Ex 15:1 The First Song in the Bible 10/11/2009 ßà

• The Song of Moses (Ex 15:1-19)

#1. A Song of Redemption (Hos 13:14, Jer 31:11, Eph 1:14, Judg 4:2-3,16, 5:1-3)

• What Did They Sing? (Ex 15:1-3)

#2. They Sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb (Rev 15:3)

• Not One of the Egyptians Escaped (Rev 15:3-4)

#3. The Waters of Marah (Ex 15:22-26, John 4:10-14, Gal 3:13, 1Cor 2:2, Isa 4:2, Jer 33:15, Zec 3:8, Zec 6:12)

• Elim (Ex 15:27, Num 33:9, Rev 22:1-2, 15:3)

Please open your Bibles to the Prophecy of Exodus, Ex 15:1 (2X). When we search the Bible, we find that we have here the first song that is recorded in the Bible. Therefore the title of this sermon is, “The First Song in the Bible” (2X). What was the cause of Israel’s singing? Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. Not one of them escaped. Not only were they overjoyed that the enemy was dead, but now they had witnessed how God Himself has fought for them, and that they were under God’s protection. Their redemption had been secured first by the death of all the firstborn in Egypt, and now their redemption had been confirmed by a show of the power of God upon Pharaoh and all his army. Now they rejoiced as never before. This was not a vindictive rejoicing, but this reflected the spiritual picture that we have seen in the previous chapter. Pharaoh and all his army drowning in the Red Sea was a picture of Satan, and all his fallen angels, and all mankind who has taken the side of Satan, down to the very last and least of them, being cast into Hell on the last day. Then we will have the mind of Christ, and we will rejoice in this judgment, for Christ and God Himself shall also rejoice in this great condemnation. What actually were they singing? We read here of the Song of Moses.

• The Song of Moses (Ex 15:1-19)

Ex 15:1-19 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

This last verse tells us that Pharaoh also was drowned in the Red Sea, for we read in verse 19, “the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots”. Popular versions of this historical event show us the picture that Pharaoh remained on the shore while his army went into the Red Sea. But that is incorrect. Pharaoh drowned as well as his entire army. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song of redemption.

#1. A Song of Redemption (Hos 13:14, Jer 31:11, Eph 1:14, Judg 4:2-3,16, 5:1-3)

What is redemption? There are two main elements in redemption: Redemption is by purchase and it is by power. Therefore redemption differs from ransoming. Ransoming is only a part of redemption. Ransom has to do with purchase. Let us look at a few examples. Put a sticker here in Ex 15 and please turn in your Bibles to the Prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 31:11 (2X). While you look this up listen to the words we find in Hos 13:14 where God says, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” The ransom here deals with Christ’s purchase of us at the cross, and to redeem them from death refers to the power of God to give us eternal life.

In Jer 31:11 God says, “For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.” Jacob is identified in Jer 31:7 as the remnant of Israel. Therefore Jer 31:11 is a verse that stresses the limited atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches clearly in this verse, and in many other verses, that Christ did not suffer and die for every human being on this earth, but only for a remnant chosen by grace. Therefore Jer 31:11 tells us that Christ ransomed, or purchased, the remnant of Israel from him (referring to Satan) that was stronger than Jacob, and by the power of God Christ has given this remnant eternal life.

Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Ephesians, Eph 1:14 (2X). We have here a passage that speaks of the fact that we should be to the praise of the glory of Christ. After we heard the word of truth, that Christ has suffered for all our sins and God declared us righteous in His sight, and after we believed that, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And then Eph 1:14 continues: “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Here again we see two elements in receiving our redemption. There is the purchased possession which we already received at the cross, and there is the power of God in giving us the earnest or the down payment of our inheritance. Sometimes the Greek word for redemption is translated deliverance.

On Passover night Israel was secured, or purchased, from the doom of the Egyptians; at the Red Sea they were delivered from the power of the Egyptians. Thus delivered, or redeemed, they sang. It is only a redeemed people, conscious of their deliverance, that can really praise Jehovah, the Deliverer. Intelligent worship cannot be rendered by people who are in doubt of their standing before God.

