“Then Moses moved Israel onward
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
its name was called Marah.
And the people murmured against Moses,
saying,
What shall we drink?
And he cried out to Jehovah,
and Jehovah showed him a tree;
and he cast it into the waters,
and the waters became sweet.
There
He made for them
a statute and an ordinance,
and there
He tested them.
And He said,
If you will listen carefully to
the voice of Jehovah your God
and do what is right in His eyes
and give ear to His commandments
and keep all His statutes,
I will put none of the diseases on you
which I have put on the Egyptians;
for I am Jehovah
who heals you” (Exo. 15:22-26):
The children of Israel
went three days in the wilderness
and found no water;
then
they came to Marah,
whose name means “bitterness,”
because the waters of Marah
were bitter
and were not good for drinking.
Three days
signifies resurrection;
this indicates
that it was in resurrection
that the people of God
were separated from Egypt:
Negatively,
the wilderness
signifies a place of wandering,
but here
it signifies, positively,
a place of separation
from the world.
A journey of three days
corresponds to baptism,
which brings people
out of the world
through Christ’s death
and into a wilderness,
a realm of separation,
in Christ’s resurrection.
In the realm of resurrection
there is
no natural water,
no natural supply.
The third day
may be considered
as the day of resurrection
since the Lord Jesus
was raised on the third day;
we may say
that the tree
is the resurrected Christ
because this tree
was cast into the waters of Marah
after the children of Israel
had traveled three days
in the wilderness:
If we would put the resurrected Christ
into our bitterness,
allowing the resurrected Christ
to come into our situation,
the bitter waters
will become the sweet waters.
The more we drink of the living water,
the sweet water of the resurrected Christ,
the more we are regulated;
the statute and ordinance
made at Marah
may have been
that there was to be
no more murmuring or complaining.
If we murmur all the time,
we will be sick;
murmuring opens the door
to the enemy
to bring in
all kinds of diseases.
If we are those
who murmur and complain,
we are the same as the Egyptians,
the worldly people;
in most worldly associations or societies,
the people murmur, complain,
and even fight with one another.
If we have the resurrected Christ
in our situation,
our situation
will be so sweet
with the living water;
then
we will have a statute
that we would never murmur, complain,
or fight with one another.
We should not have
diseases or illnesses
among us,
because the resurrected Christ
is our Healer;
our statute and ordinance
are to not complain, criticize, or murmur
but to praise the Lord.
In response to Moses’ cry,
the Lord showed him a tree;
when Moses cast the tree
into the bitter waters,
the waters became sweet:
In addition to
signifying the resurrected Christ,
the tree also signifies
the cross of Christ, the crucified Christ,
according to 1 Peter 2:24
—“who Himself bore up our sins
in His body on the tree,
in order that we, having died to sins,
might live to righteousness;
by whose bruise
you were healed.”
The tree of life
signifies the crucified
(implied in the tree as a piece of wood—v. 24)
and resurrected
(implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ;
thus,
we may say
that the tree that Moses cast into the bitter waters
was the crucified and resurrected Christ
as the tree of life.
When we cry out to the Lord in prayer,
He shows us
a vision of the crucified Christ;
we need to see
a vision of the cross;
seeing this vision,
we apply the cross of Christ
to our situation,
and immediately
the bitter waters become sweet.
The tree that healed the bitter waters
was the cross of Christ,
the healing cross;
just as Moses saw
a vision of a tree
and cast the tree
into the bitter waters,
we need to see
a vision of the crucified Christ
and apply the cross of Christ
to our bitter situations.
The experience of Christ’s death
in the realm of resurrection
will cause our bitter situations
to become sweet.
We do not experience
the bitter waters of Marah
once for all;
as long as we live on earth,
we shall walk
in the realm of resurrection,
in newness of life,
and come to Marah again and again:
The experience
of the children of Israel at Marah
portrays a principle,
not merely an incident;
this principle
is basic in our Christian life.
