(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

you you you you you you you you you you in my heart there rings a melody there rings a melody with heavens harmony in my heart there rings a melody there rings a melody of love Alright, let's pray. Heavenly Father of the Lord, we just want to thank you God, for this beautiful day that you've given us God, to be in your house and to hear your word preached. I pray, Lord, that you would just be with our pastor and I pray, Lord, that you would just be glorified tonight in Jesus' name, Amen. You may be seated and turn in your song books to song 227 song 227 song 227 song 227 We'll sing Saved by the Blood, song 227 Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved by the blood of the crucified one Now ransom from sin and a new word begun Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved Saved Saved Saved Saved My sins are all pardon, my guilt is all gone Saved Saved Saved I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved by the blood of the crucified one The angels rejoicing because it is done A child of the Father join air with the Son Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved Saved Saved My sins are all pardon, my guilt is all gone Saved Saved Saved I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved by the blood of the crucified one The Father He spake and His will it was done Great price of my pardon His own precious Son Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved Saved Saved My sins are all pardon, my guilt is all gone Saved Saved I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved by the blood of the crucified one All hail to the Father All hail to the Son All hail to the Great Three and One Saved by the blood of the crucified one Saved Saved Saved My sins are all pardon, my guilt is all gone Saved Saved I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one Amen So welcome to Mount Baptist Church on this Wednesday evening and just some announcements here some general announcements everything is pretty much as usual when it comes to all the times service times, nothing's different there and then our soul winning times so this Sunday we'll have our normal soul winning time at 1pm so be in your places for that and then the Monday and Wednesday obviously the regional soul winning times as usual there our Bible memory we have Colossians chapter 3 I actually just finished that today so I might go ahead and jump into chapter 4 but we'll see but we still have a little bit of time in April here to get through chapter 3 and then we'll be going into chapter 4 coming into May we should have planned that differently so like go with the month you know so we should have started in like January so you're in chapter 1 is that throw anybody off, does anybody care that we're in chapter 3 and it's the 4th month no one cares John chapter 2 and verse 19 is our verse memory or memory verse for the week and then upcoming events we have the prayer meetings that are coming up so we have the men's prayer meeting at the end of the month here and then the women's prayer meeting I think you were wanting that were we trying to change the women's prayer meeting to the other Saturday after so that would be what the 30th right so see if that works out with the ladies if that works out at a better time for that day but I think I just remember someone whispering that to me the other day but doesn't bother me I'm not going to be there whatever you ladies whatever works better for you ladies there and then we got the birthdays and then for the pregnancies be in prayer for all the ladies on the pregnancy list so we have 4 ladies on there at the moment be in prayer for all these ladies and be in prayer for all the ladies obviously too that just had little ones and all that and so I think that's about all I got for announcements I mean the general announcements as far as the offering box being in the back there we have the mother baby rooms for the mother babies mothers and babies only that's about all I got who's reading tonight brother Richie brother Dave is going to sing one more song he's going to be reading Exodus chapter 15 for us take your songbooks and turn to song 277 song 277 in your songbooks we'll sing only trust him song 277 come every soul by santa press there's mercy with the lord and he will surely give you rest by trusting in his word only trust him only trust him only trust him now he will save you he will save you he will save you now for jesus shed his precious blood rich blessings to bestow punch now into the crimson flood that washes white as snow only trust him only trust him only trust him now he will save you he will save you he will save you now yes jesus is the truth the way that leads you into rest believe in him without delay and you are fully blessed only trust him only trust him only trust him now he will save you he will save you he will save you now come then and join this holy band and unto glory go to dwell in that celestial land where joys and mortal flow only trust him only trust him only trust him now he will save you he will save you he will save you now all right take your Bibles and turn to Exodus chapter number 15 Exodus chapter number 15 we'll have brother Richie come and read them for us all right Exodus 15 if you're there say amen then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea the Lord is my strength and song and he's become my salvation he is my God and I will prepare him in habitation my father's God and I will exalt him the Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea the depths have covered them they sank into the bottom as a stone thy right hand O Lord has become glorious in power thy right hand O Lord hath dashed in pieces the enemy and in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee thou sent us forth thy wrath which consumed them as stubble and with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together the flood stood upright as in heap and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea the enemy said I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoil my lust shall be satisfied upon them I will draw my sword my hand shall destroy them thou didst blow with thy wind the sea covered them they sank as lead in the mighty waters who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods who is like unto thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders thou stretched out thy right hand the earth swallowed them thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed thou has guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation the people shall hear and be afraid sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palatina then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed the mighty men of Moab trembling shall take hold upon them all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away fear and dread shall fall upon them by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone to thy people pass over O Lord till the people pass over which thou hast purchased thou shall bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance in the place O Lord which thou hast made for