ISRAEL’S FIRST LESSON IN GOD’S JEHOVAH-NESS
Exo 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.
Exo 15:23 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.
Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exo 15:25 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,
Exo 15:26 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.
Exo 15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
As you probably know, just about everything that God did with Israel from the time that He sent Moses back into Egypt to announce the time of their deliverance, until He brought them to Mount Sinai, was designed to educate them in their need for God’s “Jehovah-ness” and grace. In connection with this, once God brought them out of Egypt through the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea He began to intensify their education in the issues pertaining to His “Jehovah-ness” and grace. And the five ‘trials’ that they encountered from the Red Sea to Sinai, (as recorded from Exodus 15:22 to Exodus 19), were specifically used by God to give them this increased education. Now in connection with this, the first ‘trial’ of Exodus 15:22–26 naturally involves the most fundamental ‘lesson’ for their education, which is why it is the one at which God “made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,” as the latter part of verse 25 states and as verse 26 goes on to further describe. And since it is the first and most fundamental ‘lesson,’ it addresses the most fundamental thing that God wanted them to realize and learn about Him and His “Jehovah-ness.”
Exo 16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
Exo 16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
Exo 16:5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Exo 16:6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
Wherefore as the account relates, after journeying “three days in the wilderness of Shur” the people of Israel “found no water.” And then when they moved on and “came to Marah” they found water, but “they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.” Hence they were now in a very needful, if not desperate situation, with respect to their physical lives. But, once again, since God Himself was the one who had led them into this situation, He therefore purposely planned for them to be in this situation and designed it for their continuing education in the issue of His “Jehovah-ness” and grace.
Exo 17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Exo 17:2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
Exo 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
Exo 17:4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
Very simply put, this particular “no water” situation together with the “bitter” or poisonous waters situation confronted Israel with the fundamental fact that their “life” with God in all of its forms was completely dependent upon the issue of God’s “Jehovah-ness” and grace. Just as it was with their physical life in this “no water” and “bitter” waters situation, they by nature also possessed ‘no water of life’ with God. And any attempt to look for it in what the world has to offer, or any attempt to generate life with God on their own by their own works, would only result in them finding ‘bitter/poisonous’ waters that would kill and not give life. Wherefore their only hope of having “life” with God in any and all of its forms was totally dependent upon God graciously giving them “life.” And this is what they needed to ‘come to grips with,’ realize, and learn the truth of first and foremost as God provided for them to be educated in their fundamental need for His “Jehovah-ness” and grace.
Exo 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Exo 17:13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exo 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Exo 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
Wherefore in connection with this, (and when as verse 24 says “the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?”), the LORD (specifically going by His name Jehovah) manifested His “Jehovah-ness” to them in a way that was designed to get them to begin to think of Him as their only Lifegiver. This He did when as verse 25 says, “and the LORD shewed (Moses) a tree.” For this “tree” was living in the midst of these ‘bitter/poisonous waters,’ and when according to the LORD’S instruction it was “cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.” So it was then that God manifested to them that He by nature is a ‘tree with life’ and is a ‘tree of life,’ and that in so being He alone by His own work is able to remedy their natural ‘no water of life’ and ‘bitter’/poisonous waters situation, and thereby give them ‘life with Him’ in all of its forms.
Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exo 15:25 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,
Exo 15:26 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.
And indeed this is the first and foremost issue that Israel needed to realize, learn, and acknowledge, as God began to pointedly educate them in the issue of His “Jehovah-ness” and grace. They needed to learn that the most fundamental issue of all—i.e. having life with God—was not something that they possessed by nature, nor could they come to possess it by their works, and neither could the world give it to them. Instead God Himself was the only source of ‘that life,’ (just like a ‘tree with life’ and a ‘tree of life’), and they could only have it by means of His “Jehovah-ness” and as a gift of His grace.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries