YHWH revealed Himself to Abraham on Mount Moriah as YHWH-jireh, the covenant God who sees. YHWH saw Abraham’s need for a substitute sacrifice for Isaac so His blessings to humanity could proceed. By providing a sacrificial ram, YHWH prefigured the Passover Lamb slain for all humankind. In view of this event, Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (Jhn. 8:56).

YHWH’s Passover grace allowed Israel to leave Egypt and begin their sojourn to His holy mountain. The Israelites had been slaves to cruel taskmasters, commanding them what to do and not do, what to think and not think. With their new freedom, the temptation was to do as each one pleased. However, YHWH’s guidance and their obedience to His commands were critical to their survival. In reality, they were not their own masters lest they end up as Egypt. Israel’s Master was YHWH, and He commissioned Israel. Instead of being slaves to a system of death, the Israelites must become bound to a way of life.

In Babel’s style, Egypt had shrewdly forced the Israelites to submit to its rule. When Israel became economically dependent upon Egypt’s overreach, its power controlled and manipulated them with the ultimate purpose of crushing them. Puppet myrmidons quickly destroyed anyone trying to break free of Pharaoh’s abusive scheme. In this way, Pharoah coerced Israel into worshiping him and his pantheon of gods. Since Egypt owned the entrapped Israel, YHWH must repurchase (redeem) Israel for them to become His people. Exercising power over the Egyptian gods, YHWH directly convinced Israel to leave the feckless Egyptian gods’ sinister jaws of disorder implanted in their thinking. The transformation from their immersion in a regime of oppression and demise to knowing and experiencing YHWH is healing from death to life. Likewise, Jesus’s healings rescued people from Babel’s death and disorder.

How would YHWH bring about Israel’s conversion? He is not a God who exploits to coerce His people to change. Yet He did want the Israelites to depend upon Him and worship Him to become like Him. It was the effect of Marah in the Shur Desert and His revelation as YHWH-ropheka [327, 3(10² + 3²)]. Israel must become fruitful in Him, and to do that, YHWH had to break up their fallow ground, plowing upon their backs through trials. Like the first and second signs, a third day is stressed in the Marah event.¹

The children of Israel, arising in the grand triumph of YHWH’s deliverance from Egypt, escaped through Yam Suph and found themselves “walled out” of Egypt. Trudging the three days to Marah (245, 5 × 49), they were also “walled out” of the wilderness to the east. “Shur” (22 × 23) means “wall” and “ox that beholds” (Hitchcock’s Bible Names, TWOT 7791). Numbers 33:8 calls this stretch of land the “Wilderness of Etham” (689, 13 × 53), bringing Etham’s 441 value and meaning,1 “with them; their plowshare,” into the Marah scene (BDB Definitions, H864). Hitchcock’s Bible Names defines Etham as “their strength; their sign.” Like Israel, the wilderness was uncultivated (Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Wilderness). YHWH tilled Israel to sow and rain righteousness upon them (Hos. 10:11–12).

The covenant’s fountain of strength to overcome and prevail was YHWH, Elaha (37), the God yoked to Israel, teaching her how to be fruitful. The wilderness portrayed images of land with few inhabitants and little rain (Deu. 8:15), metaphorically meaning no instruction from God. It stands in contrast to YHWH’s “showing” Moses the tree branch (the root of “showed” means to teach/instruct, the verbal from of Torah). The fledgling nation purposefully suffered water deprivation, the substance required to sustain life and make it fruitful. The runoff water at Marah was salty and bitter, unproductive, lacking the strength and instruction of God’s Spirit (sweet, living water, Jhn. 14:26). But from Etham, YHWH had begun His work of opening their minds to His teaching, converting their lives from barrenness (thirst) into a fruitful field (sweet). He was their plowshare, preparing the ground to receive seed. The Creator hedged them in their neediness, fostering dependence upon Him. By doing so, He incinerated the deceiver’s head bound securely to their minds, making a wall, preventing their return to slavery (Shur’s Hebrew word picture). The branch Moses threw into the water was the victorious risen Wavesheaf, Yeshua, the Word of God, the team’s Ox of Strength yoked to Israel (ancient Hebrew definition of Elaha), who would show the way of righteousness and avoid Egypt’s judgment.

To remain free and healed, His redeemed people must “diligently hearken to the voice of YHWH their God and do what is right in His sight and listen to and obey His commandments, keeping all His statutes” (Exo. 15:26, AMP). They must wall in themselves to seek Him with great desire and single-mindedness, overcoming any unfaithful thought (Psa. 116:16, Luk. 1:74–75). If Israel did this, YHWH pledged, “I will not bring on you any of the diseases [plagues] I brought on the Egyptians against their gods, for I am YHWH, who heals you” (Exo. 15:16). YHWH put His righteousness upon them in the form of His laws, statutes, and judgments, supplying what was lacking.

Because Israel was raised from the dead when God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day, “He is your life and length of your days (Deu. 30:20).” By the Spirit dwelling within His people, He brings them to life, “living by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of YHWH” (Deu. 8:3, 30:20).

Takeaway:
What YHWH taught (“torahed”) Israel at Marah was healing from Pharaoh’s slavery, the freedom of truth, the ordinance and statute of the sweet water of His Spirit flowing from the risen Wavesheaf (raised on the third day). He is the beginning of our healing and new creation, for by His exodos, we exodus our former way of living. He is YHWH-ropheka, the gracious God who heals us and brings forth our righteousness so that the earth may be a fruitful field.

Fun Factors:
Exodus 15:25 bears John 1:1’s numeric signature, 3627, 39 × 93, his “in the beginning” of a new spirit creation, the signs of His glory, restoring humanity to walk in the Word of God and be perfected (Exo. 15:26). Marah is numerically tied to John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 (see footnote below).

25 And he cried to YHWH, and YHWH showed him a tree [branch] which he cast into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. It was there at Marah that YHWH laid before them the following conditions [laws, statutes] to prove their faithfulness to him: [letter sum 3627, 39 × 93, the same as John 1:1]

26 Saying, If you will diligently listen to the voice of YHWH your God and will do what is right in His sight, and will listen to and obey His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you which I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am YHWH Who heals you [8098, 2 × 4049, 558^th P (6 × 93), 273^rd PP (7 × 39). (Exo. 15:22–26, AMP, NLT, [i] mine)