Please turn in your Bibles to the Prophecy of Judges, Judg 4:2 (2X). We have here an interesting story that may be taken parallel to the story of Israel at the Red Sea. We read in Ex 15:1, “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD”. When did they sing? When the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. But let us now look at the parallel story in Judges 4 and 5. We read in Judg 4:2,

Jud 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

Jud 4:3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

Then Deborah and Barak collected an army of 10,000 men who fought against Sisera and his army. But the Lord was on the side of Israel, and the Lord created a heavy rain which caused the mighty chariots of Sisera to get stuck in the mud. And so, the Lord gave Israel the victory over Sisera and his chariots. But look now carefully at the words of Judg 4:16, and what do we see there?

Jud 4:16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

“There was not a man left”. Of the many thousands of Sisera’s army there was not one man left. Like Pharaoh’s army, everyone perished on that day. And again this is a picture of the last day. Sisera represents Satan, and his mighty army represents all the fallen angels and all the humans that are on the side of Satan. What is the immediate response to this deliverance of Israel from the evil power of Sisera? The response is identical to that of Israel at the Red Sea. We read in Judg 5:1-3,

Jud 5:1-3 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

“Then sang Deborah and Barak on that day”. And what did they sing? Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel. Essentially it is the same song of praise for the glory and power of almighty God.

• What Did They Sing? (Ex 15:1-3)

Please turn again to the Prophecy of Exodus, Ex 15:1 (2X). What a contrast was this from what went on before. In Egypt they sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and God heard their groaning. But now, at the Red Sea, they are occupied no longer with themselves, but with the Lord. Their singing is entirely praising the Lord for His greatness and His power, and His sovereign grace upon the children of Israel. What brought about this amazing change? Two things: The blood of the Lamb (the purchase) and the power of God were responsible for this change. They sang unto the Lord, and they sang about Him, and they mentioned nothing about themselves. How different is this from our modern hymnology? Many hymns today are full of sentimentality, instead of Divine adoration. They announce our love to God instead of His love for us. They recount our experiences instead of His mercies. They tell more of human attainments instead of Christ’s atonement. But this Song of Moses is far different. The end of Ex 15:2 says “I will exalt Him”. Amazingly, the redeemed will still sing this same theme when they have come into the NH&NE. Please turn in your Bibles to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Rev 15:3 (2X). We have here a scene in heaven where the saints are standing and singing on a sea of glass mingled with fire. The saints here represent the church triumphant. It is a church that has gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name. And what do they sing?

#2. They Sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb (Rev 15:3)

Re 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

What Song of Moses is this verse referring to? There are two accounts of Moses singing praises to God. In both cases Moses looks back upon the wonderful providence of God in guiding and protecting His people, and in the mighty works of God in avenging Himself upon the enemies of His people. And is this not also the picture here in Rev 15:2-4? Who are the ones standing here on the sea of glass? These are representing all the saints from all times. These are all of God’s elect, singing praises, for God’s providence has upheld them, has kept them faithful to the end, and God has poured His vengeance upon their enemies. They have been victorious in their battle against Satan, for they were sustained by their faith in Jesus and by His testimony. Please turn in your Bibles to the prophecy of Exodus, Ex 15:1 (2X). In principle Satan and his Antichristian power were in the world from the very beginning. In principle the people of God fight the same battle all through the ages, even though this battle shall rage most severely in the time of the full manifestation of the antichristian world-power near the end of time. And the song which they sing is that of Moses and of the Lamb, combing therefore the OT and the NT time into one. It also tells us that the song which Moses sang is the same as the song of the Lord Jesus Christ, for these saints are not singing two songs; they sing only one song as it is recorded here. Now here they stand on the sea of glass. It is the church in glory. And the sea of glass is here mingled with fire, since it reflects the wrath of God which He shall shortly pour it out over the wicked world of Antichrist, and which wrath He shall also pour out for the salvation and glory of His people. And thus the entire scene reminds us of the children of Israel standing at the border of the Red Sea, not on the Egyptian side but at the Sinai Peninsula side. In other words they have just crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and they are looking back upon that sea which had become the wrath of God upon their enemies, but at the same time it had become the sea of their own salvation. The Egyptians tried to cross the same Red Sea like the children of Israel did, but they did it on their own strength, not by God’s strength, and this was the cause of their death. Even as the children of Israel stood by the sea reflecting on the wrath of God, so stand these victorious saints by the sea of glass mingled with fire. Even as that sea in the case of Israel had become the cause of destruction for the enemies of God, so also this sea of glass symbolizes the reflection of the wrath of God which will destroy the Antichrist and his kingdom. Even as in the case of Israel that sea was the cause for their permanent deliverance from Egypt, so also shall these saints enter into their full inheritance after God shall have caused the vials of His wrath be poured out over the wicked world. Even as the children of Israel at the Red Sea sang of victory, so also do these saints on the sea of glass sing of the righteousness and of the arm of the Lord, the God of their salvation. And what did they sing? We have already seen that in Ex 14.

