Waters of Grace

By Caryl Havasy

All for His Glory Ministries Speaker and Writer

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter…Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. ~ Exodus 15:23-26

Three days after Israel had passed through the Red Sea, delivered from the bondage and oppression of slavery, God led them to the bitter waters of Marah. For 400 years Israel had been enslaved in Egypt. God delivered them and saved them out of slavery – He had set them free! Why, then, did He lead them to the waters of bitterness?

The waters of bitterness are a picture of the hurts and wounds that remained from their time in slavery. For us, it’s a picture of the hurts and wounds caused by the slavery and oppression of sin in our lives. Although God has delivered us and saved us, He must now bring us face to face with the pain, grief and regret of sin. It is here that God wants to be our Jehovah-Rophe—the God who heals.

For Moses and Israel, God provided a tree. This tree was a foreshadowing of the cross of Christ. Because Moses was able to throw the tree, it would have been small—a suckling, tender and innocent, not marred by the harshness of the world or seasons. God had to show it to Moses because it did not stand out that he should see it.

We see this same picture in Isaiah 53:2, referring to Christ: “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” Jesus was the tender shoot, the suckling that was thrown into the bitter waters. Just like the tree died as it was pulled from the ground, so Jesus died on the cross. And as that tree absorbed the bitterness of the waters, so Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. For He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All our sin and our guilt and our shame fell on Him. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Yet, if we are not careful, we will miss the most beautiful movement of God, where He reaches beyond mercy and pours out His grace. For God could have chosen to simply make the waters of Marah drinkable, only the absence of bitterness. That would have greatly displayed His mercy. But God chose to sweeten the waters of Marah to give us a picture of His grace. He doesn’t just deliver us from sin and bind our wounds; He heals our wounds and provides eternal and abundant life forever in His presence! This is truly God’s riches at Christ’s expense!

Listen as Jesus still calls out today: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37) Will you come today and drink from the waters of grace? Only He can satisfy your thirst for healing and wholeness!