Originally, I intended to look at this Bible story two weeks ago. At the time, the name of the sermon was “Is The Lord With Us Or Not?” Certainly it is a question many Americans have asked in recent days.
One approach to developing timely and appropriate sermons is to hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in another. As we look at recent events in the news and compare them with the events in our Bible story, some comparisons come to mind.
“Is the Lord with us or not?” It is a question asked by some Americans in recent days. It is a question perhaps many of the Israelites asked in our Bible story.
Our Bible story begins following one of the most dramatic events of the Bible. Moses has led the Hebrew people through the Red Sea to freedom, free from slavery, free from their oppressors - Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.
But they hadn’t just waded through the sea or swam through the sea. No, God had parted the sea into two walls of water, and the Israelites had passed through the walls of water on the dry sea bed.
And now, we meet the Israelites at a place called Marah. The word means bitter. They have walked for three days through the desert with no water, here to a pool of bitter water they cannot drink, and they are afraid they are going to die.
Their whole world has been turned upside down. Everything familiar, good or bad, has changed.
Does any of their story sound familiar?
Perhaps feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under them, traveling through the desert for three days without water, they come to a pool of water, bitter water, and they could not drink it.
And we cannot take in the recent events that have happened in our country.
I remember hearing in the endless commentary the first couple of days following the attack, how someone describe the way the people moved away from the financial district in New York through the whole series of explosions and collapses.
The police and firemen kept moving them further and further away - and the droves of people kept walking and walking. I believe it was one store owner who watched them passing by who commented
“It was like a biblical Exodus.”
Isn’t that an interesting comment.
“It was like a biblical Exodus.”
In our Bible story, the people cry out. “What are we to drink?” Surely wondering, “How are we to survive?”
And across our world people have turned to God in prayer.
“Where are you God? Are we safe?”
Bitter water.
But September 11 isn’t our only encounter with bitter water. Bitter water comes in many forms and one form or another has impacted our lives personally and directly.
Perhaps it has been the bitter water of divorce. Perhaps there has been an affair. Or perhaps it has been just a steady growing apart. But certainly there have been feelings of failure and wrongful hurting and blame and shame.
Perhaps it has been the bitter water of financial difficulties. Perhaps it has been the loss of a job. Or perhaps there has been some overspending that shouldn’t have been. But certainly there are feelings of being overwhelmed, trapped, desperate, and out of control.
Maybe it has been the bitter water of illness and poor health. Maybe it is life threatening. Or maybe it has been incompacitating. But certainly, it has been fearful and stressful. Life’s daily activities have been changed, and they may never be the same.
Our list of bitter water could go on and on. There is the bitter water of alcoholism. There is the bitter water of anger and abuse. There is the bitter water of neglect and misdirected priorities.
Life is full of bitter water and we can identify someone - either ourselves, someone in our family, or someone we know who has experienced the bitterness of bitter water.
Can you think of someone? Can you identify someone either in your past or who you presently know who is victimized, affected by bitterness?
Perhaps its that one who always seems to view the world from a pessimistic point of view. Or maybe its that one who cries on your shoulder all the time, telling you how bad things are.
Maybe its the one who gave up and withdrew. Is there someone you can think of who like the Israelites in our story, who cry out, asking, “What are we to drink? Where is God?”
Maybe its your mother or your father. Maybe its your in-laws or your sister or brother. Maybe its an aunt, uncle, or cousin. Maybe its someone you knew back home, one of your family friends, or someone you work with. Or maybe its you. Maybe its you whose been given bitter water to drink.
How do we respond to bitter water? When it comes our way, do we cry out?
You know, that’s one thing that strikes me about this story. After everything they have been through, after all they have witnessed, after all the remarkable displays, why do they cry out?
Why do they fear and worry that there will be no water to survive? How can they possibly believe that God would have Moses lead them through the desert and not provide for them? How is it they can question whether the Lord is with them or not?
I think our first assumption is that these Israelites are faithful followers who have a clear understanding of the workings of God. We forget that they have only been literally, faithfully following God for three days. They are still new at this. Their journey of faithfulness has just begun. It will take a life time - literally a life time to overcome the pull of Egypt, to leave the familiar enslavement behind.
