August 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Exodus 15:22–25

Devotional

Moses had to cast wood into the bitter waters of Marah. This wood is Christ. That is why we read that God Himself shows Moses this wood. God provides the means to make the waters good. God provides the means to change death into life. In spite of the bitterness, there is yet deliverance through God. Do you understand this? There is still guidance from God. For whom? It is for those who are at their wits’ end, yes, for the ungodly. There is no water too bitter or too life-threatening for God’s grace. Therefore, those who live at Marah may and must hear the proclamation, “Would there be anything too wonderful for the Lord?” Does this not break your heart?

You sense how bitter your sins really are precisely when bitterness is changed into sweetness. In the wilderness you learn that the water has become bitter because you sinned away the sweet fountains of Paradise. Ultimately, the source of all bitterness is found within us. When we look at ourselves, can we expect anything else but bitterness? We ourselves rejected sweet communion with the Lord. Many drops of bitterness may have fallen in the cup of our life, but the bitterest suffering is to be absent from God’s friendly face.

Notice that at Marah the bad water is not taken away. The Lord does not make another fountain that is better than this bitter water. Rather, the bitter waters are made good. It will be the same water. God Himself made those waters bitter. That is the miracle of grace; God made those waters bitter in order to make them good. “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive.” “The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich.” Bitter water is given to let His people taste and appreciate sweetness. The sweetest comforts are often in the most fearful hours. In this manner God is exalted. In this way Israel will know from what misery they are redeemed. He who does not know bitterness, will not know sweetness either.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.