Exodus 15:22  So 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.
23  And 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.
24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25  And 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,
26  And 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.
27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Walking in the fear of the LORD is always the right way to walk. The saved person is always way ahead of the lost person. No saved person submits to the Lord as he should all the time. There are some saved people who are more humble and more submissive than others. Paul was directed to write about the carnality of the saints in Corinth. They had many things to learn. Every true child of God has many things to learn. It is important to be willing to learn the truth after you are saved.
Any true child of God can reflect on the day they were saved. That is a high point in any true Christian’s life. However, there should be other times of great blessing that a true child of God should be able to point to. It is also important to note that God allows and even leads to more challenging times in His child’s life.
In Exodus 15 we have noted the song that the children of Israel sang in praise of God. They finally realized His greatness. They had many opportunities prior to this to recognize this, but it took this final victory from God to cause them to turn their attention to Him, instead of themselves. This change of focus would be short lived but it was still a good thing.
We read in today’s text that the nation of Israel journeyed for three days in the wilderness. They were moving away from the Red Sea and toward the promised land that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had sojourned in. We read that they were in the wilderness of Shur.
The Hebrew word translated as “Shur” means “wall”. Israel would hit a wall in this wilderness. It was an assumed wall to them, but not a wall to the LORD. We read that they found no good water in this place. Water is a precious commodity. We cannot live without water. God would lead the children of Israel to different challenges to help them to see their need to trust in Him. They were slow learners. God provided His Word for us as a mirror. Those who are saved can learn many things about themselves if we are humble enough to learn.
In verse 23 we read that they came to Marah and the waters were not good to drink. They were bitter. We notice that the automatic response of the children of Israel was to murmur against Moses. They needed to understand that when they murmured against Moses, they murmured against the LORD. The LORD directed Moses in the route the nation of Israel was to take. The children of Israel were very short-sighted. There is not doubt they had a legitimate need. However, the greater need they had was to learn to trust in the LORD.
The LORD will never lead His child in the wrong way. He will always be with His child. Moses also needed to learn how to deal with the pressure of leadership. He was not a self-appointed leader. He was chosen by the LORD. He was being trained by the LORD. He needed to see that the LORD would always have the answer he needed.
Moses was wise in crying to the LORD. The LORD shewed him a tree and when Moses cast that tree into the waters, the waters were made sweet. The LORD uses unique situations to teach important lessons.
We like sweet things. We like things to go smoothly for us. We want to see progress. The problem is that we define progress differently than the LORD does. We read in verse 25 that the LORD made a statute and an ordinance here at the waters of Marah. To prove means to test, to check the quality of an item. The LORD knew all about the children of Israel. They needed to see themselves as they truly were. They had just witnessed what to them was a high point. To them this bitter water was a low point. It was, in their minds, an unnecessary event. God had a different way of thinking. He knew this was an important event for them to learn to trust in Him. Moses would learn from this as well.
In verse 26 God used this event to challenge the nation of Israel. We have noted that God often referred to them as “the children of Israel”. They would not all trust in Him. They were not all “saved”. God designed the nation to know Him. He would not force them to trust in Him. He would bless them as a nation even though only a few of them actually believed in Him. The majority of the nation would not benefit from that blessing. God’s blessings can be material, but the sure blessings of the LORD are spiritual blessings. Only those who are made alive in Christ can know those blessings. In the Old Testament they needed to believe the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. We today look back to the fact Jesus Christ has come. We need to trust in His finished work of salvation. Those who do can enjoy His blessings.
In verse 26, God is not teaching works salvation. Too many people assume that in the Old Testament people were saved by works. That has never been true. Biblical doing is the result of Biblical believing. Keep in mind that the LORD was proving the children of Israel. He was showing them where their faith was.
You notice that the LORD put that little word “if” into this text. The “if” was pointing to the evidence that would show they actually believed in the LORD. Faith without works is dead. Today as well, there are many professing Christians who do not believe in the Lord. They set their own standard of righteousness. They manufacture results but they do not have the blessing of the Lord in their lives.
There is no substitute for obedience in the Christian life. A true Christian cannot expect to know the blessings of the Lord if he wants to fight against the commands of God. The joy of the Lord is for those who know Him. Those who know Him need to follow Him.
Jesus declared:

John 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

We can know if we are one of Jesus’ sheep if we follow Him. We cannot follow Him unless we are one of His sheep.
In our text, the LORD used this event to remind the children of Israel that if they would obey Him, He would not need to punish them. God takes no delight in chastening His children. However, He will chasten His child for His glory. When He is glorified, His child benefits.
We notice in verse 27 that after they left Marah, they came to Elim where were twelve wells of water. God knew this place was on their route. They needed to learn the lesson of Marah to prepare them for the blessing of Elim. Not only were there twelve wells of water, but there were also seventy palm trees there.
All the children of Israel needed to do was trust in the LORD. Moses, as their leader, needed to learn to trust the LORD and have that confidence in Him that would guide him in his leadership role. It is a challenge to serve the LORD, but it is a worthy challenge.

Proverbs 10:22  The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Pastor Bartel