Prosperity in the Desert
What an exciting time! At sundown on Sunday, April 11th – Tuesday, April 13, we came into the second Hebrew month, Iyar.
It’s during this month the Jewish people remember the story of Moses in Exodus 15:22-26 (KJV):
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 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. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, ‘If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.’”
In this passage, God said to Moses, “Listen, this could be a very prosperous time for you. Hold on to the fact that I am good. My goodness is always there for you. I love you intently. I have led you into this place and I am going to take care of you. I know that you might be afraid after you saw the ten plagues take place. But you also saw that I fought for you. I split the Red Sea and I brought you over. Now you have come to a place of despair where there is bitter water, but I’m going to make it sweet.” Isn’t that amazing?
Moses was instructed by the Lord to throw a tree into the waters of Marah, and the bitter waters would be made sweet! From the New Testament perspective, the tree represents the cross that Jesus died upon. Jesus is the Tree of Life. He is the Passover Lamb who shed His blood for you!
Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV) reads, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Here, God is defining Himself as the Lord. He wanted a personal relationship with Israel and He wants a personal relationship with you! I encourage you to know the Lord today. Taste His goodness. Taste the sweetness of a relationship with our Father and spend time in fellowship with Him. He will remove your bitterness of heart and bring a sweetness of soul prosperity when you receive Him as your Saviour.
In this passage, we also see the Lord defining Himself as the Healer. We see this when He spoke to Moses and said, “Follow My commandments, hearken to My voice and you will not have any of these plagues, you will not have any sickness or difficulties like these come upon you, because I am the Lord who heals you.”
As Christians, we know Jesus as our Messiah. He fulfilled the scripture in Isaiah 53 that says, “By His stripes you have been healed.” Some of you have bitter water in your life right now. You have resentment, difficulties, anger, guilt and condemnation. But because of Jesus, you can now live a sweet life, one that is filled with walking in His commandments and living in a place of prosperity.
Take time today to position yourself to live a life of prosperity. 3 John 2 says, “May you prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers.” To prosper is to have fullness, wholeness, completion; nothing is missing and nothing is broken. Jesus made a way for you to live in wholeness and completeness! He will take your bitterness and make it sweet, this is the month on the Hebrew calendar we remember His faithfulness.
May you live this life of prosperity and be in good health, both in your soul and your body. May you have increase here on the earth! Hallelujah! The curse has been broken and you have new life!