Going On
Exodus 15:22-27
Israel’s deliverance from Egypt is a beautiful picture of the Gospel:
Exodus 12 – The Passover (Redemption by the BLOOD of the lamb)
Exodus 14 – Israel walks through the Red Sea (BURIAL / baptism).
Exodus 15 – Israel coming up on the other side (RESURRECTION).
Israel was now on the other side of the Red Sea, but they were not home yet. God said He would bring them out to bring them into the promised land. They were to GO ON and persevere until they arrived at their destination.
You can’t GO ON if you’ve never started. You can’t GO ON to second base if you’ve never got to first base. You can’t continue if you’ve not commenced.
The Israelites (2-3 million strong) are ON THE MOVE (v. 22, "…they went three days in the wilderness…"; v. 23, "…they came to Marah…"; v. 27, "And they came to Elim…")
It’s not how FAST you move. What matters is the direction you’re moving in—FORWARD movement. We must get our eyes off the past, and reach forth to those things which are before. Hebrews 6:1— "…let us GO ON unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works…"
We are on a pilgrimage in this life. This world is not our home. We must keep pressing on as sojourners. We must GO ON in spite of the difficult spots we encounter along the way.
We must go on in spite of…
I. The BOUNTIFULNESS of the past (v. 22).
A. Bountifulness of great judgments (Ex. 6:6).
B. Bountifulness of a great outstretched arm (Ex. 6:6) – Deliverance at the Red Sea.
1. They had a Jubilee on the shore of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:1-21). Spontaneous singing and dancing in victory—A great song of 21 verses that is all about God. Nothing wrong with this.
2. But we cannot remain at the point of deliverance. We must GO ON.
We must go on in spite of…
II. The BARRENNESS of the path (v. 22).
A. It’s a wilderness, desert, with no water.
B. How soon praise gives way to problems. No one is dancing. The tambourines are put away. The singing has ceased.
15:22— Three Days (cf. 3:16-18; 8:25-27). Why aren’t they sacrificing like they were told??? They should have been worshipping after three days, but instead they are whining.
C. When they left Egypt, their water-skins were full. You’re going to need more than a six pack of bottled water from Wal-Mart for this journey you are on. You’re going to need a miracle or two from God along the way.
?To those that are thirsty… you feel empty… MARCH ON by faith. There is water ahead.
We must go on in spite of…
III. The BITTERNESS of the provision (v. 23).
?Their hopes were high when they spotted an oasis at Marah. But their hopes turned to disappointment when they found out the waters were bitter.
God uses bitter experiences in life to uncover the bitterness that lurks secretly in our hearts. God uses bitter experiences to PROVE US (v. 25).
A. This was a bitterness that they did not create. The waters were bitter before they got there.
1. There will be times in your walk with God that you will find yourself in a bitter situation that you had nothing to do with.
2. If you are not careful the devil will beat you down and tell you that it’s all your fault. "If you hadn’t did what you did… If you hadn’t felt they way you felt… If you hadn’t thought the way you thought… If you hadn’t been where you were." "If it weren’t for your friends… spouse… children… boss."
B. This was a bitterness they could not change.
1. If you’re not careful you’ll get bitter trying to fix a bitter situation.
2. Some bitterness in life call for greater powers and greater invention to overcome them.
We must go on in spite of…
IV. The BLINDNESS of the people (v. 24).
?Their focus switched from God to self—Their concern was not how they might please God, but how to please self—"What shall we drink?" (v. 24).
A. They were blind to their own spirit.
1. They had a murmuring, whining, grumbling spirit. (Of course, that is not a problem here… It only happens in other churches, right?)
2. The Bible does not say, "Blessed are they that moan." Instead, it says, "Blessed are they that MOURN…" That’s a horse of a different color.
3. It’s easier to see the problems than to see the solutions. It’s easier to see the splinter in your brother’s eye than to see the log-jam in your own eye.
B. They were blind to the source of blessing.
1. They murmured to Moses. Moses was not the answer although Moses knew where to get the answer.
2. Moses goes to God with the dilemma instead of arguing with the people (v. 25). He didn’t allow the murmuring of the people make a murmurer out of him.
3. God provides the answer with a tree (picture of Calvary). God can make the bitter waters sweet through Calvary’s tree.
God uses the UNEXPECTED – Who would have guessed the answer would be "a tree?" Taking a piece of wood may not have made human sense to Moses, but by faith he obeyed God and the waters were made sweet.
God uses the UNSEEN – Sometimes the answers are right in front of us! The tree had been there all the time, they just hadn't seen it.
God uses the UNREHEARSED—God seldom rehearses what He is going to do. He just does it!
SUMMATION: Marah was a passing experience. They did not encamp there. They WENT ON to Elim and encamped there for several days (15:27-16:1). If you are not careful, you’ll spend more time in your bitter experience than moving on to greater blessings down the road. Let’s not dwell on the Marah’s of life, but let’s rejoice in the Elim experiences of life.
3 exhortations to help you GO ON beyond the waters of Marah in your life:
1. Anticipate the DIVERSITIES in life. Life is a MIXED BAG:
It has its sweet and its sour
It has its highs and its lows
It has its ups and its downs
It has its triumphs and its troubles
It has its joys and its sorrows.
It has its gains and its losses
It has its blessings and its setbacks.
It has its flowers and its weeds
It has its mountain tops and its valleys.
It has its hopes and its disappointments
Eccl. 7:14—"In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him."
2. Acknowledge the DIRECTOR in life. God lead them to Marah (13:21-22). God is leading in both the pleasant times and bitter times.
3. Appreciate the DISCIPLINES of life (v. 25). Bitter experiences teach us to go to the bitterest experience of all—Calvary’s tree—and learn how Christ dealt with it: He prayed and yielded to God’s will. Have you ever applied the cross of Christ to the bitter waters of your life?

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