“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
GiGi's comment on 2022-03-17 09:17:31:
Suze,
Thanks. I did think of that after I posted my summary.
Suze's comment on 2022-03-17 03:05:00:
Twelve wells and seventy trees , twelve apostles and the seventy disciples of Luke Ch 10 spring to mind , also Revelation Ch 21+22 . See for yourself and enjoy . May God bless you .
GiGi again's comment on 2022-03-16 19:52:30:
... continued
I wonder what it means for the water to be bitter or sweet? Here, Moses establishes some sort of statue and an ordinance, telling the people that they will not get diseases that the Egyptians had (either referring to the plagues, or disease that normally afflicted the land of Egypt) but only if they heed the voice and listen to commandments of the LORD and keep the statutes. It does not say what the statute and ordinance was that Moses introduced at that time. It is apparent that he is also talking of the giving of the Law that will come later. He must have had knowledge that the Law would be given later, even at this time. Moses calls the LORD: The LORD who heals.
Next, they travel to Elim, a bountiful oasis with 12 wells and 70 trees. Here the LORD had led them to a place to pasture and water their flocks and abide safely for a while with an abundance of water. Where before, they had found no water and then the bitter water of Marah (with the miraculous change), this place has natural provision of water, shade, and space for the large group to rest, sleep, and have respite. It does not say how long they stayed at Elim. But they were not in danger of the Egyptians anymore and it appeared from any other group. This shows how merciful and benevolent God is, providing what is most needed for the people even though they grumbled and lost faith soon after the Red Sea deliverance.
And so the Israelites are off on this wilderness journey that should only take a short number of weeks. But they still had much to learn about themselves, about Moses, and mostly about I AM WHO AM before getting to the promised land. It was important to value the LORD more than the land He promised them. The Israelites needed to learn this and so do we.
GiGi's comment on 2022-03-16 19:35:14:
This chapter shows the wonderful Victory Song Moses sand for the people extolling the LORD for delivering them through the Red Sea and destroying the Egyptians that followed in after the Israelites. The song not only praises the LORD, but recounts to God and the Israelites what God had done. This is a good example to us. When we face a situation where there seems to be no way out and the LORD makes a way in a miraculous way, she should stop and take the time on the "other side" to praise God and remind oneself and others what had just happened. This song is a new song, not one the Israelites had sung before. It was current and spoke to their present situation where they are now delivered. Before the crossing, God had told the Israelites that He would fight for them, and He did. The Israelites just needed to follow Moses through the sea on dry land. This took faith since the sea was divided into two extremely high walls on either side of the path. They had to trust that God would maintain the sea in that way until they ALL had made it to the other side.
Moses also spoke prophetically in this song about the surrounding nations becoming fearful of them when these hear what God has done for the Israelites.
Miriam took up the song with the women and led them in song and dance. She must have learned the song quickly or else under inspiration. This was a whole group response since the crossing event was experienced by every Israelite.
After this celebration, the large group set out across the wilderness of Shur. Traveling for three days, they did not find any water along the way, and so the group grumbled to Moses about this. At Marah, there was water but to was too bitter to drink. Instead of bending a knee and seeking the Lord themselves, the Israelites complained. They had not learned yet that they could turn to God themselves and ask for what they needed. Moses placed a tree into the waters and miraculously the water became drinkable.
Sue's comment on 2014-07-06 17:12:16:
We glorify and exhalt God when we put forth our best effort and spend our money to make the work special. We glorify God when we do a job well and have it come out very nice so others will treasure it. It is for God!
Jaclyn's comment on 2010-05-10 17:48:02:
He builds me up with strength & song for my heart to listen when I need a lift He also gives me a place to feel free and open for His love that HE has for his children,while we feeling the power of JESUS we shall exalt His name in spirit an truth.