God Provides Water for the Thirsty

As we study the book of Exodus, we are looking at the salvation of Israel. We are looking at the song of Israel, and today we come, unfortunately, to the sins. Of Israel. Having said that, we realize that Israel had just experienced the salvation of their God. When they crossed the Red Sea, they then would sing a song about the greatness of their God and how He was to be glorified and how He was put on dis. And after that jubilation, then would come a journey that would lead them three more days into the wilderness.

And there we find. How quickly we forget about all that God has done. They would just continue down their journey. And some would say, Yeah, yeah, but you know, we need some water. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. But let's keep talking about the story. Let's keep talking about what God did. Yeah, but we need some water. We're getting a little thirsty. And thus we have the story in Exodus chapter 15, verse number 22, down through verse number 27. Let me read it to you.

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days into the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Morah, they could not drink the water of Morah, for they were bitter. Therefore it was named Mar. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters. The waters became sweet. There he made for them a statute and regul, and there he tested them.

And he said, If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes. I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I, the Lord, am your healer. Then they came to Al, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside The waters. God provides water for the thirsty. I want to give you first of all the setting for God's provision, and then I want to give you the specifics of God's provision.

And there'll be some things you'll learn today that are quite magnificent about our God and how He deals with His people. First of all, the setting for God's provision.

They began this journey from the Red Sea after singing that great and marvelous song of redemption in the first part of Exodus chapter 15.

But you must understand, first of all, the def of water. We're talking over 2 million Jews. We're talking their livestock as well. They all need to drink. They all need to have water. It's imperative that you drink. It's hot in the wilderness. It's hot as you travel from day to day. And yes, there would be a cloud over them that would to some degree protect them from the heat, but the dryness of the weather would cause their throats to be parched. And so the magnitude Of the deficiency of water was growing with each passing day.

But slowly but surely, they begin to run out of water. And the Bible tells us that it was exactly three days. After what had taken place at the Red Sea. And it tells us something about what God does with his people. The trial would come to them in the midst of their obedience. It's not that they were disobedient. They were following the cloud. They were doing what God said. So don't think that because you give your life to Christ and because you're following God and because you go to church on Sunday and because You read your Bible and you pray and you do the things of God and you go on mission trips and you serve Him and you want to be obedient to Him, that you'll be free from trials, free from temptation.

That's not the case. In Israel, it's a classic example of that. It would be a test that God would bring their way and reminds us of our need to be steadfast in the faith of God. So, thus, we had the deficiency of water. It was a very practical need. It was a very simple need, but it became a huge need for some two million Jews. Wandering in the wilderness. But number two, I want you to notice with me the defilement of the water.

They're journeying through the wilderness. Everyone is parched. And all of a sudden, in the distance, you see this oasis. And for that brief moment, there's that sense of reprieve. And they begin to make that beel to that oasis, not knowing that when they get there, it's nothing what they thought it would be like. You ever been there? You ever been in a situation where you have cried out to God and all of a sudden you see that there is the answer? There it is. and you engage in doing what you believe is really the right thing to do because God has led you there, only to realize that all of your hopes were completely crushed.

What you thought would bring fulfillment brought disappointment. And thus we come to the disgruntlement about the water. The Bible says that when they came to Marah, the waters were bitter.

And so it says in verse number 24: the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Test number one: Red Sea.

What was their response? To murmur and to complain and to grumble. Test number two, three days later, another test, no water.

And yet, when they found what they thought would bring them refreshment, was defiled. They couldn't drink it. So what now was their response? Same as before. To complain and to grumble. And to play the blame game. Not realizing, number one, that Moses wasn't the reason for the trial.

Moses was the remedy. And instead of crying out to God like they should have done, they complained to Moses. So that's the setting for the provision. Now come the specifics for the provision. What does Moses do? Well, the text tells us he cried out to the Lord. That's his petition. He petitions his God. Who else would he cry out to? Moses was in the same predicament they were in. He was thirsty. He had no water. But knowing the character of the man, knowing the way Moses was, he went to his God because he didn't know what to do.

