Exodus 15:22-27

At the Waters of Marah and Elim

22 Then Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea. They went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert. They didn't find any water there.
23 When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink its water. It was bitter. That's why the place is named Marah.
24 The people told Moses they weren't happy with him. They said, "What are we supposed to drink?"
25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord. The LORD showed him a stick. Moses threw it into the water. The water became sweet. There the LORD made a rule and a law for the people. And there he put them to the test.
26 He said, "I am the LORD your God. Listen carefully to my voice. Do what is right in my eyes. Pay attention to my commands. Obey all of my rules. If you do, I will not send on you any of the sicknesses I sent on the Egyptians. I am the LORD who heals you."
27 The people came to Elim. It had 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there near the water.

Exodus 15:22-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.

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