As we walk
in the realm of resurrection,
we shall thirst,
only to discover
that there is no natural water
to supply our need;
only the waters of bitterness
are available.
Whenever we are in such a situation,
we need to see
the vision of the tree
and then
apply this tree
to our circumstances;
this tree will then heal our situation
and change the bitter waters into sweet.
The fact that Jehovah was their Healer
indicates that the children of Israel
were sick:
This signifies
that not only the waters
of our circumstances
are sometimes bitter,
but also we ourselves
are bitter (i.e., sick)
and in need of healing.
We are sick physically,
psychologically,
and also spiritually;
there is bitterness
in our body, soul, and spirit,
and we need to apply
the cross of Christ
to every aspect
of our being.
As we experience the cross of Christ
and live a crucified life,
Christ’s resurrection life
becomes our healing power,
and the Lord
becomes our Healer;
both in our circumstances and in our being,
bitterness is changed
into sweetness.
God uses
the experience of the cross
to test us
and expose us:
Christ was crucified
for our healing;
if we would experience His healing,
we need to be identified
with His crucifixion.
Every time
we experience the healing tree
of the crucified Christ
cast into our circumstances,
we spontaneously realize
that something in our being
needs to be healed.
We may sense
the need for healing in the mind,
or realize that our will
needs to be adjusted,
or see that our emotion
needs to be balanced;
at other times
we may become conscious
that our spirit
is bitter toward others
and needs to be healed.
The only way
to be touched by the cross
is to see the vision of the tree
and to cast this tree
into the very place
that needs to be healed;
we need to be identified
with the crucifixion of Christ
by applying His cross
to every part of our being
that is bitter and sick;
then
those parts
will be healed.
Real healing
takes place
as we receive
the dealing of the cross;
we are healed
when we are subdued
and when we hearken
to the voice of God,
listen to His statutes,
and obey His commandments;
then
Christ’s resurrection life
becomes our healing power,
and the Lord
becomes our Healer.
“And they came to Elim,
where there were
twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees;
and they encamped there
by the waters” (Exo. 15:27):
Elim means
“mighty ones,”
“strong ones,”
or “great trees.”
Israel’s experience at Elim
is a picture
of the experience of the resurrection life,
which issues from
the experience of the cross at Marah.
At Elim
there were twelve springs flowing
and seventy palm trees growing:
In the Bible
a spring
signifies life
that flows out of God in resurrection
into His chosen people,
and palm trees
signify the victory of the evergreen life
that is flourishing,
rejoicing in satisfaction,
and victorious over tribulation.
The number twelve
signifies the mingling
of divinity with humanity
for the complete and perfect carrying out
of God’s administration
eternally.
Seventy equals
seven times ten;
the number seven
signifies completion and perfection
in God’s dispensational move,
and the number ten
signifies fullness;
hence,
the number seventy
signifies completion and perfection temporally
for God’s dispensational move
in full.
Thus,
the twelve springs at Elim
signify God
as living water
flowing into His chosen people
to be mingled with them
for the accomplishing
of His eternal administration,
and the seventy palm trees
signify God
as life
growing in His people
to carry out His administration dispensationally
to express
the riches of the divine life
and its victory.
When used together,
the numbers twelve and seventy
signify that God’s people
are to carry out His ministry
by the flowing life
signified by the twelve springs
and the growing life
signified by the seventy palm trees.
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6 replies on “The Experiences of Marah and Elim”
Day 6
In the Bible
palm trees
signify flourishing, rejoicing
in satisfaction, and victory.
The growth of the flowing life
expresses the riches of the divine life
and its victory over all things.
Those in the vast multitude in Revelation 7
are all holding palm branches
and have come out of great tribulation.
These palm branches
signify both the riches in life
and the victory of life.
The picture of Israel at Elim
is a marvelous portrait
of resurrection life.
Something is flowing
out of God
into us,
and something is growing
through this flowing
to express
the riches and the victory
of the divine life.
