Exodus 15:22-27
Intro
: God Revealed continued.
Week 1 Explanation of Names Adoni and Elohim.
Explanation of why Yahweh and Jehovah.
Let’s begin with context (Exodus 15)
In a nutshell is a question that the people need answered:
‘Is the Lord Among Us or Not?’
Exodus 15:22-18:27 is a series of narratives where the
needs
(of the people) and the
gift
(s) of God come together.
The geographical location, circumstance and setting speaks to and serves also as a metaphor for the journey of life both then and now.
The people of Israel have come through a mighty
deliverance
and are on their way to
promise
when the ‘desert’ gets in the way
!
God has delivered them from slavery and bondage and has made a promise of better things to come!
The wilderness through which Israel traverses comes to be a metaphor for a zone of life not properly ordered and without the usual, reliable life-support systems.
In the heat of the moment/circumstance, the people begin to wither, and their reflections take a turn / a reverting, to what they were before.
Another way to see this passage is that it moves from ‘no water’ (v.22) ‘to water’ (v.27), by way of God’s speech.
Transition
: So, let’s look at 3 Realities:
Application
: See documentaries about people traveling from South trying to get into the US through the deserts in Arizona.
Without ‘God’ blessing and providing our needs Himself, our lives are at risk!
Without water, the people will soon die!
Cross-Reference Thought
: Woman at Well – John 4
‘If you drink of these waters you will thirst again, but if you asked of me I will give you waters that will spring into eternal life and you’ll never thirst again.’
2. Natural / Carnal Expression is to Complain
(about everyone and everything)
Please Note: Not the first or last time this has or will happen (this complaining and confusion).
In Exodus 14:11-12, when the people are pinned up against the Red Sea, they say to Moses,
Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? “Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying,`Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
(NKJ)
Transition
: the 3
rd
reality (of this text and of life as a whole) is that God always has a way though and out of bleakness.
From Bleakness to Blessing
3. God Has Solution
Verse 25: ‘So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree (piece of wood).
‘He (Moses) through it into the water, and the water became sweet.
’
The Work of Jesus on Piece of Wood / Tree
:
Isa. 53:1-6 – Prophecy of a soon coming Messiah
Jesus on the tree/cross stated: ‘It is finished.’
Jesus commands, Mark 16 – Mark’s great commission.
Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18
“they
1
will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mar 16:14 NKJ)
Back to Text
: What does God do….
Test
? If….
Makes a promise
…
I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians…
For I am The Lord who heals you!
Application
: While physical miraculous healings (cancers, blindness, etc. is usually what we think of when it comes to healing, what God is doing and wanting to do is heal a people of much more:
God leads them to lush pools with shade (provision)!
Conclusion
: One of the ways in which God revealed himself to Israel was to reveal himself as a healer. It’s important to that we understand that it’s much more than a healing miracle that God provides.
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