• Not One of the Egyptians Escaped (Rev 15:3-4)

They all died. By that fact God gave us a sign that this event at the Red Sea was a picture of the Judgment of God on sin, at the cross and on the Last Day. The Red Sea symbolized Hell. In His atonement on the cross the Lord Jesus Christ, typified by Moses, walked through the depths of Hell bringing all His elect with Him, for we were in Him. He alone endured the depths of Hell, but by the grace and mercy of God we walked on dry ground. The Egyptians tried to do the same, but they did not have God’s approval for doing so. They had a self-help gospel. They did not want to wait for God’s approval, and so they did it on their own, copying what they saw the children of Israel do. But God was angry and God buried them in Hell, down to the last of them. Thus shall God do in the judgment on the Last Day. Of all those who have a self-help gospel not one of them shall escape Even as Moses, so Christ leads His people out of the house of bondage to sin and Satan. Even as Moses and his people, so Christ and His people are the object of the persecution and wrath of the enemy. But even as Moses, so also Christ leads His people safely through the waters of separation and of wrath, and strikes those waters with the wrath of God, so that they become at the same time a means of salvation for His people and a means of destruction for the enemy. Can you see how this rejoicing about the death of the Egyptians by Moses and the children of Israel is like the rejoicing about the death of the wicked in the Imprecatory Psalms? They are rejoicing even though it is a certainty that Pharaoh and all his army are going to be cast into Hell. What a gruesome prospect for all those Egyptians. And God did this for our edification, so that we would learn to know who He is. Compare this situation now with the people of God who stand on the sea of glass in Rev 15. Please turn again to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Rev 15:3 (2X). These people standing on the sea of glass are all delivered from sin and from the oppression of the enemy. And they can already see how God will pour out His wrath upon the enemy of Christ, for out of them have seven been chosen to pour out that wrath upon the world. And therefore, their condition is now exactly like that of the children of Israel after they had passed through the Red Sea and had seen the destruction of their oppressors. And for that same reason they now sing the same song, exalting the power of Jehovah, the salvation of His people, and the wrath that will be visited upon the wicked who have oppressed them for so long. And now we see that the song of Moses is also the song of the Lamb. Even as Moses taught his people to sing his song, so the Lamb taught His people to sing this song. They are essentially alike, they sing essentially the same theme, the one of Moses is just a type of the song of the Lamb in Rev 15:3. Let us hear then

what they sing. We read in Rev 15:3-4,

Re 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Re 15:4-5 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

First of all, there is nothing in this song that glorifies man. From beginning to the end it is an exaltation of the greatness and the power and the glory of God. It is God’s greatness, and God’s Truth, and God’s righteousness, and the holiness of God that is here celebrated. And when we compare this with the song of Moses in Ex 15 we find the same elements there that glorify God, but not man.

Secondly, these multitudes also sing of the final fulfillment of all prophecy, that now all nations should fear Him and glorify His name. For a time it seemed as if all nations would be worshipping Antichrist. But now we can see that it is all different. They who feared Antichrist were not the nations, but were the branches of the nations that were to be cut off and cast into outer darkness. The nations have been preserved and they are represented by this multitude.

We too, while we are still in this world, may already sing this song of Moses and of the Lamb, although we do not yet sing it in perfection. Even our best singing sounds in the ears of God like the braying of a donkey. But God looks upon the heart. That is what counts. We are still in the world, in a sinful body, and we are still in the midst of a spiritual battle against spiritual wickedness in high places. But by the grace of God we can listen to the song of the redeemed multitude, and learn it, and look forward to the day when we all shall stand by the sea of glass, delivered from sin and oppression, delivered from the enemy who always surrounds us, and we are free to serve and glorify the God of our salvation in order to sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb. May our faith cause us to look forward in hope, and teach us to sing this song of victory in the midst of our spiritual battles. Let us now look at:

