COVENANT OF HEALING – MARAH TO ELIM

“For I am the LORD WHO HEALS you” – Exodus 15:26b

The COVENANT of HEALTH was stated explicitly in the course of Israel’s journey from MARAH to ELIM: “There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD WHO HEALS you” (Exo.15:25b-26).

Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites had finished singing, and it was time to journey on. Moses led the people into the desert for three days without finding water, resulting in a life-threatening situation. Thereafter, they came to some water and their hopes arose, only to be dashed by the bitterness of the undrinkable, salty water. The people named the place “Marah”, meaning “bitterness.” But to worsen matters, they grumbled against their leader. Moses, in turn cried out to the Lord, Who showed him a tree, which he promptly threw into the water. Immediately the water was made sweet and drinkable. Refreshing themselves, the people were revived and travelled on to Elim, which had twelve springs and seventy palm trees.

This story of the journey from Marah to Elim – from bitterness to sweetness and surplus – revealed the Lord’s power and trustworthiness. The clear message for us is: Whatever the bitter obstacles that we encounter in life's pathway we can count on God to transform them, and to use or redeem them for good, as He leads us to Elim. When we cry our Marahs – our bitter burdens – out to God, He is able to “sweeten” them and turn them into a resource for the next leg of the journey. God is more than able to deal with, redeem, and even transform whatever challenges or bitter situations we might face.

Beyond the visible display of God’s power however, there was an invisible redemptive process at work. The Lord showing Moses a tree actually means that God “instructed Moses a tree.” Bible scholars note that the verb is derived from the word “Torah” which means instruction – specifically, the law that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai for how His people were to live in covenant with Him, their Deliverer from Egypt. When Moses cast the “torah tree” into the bitter water, it became sweet. In a sense, Marah’s bitter waters revealed the bitterness that lodged in the hearts of the Israelites, manifesting in their grumbling against Moses. Obviously, they needed deliverance, not just from Pharaoh, but from their grumbling, bitter selves.

After the Lord sweetened the water with the tree, He “made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them” (v.25b). The test was a training exercise, designed to reveal and transform their bitter, grumbling hearts toward Jehovah. The test showed that Moses was God-centred but Israel was not. They were to become “God-centred” in all their living. Finally, the Lord revealed Himself as Israel’s Healer: “I am the LORD who HEALS you” – Jehovah-Rapha! He didn’t say “I am the One who heals the water”! The transformation of the people was more important than of Marah’s water. He heals the heart, transforms bitter waters to renewed waters, and also the body, energising and preserving us for life’s journeys.

The bitter water became sweet by the tree – Torah, God's instruction – the Word! “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (Jh.1:14). JESUS – the Word – our Torah, hung on Calvary’s tree to purchase our Redemption and Healing. As we receive and follow Him, becoming Christ-centred, we’ll experience a healing transformation, beginning from within our hearts, outward. We’ll transit from the bitterness of Marah to the sweet abundance of Elim; from barren desert to fruitfulness.

What a blessing it is when the tests of life bend us towards Jesus, that we might open ourselves to Him at ever new depths, heeding His word and experiencing His healing! The Covenant of Healing which was revealed at the place of bitterness has now brought us into abundance and sweetness of life in Christ!