AWARENESS |
| It is always fun to watch a child gradually get to know its world. First comes an awareness of the parents' love. Then it begins to learn how to walk, investigate its surroundings and even communicate. The minds of these Hebrews must have been spinning as they tried to grasp what it meant for God to be their Father. First came the ten plagues, then the Passover, and now they had been delivered from the Egyptian army by El Shaddai, God Almighty. What kind of God could do such a thing as this? In Exodus 15, Israel burst into song in verses 11-13 singing,
Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation. they were at the springs called Ayun Musa (the springs of Moses) after they crossed the Red Sea. [Keil/Delitzsh, Old Testament Commentaries, says "Since the distance from Ayun Musa and the quality of the water both favour the identity of Howâra and Marah as their next camp (Keil/Delitsch) this most likely is the same place with these names today.) They were running out of the water they had collected from Ayun Musa, and they arrived hot, dusty and thirsty at their new camp only to find the water in this place was so bitter that even their camels could not stand it."] Regardless of where this was, their minds must have been spinning as they tried to absorb all there was to learn from this experience. Being human, they might even have concluded that the going was going to be easy from now on. If their God could part the Red Sea and destroy the Egyptian army so easily, what could go wrong. It was not long before they were going have this questioned answered. After traveling three days, tired, dusty, and hungry, they were told to camp where the water was called Marah; it was so bitter that they could not drink it. Talk about feeling desperate -- two million people thirsty and no good water. How many people in that camp had faith in God's goodness once they learned of their desperate situation? Luther once said, "When the supply fails our faith is soon gone." Two million thirsty people with wailing babies and children were frantic: they forgot all about the great wonders they saw in Egypt or the crossing they experienced at the Red Sea. They were as good as dead because no one can last without water. Moments like this force us to face our own weakness and dependency upon God. If everything is nice and comfortable, no one sees any real need for a power outside one's self. When people encounter the impossible, suddenly they must seek help. They turned on Moses even while they hoped he would still give them a solution. Moses turned to the Lord, the Creator of the universe, for his answer. He was told to cast a tree (wood) into the water to make it sweet. (Residents in this area do not know of any tree capable of making the water drinkable. (It is not unusual for the Lord to use impossible situations to prove He is really the power behind what happens. For example, the rod of Moses in and of itself was merely a piece of wood. The Jordan River was merely dirty, little river that Naaman was told to use to be cured of leprosy in 2 Kings 5. Now, Moses was to take a piece of wood and make these waters sweet --impossible!) Yet, because Moses believed God's word, the waters turned sweet because of the Word of God, not the wood. God watched to see if Moses would do as He was commanded because he had faith in God's word even when asked to do something ridiculously simple. Prayer: Help me to humbly trust in your Word even when I am not able to understand what you would have of me. I put my trust in your power, your wisdom and your mercy as I seek your daily deliverance. Even when things do not go as I would plan, increase my faith in your Word knowing that your wisdom and love will alway decided what is best for me. Amen. |
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