Fresh Water in the Wilderness, from Bitter to Sweet
Fresh Water in the Wilderness, from Bitter to Sweet.
“Remember how the Lord God led you all the way in the desert for forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your hearts, whether or not you would obey Him and keep His commands.” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
A Big Test. It didn’t take long for Yahweh to offer a crash course in the wilderness. Consider this a training exercise, says Yahweh, as the people swelter in the desert heat for three days after the Red Sea. They follow the pillar of cloud and fire directly to a marshy oasis that unfortunately has nothing but bitter waters. It has been called Marah ever since, which means bitterness, and can also be translated the “waters of strife.” The recently emancipated Israelites are by now dehydrated and ready to pounce on Moses. Where’s the water? We need water! It wasn’t that long ago that the Israelites were able to drink the sweetest water on earth from the Nile River. The Nile continues to enjoy the reputation of having the sweetest drinking water on earth.
Exodus 15:22-26. Naturally, the minor complaints evolved into a major incident when it was discovered that the waters there were bitter and impure and undrinkable. Moses proceeded to do the wise thing… He “cried out” to Yahweh for help. The Hebrew word here means to “shriek,” not exactly a polite approach to Yahweh to quietly request His assistance. Moses didn’t hesitate to yell to the Lord at the top of his lungs to help him out here! The Lord didn’t seem to mind, since Moses wasn’t joining the people in complaining and grumbling. I find it difficult to blame the people of Israel in this situation… bone-tired from the journey into unknown lands, sweltering heat from the desert sun, no water for three whole days. Their complaints seem to be entirely justified and reasonable. And I totally get that Moses shrieked in panic, the trek to the Promised Land seemingly over just as it just got started.
Questionable Numbers. Yes, Moses had his hands full as he began the wilderness journey with all those people of Israel. These people were ex-slaves, remember, not in the least trained or ready for wilderness survival techniques. How many people were in this throng of Israelites? Exodus 12:37-38 suggested a good round number of 600,000 men. So some estimate that there could have been as many as two million people in this throng when you add in the women and children! Most biblical scholars don’t agree with this gargantuan number, though. They say that was most likely an exaggeration, perhaps because to Moses, it probably seemed like millions! But he obviously didn’t use an advanced calculator to determine the number of people in his multitude. In fact, the Hebrew word for “thousands” in the Exodus passage has also been translated as families, clans, or even military units. So, we just have no way of knowing how large a group was following God’s pillar of cloud and fire through the desert. It was a huge throng, let’s leave it at that.
Tree? Yahweh responded immediately to Moses’ shriek, and demonstrated a miracle that has never been forgotten. The Lord simply pointed out to Moses a nearby branch, or log, or small tree, or large shrub, or huge stick, or whatever is meant by the Hebrew word “es.” Since Moses alone threw it into the marsh, it couldn’t have been anything too substantial. This was a one-man job, and Moses was the man.
A Liquid Miracle. At Yahweh’s direction, Moses threw this piece of wood into the contaminated marsh, and the bitter waters were made sweet, just like that. Did Moses already know about this particular tree, since he had spent forty years in this part of the world? Was it the ”Moringa Oleifero” tree, as some have speculated, whose crushed seeds can make dirty water totally transparent? Was it the “Acacia Sapwood” from that area in the desert which is used to remove metal contaminants like lead and cadmium from water? Or was it the “Desert Hyssop,” a large shrub which has very effective anti-fungulant properties that kill the adverse effects of fungi? Or maybe it was a special tree created by Creator God right there to achieve this miracle at God’s command? Trying to identify the tree thrown into the water by Moses is beside the point, though. The miracle is that such a small object as a log or branch can purify enough water to slake the thirst of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people! And that’s not even counting all the animals that need water as well. Sure enough, Yahweh healed the waters of Marah, He turned the bitter waters sweet, and made the impure and undrinkable become pure and of great benefit to the severely dehydrated people of Israel.
After all the people and animals had enjoyed their fill of pure water, Yahweh wanted to drive His point home. He wanted them to pass this test and learn something important for their future trek ahead. The test at Marah was a teachable moment, for sure, and an object lesson about trusting in God, obeying Him, and depending on Him. But that’s only one aspect of the lesson… God wanted to teach them something about His character, His heart.
“If you will listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh your God and do what is right in His sight, obeying His commands and keeping all His decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am Yahweh who heals you, Yahweh-rophe.” (Exodus 15:26).
This is when God revealed Himself as Yahweh-rophe… the LORD who heals. In the restoration of the oasis stream, God wanted to provide a visual aid and personal experience to teach the Hebrews about His desire to heal. The thirsty Hebrews had a teachable moment, and God provided the lesson. Yahweh can heal the stream, He can heal their thirst, He can heal their murmuring spirit.
God powerfully demonstrated His mercy and desire to heal as He led them from Marah to Elim (Exodus 15:27). This was a God-ordained oasis of gigantic proportions, and must have seemed like heaven on earth to the weary Israelites. For there in Elim was an oasis that included twelve natural springs of fresh water, perhaps one stream for each of the twelves to enjoy? And there were also seventy palm trees in Elim, to provide shade and even palm berries to eat. These fruits of the palm tree are still eaten to this day because they are known to be a rich source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin A, and is also a source of protein and calcium. It appears that God’s pillar of cloud and fire led them to more than times of testing. There they were, in the middle of nowhere, given the privilege of enjoying a little bit of paradise. Pure mercy.
Yahweh-rophe is a compound name, and it occurs only this one time in Scripture. Rophe or Rapha means to heal, restore, return to health, and that word occurs more than 60 times when referring to God’s ability and desire to heal. The LORD is a healer, and He is not limited to physical healing. In Isaiah 61:1, God talked about “binding up the broken hearted.” In Jeremiah 3:22, God desires to heal their wayward hearts, their backsliding, which seems more of a spiritual healing. In Jeremiah 30:17, God refers to all kinds of healing, “I will restore (rophe) you to health, and heal (rophe) your words, declares Yahweh.”
And God is still a healer. Jesus reminded us in His Word that we need to humbly be aware of our need for inner healing because of sin, for the Spirit of God to mend us and restore us to health. Be aware of your brokenness, He says, for when you know you are sick, you’ll seek out the doctor. Without this awareness, we would unfortunately live under the delusion that we don’t need His attention. The Spirit of Jesus will continue His ministry of healing as we open ourselves to Him. Any healing we experience now is a gracious and wonderful foretaste of what all believers will experience in the New Jerusalem. In heaven, we will all be healed, inside and out. In the Kingdom, we will all be restored to wholeness, which will gladden God’s heart, and ours. And then we can say in full voice, “Let all that I am praise Yahweh; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise Yahweh; may I never forget all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.” (Psalm 103:1-4).
A Prayer to Yahweh-rophe (ya’-way ro’phay)
We gratefully offer ourselves to you, Yahweh-rophe, LORD-healer, the Great Physician. For only you can make the bitter sweet and bring the dead back to life. Your Spirit of love yearns to open the eyes of the blind, and strengthen the legs of the weak. You are poised to bind up the broken hearted, release the oppressed, and proclaim freedom for the captives living in darkness. You are the sun of righteousness who will rise with healing in your wings. You alone, Almighty Yahweh, are the balm for the sorrows and suffering of your people. Thank you for sending your Son to heal and restore so many. And we thank you that He continues His ministry of healing to this day. We bow before you, Yahweh-rophe, and exalt your holy Name. Amen.