25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. 26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you. Exodus15:23-26
Jamie Buckingham was a well-known author who regularly conducted pilgrimages for people who wanted to walk in the footsteps of Moses and the Israelites.
He offers a very practical interpretation of this passage...
Most of the water in the oases in the Sinai had high contents of calcium and magnesium, making them bitter or brackish. It also made the water act as a laxative. The Arab guides who accompanied him used to jokingly say, "one cup and you go for a week."
Throwing branches into the water released sap which bound with the some of the chemicals and sank to the bottom, reducing the bitterness.
Buckingham postulates that the Israelites came from Egypt with gut-fulls of bugs, parasites and worms. (Is this why they were so good at belly-aching?) The waters of Marah (on day three of their journey into the wilderness) was God's practical way of cleansing the people from all their intestinal bugs.
If we understand that the waters of Marah had a healing purpose then the juxtaposition of the idea of healing in v26 with the Marah story makes sense.
Sometimes we encounter hardship along the way and we are quick to complain - we don't always realise that God is working through these experiences to strengthen, heal, cleanse and prepare us.
I am not saying that God is the author of evil and suffering, but we also need to realise that God's way is not always the easiest one. He has a bigger picture in mind. He is more interested in our long-term healing than our short-term comfort. We have to trust that He _is_ the God who heals us and that He will work in unexpected ways.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
