Exodus 15: 22-27: “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. 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. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 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, 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 they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.”
Moses met the Lord while he was in the wilderness and the Lord promised him that they would meet again in the same place (Ex 3: 12, “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”) Now that they were finally and completely delivered from Egypt, and any menace that the Egyptians might pose for them, the Lord kept the last part of that promise and brought them back to the same mountain where He had met with Moses at first. In order to do this Moses had to travel three days into the desert. Now, when they came into the desert they were in a position to trust the Lord. He knew that they were in the desert and He took them there so He knew that they needed water. When the came to some water they found that the water was bitter. Esau was bitter when he discovered that Isaac had stolen his birthright (Gen 27: 34, “And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.”) and the Israelis had to eat the Passover meal with bitter herbs(Ex 12: 8, “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.”). Bitterness is associated with losing God’s blessing or waiting for the blessing to be delivered. Esau despised his birthright and the blessing that came with it (Gen 25: 34, “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”) On the other hand, the Israelis had spent many years waiting for the Lord and they ate the Passover meal with bitter herbs to remind themselves of the bitterness of their slavery, while they waited for the Lord to take them to the Promised Land. However, the people didn’t get the message and they complained rather than waiting on the Lord. If they were willing to wait they would not feel the plagues that God rained on the Egyptians but if they weren’t willing to trust the Lord and wait for His timing then they would suffer the plagues and the bitterness of losing the Promised Land.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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