#3. The Waters of Marah (Ex 15:22-26, John 4:10-14, Gal 3:13, 1Cor 2:2, Isa 4:2, Jer 33:15, Zec 3:8, Zec 6:12)

Please turn again to the Prophecy of Exodus, Ex 15:22 (2X). Here they were, in the wilderness of Etham, which is also called the wilderness of Shur. The word Shur means “Wall”. This wilderness was like a wall to the Egyptians, for they considered it too cumbersome, too much work to cross it, and so it always remained a wall dividing the west from the east, a wall between the civilization of the Egyptians on the west and the barbarians on the east. Whenever the Egyptian armies ventured north-eastward they always used the narrow pass way on the north side of the wilderness, between the wilderness and the Mediterranean Sea, which was the way of the land of the Philistines. We read in Ex 15:22-26,

Ex 15:22-26 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

They came to Marah, which seemed to be an oasis in this wilderness, and there were a few little lakes there. There was more than one lake, for verse 23 speaks of waters, plural. But the waters were bitter. The word Marah means “bitter”. The name Mary is derived from the word Marah, meaning “bitter”. Here at Marah God showed the children of Israel a wonderful miracle. And the question that we could bring up is this: Why could God not have made the waters at Marah sweet to begin with, since it was God, in the form of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, who led the children of Israel to this place? Why did God invent this laborious procedure to make the waters sweet? The answer is that God in this event wants us to see an aspect of the Gospel. God did not do this miracle to show off His miraculous powers. Did you notice that the end of verse 26 says, “For I am the LORD that healeth thee?” Did they need healing from some kind of sickness? They were not sick. In fact, God made it a point to indicate how fit they all were, all 2 million of them, when they walked out of Egypt. But they were spiritually sick. God said in verse 25, “and there he proved them”. God put them to the proof, or God tested them to see if they would trust God for providing for all their needs. But they failed the test, for we read in verse 24, “And the people murmured against Moses”. But Moses did not bring them there. It was the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that brought them there at Marah. Can you see that It was God who put them to the test? And so, why did God invent this laborious procedure to make the waters of Marah sweet? This piece of history actually took place, but at the same time it can be interpreted as a historical parable. The wilderness represents the wilderness of this world. Perhaps you know, it is a wilderness out there. There is very little love out there. Most people in the wilderness of this world are on the prowl to take advantage, or to rob their fellow man. Perhaps you have heard this appropriate hymn:

“Christian do not seek repose, cast your dreams of ease away. You are in the midst of foes, watch and pray. Wicked forces evil powers, gather in unseen array. They wait for your unguarded hours, watch and pray.” And this is really true. You will find that even among the best of friends, or even among your own family members, people are watching you to take advantage of you, and rob you. Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel According to John, John 4:10 (2X). What do we need when we walk through the wilderness? We need water. What do we need when we walk through a spiritual wilderness such as this world? We need spiritual water; we need the Word of God to counsel us and to sustain us while we wander through a parched land where the Word of God is very rare. Does then the water represent the Word of God? Does the water represent the Gospel? Let us see what the Lord Jesus said about this in the Gospel of John 4:10. The Lord Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, and He says to her, “Give me to drink”. She asked, “Why do you, a Jew, speak to a woman of Samaria? Joh 4:10-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

