And this is Leslie Curran saying hello once again and welcome to the programme. I'm delighted you're tuning in and joining us and I do hope you'll be able to stay with us for the next 15 minutes as today the Reverend Philip Gardiner is with us to let the Bible speak. Our reading today is taken from Exodus chapter 15 reading the verses 22 to 25.

So Moses brought Israel 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 the name of it was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. We trust the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his own word. Thirst on account of extreme heat is not something that we are very familiar with in our own land.

However, in the East, this was a particular problem. After the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they had journeyed for three days in the wilderness and still had not found any water. At the point when the people were no doubt greatly exhausted, they saw water in the distance.

You can imagine some of those at the front of the crowd running towards the water and they began to drink. But how disappointed they were, for the water was bitter. They had been filled with such excitement, only to be followed by such disappointment.

I want us to look at this incident for a few moments together. First of all, I want to say there was a miserable condition. The people in Exodus chapter 15 had two great difficulties.

They were thirsty, and then the only water that was available was bitter. Thirst is often taken in the word of God as a picture of the great yearning that is within the soul for peace and contentment. In Isaiah 55 in the verse 1 it says, whoever he won the thirsteth, come ye to the waters.

There it speaks of a people who lacked contentment, who lacked peace of heart, and they were invited to come to the true water. In John chapter 7 in the verse 37, the Lord Jesus Christ said, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. And in Revelation 22 in the verse 17, the Spirit and the Bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and let him that is a thirst come.

And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Man naturally has a longing for something that is better, something that will bring satisfaction. Many will search in various places and through various means, but the only one that can truly satisfy the needs of the soul is the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the fountain of living water. So there was the problem of thirst, but there was also the problem that when they found water, it was bitter. In fact they named this place Marah, which is the Hebrew word for bitter.

This bitter water is a picture of sin and the consequences of sin. In Jeremiah 2 in the verse 19, we read it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God. The sin of departure from the Lord was described in those words then as being evil and bitter.

In Acts chapter 8, we read of a man called Simon Magnus. When the preacher Philip had come to Samaria, Simon had professed faith in Jesus Christ. However, it became clear that it was only a profession, that a work of grace had not been done in his heart.

Later when Peter and John had come to visit the church, some of the people had received the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. Simon offered Peter money to enable him to have this ability to give to others the Holy Ghost. Peter approved him and said, I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

Peter was emphasising that this man Simon was still in his sin. The use of this phrase, the gall of bitterness, emphasised that his heart was not right with God. Apparently the ancients considered the gall of reptiles to be the source of their venom.

Peter was saying then that Simon's mouth spoke that which was not right because his heart was not right. This figure of speech, the gall of bitterness, also speaks of the destructiveness of sin. Sin is like a poisonous plant causing great destruction, but it also speaks of the dreadfulness of the condition of the sinner to be in that state of bitterness.

Sin certainly does bring bitter consequences, even in this life we can recognise its bitterness, but how terrible too is the eternal consequence of sin for those who have not received the Lord Jesus Christ. How bitter is the terror of hell, eternal separation from God, cut off from hope, it is the place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Dear unsaved one then, these bitter waters of Mara represent your condition today before God.

You are in that state of thirst, in that state of bitterness, but you need to be taken out of that state. So there was then a miserable condition. I want to say secondly there was a marvellous contemplation.

For in Exodus 15 in the verse 25, Moses cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree. Here in the midst of a time

“In this program, host Leslie Curran introduces Reverend Philip Gardiner, who reflects on a passage from Exodus 15:22-25. The story recounts the Israelites' journey through the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea, where they find bitter water at Marah. The people, thirsty and disappointed, complain to Moses, who prays to God. God then reveals a tree that, when thrown into the water, makes it drinkable. Gardiner interprets this episode as a symbolic lesson on the bitterness of sin and the soul's thirst for true fulfillment, which only God can provide. Gardiner compares the Israelites' experience to humanity's spiritual longing for peace and contentment, emphasizing that while many seek satisfaction elsewhere, true fulfillment comes through Jesus Christ, who is depicted as the "fountain of living water." The bitterness at Marah represents the consequences of sin, which Gardiner illustrates with various biblical references. He explains that sin’s effects can lead to a state of spiritual bitterness and alienation from God. The tree in the story symbolizes the cross of Christ, underscoring that Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross is essential for salvation. Gardiner stresses that Christ's death was the only solution for humanity's sin, removing guilt and reconciling people with God. By throwing the tree into the water, Moses exemplifies that salvation is freely offered by Christ's sacrifice, and individuals are invited to accept it to cleanse the bitterness of sin from their lives.”

