|
|
|
|
Tuesday, February 23 2010
After the crossing of the "sea" (the actual Hebrew Scriptures do not say "the Red sea" as many translations render it; as well, the Red Sea is far wider than the Israelites could have walked in a few hours - see The Night Crossing), the Israelites found themselves in the dry, rugged Sinai Peninsula, which as its name plainly says, is in the Sinai Peninsula (see Why Did Paul Say That Sinai Was In Arabia?). The LORD (i.e. Jesus Christ - see the Fact Finder question below) immediately provided them with clean, fresh water in the desert:
"15:22 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. 15:23 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. 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?15:25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed 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, 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters." (Exodus 15:21-27 KJV)
"What shall we drink?"
The Israelites were slow to appreciate not only what the LORD had already done for them, but all of that which He was therefore capable of doing for them. They murmured and whined at the slightest excuse. The LORD again provided all of the water that the people needed, in this case at Meribah in The Wilderness of Sin:
"17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 17:2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
17:4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
17:5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?" (Exodus 17:1-7 KJV)
The "the water under the earth" was specifically mentioned in the Commandment against idolatry.
"20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6 KJV)
The LORD repeatedly told the Israelites that they had nothing to worry about if they obeyed Him. They chose however to ignore and reject His leadership - the reason that the Exodus became A Journey Without A Destination for the rebels.
"23:23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. 23:24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." (Exodus 23:23-25 KJV)
Plenty of good water was also provided for the service of the Levites at the Tabernacle - as with everything else, the "washings" represented much more (see Why Through The Sea?, The Origin of Baptism and Living Waters).
"29:4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 29:5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 29:6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 29:7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him." (Exodus 29:4-7 KJV)
Fact Finder: What incident involving desert waters cost Moses his entry into the promised land at that time?
See Why Did Christ Put Moses To Death?
| Daily Bible Study Library - Thousands of Online Studies! | ||
 |
Jesus Christ Bible History Prophecy Christian Living Encouragement |
Eternal Life By The Book Bible Places Curiosities The Spirit World |
This Day In History, February 23
155: The martyrdom of Polycarp, who had been a disciple of the apostle John. Arrested at age 86, Polycarp was burned at the stake for refusing to forsake the Christian faith.
303: Emperor Diocletian began the persecution of Christian-professing in Rome.
1455: Johannes Gutenberg printed the first book, the Bible.
1574: The Fifth War of Religion began in France.
1820: The Cato Street Conspiracy, an attempt to assassinate British Cabinet ministers, was foiled with only hours to spare.
1836: The 12-day siege of the Alamo began. Mexican troops under General Antonio Santa Anna defeated Texas fighters, including William Travis, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, who were all killed.
1846: The cracked American Liberty Bell was sounded for the last time, to mark George Washington's birthday.
1898: In France, novelist Emile Zola was imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
1919: Benito Mussolini left the Socialists and founded the Fasci del Comattimento (Fascist) party in Italy.
1970: Guyana, formerly British Guiana, became an independent republic within the British Commonwealth.
1996: Pope John Paul II issued an updated code for electing popes, introducing modern comforts for cardinals in conclave and reaffirming rules against electronic bugging to safeguard their secrecy.
