Bitter Waters

(Read Exodus 15:22-27) Human beings require oxygen, water, and food to live. If either of these three is polluted with harmful elements it can lead to disease and death. In this article I want to address the issue of polluted water. The title of this article is taken from the story of the Israelites who arrive at Marah three days after leaving the Red Sea after God had caused them to cross on dry ground (Exod. 14:13-31). The Hebrews arrive at Marah expecting to find water. They find water but quickly discover that the waters are bitter and unfit to drink. What will happen if they drank the water? I want to use this story as an illustration for what can happen when Christians encounter bitter waters. In this article “Bitter Waters” are those teachings about God and Jesus Christ that have been polluted by the world’s ideologies and philosophies. I thought about this story while watching a TV western program. The Israelites are in a similar situation that is often portrayed in western movies and television shows. Someone is crossing the desert. They run out of water. They know that there is a source of water a few miles ahead. Dehydrated and close to death they arrive at the water hole. There is a sign that reads, “Poison Water.” The water taste bitter. They have a choice. They can risk drinking the water and possibly dying from the poison, or they can take a chance on reaching another source of water. Suppose they die of thirst before they reach another source of water? In the movies and television shows the star of the show always finds water. Usually he reaches a town or someone who has water comes along and rescues him. In our text today God rescues His people by providing for them pure water. “Then he cried out to the LORD and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet” (Exod. 15:25, NASB). As stated before, when we find bitter waters we have to choose if we will risk drinking the water and likely dying from the poison, or we can risk dying from lack of water and dehydration. This is not an easy choice. Bible scholar Douglas K. Stuart states: “Finding foul water at Marah was not merely a disappointment but a cause for panic. ‘Bitter’ water is often clear so that it looks potable but in fact contains large percentages of dissolved mineral salts that render it undrinkable” (“Exodus” in The New American Commentary, vol. 2, ([Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006], 366). He continues by saying, “thirsty people and animals will try to drink any water they find, but if they find it simply offensive they will resist any consumption unless delirious with thirst” (ibid.). God uses the bitter waters to test the people. The people refuse to drink the bitter waters. The Lord provides a third alternative by removing the poison. God shows Moses a tree that he throws into the waters. God tells Moses that what has taken place symbolizes what will happen to the people if they obey His commandments (v. 26). Then God leads them to Elim where they find fresh water (v. 27). As stated above, the bitter waters were a test for the newly freed slaves. During the next forty years God will lead His people on their journey to the Promised Land. God teaches them His ways. They learn that God keeps His promise to provide for their needs. They learn that there are consequences for disobeying the Lord’s commandments. The footnote on Exodus 15:26 in the Life Application Study Bible states the following: “God promised that if the people obeyed him, they would be free from the diseases that plagued the Egyptians. Little did they know that many of the moral laws he later gave them were designed to keep them from sickness. For example, following God’s law against prostitution would keep them free from venereal disease. God’s laws for us are often designed to keep us from harm. Men and women are complex beings. Our physical, emotional, and spiritual lives are intertwined. Modern medicine is now acknowledging what these laws assumed. If we want God to care for us, we need to submit to his directions for living” (p. 119). I want us to consider three questions about the bitter waters, that is, the false teachings that Christians are confronted with. First, how can we know if the water is bitter” How can we know that a religious teaching is polluted and false? As stated above, the water appears clear and drinkable. It is not until the people taste the water that they discover that the water is undrinkable. Do the people know what is in the water? They do not have to know specifically what is in the water. They know what good water taste like. They know that the water taste bitter and bitter is a sign that the water is undrinkable. So, there are three things that Christians can do to prevent them from drinking bitter waters. First, we must believe in Jesus and hold to His teachings. “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32, NASB). When we look at the verbs in this statement we notice that we must believe Jesus. We must make a commitment to live by His teachings. If we know the truth, we will not be swayed by the deceptive false teaching in today’s religious doctrines and heresies. Secondly, we must stay connected to Jesus. In John 15:1-7 Jesus tells His disciples that they have been called to produce fruit. They cannot do so if they do not stay connected to Him. His word must be in them. His Spirit must be in them so that they can have life, power, and wisdom. Their commitment to Him is motivated by His love for them and their love for Him and their fellow disciples (vv.9-17). We are warned that there are many false teachers with deceiving spirits in the world. We can be alert to their schemes when we know the truth found in the words of Jesus and when we stay connected to Him through prayer and right behaviors found in the commands of God. We must neutralize false teaching? We can render false teaching ineffective by preaching and teaching sound doctrine. In 2 Timothy 4:1-5 Paul charges Timothy to preach the word at all times. He reminds Timothy that some people will not endure sound doctrine because it runs counter to what they want to hear. They want to hear a doctrine that supports their own desires. Regardless, to the circumstances Christians are be rooted in God’s words. If need be, they must endure hardships because of their commitment to Christ. If we do not preach and teach sound doctrine people will not repent and be saved. James gives us a second means by which we can neutralize false teachings. He warns us against having friendship with the world. He writes: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, NASB). James further states: “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (v.7). The world wants the church to be its friend. The problem is that they want to be our friends on their terms. They want to praise us and elevate us, but this usually means that we must teach what they want to hear. Sadly, there are those who preach and teach a message using the words of God that are polluted with the world’s wisdom. Our love for God and His righteousness must be our first priority in life. Jesus wants Christians to be aware of the devils deceptive schemes. He warns us that the devil uses human agents to control the lives of people. We can know these false teachers because their message minimize and trivialize the necessity of belief in Jesus. They set themselves up to have a position higher than Jesus. He says, ‘“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’” (John 10:9-10, NASB). Many lives are destroyed by bitter waters. In conclusion, did you notice at the beginning of this article that the bitter waters were made sweet when Moses threw a tree into the water? The tree heals. We see this symbol in Revelation 22. John sees a river with water as clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and the Lamb. On each side of the river John sees the “tree of life” with fruit that heals the nations (vv. 1-2). Jesus has prayed for us; that we be one with Him and the Father and with each other (John 17:21). Let us not drink of the world’s bitter waters. Jesus offers us “living water’ that gives us eternal life (John 4:14).