Tested and Healed
The Call to Obedient Trust
The story of Marah is not just about thirst or provision. It’s about testing. After sweetening the bitter waters, God does something unexpected. He speaks — not just to solve the people’s physical need, but to shape their spiritual character.
This statement may seem out of place after a miracle. But God isn’t just giving water—He’s giving instruction. He isn’t just meeting a need — He’s testing a heart. The bitter water was the stage. The real issue is whether God’s people will listen and obey.
The Wilderness as a Testing Ground
The phrase “He tested them” (v. 25) is important. The Hebrew word (nasah) means to prove, to refine, to reveal what is truly there. God was not testing to discover something about Israel — He already knew their hearts. He was testing to reveal to Israel the state of their own hearts.
Deuteronomy 8:2 provides a clear commentary on this:
This is the nature of divine testing: not to crush, but to expose and to train. It is part of God’s sanctifying work.
William Perkins notes that “the bitter water is the rod of examination, by which the Lord doth feel the pulses of His people.”
Obedience as the Response to Grace
God gives a conditional promise in verse 26. If Israel will listen, obey, and keep His commands, they will be protected from the plagues that struck Egypt. This isn’t a return to works-based righteousness. Rather, it’s a call to obedience flowing from deliverance.
They’ve already been redeemed from Egypt. They are already God’s people. But now God is teaching them what it looks like to live as a holy nation, set apart for Him.
This is consistent with the broader theme of Scripture: salvation is by grace, but sanctification requires obedience. We are saved apart from works, but saved unto good works (Eph. 2:8–10).
John MacArthur puts it this way:
“I Am the LORD, Your Healer”
God introduces a new name for Himself here: Yahweh-Rapha — “The LORD who heals.”
This name is important. It reveals that God's healing is not just physical, but also covenantal and moral. He’s the One who heals bodies, minds, and hearts. In this context, the healing is tied to obedience. Avoiding Egypt’s diseases is contingent upon spiritual health.
This doesn’t mean all suffering is the result of disobedience. But it does affirm that spiritual compromise leads to destruction, and spiritual obedience brings life and wholeness.
God's Word is not just instructional — it is restorative. When we obey, we experience spiritual vitality, even in hard places.
Doctrinal Themes: Sanctification and Covenant Faithfulness
This passage teaches two core doctrines:
Encouragement for the Church Today
For our church, this passage has particular weight. We’re in a season where things feel uncertain. We've stepped out in faith and left the security of a building. We’ve entered a kind of wilderness — not one of sand and thirst, but one of redefinition and trust.
And in this season, we’re being tested — not to be shamed or discouraged, but to be strengthened.
God is using this season to deepen our obedience. To refine our faith. To reveal what’s in our hearts.
Let us not grumble at Marah, but listen to the voice of the Lord (in Scripture, of course), obey His Word, and trust that He is our healer—not just of physical needs, but of every spiritual wound.
Practical Takeaways
God met His people at Marah — not just with water, but with a Word. He is still doing the same today. He is not only the God who delivers — He is the God who disciplines, heals, and transforms.
“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.’” (Exodus 15:25b–26)
This statement may seem out of place after a miracle. But God isn’t just giving water—He’s giving instruction. He isn’t just meeting a need — He’s testing a heart. The bitter water was the stage. The real issue is whether God’s people will listen and obey.
The Wilderness as a Testing Ground
The phrase “He tested them” (v. 25) is important. The Hebrew word (nasah) means to prove, to refine, to reveal what is truly there. God was not testing to discover something about Israel — He already knew their hearts. He was testing to reveal to Israel the state of their own hearts.
Deuteronomy 8:2 provides a clear commentary on this:
“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
This is the nature of divine testing: not to crush, but to expose and to train. It is part of God’s sanctifying work.
William Perkins notes that “the bitter water is the rod of examination, by which the Lord doth feel the pulses of His people.”
Obedience as the Response to Grace
God gives a conditional promise in verse 26. If Israel will listen, obey, and keep His commands, they will be protected from the plagues that struck Egypt. This isn’t a return to works-based righteousness. Rather, it’s a call to obedience flowing from deliverance.
They’ve already been redeemed from Egypt. They are already God’s people. But now God is teaching them what it looks like to live as a holy nation, set apart for Him.
This is consistent with the broader theme of Scripture: salvation is by grace, but sanctification requires obedience. We are saved apart from works, but saved unto good works (Eph. 2:8–10).
John MacArthur puts it this way:
“Obedience is the evidence of faith. Israel’s deliverance was not the end of God’s work — it was the beginning of a journey of learning to trust and obey Him.”
“I Am the LORD, Your Healer”
God introduces a new name for Himself here: Yahweh-Rapha — “The LORD who heals.”
This name is important. It reveals that God's healing is not just physical, but also covenantal and moral. He’s the One who heals bodies, minds, and hearts. In this context, the healing is tied to obedience. Avoiding Egypt’s diseases is contingent upon spiritual health.
This doesn’t mean all suffering is the result of disobedience. But it does affirm that spiritual compromise leads to destruction, and spiritual obedience brings life and wholeness.
“He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.” (Psalm 107:20)
God's Word is not just instructional — it is restorative. When we obey, we experience spiritual vitality, even in hard places.
Doctrinal Themes: Sanctification and Covenant Faithfulness
This passage teaches two core doctrines:
- Sanctification through Testing – God uses the wilderness to purify His people. Trials are not random; they are part of His loving discipline to mature us in faith and holiness (Heb. 12:10–11).
- God’s Covenant Faithfulness – Even in the wilderness, God remains faithful to His covenant. His commands are not burdensome — they are expressions of His care for His people’s well-being (1 John 5:3).
Encouragement for the Church Today
For our church, this passage has particular weight. We’re in a season where things feel uncertain. We've stepped out in faith and left the security of a building. We’ve entered a kind of wilderness — not one of sand and thirst, but one of redefinition and trust.
And in this season, we’re being tested — not to be shamed or discouraged, but to be strengthened.
- Will we remain committed to the Word even without the structure of a church building?
- Will we obey when no one is watching?
- Will we continue to gather, give, serve, and love, even when it’s inconvenient?
God is using this season to deepen our obedience. To refine our faith. To reveal what’s in our hearts.
Let us not grumble at Marah, but listen to the voice of the Lord (in Scripture, of course), obey His Word, and trust that He is our healer—not just of physical needs, but of every spiritual wound.
Practical Takeaways
- See testing as training, not punishment. God is proving your faith, not abandoning you.
- Make obedience a priority. Even small acts of faithfulness matter greatly in the wilderness.
- Trust God’s healing presence. He is Yahweh-Rapha. He heals bitterness, disobedience, weariness, and sin.
- Encourage one another to endure. Speak truth to your brothers and sisters during seasons of spiritual testing.
God met His people at Marah — not just with water, but with a Word. He is still doing the same today. He is not only the God who delivers — He is the God who disciplines, heals, and transforms.
Posted in Church