The more God does for you, the more accountable you become for what you know. The parting of the sea was not only an astounding miracle; it was a sign through which God was speaking. This should have inspired the Israelites to trust and obey God. But this is the point in the story when we see a repeat of what happened in Pharaoh’s heart in response to God’s mighty acts. This time it is God’s people who begin to display a hardness of heart. We see here a repeat of the scenario before the Red Sea. Yet again God leads them into the desert and yet again they question the leading of God when he brings them to the bitter waters of Marah. Their concerns are, in one sense, quite understandable: “Why would God lead us through the desert to the point of being desperate with thirst and then bring us to bitter waters? Is God tormenting us?” But hadn’t they just faced an experience like this? And hadn’t God shown himself trustworthy? They should have expected this kind of thing and trusted in God. Before we marvel at their faithlessness let’s consider whether we are much better. We have thousands of years of stories like this showing the way that God works. Yet, when we face circumstances even fractionally as intense as what the Israelites faced, we question God’s wisdom in leading us that way. If you believe that what you read in the Bible is true, then you have testimony after testimony of the faithfulness of God despite adverse circumstances. Let the testimony of Scripture determine your attitudes rather than your circumstances.
Thank God for where he is leading you however difficult the route there may be.
Read Exodus 15:22-27