Moses will lead these people through the desert towards the land of God’s promise for an entire generation. When they finally reach the home God has prepared for them, not one person who experienced slavery in Egypt, even Moses, will still be a live. The people of God who finally make their home with God in the land of Canaan will be a new generation of people, dependant upon God for everything, for life.
But here at Marah, they have only just begun the journey. And when they cry out, God does not grow angry at their lack of trust and faith. God tells Moses to throw a piece of wood into the pool of water, and the water is made sweet, and it became fit to drink.
Its an interesting thing, God has told Moses to do. We could start asking a lot of questions, and I would imagine some of them would be scientific in nature as to what the wood was, and how it purified the water.
My preacher’s eye sees and draws some different conclusions and parallels. The piece of wood reminds me of the cross on Calvary where our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, gave his life for ours. The bitter water reminds me of the bitter water of life, our own mistakes that sour our life, our own sins that cost us our life. There is no life in bitter water.
The bitter water made sweet that now is fit to drink, now is a source of life, reminds me of the new beginning we receive through the water of baptism. The bitter water of our life changed into the sweet water of eternal life.
Perhaps it is best to say that a life threatening situation has been overcome by a “wonder” through the power and the will of God
Our story is about our need, and God’s gift - God’s ability and desire to give life where there is none.
It reminds me of a story about Jesus. He once met a woman who was of lowly gender, came from a discriminated race, and was a person of questionable character. He met her at a well where she had come to draw water alone, away from those who would ridicule and chastise her. He had stopped there to rest.
When she came, he asked for drink from the water she drew. She was shocked at his request. Like the segregation that existed in our own country in the 60’s people of her culture did not drink from the same cups and bowls as those from Jesus’ culture.
But Jesus responded, “If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink from this well, then you would ask him and he would give you life-giving water.”
Life giving water. That’s what the Israelites cried out for so desperately in the desert.
“If you only knew what God gives.”
In our Bible story, God presented the people of Israel with another “if.”
God told them if:
1. you listen to me carefully
2. do what is right
3. and obey my commandments
then:
you will not suffer the diseases of the Egyptians.
I wonder what was going through the minds of the Israelites as they heard these words? What were they thinking? I imagine that their minds first went to what they knew so well: the Egyptians.
Perhaps their first thoughts were to remember everything the Egyptians went through when the Israelites sought their freedom. The Bible speaks of 10 plagues they endured of locusts & frogs, boils on their skin and drinking water turned to blood, and the death of their children. Maybe that’s what they were thinking of. Or maybe they were thinking of what can best described as diseases of the heart.
Maybe they were thinking of the disease of hatred and anger they had experienced at the hands of the Egyptians. Or the disease of individualism and lack of caring. The Egyptians were not worried about the plight of the Israelites. They saw to their own needs and desires at the expense of the Israelites. Maybe they were thinking of the self-willed, self-centered way in which the Egyptians had thought of themselves, and the way that it had, well...made them bitter, like the bitter pool of water that had been before them.
But God had given them an “if”:
listen carefully, do what is right, and obey my commands
The people of God don’t have to be like the Egyptians. The people of God don’t have to suffer those diseases. The people of God have a different way to be. And we, as the people of God, can do the same.
Beginning next week, we will be looking at 7 habits of highly effective Christians. As we do, our invitation is this: to grow one step in each of these habits. We are invited to grow in our prayer life, to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, to make commitments, real and faithful commitments to reading the Bible, faithful worship attendance, giving our gifts to God, serving the Lord with our hands, and sharing the good news of God’s love with others.
In these habits of highly effective Christians, I see opportunities to respond to the invitation God gave at the pool in Marah. Surely we can learn to listen carefully through prayer and Bible study. Surely we can do what is right when we consider our financial giving and hands-on service. Surely we can grow in our ability to follow God’s commandments, when we commit ourselves to faithful worship attendance and witnessing to others about our faith.
I invite you to take these habits seriously, to join me in prayerfully considering what would the Lord have you and I to do.
The Lord loves his children. God wants good things for us. He doesn’t want us to drink from bitter water. He doesn’t want us to be corrupted with disease hearts. The Lord wants to have a relationship with us and invites us to journey with him to a better place and a better understanding.
Is the Lord with us or not?
Our Bible story tells us that the people of Israel left that sight with the Lord’s invitation, and came to Elim, where there were twelve streams of water and seventy palm trees.
What will you do?
Our Israelites found a better place to be, than beside bitter water.
What will you do?
