Exodus 15:26, commentary and pictures

At Marah God made a conditional covenant that if Israel diligently hearkened to His voice, did what was right in His sight, and kept His commandments and statutes, He would put none of the diseases of Egypt upon them. In giving it He revealed Himself as the Lord that healeth them, their unseen Leader and Healer of body and soul. Obedience to His laws, both spiritual and natural, preserves health and prevents sickness, and in the wilderness He sought to reform appetite and wrong habits by simple food, pure water and cleanliness to bring Israel strong and healthy into Canaan. Disregard of His requirements brings sickness, suffering and death, as when lust for flesh was granted and many died while eating it. The words spoken to Israel hold true still for all who recover health of body or soul, for the Lord is willing to bless, save, preserve and heal through nature's agencies.

Marah Setting and Testing

After three days without water Israel found only bitter water at Marah, and God directed Moses to a tree that made it sweet. That sweetening came by divine power, not by any virtue in the wood itself. There God tested Israel after relieving their distress, teaching them to trust his care and to obey him. The test proved whether they would heed him, for he brings his people at times into difficult places to prove them. In delivering them he revealed his power and glory.

The journey from Marah to Elim joins bitter hardship and welcome refreshment in the same desert and amid the same surroundings, moving from bitter waters to an oasis. Bitter and pleasant experiences follow one another, showing that God can turn bitterness into sweetness and provide refreshment and shelter in the wilderness. Earthly hardships and comforts both pass before the journey ends in his city. The bitter waters and the diseases brought upon Egypt illustrate the suffering caused by sin and transgression of God's law and disobedience. The sweetened water was a sign that his power that relieved their distress can also cure the evils of the human heart.

Covenant Promise and Healer

At Marah, after three days without water and the finding of only bitter water made sweet, God gave Israel a conditional covenant that if they would diligently hearken to His voice, do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, He would put none of the diseases brought upon the Egyptians upon them. The promise followed the sweetening of the waters and the testing of the people in the wilderness, teaching them to trust His care and obey Him. It tied protection from disease directly to listening and obedience, assuring them of His care if they met its terms.

He sealed that covenant with self-revelation as the Lord that healeth them, the unseen Leader and Healer of Israel. In that word He is revealed as the great Medical Missionary, and as Christ Himself, their guide and teacher, who pledged to lead them safely toward the promised land. Health is thus joined to obedience to His laws, with the Lord presented as the one who heals.

Blessing under that word depends on hearing and observing all that He commands, not on every man doing what is right in his own eyes. Safety is found only in the path of humble penitence, faith and obedience, covering both natural and spiritual law. When Israel met those conditions, the promise of protection from the diseases of Egypt was fulfilled.

The same promise pledged more than exemption from disease, holding out health and strength with none feeble among the tribes. It held out establishment in Canaan as a pure, happy and holy people, with freedom from sickness and a lasting home in the promised land. Disregard of His words and following their own ways would dishonor Him and bring instead sickness, disease and plagues.

Health Obedience and Diet

Health is part of God's care for Israel, and obedience to his laws, both natural and spiritual, gives and preserves life and health. Listening to his voice, doing what is right in his sight, and keeping his commandments and statutes is linked with protection from the diseases brought upon the Egyptians, for the Lord identifies himself as the one who heals. That obedience includes his sanitary laws and principles of hygiene taught in the wilderness training, which preserve health and can help cure and prevent sickness. Christ was Israel's unseen guide and teacher in giving this promise, and it was fulfilled when its conditions were met.

At Marah, after the bitter water was made sweet, God tested the people and connected their health with obedience, beginning to reform appetite and wrong habits acquired in Egypt. Those habits had affected their physical, moral, and spiritual nature, and he trained them for their good in simple, healthful food, pure water, and cleanliness. He intended to replace their rich Egyptian food with simple food and healthy habits and to bring them into Canaan as a healthy, strong people. When they stubbornly craved flesh he gave them the food he had withheld rather than requiring it for their health.

Had they submitted to his wise restrictions, including those governing food, he would have removed what harmed their health and allowed no sickness among them. He intended to remove sickness from among them and to have no feeble person in their tribes as he led them toward Canaan in obedience and trust in his care. Their refusal to submit, including craving for flesh food, ran against the instruction and training given for their health, so he gave them what they lusted for instead.

When appetite ruled they rejected the healthful food and pure water he provided and demanded meat to satisfy appetite and lust. God granted their request, and many died while eating it, showing his displeasure when appetite ruled them. Departure from his wise requirements and guidance about food, and choosing their own way, brings sickness, suffering, and death instead of preservation from disease. Healing is not permission for self-indulgence, for those whom God heals must not make appetite a god or eat and drink without restraint but must leave sin. Turning from God to an independent course places them under Satan's destructive power as the destroyer, while God is the restorer who heals body and soul and works through nature's agencies. The restorative power that heals the body is God's power working through nature, and tobacco and intoxicating liquor weaken that God-given power and can make recovery from injury or disease more difficult.

Israel's Failure and Witness

Despite the assurance given at Marah, Israel feared that they and their children would die of hunger, and that fear was sinful unbelief showing failure to trust His care. They had been kept by mercy from sickness and other harms, and their freedom from hardship was itself a sign of His care. Yet they complained ungratefully, and God permitted judgments so they would recognize the care they had taken for granted.

Christ as their invisible Leader had pledged to guide them safely toward the promised land. Had they followed His directions, none who began the journey from Egypt need have fallen prey to disease or death. When unbelief and rebellion led them to murmur against their leaders, punishment came upon them.

Had Israel clung to God and obeyed all His requirements, obedience would have brought health and prosperity. They would have been an example to the world, representatives of His goodness, mercy and love. Their health and prosperity would have revealed His glory and testified to the nations. They were to demonstrate the righteousness and benefits of living by His principles, serving as a model for His church, whom God would honor among the nations.

Israel failed to fulfill His purpose and therefore missed and lost those promised blessings. The lesson is that faithful obedience and right habits bring blessing, while disregard of light and cherished harmful habits bring consequences. Joseph, Daniel, Moses and Elijah exemplify the results of faithful living, and faithfulness to God's way of life and plan of living can bring like results today.

Present Healing and Care

The Lord who spoke at Marah heals sickness of body and sickness of soul, and He preserves, blesses and saves those who turn to Him. What was promised to Israel holds true still for everyone who recovers health of body or soul today. That recovery comes through the agencies of nature, yet the life-giving power working through them is God's own power restoring from disease, for God is the restorer while Satan is the destroyer.

The assurance has been claimed in personal prayer for the removal of disease and the restoration of health, as when two sisters were brought through severe illness that they might glorify His name. The Lord is trusted as physician and strength in bodily illness, and as the personal healer of those like Lucinda to whom the promise is applied. After committing herself to Him in prayer one sufferer's pain left, though slight rheumatic symptoms remained, and recovery from sickness and injury is sought through prayer and trust in Him who protects from the diseases of Egypt those who heed His voice, do what is right in His sight, and keep His commandments and statutes.

His healing power is applied to the sick and trusted to heal them, and it is to be felt through the care given at the sanitarium. Those who care for the sick are to direct the hope and confidence of patients to Him as the great Physician from whom all healing comes, with sanitariums sharing Christ's mercy and compassion with sufferers rather than putting reliance on drugs. Health work is therefore to follow His Word under His instruction, for He is the great Healer whose care for soul and body is joined to faithful attention to His instruction.