After they had been redeemed by God through the Passover, Israel, God’s elect, crossed the Red Sea and went out of Egypt. The Red Sea became a separating line to them. After they had crossed this separating line, they entered into the wilderness and traveled in it to follow the journey of God that they might sacrifice to God at the place where He appointed (Exo. 3:18). In their journeying in the wilderness, because of the desolate environment and its hardships, they had all kinds of needs for their living. Hence, in this lesson we will go on to see the supplies that they needed. The supplies they received consisted of six items, every item of which being a type of Christ as the supply that we need for us to take the journey of God after we have been saved.
The first thing that the children of Israel needed in their journey in the wilderness was water (Exo. 15:22-26). They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, there were waters, but the waters were bitter. (Marah means “bitterness.”) They murmured against Moses, and Moses cried out to Jehovah. Then Jehovah showed him a tree. When Moses cast the tree into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Thus, the problem of the thirst of the children of Israel was solved.
The tree that healed the bitter waters is a type of the cross on which Christ suffered the bitterness of death. The cross of Christ was constituted of wood; hence, it is also called “the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). This cross is the healing cross.
Exodus 15:22 says that the children of Israel “went three days in the wilderness.” Three days signify resurrection, indicating that the children of Israel walked in resurrection. We have to be in resurrection to experience Christ’s death. In our natural life we have no way to participate in Christ’s death; in the resurrection life of Christ we can enjoy all that He has accomplished for us in His death.
All our thirst is due to our sins; thirst to the uttermost is death. Christ suffered the penalty of sin for us on the tree, that is, on the cross, and tasted death on our behalf (Heb. 2:9) in enduring the thirst of death (John 19:28), and thus saved us from the thirst of death.
As we run and follow the way of God after we are saved, we always have hardship in our circumstances. When we encounter hardships, if we take the cross of Christ and apply it to our circumstances, the sensation of the bitter situations will be made sweet.
According to the case here at Marah concerning the changing of bitter waters into sweet waters, God made a statute and an ordinance for the healing of the children of Israel. That is, if they would diligently give heed to God’s commandments and keep all His statutes, God would be their healing and would save them from the diseases of the Egyptians (Exo. 15:25b-26). This signifies: