit a wall. After wandering in the wilderness for three days, and having no water to drink, the people turn on Moses at a place called Marah, which means “bitterness.” (By the way, this is the name Naomi chose for herself after experiencing incredible pain and disappointment in Ruth 1:20.)
4. So God’s people went from gratitude to grumbling because when they finally found some water, they soon discovered it had a very bitter taste. Talk about disappointment! Their expectations were shattered.
5. In verse 24, they put Moses on the spot: “What are we to drink?” The people were angry with God, but they took it out on a person. We do that too, don’t we? Someone has said that anger is a magnet in search of metal, and the closest metal was Moses. We tend to take things out on others when we don’t get what we want when we want it.
6. When we get pumped-up everything seems great; but a coming down to earth is inevitable. The Israelites saw God make a way through the Red Sea, but now they’re thirsty. On top of that, now they have a bitter taste in their mouth. Some of you may feel that way tonight. You’ve gone from high expectations to low disappointment to heavy discouragement.
7. Somehow in this process, the memory of God’s faithfulness is somehow forgotten -- and it only took them three days to land in the ditch of despair. Bitterness can blind us to the promises of God. They had forgotten that life in Egypt was terrible. But now freedom from Egypt has also left them feeling bitter because their expectations were too high.
B. MOSES’ & GOD’S RESPONSE
1. Moses cried out to the Lord. Instead of protesting, he prayed. That’s what hard times ought to do for us. When we’re in pain, we must pray.
2. God answers Moses by showing him a simple piece of wood. Moses takes the wood and chunks it into the water and the water immediately becomes sweet.
3. God then initiates a test and tells them in verse 26: “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.”
4. God is linking their holiness with their health as He declares one more name for Himself: Jehovah Rapha. In the midst of their bitterness and hurt, God reveals Himself as their healer.
C. MEANING OF THE WORD “RAPHA”
1. The word Rapha is used some sixty times in the Old Testament and means, “to restore, to heal, or to cure” physically, emotionally and spiritually.
2. In 1 Kings 18:30, we get a picture of what Rapha means when we read that Elijah “repaired” (Rapha) the altar of Jehovah.
3. In 2 Kings 2:21, God “heals” (Rapha) the water when Elisha throws salt in the spring. The word has the idea of restoring something to its original state.
II. WE NEED HEALING IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Sometimes we are in need of healing in all three areas at the same time like David was in Psalm 6:2-3:
Emotional: “Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint…”
Physical: “O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony…”
Spiritual: “My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?”
A. EMOTIONAL HEALING
1. Jehovah Rapha heals emotional hurts and broken hearts. Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
2. The word “broken” means “to burst, to break into pieces, to crush and to smash.” Some of you feel that way right now. Your emotional pain is overwhelming. Friend, whatever pain you’re carrying around, hand it to the Healer today.
3. Some of you have incredibly intense hurt that I can’t begin to relate to. Maybe it’s something that happened when you were younger. Or perhaps it just happened yesterday. Cry out to Jehovah Rapha; He’s able to put you back together again.
4. Relationship ruptures can cause emotional pain. If you’re struggling with a broken relationship, I encourage you to do what you can to make peace as Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
B. PHYSICAL HEALING
1. Some of you are experiencing very difficult pain and the discouragement that comes with pain. Maybe it’s personal pain that you’ve received about a family member or a friend.
2. At times like this, we need to ask Jehovah Rapha to do His healing work in our lives. In 2 Kings 20:5-6, Hezekiah became ill and was about to die.
3. As a result of intense intercession, he was healed and his life was even extended. God said, “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you…I will add fifteen years to your life.”
4. In the Gospels we see that Jesus spent a surprising amount of time healing people.
C. SPIRITUAL HEALING
1. This is by far the most important of the three realms of healing. Jehovah Rapha sees that we are spiritually sick and He provides healing and wholeness through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross.
2. Our diagnosis was terminal. Jeremiah 17:9 records, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
3. The pervasiveness of sin in our souls is pictured very vividly in Isaiah 1:5-6: “Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness — only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.”
4. Though our depravity is total, God had good news, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
5. Early in His ministry, Jesus taught in the synagogue from the Book of Isaiah, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
6. Once we are set free spiritually, Jesus can break every other bondage we are under, including addictions and deep-seated sin patterns. Thank God for His grace in Jesus!
III. 7 PRINCIPLES FOR PASSING THE TEST
When the Israelites were faced with three days of no water, Numbers 15:25 says that God tested them. Likewise, when we go through tough times emotionally, physically or spiritually, we are really entering a testing time. There are at least 7 principles to keep in mind that will help us pass the test and better understand the healing power of Jehovah Rapha.
