Lack of Beliefs = Works of the Flesh

When I began my study on Moses and the Israelites journey in the wilderness this month, the Holy Spirit showed me that I should go deeper into the study.  We have been born into sin as they were and we can learn from their mistakes.

At Church one Sunday, the Holy Spirit spoke to a prayer partner while praying with me.  She mentioned the water that was bitter and became sweet when wood was thrown into it.  She continued to say, "The Lord has given you (me) an assignment to study what she saw in the Spirit".  At the moment I was told I had an assignment I was elated and ready to go home and dig into the Word.

I have shared with you in the last two posts about the bitter water, but now let's go even deeper into the bitter water study and see what the Word of God reveals. 

Exodus 15:22-27

Three days later in the wilderness "the people grumbled at Moses" (v. 24). How sad. They went from the bondage of slavery in a foreign land to the thrill and excitement of freedom and praise to the LORD God. Then they were overcome by their old way as slaves looking at life. They allowed their circumstances to dictate their attitude toward their leader.

Who led them to Marah? They were led there by the Pillar of Cloud (13:22). Their murmuring against Moses was, in reality, murmuring against Yahweh! What was the cause of their murmuring? Their eyes were no longer upon God.

Three days into the wilderness they found no water. And when they came to Marah, the water was so bitter that they couldn't drink it (v. 22-23).

The people in the wilderness of Sin grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?".  They failed to reason that if Yahweh can hold back the walls of water in the Red Sea can He not provide water.

God revealed Himself at Marah as Yahweh Rapha, "I the LORD, am your healer." The word for "healer" means "to restore, to heal, to cure, or a physician." He not only heals physically, but morally and spiritually. "The LORD your God heals." The word means "to mend," like the mending of a torn garment. It has the idea of repairing as being reconstructed and to cure as a diseased person is restored to health. "The LORD is the physician."

We all come to life with a need of healing. Our waters become bitter as gall. "Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil" (Isaiah 1:5, 6). The LORD says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). The Apostle Paul says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Jesus is both the tree and the waters. "He (Christ) bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus alone brings spiritual healing to our broken lives. The tree of the cross is the only balm that can sooth our broken hearts and cleanse us from our sins. The cross of Christ sweetens the Marah's of life. He turns the cross into the tree that gives life.

The Lack of Beliefs and Values Bring Out the Works of the Flesh

It is human nature that if our beliefs and values are weak or non-existent, we will manifest the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 identify the works of the flesh. They are “... Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedition's, heresies, envies murders, drunkenness, revealings, and such like:...”.

Works of the flesh are manifested when we have no belief or hope in the future or something greater than ourselves. Someone that has little or no beliefs values nothing but their own immediate gratification. It is self-evident to Christians and non-Christians alike that the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21 are works of self-destruction. Things like adultery, wrath, and drunkenness may have some short-term pleasures, but in the end these sins can only result in calamity and eventually death .

Galatians 5:21 ends with saying that those that do the works of the flesh “shall not inherit the kingdom of God”. If we do not believe in God's promises, we see no value in God's inheritance of eternal life. Because of our unbelief we value nothing and will not inherit God's mercy, goodness, and eternal life. Our unbelief condemns us to only inherit the fruits of our fleshly works, namely death and destruction.

Proverbs 5:3-5 tells us of the strange woman that is sweet and smooth, but her end is bitter and will lead us to hell (Proverbs 5:4, “But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword”).

Proverbs 5:4, the Bible tells us that adultery starts off sweet, but ends in bitter consequences. The act of adultery is the biggest scam that we and our flesh will play on ourselves. The short-term pleasures of adultery will tempt us into thinking that it will be the greatest thing to do. Both partners will enter into an adulterous relationship purposely thinking of only the initial pleasure and none of the consequences. In our heart of hearts we know that adultery will not end well for either party.

