Bitter Water Became Sweet

Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water. (Exodus 15: 22 to 27)

After crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel praised God as described below. 

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name." (Exodus 15: 1 to 3)

So, they found the same joy from God as their ancestors. Not only for men, Miriam also led the women of Israel to praise God as below.

For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” (Exodus 15: 19 to 21)

Yet, when they couldn't find drinking water but an undrinkable bitter water at Marah, they grumbled against Moses as described above. So, God showed Moses a log to throw into the water, and the water became sweet. Then God assured Israelites of their wellbeing if they listened and kept all God's statutes. This is like what Jesus taught people in the Sermon on the Mount as described below.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6: 25 to 34)

Indeed, we are all little faith. Israelites worried about what to drink. We worried about what to drink, eat, wear, etc. Israelites survived by a log being thrown into the water to turn the bitter water to sweet. We are saved by Jesus Christ being hung on the log who paid for our sins. Nonetheless, we are all obligated to listen and obey the Word from God. For the Israelites, the Word was the statutes. For us, the Word is the Son, Jesus Christ from the Father, who became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ not only saved us but also justified us. By obeying the statutes, Israelites could encamp by the water of Elim. By accepting Jesus Christ as a savior, we could enter the heavenly New Jerusalem and inherit eternal life. Emmanuel.

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