Making Bitter Waters Sweet

By Pastor Jacob Doran

Flathead Valley, MT

Exodus 15:22-26 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.

In a desert, 600,000+ men (not to mention women and children), can work up quite a thirst, as can their abundant livestock, brought with them from Egypt. Whatever water they brought with them would not last long, before they found themselves rationing their water, enduring both the weakness that accompanies dehydration and the continual cotton mouth of a thirst that is never satisfied.

Understandably, some of them were wondering where God was in all of this. If He could part the waters of the Red Sea and lead them across on dry land, why couldn’t He provide them with water to drink?

The answer is that He COULD provide them with water, as we are quick to answer. Why, then, didn’t He do so?

God allowed His people to endure their thirst until they were painfully aware of their need for His provision—what He alone could supply—and of the fact that they had exhausted their own supply, which meant they could no longer depend on the water they had brought with them.

It has often been observed that, when trials beset us, what is in our hearts usually comes out. Like the Hebrews, what often comes out of God’s people today is a barrage of complaints, both over their circumstances—and by implication God, since He seems to have allowed and not intervened in those circumstance—and in regard to His appointed leaders (after all, they are the ones who led us here).

At first, they could find no water at all, but when the cry went out that water had been found, it was bitter and undrinkable. The Hebrews called the place Marah, which means "bitter.”

What we must realize is that, until God’s people learn to put their trust in Him, seeking first the eternal rather than the temporal, their way will always be bitter.

However, when Moses cried out to God on behalf of the people—something that they should have done to begin with—God showed them how to change their circumstances from bitter to sweet.

Matthew Henry puts it this way:

Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them.

Many, here, compare the tree to the cross—and I’m not saying that there isn’t an analogy to be made. However, I think that comparing the tree to the cross alone can be a grave mistake. Yes, Jesus died on the cross, but He did so for a profound reason that we must here consider.

Ephesians 2:13-18 tells us,

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

I am reminded of the tree of life, set in the midst of the paradise of God (Gen. 2:9 & Rev. 2:7) and pictured in Revelation 22:2 as the central feature of the City of God. Sin and the carnal mind are what separated Man from the tree of life. However, Christ removed the enmity that separated us from Himself and gave us access, by one Spirit, to the Father.

The cross is but a picture of Grace—that Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves and, thus, secured for us what we could not secure for ourselves. The cross is only part of the equation. What truly makes the waters of our own trials sweet—and all of life, for that matter—is Christ, who abolished the enmity in His own flesh.

When we, as believers, get our eyes off of the Lord, life is made bitter again. Of a sudden, there is no joy, no enjoyment of life or salvation, and no peace of mind. When Christ—our Tree of Life—does not stand at the center of the Paradise of God, to which He has brought us, and at the center of the City of God (the Church), we will find there no lasting joy or blessing.

In short, it is not the cross that many envision as meaning perpetual sacrifice and dying to self that makes life sweet and enjoyable, but rather the Christ who died once for all and now sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the saints. Although He does bid us to take up our cross and follow Him, to deny ourselves and seek first the Kingdom of God, the cross itself represents only death. It is Christ who represents life, and when He is the center of our lives and churches, we will find that it is HE who makes the waters sweet.

Fellowship with Christ is the only paradise we are called to enjoy, either in this life or the next, and without it we can but wander in the desert, empty and bitter. He alone is our Oasis. He is the only solution that God will offer to change our circumstances and make them sweet.

In John 4:10 we read,

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

How do we give Him drink? We bring Him into the midst of every day and let Him make the bitter waters sweet. When we submit to Him and let Him be the center of everything, the bitter becomes palatable and even enjoyable.

Notice where the Lord took His people next.

Exodus 15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Not only did He make the waters of Marah sweet. He then brought them to a place where there was water abundance. In fact, there was a well for each tribe and seventy palm trees to offer shade—the Biblical number of fullness or completeness.

Abundance and blessing resulted from their faith in Him and their obedience to His word. All that they needed was theirs when they got their eyes off of themselves and their own want and fixed them upon Him. Rest and contentment is only found when we bring Him into the midst and fellowship with Him through even our sorrows and felt needs.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

He not only gives abundant life. He IS abundant life.