Exodus

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At this point in Exodus, Israel has been set free from the oppression and slavery of Egypt and are now in the wilderness, the desert. God was leading them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
He did not lead them directly to the land of Palestine, though it was only 120 miles or so if they traveled on the main road. They would have encountered war and would have immediately returned to Egypt. They were not prepared for war.
Instead, God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Sea. The Egyptians saw this and thought they were wandering aimlessly and decided to pursue and force them to return or destroy them. They thought Israel was trapped. But God showed His power, parted the Sea, and Israel crossed over on dry land. When the Egyptian army followed, the waters returned and destroyed Pharaoh’s army.
In chapter 15, God led Israel three days journey beyond the Sea into the wilderness. They were distressed because they found no water. They came to a place called Marah where they did find water, but the water was bitter; it was salty or brackish.
Here Israel was to learn important spiritual lessons and there are many lessons for us to learn as well. They are now traveling through the desert and they are faced with the question, “How are we to survive? What will we drink? How will we live?” It’s a question of faith for them and for us.
The problem was in how they responded. They grumbled against Moses. How you respond when you encounter bitter things has everything to do with your faith.
I. Don’t Let Bitter Things Make You Bitter
 Israel was beginning a forty-year journey and must learn to trust God along the way.
 Bitter things happen in life. The question is - how will you respond?
 The Israelites crossed the sea. There was no going back to Egypt to get water. God demonstrated His power and destroyed the Egyptian army, but it also created a “burn the ships” moment. They must go forward, they could not go back.
 That also meant they could not go back for provisions. They would have to trust God along the way.
 They were in the desert and were thirsty. They saw water up ahead and everyone’s hopes were lifted. That is, until they drank the water and found it was bitter.
 They respond by grumbling against the Lord. Not just asking, “What shall we drink?” But grumbling. Complaining. Becoming bitter.
Illus - In the book of Ruth, Naomi and her husband encountered hard times in Israel, so they moved to Moab with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, whose names meant sickness and wasting away. Times have to be bad to name your sons ‘sickly’ and ‘wasting away.’
In Moab, her husband died and then her two sons also died. She returned to Israel with Ruth, the Moabite wife of her son, Mahlon. When her friends see her returning, they say, “Is that Naomi?” She responds, “Don’t call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Lord has dealt bitterly with me.”
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