~Bits and Pieces of notes part 2

David's Prayer for Mercy:  O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. For I admit my shameful deed-it haunts me day and night. It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just. Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:1-12 TLB)

Bitter Water made into Sweet Wood

 

(Exodus 15:22-27)  This story is about the journey from Marah to Elim, from bitter water to twelve springs and seventy palm trees. The journey takes place externally and internally. The external journey is the obvious one. Moses and company find themselves in a very bitter situation. They have been three days in the desert without coming upon a source of water. The water they have come to is undrinkable. Death is threatening. Moses cried out to Yahweh and Yahweh made the bitter water sweet. Refreshing themselves, they are revived and journey on to Elim.

It is another revelation of the power and trustworthiness of Yahweh. The message for us is clear: Whatever the bitter obstacles that we encounter in life's journey we can count on God to transform them, to use/redeem them for good, as God leads us to Elim. When we cry our Marahs out to God, God is able to "sweeten" them, that is, to make them drinkable, to turn them into a resource for the next leg of the journey. God is big enough to deal with, redeem, and even transform whatever external problems we might face.

The internal journey is less obvious, but it is the one on which the text focuses. Our English translations obscure this focus because of the difficulty in translating the verb for Yahweh "showing" or "directing" Moses to a tree/piece of wood. The verb used actually means to instruct or teach. Yahweh instructed/taught Moses a tree. That does not make much sense, but it is important to note because this verb is the root verb of the word "Torah". Torah means instruction, and it specifically refers to the instruction/law that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai for how the Israelites were to live in covenant with this God who brought them up out of Egypt. We might say that Yahweh "torah-ed" Moses a tree.

When Moses cast this torah tree into the bitter water, the water became sweet. Torah is not for water, however, but for people. The bitter waters of Marah revealed the bitterness that lodged in the hearts of the Israelites. Notice that they grumbled against Moses while Moses cried out to Yahweh. The external obstacle revealed the internal realities of their hearts. Moses trusted Yahweh and cried the problem out to Yahweh. The Israelites, on the other hand, betray a lack of trust as they grumble amongst themselves against Moses. What becomes evident in the face of Marah is that the Israelites needed deliverance from more than just Pharaoh. They need deliverance from their grumbling, mumbling, bitter selves. And Yahweh is set to bring about that deliverance. Yahweh torahs Moses a tree of transformation.

Right then and there, after Moses/Yahweh sweetened the water with the tree, Yahweh "made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them. He said, 'If you listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh 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 Yahweh your Healer.'" This text makes it plain that the emphasis is on the transformation of the Israelites rather than the water of Marah. In a word, Israel is to be "Yahweh-centered" in all their living. Remember, down in Egypt life had been Pharaoh centered.

So Yahweh "tested" the Israelites there at Marah. This testing was for the purpose of training them, to reveal their hearts in order that their hearts might be changed where needed. The test revealed that Moses was Yahweh-centered and that Israel was not. The test was a training exercise for Israel, designed to bend their bitter, grumbling hearts toward Yahweh.

How did the bitter water become sweet? The tree. How does one become Yahweh-centered? The answer is Torah, God's instruction. It's kind of a circle. By listening to Yahweh one becomes Yahweh-centered which in turn enables one to be a better listener which in turn increases one's Yahweh-centeredness.

How did the bitter water become sweet? Yahweh, the giver of the tree. How does one become Yahweh-centered? The answer is Yahweh, the giver of Torah. "I am Yahweh, the One who heals you." Yahweh is the One who heals the heart, who is able to transform the bitter waters of the heart to waters of renewal. Again, notice that this internal transformation is the main point of the text, for Yahweh does not say "I am Yahweh, the One who heals the water" but "I am Yahweh, the One who heals you."

Yahweh transforms the heart by means of Torah, Yahweh's instruction/word for sweet living. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. . .." Jesus is our Torah, our transforming Word from Yahweh on and for life. As we receive and follow Jesus, as we become Jesus-centered, we discover a healing transformation being worked within our hearts. It is the internal journey from the bitter waters of Marah to the twelve springs of Elim, from barren desert to seventy palm trees.

May the tests of life bend us towards Jesus, that we might open ourselves to Jesus at ever new depths, heeding His word and experiencing His healing. By the grace of God in Christ, may we make the journey and know His healing, that we might live the Jesus life. If life is bitter, stir in some Torah.

~Bits and Pieces of sermon by Steve Rodeheaver

In Search of Divine Healing