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Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Exodus 15:22-24, ESV

1. __________

Three days into their journey from the Red Sea and the people of God have a problem, as they’ve found no water. One might think that they would cry out to the Lord, asking him to provide them with the water they needed. But instead of putting their trust in the Lord for his provision, they began grumbling against Moses. Grumbling is griping about something, but quietly.

Do not grumble, as some of them did — and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:10-11, NIV

Grumbling is such a serious sin, because at its heart it’s an expression of a lack of trust in the trustworthiness of God. We grumble when neither God’s past provision for us, nor his future promises to us, shape our response to our present life challenges.

2. __________

There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” Exodus 15:25b-26, ESV

This test was about sanctification not justification. Here God’s people are being called to grow in their commitment to live their lives according to the Lord’s revealed will. If they do so they will experience his blessing. However, if they choose not to listen and obey the Lord, then they will be exposed to God’s hand of discipline even as Pharaoh had been. God knew that they needed water, but they also needed to learn that as God’s people their palpable thirst for water was designed to remind them of what needs to be their principle thirst for God, that being growing in their loving trust of him. The same is true for those us whom God has saved through faith in his Son Jesus Christ. God is seeking to sanctify us and teach us to trust him, love him, and follow him.

3. __________

He cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. Exodus 15:25a, ESV

They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water. Exodus 15:27, ESV

What’s truly amazing here is not just that God can make bitter water sweet and lead his people to a perfect oasis in the desert, but that he is willing to do so for people that grumble and complain. Such is an example of God’s great grace, that even though they failed to depend upon him for their needs, as an expression of his unfailing love for them, the Lord their God graciously gave them what they needed in order to not only sustain them but to also encourage them to put their trust in him.

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… Exodus 34:6, ESV

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault…” Philippians 2:14-15a, NIV

As we strive to increasingly reflect in our daily lives the character and conduct of the Christian life we find portrayed in the example of Christ, we’re to do so without grumbling.