Have You Been to Marah—the Place of Bitter Waters?
Jesus will turn your bitter waters into sweet.
So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. (Exodus 15:22-23, NKJV)
Have you been to Marah … the place of bitter waters? Maybe it’s the bitter waters of a deep disappointment, a broken relationship, or a great failure on your part. The waters are bitter at Marah and cannot sustain life.
Bitter waters will make you sick and poison your soul. Are you drinking the bitter waters of discouragement, unforgiveness, and self-condemnation?
And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink” So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, (Exodus 15:24-25, NKJV)
Three days earlier, they had been singing God’s praises as they came through the Red Sea, and Pharaoh’s army was drowned. “I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and the rider thrown into the sea.” Miriam and the women of Israel were dancing, playing their tambourines, and singing, but now the people were thirsty, and they murmured against the Lord and His servant Moses.
It’s easy to praise God when all is going well, but when you experience troubles, when you come to the place of bitter waters, you tend to murmur and complain. But you need to remember that the Lord has an answer for you at Marah.
God told Moses to cast a tree into the bitter waters. What kind of tree can cure bitter waters and make them sweet? Only the tree of Calvary. As the Apostle Paul declares, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14, NKJV)
There’s only one tree that can turn a curse into a blessing—the tree where Jesus bled and died. It was there that He took your punishment and bore the curse that you deserved. You cannot remove the curse by keeping the law or by religious works. It only comes by receiving what He did. You must cast the tree into your bitter waters by faith. Then God will heal your bitter waters and change your heart so that you want to do what is right.
How do you heal a sick body or a troubled mind? With a tree! How do you heal a broken family or a troubled nation? With a tree … the tree of Calvary!
The Bible tells us that God made a statute and an ordinance with Israel at Marah. I learned that one of the meanings of the word statute in the original is “prescription.” Likewise, the original Hebrew of the word ordinance means “judgment.” So the Lord wrote a prescription. He caused the judgment that you deserved to be placed upon Jesus so that you could be totally forgiven.
“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26, NKJV)
The Lord revealed Himself to Israel as “the Lord who heals you.” In the original, it simply reads Jehovah (I am the Lord) Rapha (your Healer or Physician). It is one of God’s seven redemptive names. It is His identity. He has never changed His name, and He never will. He will always be the Lord your Healer, the Lord your Doctor.
The Doctor told them what they were to do, just as your natural doctor will tell you to rest or take these pills or do this exercise. Jehovah Rapha gave them an assignment. In essence, it was “Listen to me and do what I say!”
I have seen people miraculously healed by the power of God and the gifts of the Spirit, but for anyone to receive long-term results, they must do things God’s way. They must “diligently heed” His voice. They must turn away from sin, put their life in the hands of the Lord, and believe in His remedy, the cross of Jesus Christ.
Whether it’s for healing a sick body or the healing of a nation, the prescription is the same. Toss the tree into your bitter waters so that the judgment which you deserve may be placed on Jesus. Listen to the Doctor and do what He says. Then you will come into a place of blessing where you can drink of the waters of life freely. Pray this prayer from your heart:
Dear Father, thank you for being the Lord who heals me. Thank you for Jesus, who died on Calvary to take the curse that I might live in the blessing. Thank you that Jesus rose from the dead. Forgive me of my sins. I will listen to you and do your will, in Jesus’ name. Amen.