At the end of Exodus 15:27
we are told
that the children of Israel
“encamped there
by the waters.”
The word encamped
indicates that God’s people
had been formed
into an army.
The flowing and growing life
supplies God’s people
as His army.
At Elim
they were full of enjoyment of life
that made them
qualified for fighting.
This enabled them
to fight
to carry out God’s purpose
to build His habitation.
At Sinai,
God’s people
received the heavenly vision
related to the building of the tabernacle.
The long journey
from Egypt to Sinai
could not be made
without fighting.
At first,
the people
did not do the fighting themselves.
God fought for them
and defeated Pharaoh and his army
by destroying Pharaoh and his chariots
in the waters of the Red Sea.
After God’s people
had crossed the Red Sea
and had the experiences at Marah and Elim,
they were strengthened
as God’s army
and qualified to fight
for God’s purpose.
They themselves
could fight
through the flowing and growing life.
If we would be strengthened
as God’s army today,
we also must firstly experience
the flowing of the twelve springs
and the growing of the seventy palm trees.
Only then
shall we be qualified and equipped
as an army
to fight
for God’s purpose.
In the Lord’s recovery
we have the consciousness
of being engaged
in spiritual fighting.
In order to fight,
it is not sufficient
simply to eat the Passover lamb
with the bitter herbs
and the unleavened bread.
We also need to experience
the cross and the resurrection;
that is,
we must pass through Marah
and arrive at Elim.
In our experience
we need
not only the sweet water
but also the flowing water.
This means
that we need the water
that has been changed
from bitter to sweet
and also the water
that flows
from the twelve springs at Elim.
In order to have the flowing water,
we must go on from Marah,
the experience of the cross,
to Elim,
the experience of resurrection.
From the time of Madame Guyon
to the time of Mrs. Penn-Lewis,
the Lord’s people for the most part
were at Marah.
Through the ministry of Mrs. Penn-Lewis,
the subjective experience of the cross
has been recovered in a full way.
In the years following Mrs. Penn-Lewis
the Lord has gone on
from Marah to Elim.
At Elim
He cares for His plantation
with the twelve springs
and seventy palm trees.
Those who linger at Marah
have the healing tree,
but not the seventy palm trees
growing to express
the riches and victory
of the divine life.
At Marah
there is
no plantation.
There is
only one tree
cut down and cast into the bitter waters,
only the changing of bitterness into sweetness,
and there is
no growth there.
But at Elim
we enjoy God’s farm
and the grove of palm trees
to express
the riches
of the divine life
and the complete victory
of God’s administration.
In our experience
the waters that have been changed
from bitter to sweet
must become the flowing waters
in which, by which, and with which
we grow like palm trees
to express
God’s rich life and full victory.
Day 5
Exo. 15:27
And they came to Elim,
where there were
twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees;
and they encamped there
by the waters.
John 7:38
He who believes into Me,
as the Scripture said,
out of his innermost being
shall flow
rivers of living water.
Israel’s experience at Elim
is a picture of the experience
of resurrection life.
Israel’s experience at Marah
signifies the experience
of the cross.
After we have
an experience of the cross,
we may expect to go upward.
However,
we shall go downward
once again,
for the experience of resurrection
is in a downward direction.
Some Christians think
that God leads His people
only upward,
never downward.
But according to the picture in Exodus,
the pillar of cloud
led the children of Israel
downward from Marah to Elim.
If we follow the pillar of cloud
in a downward direction,
we shall arrive at Elim,
where there are
twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees.
This is the experience
of resurrection
which issues from
the experience of the cross,
the experience at Marah.
Elim is
a plural noun
that means the “mighty ones”
or “the strong ones.”
According to a number of scholars,
this word also means
a grove of palm trees.
At Elim
there were
twelve mighty springs flowing
and seventy palm trees growing.
What a picture
of resurrection life!