So he begins to cry out to his great and wonderful God. And God would provide in a wonderful way because of one man's petition. That petition would then lead to point number two, a revelation.

A revelation. You cry out to God. You go to God, and God will reveal to you what you need to know. He will explain to you what it is you need because His word has the answer. And there comes to Moses a revelation. It says, He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. Why a tree? Because there is a tree, and only one tree that has a remedy. To every man's problem, and that's the tree of Calvary. And over and over again in the Bible, read about in the book of Acts, when the apostles preached, they preached about the Messiah who was hung.

On a tree. They used the word tree because that's what it was. When you go back and you read what Paul says in Galatians 3 about how we are redeemed through Christ, and cursed is every man who hangs upon a tree. He took our curse upon him so we could be set free. Peter would say in 1 Peter 2:2 that he bore in his body our sins. On the tree. So remember that what happens with Israel physically is a picture of what God does with his people spiritually. And there was a revelation given to Moses. Because he would petition his God.

And God says, the answer is in the tree. Take the tree, throw it into the rivers, and watch and see what happens. So, Moses picks up the tree. Now, how big a tree was this? I don't know. He dig out of the ground, I don't know. But he picked it up and threw it in the waters. And the Bible says that the waters now became sweet.

So from the petition to the revelation, you have the application. Moses had to do what God said. Let me tell you something.

Whenever you petition God, he reveals to you what the answer is. Unless you apply what he says, there is no remedy to your problem. And you know what? That's one of the biggest problems we have today in Christianity. God shows you, well, this is what you need to do. You say, well, I don want to do that. Because God was. Symbolizing to Moses, and for all of us who would one day read it, that every man's remedy to a bitter, bitter life of sin is in a tree called Calvary. And the Bible goes on to tell us then about the examination.

It says in verse number 25 that God tested them. This was a test. To see whether or not they would pass or fail. To see whether or not they would truly believe God or not. It was a test. Israel's whole life was a test. You know, when I was growing up and I was in school, you know, I had to take tests. So did you, right? I hated failing a test. I needed to make sure I was prepared to take the test. But I always hated the pop quizzes that came. God gives us tests. They come every day. He wants us to see what our hearts are really like.

See, he knows what our hearts are like. He knows what we know, what we don't know, but we don't know. Do we? Our heart's deceitful. It's desperately wicked. No man can know it. So God tests us not so He can see what's in our hearts. He tests us so we can know what's in our hearts. See? So we can see them for what they really are. And this was a test. And there would be many more tests down the road. And unfortunately for Israel, they would continue to fail. And that's why 1 Corinthians 10 says, And with most of them, God was not pleased.

Why wasn't He pleased? They kept failing the tests, their hearts weren't right, and God had to deal with them. From that examination, we have a proclamation. And God says very clearly these words, if you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God.

If you will diligently follow the voice of your God, if you just do what God says. That is the definition of the Christian life, right? A Christian is one who does what God says.

I mean, let's just bring it down to the bare facts. A Christian is one who does what God says. But you see, we don't like to do what God says because his ways just seem to be so incredibly difficult sometimes.

You know, see, that's why God gave Israel all these laws. See, we wonder about all these laws, all these dietary laws. You got books today about, well, you know, if we just follow the dietary laws of the nation of Israel, we'll live longer. No, you won't. No, you won't. You're all going to die on time. Okay? Well, we'll feel better. No, you won't, because Jewish people get sick like you get sick. See? God gave them all those dietary laws for one reason and one reason only. So they would just do what He said.

That's all. Do you love me? Just do what I say. And they would be different than everybody else around them. God wanted them uniquely, distinctly different than everybody else, because they were going to bet God to everybody else. God says, listen, just earnestly hearken.

Diligently do what I say. That's it. That's all you got to do. Not too difficult, is it? But yet, because our flesh gets in the way, we become so selfish it becomes hard to do. If you want to continue to be blessed, just do what I tell you to do. That's it. That's it. And then he gives us an identification. By helping us to understand another aspect of the nature and character of God. For he says these words at the end of verse number 26: For I, the Lord, am your healer. Yave Rafah, I am your healer.

