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THE HEALING TREE.
Exodus 15:22-25 (KJV)
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
There is sometimes not much between our songs and our sorrows.
In verse 1 they sing a new song unto the Lord;
After the joyful song of victory comes the bitter experience of Marah.
Faith will be tried, faith must be tried
As long as the pillar cloud of His presence is with us every foul-tasting cup can be sweetened.
There is a power in the "Tree of Life," the Cross of Christ,
sufficient to transform and transfigure all the Marahs in our everyday life.
But we have here a very great and real need.
"They could not drink of the waters, for they were bitter" (v. 23).
Sin, like the bitter waters of Marah,
seems so promising.
To the flesh it promises many pleasures;
but once the cup of sinful pleasure is tasted,
bitterness becomes the dominant and unwanted taste
The people murmured, saying, "What shall we drink?
Where shall we find satisfaction?
Who shall show us the good?"
Have we not here A type the Gospel of the Cross? It was—
I)A Tree.
"The Lord showed him a tree"(v. 25).
a)There was a tree in the garden of Eden, but defended by a sword of flame. The fruit of this tree of life man could not pluck.
b)There is another tree that was first laid on Christ, then Christ was nailed to it.
1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
II)A Tree Pointed Out by the Lord.
"The Lord showed him a tree" (v. 25).
a)No man could have found this tree had not the Lord revealed it.
John 1:18 (KJV)
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Romans 3:25 (KJV)
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
b)GOD THE Father pointed Him out at Jordan, when He said,
Mark 1:11 (KJV)
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
III)A Tree Revealed in Answer to Prayer.
"Moses cried unto the Lord, and He showed him a tree" (v. 25).
a)He showed me Jesus.
IV)A Tree Near at Hand.
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
a)From the construction of the words we conclude that it was growing or lying near by.
b)God's remedies are always at hand. The tree of life is not afar off, "the Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth" (Rom. 10:8).
V)A Tree Accepted and Applied.
Moses took the tree and "cast it into the waters" (v. 25).
a)The divinely appointed remedy must be brought into contact with the polluted and bitter waters of life.
b)Man does not need to provide the cure,
c)he has but to take it and apply it
John 1:12 (KJV)
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
VI)A Tree that Made Bitter Sweet.
"The waters were made sweet" (v. 25).
a)The waters that could do no good were immediately made useful.
b)Let Christ in and the bitter pool of the heart will be sweetened
c)The power of Christ's Cross transforms all trials into blessings.