In the Bible
the numbers twelve and seventy
have a spiritual significance.
The number twelve
signifies the mingling
of divinity with humanity
for the complete and perfect carrying out
of God’s administration
eternally.
The twelve springs of water at Elim
are for the mingling
of divinity with humanity.
They signify
that God as living water
is flowing into His chosen people
to be mingled with them
for the purpose
of accomplishing His administration.
In contrast to the number twelve,
the number seven
signifies perfection and completion
in time
dispensationally,
not eternally.
The book of Revelation
speaks of seven churches,
seven golden lampstands,
seven Spirits,
seven lamps of fire,
seven eyes,
seven seals,
seven trumpets,
and seven bowls.
All these sevens
are related to God’s dispensation
in time.
In eternity
the number seven
will be replaced
by the number twelve.
The number ten
signifies fullness.
Since seven
signifies
completion and perfection in time
and ten
signifies
fullness,
seventy, composed of seven times ten,
signifies
completion and perfection in time
for God’s dispensation in full.
The fact that there were
seventy palm trees at Elim
instead of just seven
indicates
such a fullness
of God’s dispensation
in time.
In the Bible
there are two important cases
where the numbers twelve and seventy
are used together.
In Exodus 24:1 and 4
we read of the seventy elders of Israel
and of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The twelve tribes
may be likened to the twelve springs,
and the seventy elders,
to the seventy palms.
In Luke 9:1
the Lord “called together the twelve,”
and in Luke 10:1
“the Lord appointed seventy others.”
When used together,
the numbers twelve and seventy
indicate that the Lord’s people
are to carry out His ministry
which must be carried out
by the flowing life
signified by the twelve springs
and by the growing life
signified by the seventy palms.
Through the help of the picture at Elim
we see that resurrection life
includes twelve springs and seventy palm trees.
It includes life
flowing in a perfect and complete way
to carry out God’s administration for eternity.
It also includes life
growing to carry out God’s administration
to express life
that is flourishing,
rejoicing in satisfaction,
and victorious over tribulation.
Palm trees
signify rejoicing in life’s satisfaction
and victory over tribulation.
Eventually,
resurrection life
carries out God’s ministry
both dispensationally in time
and eternally.
Day 4
Immediately after the waters
were made sweet,
the Lord made a statute
for the people
and an ordinance,
“and there
He tested them” (Exo. 15:25).
In the light of our experience,
we shall realize
that the cross of Christ
heals not only our bitter situation,
but it also heals us.
Not only are
the waters of our circumstances
bitter;
we ourselves
are also bitter
and in need of healing.
Our very self
is bitter.
In other words,
the self is sick.
We are sick physically,
psychologically,
and also spiritually.
There is bitterness
in our body, soul, and spirit.
When I have been in bitter circumstances,
I have seen
that there is also bitterness
in my whole being,
in my spirit, soul, and body,
and that I needed to apply
the cross of Christ
to every aspect of my being.
Spiritually, psychologically, and physically
I needed the application
of the cross of Christ.
As my situation was healed,
I was healed inwardly.
Both in my circumstances and in my being,
bitterness was changed
into sweetness.
Every time we experience the healing tree
cast into our circumstances,
we spontaneously realize
that something in our being
needs to be healed.
We may sense
the need for healing
in the mind,
or realize that our will
needs to be adjusted,
or see that our emotion
needs to be balanced.
At other times
we may become conscious
that our spirit
is bitter toward others
and needs to be healed.
Just as the Lord tested
the children of Israel at Marah,
He uses
our experience of His cross
in bitter circumstances
to test us
and to prove us.
By testing us,
He shows us
where we are
and what we are.
He exposes
our motives, intentions, and desires.
Nothing tests us more
than the experience of the cross.
The experience of the cross
in bitter circumstances
tests us
and exposes every aspect of our being.
Real healing takes place
as we receive
the dealing of the cross.
We are healed
when we are subdued
and when we
hearken to the voice of God,
listen to His statutes,
and obey His commandments.