What does this living water represent? Some say it is the Holy Spirit. But when we read verse 14 carefully we see that it cannot be the Holy Spirit, for it is something that the Lord Jesus gives us and that multiplies within us and then we will be spouting forth the same ingredient that the Lord Jesus has given us, but we will be spouting forth a much greater quantity. This is a characteristic of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus gave the Gospel to His 13 apostles, and they in turn became sources of the Gospel to many others, and they in turn became sources of the Gospel to many more others, and so on, and so on. This living water that the Lord Jesus spoke of is like a stream of words containing the message of the Gospel of salvation. That is why we read in verse 14 that it is, “a well of water springing up into everlasting life”. Everlasting life has to do with salvation, and thus the water represents the Gospel of salvation. Do we remember what God said in Ex 15:22? “they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water”, which means they found no Gospel out there, only parched ground. Let us now return to the miracle at Marah in the wilderness, and let us use the information we have received from John 4. Please return to the Prophecy of Exodus, Ex 15:23 (2X). If pure water represents the pure Gospel of grace alone, through Christ alone, then what does bitter water represent? Historically bitter water usually is unfit to drink for it is often identified as poisoned water. Therefore the bitter waters of Marah represent false gospels that will lead people away from God and into the clutches of Satan. How is the bitter water made sweet? Then the Lord showed Moses a tree. Now we can interpret this two ways. First, the tree reminds us of the tree of life, which in turn draws us to the cross of Christ. We read in Gal 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” The tree represents the cross of Christ. “Moses, take that tree, take that cross, and cast it into the water, and do that for every bitter lake at Marah”. If the water of the Gospel contains the cross of Christ, if the Gospel that you preach contains the limited atonement of Christ, then the remainder of your Gospel will be cleansed from all errors, and you will end up with the clean water of the Gospel. The bitter water has been made sweet. That is why we read in 1Cor 2:2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” God tells us in this verse that if we understand the atonement of Christ, then everything else will fall into place correctly. Secondly, when God showed Moses the tree, it was not necessarily a tree that stood next to the water. Besides, there was more than one lake of which the waters were to be made sweet, and there was only one tree. Now, the Hebrew word for “tree” can mean one tree, or it can mean wood, or timber, or sticks, or branches, and so on. Moses had to cast parts of this one tree into the lakes of Marah. Does this refer to branches? Yes it does. Moses had to cast the branches of this tree into the lakes of Marah. He did not have to cut down the tree, for the death of Christ was not yet scheduled until 33 AD. Do we remember who is represented by “the Branch”? Let us hear what God has to say about His Servant The Branch: (4Refs)

Isa 4:2 In that day shall The Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause The Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

Zec 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant The BRANCH.

Zec 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

And so, what took place at Marah? Moses cut branches of the tree that God showed him, and cast these branches into the bitter waters of Marah, and they became sweet water. But spiritually he cast the Lord Jesus into the waters of Marah, and therefore the Gospel that these waters represented was no longer about other gods, but they became the true Gospel of Christ. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners by dying on the cross. This was His primary task when He came to earth. And thus, when we include the Lord Jesus in our Gospel He will always be revealed as the crucified Lord. And so, the limited atonement of Christ shall always correct any imperfections there were in our Gospel before Christ was introduced, and He becomes the merciful Savior that we were in need of. The bitter gospels of Marah became the sweet Gospel of the Bible. And what is the first thing that God gave us after He saved us, after He gave us drink from the sweet waters of the true Gospel? He gave us His law. We read this in Ex 15:26. But notice that He did not give us the law before salvation, but after salvation. Ex 15:26 is given after the waters were made sweet, which tells us that salvation does not come from obeying the law of God, but was given after salvation. It is only after the moment of salvation that God will tell us what things we can do to be pleasing in His sight. These laws are not for the purpose of becoming saved, or for remaining in our salvation, but for doing those things that are pleasing in the sight of God. And what does God do with us after He has saved us and has taught us the ways that are pleasing to Him in this life? He brings us to Elim! We read in Ex 15:27 about Elim.

• Elim (Ex 15:27, Num 33:9, Rev 22:1-2, 15:3)

Ex 15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees:

and they encamped there by the waters.

This was the 5^th camping place of the children of Israel, according to Num 33:9. The previous four camping places were Succoth, Etham, Pihahiroth, and Marah. What is the meaning of the name Elim? Elim is a plural word. The singular is “ayil”, which primarily means “ram”, but in other places it is called “pillar”, or “strong man”, or “mighty tree”, and all these meanings are derived from “strength”. Thus the seventy palm trees also convey the meaning of strength. And thus when they camped at Elim the place symbolized that they had arrived at a place of strength. Where does God take us to after this life? He takes us to a place of strength. While we are on earth we are weak and fragile. Even our faith may be called weak. But when Christ takes us to the NH&NE there is no more weakness in us. We have arrived at a place of strength. The number twelve is prominently displayed in the dimensions of the New Jerusalem there in the NH&NE. The twelve wells of water at Elim are symbolic of the pure river of water of life we read about in Rev 22:1, and the seventy palm trees at Elim are symbolic of the tree of life which grew at either side of the river in Rev 22:2. This is the happy ending that we all look forward to. And when we have arrived there we will sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb (Rev 15:3). Yes we will sing, for we shall rejoice with Christ that all the enemies of God, and all the unrighteous, and all unrighteousness, and all infirmities have been removed into a place called Hell. They will no longer be able to cause us any sorrow, or tears, or physical suffering.

AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.