God’s Faithfulness at Marah

2000-10-12

Attributes of God

Just before the incident at Marah, God led Israel across the Red Sea, receiving “honour upon Pharaoh,” showing His supremacy over the mighty warriors and chariots (Exodus 14:17). In a time of despair when Israel cried out to the Lord, He acted and led them across the sea. No feat is too great for the Lord.

God expects His voice to be heard by His subjects, and He is a God of agreements. He says to the Israelites at Marah that if His statutes are kept, He will not plague them as He plagued Egypt (Exodus 15:26).

As the Israelites came out of Egypt and into the wilderness of Shur, God ultimately sustained them by protecting them first from the Egyptians, and then showing them where drinking water could be found. He does this first with the miracle at Marah to purify the water. Secondly, God’s promise to preserve Israel into their own land was shown in greater magnitude as He led them to Elim, where water was already pure and quite plentiful (Exodus 15:27). The former act at Marah is a miracle showing God’s miraculous power, and the latter at Elim is God’s more gracious act as He teaches Israel to trust Him.

Attributes of God’s Creation and People

The setting before and during the Israelites’ time at Marah in the passage was seemingly very desolate. The only available water was at Marah, which was initially not drinkable. Only three days had passed since Israel saw the Egyptians perish at the Red Sea.

The Israelite community had already forgotten the exuberance for the Lord following the miracles at the Red Sea three days before, and focused solely on their thirst. This is a drastic shift from the previous passage where Moses and Miriam had sung their songs of praise. Israel had also been saved on dry land while the waters came crashing over the Egyptians (Exodus 15:19). Now it is drinking water that the Israelites desire. There is a shift in the role of water from being a source of destruction to a source of salvation in the wilderness.

The Israelites complained against Moses, where the word “against” is a sharp picture of rebellion. In verse 25, Moses is back in the state of despair just as in Exodus 14:15, crying out to the Lord. Rebellion is a trait that is expected for the Israelites here, just as they are very fickle. They went from fearing the Lord and following His servant Moses (Exodus 14:31) to speaking against Moses (Exodus 15:24) in a very short amount of time.

Relationship Between God and Humankind

Miracles, therefore, do not change people’s hearts, but God does. They saw the miracle of the Red Sea, and they turned on God within a matter of days. They murmured against Moses for their desire. The water at Marah was not drinkable, but God made it drinkable. Likewise God restored and purified His people, and thereafter made an ordinance that the Israelites must heed God’s commands in order to be healed, as well as to be saved from plagues like those in Egypt (Exodus 15:26).

God brought them to the abundant waters of Elim. This model is analogous to God’s necessary discipline of Israel in the desert for forty years before they enter the Promised Land. We can correlate this to the ultimate need for people to be called by and to be purified by God in Jesus Christ before they can be saved. God is our deliverer. As God delivered Israel at the Red Sea and at Marah, He delivers us when we trust in Him. And when we fail to trust in Him, as we see in this passage, He always remains faithful.