God identifies him to Moses and to Israel by helping them understand that he is their healer. And by way of summation, I'm going to spend the rest of our time this morning helping you understand how God wants to heal you today. Because you need to get this. So, turn with me in your Bible to John chapter 5.

Over the last two months, I have done nothing but prepare for our trip to Israel in terms of my study preparation, because the people who have gone with me have asked that I'd speak more often than not. We'll speak at every place we go from now on. We haven't done that in the past. We're going to do that now.

And so, in my own personal studies, you come across different little tidbits, little nuggets of truth that are so profound. And in John chapter 5, you have Christ entering through the sheep gate, going to what is called the pool of Bethesda. Bethesda is the house of. Mercy. And it's that house of mercy or the outpouring of mercy where God pours out His mercy upon those who are in desperate need. Listen, of healing. Jesus is in that place. And Jesus finds a man who for 38 years has been paralyzed.

38 years. And listen to the question he asks him. He says in verse number five: Do you wish to get well? Now, stop right there for a second.

What do you think? What would you say? Excuse me. But I've been here for 38 years. No, see, the Lord knew that. Do you wish to be made whole? Ins question. Of course he would say yes. But look at what he says.

Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred, but While I'm coming, another steps down before me. There was a tradition that when the angel would come and stir the water, the first one in would be healed.

There's a lot of discussion about that, and the purpose of our discussion this morning is not to deal with that issue, but that was the tradition. That was what was taught, and that's what they believed: that once the water was stirred, the first one into the pool would be healed.

I want to be healed. But I can't. And Christ says to him in verse number eight, Arise, take up your palate and walk.

And verse number nine says, Immediately the man became well, took up his palate and began to walk. Now, understand this. When it comes to healing, God desires to remove your physical infirmity. He truly does. I believe in the healing power of Yave Rafah, that he is our healer. And I pray for people, and so have you. And we've prayed for many people in our local assembly that God would do a mighty work in their lives, and they have been healed. And we praise God for that. But I want you to understand something.

That God's purpose in coming was not to heal people physically, although He did. He healed many people, He healed Peter's mother-in-law, who was sick with a fever. And Mark 1 would go on to say there in Caper that everybody from that little village would come to The doorstep of his house, and he healed them all of their diseases. But I want you to understand something very, very clearly: that that was not God's ultimate plan when he came. You see, Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61 prophesied about the Messiah coming who would be a healer.

And so all that was part of proving his credentials that he truly was the Messiah when he healed people. And the Jews of that day were upset because this man carried his bed on the Sabbath. They didn't care whether the guy was healed or not, that was irrelevant to them. But that he broke the Sabbath. The point being is that Jesus healed the man and Christ. To prove his credentials, he people. Because he 's a God of mercy and God of compassion and a God of kindness. He would do those things. But how do you know with the heart of God?

And when Jesus saw the multitudes, what did he do? What did he do? He said, Listen, I know that what you believe, you long for. Has happened. But what I've done for you is only temporary because you're all going to die. Every man dies. But what you need Is a new heart. It says, You think you've been blessed. After all, if you were sick and you had an illness or you were paralyzed and you were healed, don't you think you'd believe you were blessed? Absolutely. He says, but this isn true blessing. True blessedness, true joy, true fulfillment.

And he preaches that infamous sermon on the Mount of Beatitudes. By saying, He went up to the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him, and opening his mouth, he began to teach them, saying, Blessed, you want true blessing? You want to truly be joyful? Because you know what? Tomorrow you could get sick again. Tomorrow you could die. You need to have your heart right. You see, that was the emphasis of his ministry. Yave Rapha is one who rem man's physical infirmity, but most important, he wants to release us from our iniquity.

He wants to release us from the bond of iniquity. From the sin of our souls. The Lord knows that unless your iniquity is removed, you will live with your physical infirmity forever. In hell. And so he knows that. And he knows that unless our hearts are right with him, there'll be no joy. So it's very true that we learn a lot more when we're sick than when we're healthy. Isn't that true? The Lord knows that. And God doesn't want everybody. Look at Paul.