Then
Christ’s resurrection life
becomes our healing power,
and the Lord
becomes our Healer.
If we would experience His healing,
we need to be identified
with His crucifixion.
For example,
your stomach ailment
may be caused
by living according to the self.
In your eating
you need the dealing of the cross.
The cross
must deal with the self
in relation to eating.
In the same principle,
your mind may be sick
because it
has never been dealt with
by the cross,
never identified
with the crucifixion of Christ.
The Lord’s word in Exodus 15:26
indicates that in His eyes
the children of Israel
were sick
and in need of healing.
Otherwise,
the Lord would not have used
the title “Jehovah who heals you.”
As the Lord Jesus said,
only those who are sick
have need of a physician.
The fact that the children of Israel
needed Jehovah to be their Healer
indicates that they were sick.
In certain parts of our inward being
we are still sick
and need the Lord’s healing.
As we pointed out,
the process of healing
takes place
as we are touched
by the cross of Christ.
The only way
to be touched by the cross
is to see
the vision of the tree
and to cast this tree
into the very place
that needs to be healed.
If your mind is bitter,
cast the tree
into your mind.
If your attitude
toward someone or something
is bitter,
cast the tree
into your attitude.
Do this
with every part of your being,
and little by little
you will be healed.
Every time we experience
the cross of Christ,
we shall have
a deeper realization
of our need
to be healed
through the touch of the cross.
We need to be identified
with the crucifixion of Christ
by applying His cross
to every part of our being
that is bitter and sick.
Then
those parts
will be healed.
In this way
daily and even hourly
the Lord Jesus
becomes our Healer.
Day 3
The fact that God led His people to Marah
indicates that as we walk
in the realm of resurrection,
God will lead us
to a place of bitterness,
to Marah.
The pillar of cloud
led the people to a place
where there were waters,
but these waters
were bitter.
When the people discovered
that the waters were bitter,
they “murmured against Moses,
saying,
What shall we drink?” (Exo. 15:24).
Like the children of Israel,
we also have complained and murmured
about our bitter situations.
If I had been Moses,
I would have told the people
not to complain to me.
I would have reminded them
that they were led to this place
by the same cloud
that protected them
from Pharaoh and his army
just three days before.
But as a true servant of the Lord,
instead of striving with
this murmuring and complaining people,
Moses cried out to the Lord.
In response to his cry,
the Lord showed Moses a tree.
When Moses cast the tree into the waters,
the waters were made sweet.
First Peter 2:24
indicates that this tree
signifies the cross of Christ.
Thus,
the tree that healed the bitter waters
denotes the cross
on which the Lord was crucified.
The cross of Christ, the unique cross,
is the healing cross.
This picture
corresponds to our spiritual experience.
After we are baptized
and begin to walk in newness of life,
we are troubled
because we have no natural water.
On the one hand,
we are like the people
who complained and murmured.
On the other hand,
we are like Moses
who cried to the Lord.
When we cry out to the Lord in prayer,
He shows us
the vision of the crucified Christ.
We need to see
a vision of the cross.
Seeing this vision,
we apply the cross of Christ
to our situation,
and immediately
the bitter waters
become sweet.
I have the full assurance
that everyone
who has truly been baptized into Christ
has had
this kind of experience.
According to Romans 6:4,
we walk
in the realm of resurrection,
in newness of life,
after we are baptized.
This realm
is the real wilderness of Shur,
a realm in which we are separated
from the world
by the wall and by the sea.
As we walk in this realm,
we have no natural resources,
and we face much bitterness.
But in resurrection
we may experience
the cross of Christ
and live a crucified life.
As we do this,
our bitter situation
becomes sweet.
Last year
my wife and I
suffered from
the bitterness in our situation.
However,
eventually
we enjoyed sweetness
because the healing tree with the crucified life
had been applied to our circumstances.
This is the way
to experience and enjoy Christ’s death
in the realm of resurrection.