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of great despair, as the people had only before them this bitter water, the Lord revealed a tree unto Moses. This was the answer to the great predicament that the people found themselves in.

Before Moses got his eyes upon that tree, all seemed to be hopeless. The people were murmuring, he didn't know what to do, but then the Lord pointed out the remedy. The Lord was bringing this people to an end of themselves, to demonstrate to them his great ability to intervene on their behalf.

Evidently the tree had been there all the time, it didn't just suddenly appear, but up until that moment neither Moses nor the people saw the importance of it. The account of this tree in Exodus 15 is a beautiful picture concerning the cross of Jesus Christ. Today as you dear sinner come to recognise the bitterness of your own heart, the need of your own heart, the Lord straight away points to the solution, the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the tree of Calvary.

The cross of Jesus Christ is spoken of in the Word of God as the tree, in 1 Peter 2 in the verse 24, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. So as the Lord revealed the importance of the tree to the people in Exodus 15, the Lord reveals Jesus Christ and the work of the cross to be the hope for fallen man today. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul said in Romans 3 verse 25, whom God hath set forth, or whom God hath exhibited, to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.

God the Father has pointed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ to be the way of propitiation. That word means appeasement. The Word of God has revealed that man is in a terrible state naturally speaking.

He is under condemnation. God is angry with the wicked every day. However when the Lord Jesus Christ came, he took the punishment for sin.

The wrath that was due to God's people was taken by the substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore he is the propitiation, the one who has appeased the wrath of God that was against us, because he has already paid the penalty of our sins. It is significant that it was not enough just to know about the tree standing there.

The tree had to be cut down. The tree could do nothing to change the problem of the water as long as it stood. That surely reminds us of the absolute necessity of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross of Jesus Christ was not one option among many in the mind of God to deal with sin. Rather it was the only way to put away sin. The testimony of the Word of God is of the absolute necessity of the Lord Jesus Christ giving himself upon the cross.

Paul said in Galatians 3 in the verse 13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, curse it is every one that hangeth on a tree. Even in the Old Testament it was made clear that whoever was made to hang on a tree, there was a curse upon them. So then Christ he had to be brought to the cross, because this was the only way that salvation could be purchased for us, that Christ would take the wrath of God, the curse of sin for us.

Perhaps as the Lord pointed out that tree to Moses, there were some who thought what difference would putting a tree into the water do? This plant seemed to them to be so foolish. How that reminds us that the Bible tells us the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. While the world may not understand the message of the cross, for those that come to Christ they will discover that it is indeed the power of God.

So there was then a miserable condition, a marvellous contemplation. I want to see thirdly there was a magnificent cure. In Exodus 15 verse 25, Moses cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

After the tree had been cut down and the tree was cast into the water, the bitterness was all taken away. This reminds us how the bitterness of sin, the penalty of sin, the guilt of sin, the record of sin, are all removed by the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

It wasn't up to Moses to provide a means to purify the water. He simply availed of the provision that had been made for him. And dear sinner, today you can do nothing to save yourself, but the Lord Jesus Christ offers himself to you.

He already has purchased salvation for the sinner. So today you are not asked to clean up your life, to make yourself presentable to God. You are not asked to become good enough.

The truth is that none of us could ever be good to merit acceptance before God in anything that we have done. Paul said there is none that doeth good, no not one. Therefore on account of your great need, God offers you freely what you cannot pay for, what you could never deserve, salvation by the blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is your reason for staying in the thirst and the bitterness of sin? Come to the Lord Jesus Christ today. Recognise your need of him. He will not cast you out.

May you come to the water of life today. We trust the Lord will bless these thoughts to all our hearts.