June 25, 2018 - Suggested Reading Exodus 15 for July 1’s message on Matthew 4:12-25 in our summer worship service at 10am

“He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Exodus 15:26 (NIV) 

Verse 25 tells us that this statement is a ruling, an instruction and a test!

Many of us read this and think of it as a threat, or a promise to bring disease to His people if His people do not act rightly before Him. But this statement is more than a threat for our LORD is the Judge, He is the Teacher and He is the Administrator of the tests of our hearts. I love to read the song of Moses - I can imagine the joy that flooded their hearts when they saw their enemy destroyed and knew that they were truly free! What a song of victory, what an awesome declaration of the power of God’s love for His people. Have you ever tried to put your personal experiences into this song? Is the LORD your warrior - can you sing a victory song about His deliverance for you? As we put our minds to what God has done, as joy floods our souls, the LORD leads us into the wilderness where the water is bad. He does it for our good, for He is our Judge and our Teacher and the Administrator of the tests of our hearts. He purifies our hearts, He teaches us with Words and with experiences so that we will be righteous in our Judge’s eyes. The water is bad so we grumble - “who led us here - we need a different leader”, but we don’t need a different leader – we need to learn the lesson, that God is our healer, that God is the One who has led us into this place where if He doesn’t help us, we will wither and die.

This is living by faith, following our Lord into situations where if He doesn’t come thru we will wither and die. The wonderful truth is that we need Him every hour, and the brutal truth is that because we so easily forget that we need Him, that we require the desert and the bad water to draw us to Him again.  So friend let us see our need for Him every hour, let us listen carefully to Him, paying attention to His commands and Laws, doing what is right in His eyes, for He is the God who heals us.