We do not experience
the bitter waters of Marah
once for all.
As long as we live on earth,
we shall walk
in the realm of resurrection
and come to Marah again and again.
The experience
of the children of Israel at Marah
portrays a principle,
not merely an incident.
This principle
is basic in our Christian life.
As we walk
in the realm of resurrection,
we shall thirst,
only to discover
that there is no natural water
to supply our need.
Only the waters of bitterness
are available.
Whenever we are in such a situation,
we need to see
the vision of the tree
and then
apply this tree
to our circumstances.
This tree will then heal our situation
and change the bitter waters into sweet.
In Greek
the word for tree in Revelation 2:7,
as in 1 Peter 2:24,
means wood;
it is not the word
usually used for tree.
In the Bible
the tree of life
always signifies Christ
as the embodiment
of all the riches of God
for our food.
Here in Revelation 2:7
it signifies
the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24)
and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ.
Day 2
Exo.15:24-25
And the people murmured against Moses,
saying,
What shall we drink?
And he cried out to Jehovah,
and Jehovah showed him a tree;
and he cast it into the waters,
and the waters became sweet.
There
He made for them
a statute and an ordinance,
and there
He tested them.
Because the children of Israel
were short of water
and came to a place of bitter waters,
they began to murmur and complain.
This is
a good picture of the people of God
when they are short of water.
If chiding, complaining, and murmuring
are present in a local church,
that is
a proof of dryness, a proof of thirst.
If we had no water
to drink for three days,
no doubt,
many of us
would be chiding, fighting, and murmuring
because of the shortage of water.
We need to realize
that we have
a living tree, the resurrected Christ.
If we would put this resurrected Christ
into our bitterness,
allowing the resurrected Christ
to come into our situation,
the bitter waters
will become the sweet waters.
At Marah,
even before the law was given,
the Lord made for the children of Israel
a statute and an ordinance.
This signifies
that if we have
the drinkable, sweet, living water among us,
out of this living water
there will spontaneously be
a living statute and ordinance.
The more we drink of the living water,
the sweet water of the resurrected Christ,
the more we are regulated.
The statute and ordinance
are not of the law of letters
but are the living statute and ordinance
of the drinking of the living water.
I believe
that the statute
made at Marah
may have been
that there was to be
no more chiding or murmuring.
After the bitter waters
were made sweet,
the children of Israel
may have said
that there was
no more need
for them
to chide or murmur,
so they made a statute
to this effect.
If there is
much chiding and murmuring
in a local church,
there will be
much sickness
in that church.
Murmuring opens the door to the enemy
to bring in all kinds of diseases.
If we are
those who murmur, complain, and chide,
we are the same as
the Egyptians, the worldly people.
In most worldly associations or societies,
the people murmur, chide,
and even fight with one another.
Should we have
this kind of situation or condition
among the people of God
in a local church?
Our chiding or murmuring
is a kind of disease.
We are sick spiritually,
and this spiritual sickness
can result even in physical sickness.
In 1 Corinthians 11
Paul told the Corinthians
that many among them
were weak and sick,
and a number were even dead (v. 30)
because of
their murmuring, chiding, and divisiveness.
The Corinthians
were against one another
because they were short of
the sweet water of the resurrected Christ.
If we have the resurrected Christ
in our situation,
our situation
will be so sweet
with the living water.
Then
we will have a statute
that we would
never chide, murmur,
complain, or fight with one another.
Our ordinance
is to praise the Lord
and to shout for joy
with no chiding and no murmuring.
This ordinance
is an issue of the sweet waters.
If we are enjoying
the resurrected Christ
in our situation
and the sweetness of the living water,
we will not have
any kind of disease.
If murmuring and chiding
can be found in a local church,
this proves
that there are Egyptian diseases there.
If there is
an absence of murmuring and chiding,
there is a living statute
made of the sweet, living water
that instructs us
not to criticize, chide, murmur,
complain, or fight with one another.
