BITTER WATERS - Exodus 15
For many, Israel's deliverance from the bondage of slavery in Egypt is a picture of what happens when a person becomes a Christian and the person is freed from the bondage of slavery to sin. With that parallel picture in mind, we see that as Israel leaves their slavery, they seem to have the expectation that EVERYTHING will now be perfect. Many today believe, and many teach, that once a person becomes a Christian, it is smooth sailing throughout the rest of life. THAT IS NOT TRUE! Here in the book of Exodus we see the multitude of delivered people facing thirst and encounter bitter waters. It may be interesting to note how God solved the problem - compared to how WE might think He should solve the problem. God did NOT choose to lead them away to a different location where they might find sweet water. What we see here is that God took the bitter water and miraculously made it something sweet. There are many life circumstances which we enter and find them bitter, but God can (and often does) change them into sweet water! We hope that you can relate to that truth in your own life.
Scofield says "Israel came to these bitter waters while walking in the very path of the Lord's leading, thus indicating that difficult experiences are educative rather than punitive."
Furthermore, the tree that Moses was told to use to sweeten the bitter waters there in Exodus may well make us Christians think of the cross of Christ through which the bitterness of life, of sin, of specific relationships and circumstances is removed, leaving only that which is sweet.
So, it should be helpful for us to know and acknowledge that:
a) as we go through life, God will not automatically, nor always, direct our paths so as to avoid all bitter experiences.
b) when you DO encounter a bitter experience, God will not automatically, nor always, direct your path away from that bitter experience.
c) what we CAN do is pray for, and look for, God to turn the bitter into something sweet - for our good, for someone else's good, for God's glory.
God's grace is sufficient to see you THROUGH any bitter experience.