Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. Exodus 15:22-25
Just a short time before, “Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. . . ” (Exodus 15:1-3) When Israel saw the miracles God performed on their behalf and experienced his favor, they were ecstatic. Their future was certain—they had hope. It may seem a little ridiculous that just one encounter with something unpleasant caused them to complain and panic, but in their minds they were justified in their complaint.
Human nature hasn’t changed much since ancient times. It doesn’t take much to to put most of us in “panic mode.” When it’s evident our hopes and prayers are being answered (ie when God parts a sea and we walk through it on dry land) we have no problem trusting him. But the moment we face adversity we seem to forget all about what God has done in the past. We immediately begin to question his leading, worry about provision . . . and lose sight of hope.
God was not messing around or trying to torment his people when he allowed them to taste the bitter waters. He was actually trying to show them who he was. He was trying to prove that he was worthy to be trusted. He had promised to protect and to provide for his people every step of their journey, and he wasn’t about to break his word. Unconditional trust had to be worked into them over time just as it has to be worked in us. So, over and over God would patiently prove that he wasn’t anything like the cruel Pharaoh’s and leaders of Israel’s past, and over and over they would learn that even in the most difficult or seemingly impossible circumstance, God was able to work miracles.
Israel’s brief encounter with bitter waters was just the first of many little trials that would show them (and teach us) that God is able to make even the most bitter of waters sweet. He was and is worthy of our trust.
