What is the Meaning of the Bitter Waters at Marah in Exodus 15:23?

     I've learned that Exodus is a  book that pictures both our redemption and salvation.  A lot of the pictures are easy to spot like the Passover being a picture of both God’s judgment on Satan and our redemption. It’s also pretty clear that the crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of our baptism.  

Walking with my grandkids on Whidbey Island

      But the scene at Marah in Exodus 15 may not make much sense.  I didn't know that  Marah wasn’t on the usual northern route that people took from Egypt to Canaan until I read chapter 30  of the Life-Study of Exodus.  Witness Lee points out here it was on a southern route that didn’t have any water, so why would God lead them that way?  Besides that, when they came to the body of water at Marah, it was bitter. By reading these verses in Exodus 15 you can see they were pretty crabby by then:

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.  If you will diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah your Healer (Heb. Jehovah Ropheka). Exodus 15:23, 26

But God always has a plan, and I was touched to see in this chapter that God purposely led them southward  so that they would have to go  through the Red Sea, an awesome picture of our baptism, and then go on to Marah. These excerpts on pages 350-352 helped me understand the significance of Marah for my spiritual experience:

When Moses cast the tree into the waters, the waters were made sweet.  First Peter 2:24 indicates that the tree signifies the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ, the unique cross, is the healing cross. This picture corresponds to our spiritual experience.  After we are baptized and begin to walk in newness of life, we are troubled because we have no natural water….When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He shows us the vision of the crucified Christ. We need to see the vision of the cross.  Seeing this vision, we apply the cross of Christ to our situation, and immediately the bitter waters become sweet …..The experience of the children of Israel at Marah portrays a principle, not merely an incident...If we consider this in light of experience, we shall realize that the cross of Christ heals not only our bitter situation, but it also heals us. Not only are the waters of our circumstances bitter; we ourselves are also bitter and in need of healing.  Our very self is bitter.  In other words, the self is sick.  We are sick physically, psychologically, and also spiritually….When I have been in bitter circumstances, often the Lord has pointed me to the cross of Christ. I realized that I needed to take the cross and live a crucified life. This saved me from my bitter situation, and my bitter circumstances were healed (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Exodus. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print).

    A few times the Lord has brought me to my own Marah, and this word has  come back to me.  At the end of this chapter brother Lee underscores that God considered His people sick and that’s why in Exodus 15:26 He tells them that He is their healer.  What I got from this chapter is when my situation is bitter, it's another opportunity for me to tell God where I'm at and let Him change my bitter waters.  

You can listen to excerpts of this life training and some outstanding commentary by listening to Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee on Exodus.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Exodus:

Why Did God Use So Many Women in Exodus 1 & 2?
Taking a Closer Look at the Conflict Between God and Pharaoh in Exodus 5
What Does the Name Jehovah Mean in Exodus 6:2?
Why Did God Really Send the Manna in Exodus 6?