He prayed three times that his thorn the flesh should be removed. And God said, No, my grace is sufficient for you. Remember Trophimus. Paul left Trophimus in Miletus sick. And Paul had the gift of healing. But he left one of his great servants sick in Miletus. Look at Timothy, who had many physical infirmities.

Look at Epaphroditus, who was almost dead because he was so sick, but nobody healed him. Yave Raphael, the Lord our healer. Is concerned with releasing us from our iniquity more so than removing our physical infirmity. Although one day he will ultimately do that. Because we'll go home to be with him where there is no more sickness, there is no more death, there is no more pain. But Yave Rapha does more than that, he restores our spiritual dignity. He restores our spiritual dignity. Turn over to Psalm 103 for a moment.

Verse number 1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits, who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with loving kind and compassion. Who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed like eagles? There, the people say, Well, see, there he heals all of our diseases. So, if you're a Christian, you should be healed of all your diseases.

That's not what the text says. You see, yeah, it is. That's what it says. You just read it. Who heals all your diseases. Turn to Psalm 107, verse number 17. Speaking of Israel, fool, because of their rebellious way and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He saved them out of their distresses. He sent his word and healed them. And delivered them from their destructions.

What destructions? What healing? Their souls' diseases. You see, when the Bible says that God heals all our diseases, He's speaking of the soul's diseases.

That's why He says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. And everything he deals with, with the blessing of God, deals with the soul of a man. And the issue in healing is a man's soul. There needs to be. The spiritual dignity of a man. When God said, My name is Yap Rapha He said it in the context where no one in Israel was physically ill, but where everybody was spiritually ill. And that's what God wants to do for you and me. See that? That's how God works. So when the Bible says that He sent His Word and He healed them, it talks about how God's word is like medicine, it's like His remedy.

It's how God heals somebody. God uses His Word to heal the soul's diseases. He uses His Word to deal with your guilt, to deal with your feelings of despair and your feelings of lust. To deal with your spirit of greed. He handles all those souls' diseases, and it comes through the word of the Lord. That's how it happens. You with me so far? I don't want to lose you because I'm going to bring all this back to John 5 here in a second.

Yave Raf. God only wants to restore our spiritual dignity. Remove our physical infirmity and be able to relieve us from our bond of iniquity, but he wants to repair our heart's malady. But it goes beyond that, he wants to recover our backsliding tendencies. That's what God wants to do. See, He wants to get us back on track again. I don't know where you are today, but Exodus 15 speaks to your condition, whatever it may be. This man in John chapter 5 shows us how that happens. For God came to him in John 5 and says, Do you wish to be made well?

The Lord says that to you today. Do you wish to be made well? Why the question? Why the question? Because of this. When you get right down to it, most of us are unwilling to do what God says to be healed.

I can't be healed. I can't do it myself. See, the problem with us is that we think we can't do it ourselves. So we try to remedy the situation. We try to remedy the lust situation, the greed situation, the bitter situation, the heartache situation, the lack of fulfillment situation, the lack of enjoy Situation. We try to do it ourselves and we don't realize our own inact adequacies. We can't do it. And God says, Do you want to be made well?

We say, Yeah, but let me work out something first, and then I'll get back to you. So we're just hang on a second, Lord.

I'll get back to you in a moment. But there's something here I think I can do. And God says, Wait a minute, you don't want to be healed my way.

You want to be healed your way. That's our biggest problem. To realize our own inadequ. And then, are you ready for this? Respond to His authority. Jesus says, Arise, take up your bed and walk.

And then this: not only to realize your own inadequ and respond to God's authority, but you need to rejoice. His sufficiency. Rejoice in his sufficiency. Whatever God does to make you well, as Yave Rapha, your great healer, you rejoice in what he's done. For this time forth and forever, from the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. In the name of the Lord that we receive today, what we understand about Exodus 15 today is that Yahweh is Rapha. Yahweh is your healer.

There is no one else who can do that. Only God can. I ask you what Jesus asked the man in John 5: Do you wish to be healed? Do you wish to be made well? If so, real. Your inade. Respond to his authority and rejoice in his sufficiency. Let's pray.