This statute
was not given at Sinai
but was made at Marah
where the children of Israel
had the sweet waters.
Exodus 15:26 says,
“If you will listen carefully
to the voice of Jehovah your God
and do what is right in His eyes
and give ear to His commandments
and keep all His statutes,
I will put none of the diseases on you
which I have put on the Egyptians;
for I am Jehovah
who heals you.”
We should not have
diseases or illness among us,
because the Lord
is the Healer to us,
and His healing
is in the sweet waters.
We have the Lord
as our Healer.
Day 1
Exo. 15:22b-23
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 its name
was called Marah.
The history of the children of Israel
started with the eating of the passover lamb
in Exodus 12.
Soon after they had eaten the passover
and crossed the Red Sea
to come out of Egypt,
they became short of water.
They came to Marah,
which means “bitterness,”
because the waters of Marah
were bitter
and not good for drinking.
It is significant
that the journey
from the Red Sea to Marah
was exactly three days.
Their being three days
in the wilderness in thirst
means that they were buried
for three days,
that they were in death.
The third day
may be considered
as the day of resurrection
since the Lord Jesus was raised
on the third day.
When the children of Israel
came to the bitter waters of Marah
on the third day,
the Lord showed Moses a tree,
and when Moses cast this tree
into the waters,
the waters became sweet.
We may say
that the tree
is the resurrected Christ
because this tree
was cast into the bitter waters of Marah
after the children of Israel
had traveled three days in the wilderness.
Three days signifies resurrection.
This indicates
that it was in resurrection
that the people of God
were separated from Egypt.
Negatively,
the wilderness signifies a place of wandering,
but here
it signifies, positively,
a place of separation from the world.
A journey of three days
corresponds to baptism,
which brings people
out of the world
through Christ’s death
and into a wilderness,
a realm of separation,
in Christ’s resurrection
The Red Sea
was the baptistery
in which the children of Israel
were baptized.
Hence,
after they were baptized in the Red Sea,
they were brought into resurrection.
According to Exodus 3:18 and 5:1,
Moses told Pharaoh
to let the children of Israel go
so that they
might make a journey of three days
into the wilderness
and there
sacrifice to the Lord their God
and hold a feast unto Him.
This journey of three days
signifies resurrection.
This means
that it is in resurrection
that the people of God
were separated from Egypt.
Hence,
the wilderness
is a realm of separation
and a realm of resurrection.
Baptism brings us into resurrection.
As soon as a believer is baptized,
he has the sense
that he has been brought
out of the old realm
into a new realm,
the realm of resurrection.
Romans 6:4 says
that, having been baptized into Christ,
we should walk in newness of life.
No doubt,
to walk in newness of life
means to live in the realm of resurrection.
According to the type in Exodus,
this realm
is the wilderness of Shur.
Thus,
the wilderness of Shur
is a type of the realm of resurrection.
It also signifies
a realm of separation.
When the children of Israel
entered into this realm,
they were separated from Egypt
both by the Red Sea and by the wall.
In Exodus 15:22
the children of Israel
“went three days in the wilderness.”
Since three is the number of resurrection,
this signifies
that they walked in resurrection,
that is, in newness of life.
It is significant
that the journey from the Red Sea to Marah
was exactly three days,
not two days, four days,
or even three and a half days.
According to a note
in the text of the Amplified Version,
the distance from the Red Sea to Marah
was thirty-three miles.
Surely the children of Israel
could have walked this distance
in less than three days.
We must believe
that the pace of their travel
was under God’s sovereign leading and control.
The fact that they traveled for three days
is a portrait of walking in resurrection.
When the children of Israel
were in the wilderness,
they certainly walked in a way
that was different
from the way they walked in Goshen.
In Goshen
they did not have the pillar of cloud,
but in the wilderness
they walked according to
the guidance of this pillar.
They were led
by the Lord’s presence
to walk in a new way.