A. TRIALS CAN GET US BACK ON TRACK
1. I talked to people who told me that their difficulties led them to read the Bible and get close to the Lord. Others have expressed that their difficulties turned into a blessing because they helped them to fully surrender to Christ.
2. That’s exactly what the psalmist said in Psalm 119:67, 71: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word…It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”
3. When we’re hurting, we must run to Jehovah Rapha and resist the urge to fill our emptiness with things that will not satisfy or harm us.
B. SICKNESS CAN RESULT FROM SIN
1. When you’re hurting physically or emotionally, it’s good to do a quick inventory to see if you have any unconfessed sin in your life.
2. In Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”
3. Psalm 38:3, 17-18: “Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin…For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” Let me say it again. Personal sin may be a contributing factor to your illness and therefore should be taken seriously.
C. BUT SICKNESS MAY HAVE NO LINK TO SIN
1. We can certainly say that all illness ultimately is a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, but we must be careful to not link every problem we have to some sin in our lives.
2. This was the mistake that Job’s friends made when they kept accusing him of wrongdoing.
3. In John 9, Jesus’ disciples wanted to know whether a blind man had sinned or his parents, so that he was born blind. Jesus answered in John 9:3: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
D. DOCTOR’S ARE OK, BUT SEEK THE LORD FIRST
1. It was said of Asa (2 Chron. 16:12): “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.” Here’s the point. Don’t bypass the Great Physician on the way to the doctor’s office.
2. God does use medicine. He had Isaiah put a pulstice (special dressing) of figs on Hezekiah’s wound (2 Kgs 20:7). God Himself did the first physical surgery on Adam to take out his rib to make Eve.
E. WE NEED THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH
1. James 5:14-16 describes what we should do when we are sick. First of all, call for the Elders of the church and ask for prayer. Second, confess your sins to others. Third, pray for each other. These steps are only possible if you’re plugged into a community of faith.
2. When you’re hurting, you need the help of others. Listen to this story called “Comforters” (adapted from Linda Mae Richardson).
a. When I was diagnosed with a deadly disease…
b. My first friend came and expressed shock by saying, “I can’t believe you’re sick. I always thought you were so active and healthy.” He left and I felt alienated and somehow very different.
c. My second friend came and brought me information about different treatments and gave me his opinion about what to do. He left and I felt scared and confused.
d. My third friend came and tried to answer my “whys?” and told me God may be disciplining me for some sin in my life. She left and I felt guilty.
e. My fourth friend came and told me that that if my faith was greater God would heal me. He left and I felt like my faith must be inadequate.
f. My fifth friend came and told me to remember that all things work together for good. She left and I felt angry.
g. My sixth friend never came at all. I felt sad and alone.
h. My seventh friend came and held my hand and said, “I care. I’m here. I want to help you through this.” She left, I felt loved, and I knew everything was going to be OK.
F. FAITH IS A HEALING FORCE
1. TWO EXTREMES. Some people believe that God is bound by His Word to heal everything and everyone. At the other end of the spectrum, others think that God does not heal today and so they don’t even pray about their problems.
2. The proper biblical perspective is this. Pray earnestly for healing and have faith He will heal you, but be careful about demanding that He answer your prayers according to your will.
3. Joni Eareckson Tada, who is in a wheelchair as a result of a diving accident adds, “God certainly can, and sometimes does, heal people in a miraculous way today. But the Bible does not teach that He will always heal those who come to him in faith. He sovereignly reserves the right to heal or not heal as He sees fit” (“A Step Further,” Zondervan, 1978, Page 127).
4. Tim Hansel writes: “I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands of times for the Lord to heal me…and He finally healed me of the need to be healed.”
5. Having said that, we need to keep Mark 6:5-6 in mind. This passage explains the importance of faith to Jesus: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” Faith somehow unleashes the healing power of God. James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
G. THE CROSS IS THE SOURCE OF HEALING
1. The Jehovah who heals in the Old Testament is the Jesus who heals in the New. Don’t miss the significance behind the wood from a tree providing sweetness to the bitter water.
2. All of our problems began at a tree in the Garden of Eden and all our problems were solved because of another piece of wood which held up our Savior on the Cross.
3. Isaiah 53:5 says that “the chastisemment that brought us peace was upon him, and with His stripes, we are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 says: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his stripes, you were healed.”
4. Only Jesus can sweeten the bitterness of life. He is the bondage breaker as Leviticus 26:13 says: “I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
B. THE CALL: Making the Bitter Better
1. After God made the sour waters sweet, He then led the Israelites to a place called Elim. We read in verse 27 that Elim had twelve springs and seventy palm trees. God led them to a place of plenty.
2. He is both the wood and the living water as He said in John 7:37: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” The only way to go from Marah to Elim is to turn to Jesus, who is Jehovah Rapha.
3. If you’re in need of healing right now, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual (or all three), would you please come and allow me to pray for you?