thee to dwell in in the sanctuary O Lord which thy hands have established the Lord shall reign forever and ever for the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea and Miriam the prophetess the sister of Aaron took a timbrel in her hand and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances and Miriam answered them sing ye to the Lord for you triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea so Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea and they went out into the wilderness of shore and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water when they came to Mara they could not drink of the waters of Mara for they were bitter therefore the name of what was called Mara and the people murmured against Moses saying what shall we drink and he cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed 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 and they came to Elam where were twelve wells of water and threescore and ten palm trees and they encamped there by the waters let's pray dear heavenly father thank you for this chapter in the Bible and thank you for letting us all be able to congregate together tonight just fill Pastor Robinson with your spirit and help us to have ears to hear in Jesus name I pray Amen Amen So you're there in Exodus chapter 15 and we are continuing our study through the book of Exodus and we just got done with the parting of the Red Sea and this chapter actually a lot of this chapter is dealing with a song that they sang after the parting of the Red Sea so this is after they're already over there but it's kind of speaking about that so I'm going to be hitting on some of those things there and then there is a portion that the last part of the chapter there is kind of dealing with something that happens right after or three days after if you will that their journey in the wilderness but Exodus chapter 15 verse 1 here so we'll see that they're singing a song because it says in verse 1 then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea the Lord is my strength and song he has become my salvation he is my God and I will prepare him in habitation my father's God and I will exalt him so this passage right here first of all a lot of this chapter is a song that's being sung okay and so there's a lot of things that are said here about about God and about how he destroys and all that which is no marvel because in Psalms we'll see you know actually I'm going to show you a passage where it uses the same language that's used all the time the Psalms are Psalms and they are to be sung and there's a lot of rough things that are said in those songs and so a lot of times when Christians are like why can't you just be more like the Psalms you're like well you mean being angry with the wicked every day you know what I mean like uh you know uh that uh you know do not hate them oh Lord that hate thee is that is that what you're talking about um you know there's a lot of Psalms that are really rough actually uh you mean like the one where it says let their back be turned or let them be uh bow down and that uh let their days be few and another man take their office I mean break their teeth oh God in their mouth is that what you're talking about um oh no you're you're used to uh the Lord is my shepherd I shall not you know want and you know obviously there's there's a mixture there of like blessings but there's a lot of cursings and there's a lot of things that are said in there and it's interesting because when you see this song and then when you go to like Deuteronomy 32 and you have like the song of Moses and it's all like the judgment of God and then in Revelation it brings up the song of Moses as far as when God's gonna pour out his wrath on the earth um it's interesting that the songs uh you know a lot of the songs were songs about God basically pouring out wrath or uh putting judgment down and uh how we would be rejoicing over that because if you think about it in Israel's eyes it was a great thing but not for Egypt okay so for the righteous it's a good thing for the wicked it's a bad thing and so um you can obviously sing these songs that are about God's judgment well I mean if you're not on the receiving end of his judgment then yeah you can rejoice and praise the Lord for that um but there's a phrase here that kinda always stuck out to me when I was reading through the Bible for the first time um when I was in Exodus this is something that just stuck out to me so I just kinda wanna uh speak on this a little bit in verse 2 there it says the Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation and I always like the the tense that that that is because that's kind of uh you know is become is like right now it's like a moment in time you know it's like the day the Lord is come you know or the day of his wrath is come it'll say in uh Revelation chapter 6 um and the idea is that um is become is is this idea or that the kingdoms of our Lord or of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ you know this idea of like this immediacy like right now and uh it really kinda shows you too that salvation is an instantaneous thing there's a day of salvation now no doubt speaking when they cross the Red Sea and he delivered them that was in a moment of time right that that happened that he delivered them and obviously this song is about uh the Red Sea and how he destroyed all the Egyptians in the Red Sea but go to Psalm 118 cause you're gonna see something similar here dealing with this idea of the Lord is become my salvation and Psalm 118 I just wanna get some context around that type of terminology so the Lord is my strength and is become my song and he has become my salvation that phrase there is used actually in Psalm 118 and so let's uh you could read the whole Psalm 118 but let's look at verse 6 here and just get the idea of what we're talking about um because when it comes to salvation you could be talking about eternal salvation or you could be talking about physical salvation okay so when the Israelites when they pass through the Red Sea and he destroyed all these enemies that was a physical salvation right that's not saying like every single person of Israel was saved and going to heaven but it was a physical salvation it can obviously represent a spiritual salvation you know when it talks about is become my salvation that can definitely be you know you can look at that as a spiritual salvation the moment you believe on him he has become your salvation um but also the idea of like there's a day of salvation physically that he provides for people and provides for his children um and Psalm 118 verse 6 here says the Lord is on my side I will not fear what can man do unto me the Lord taketh my part with them that help me therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes all nations compass me about but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them they compass me about yea they compass me about but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them they compass me about like bees they are quenched as the fire of thorns for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them thou has thrust sore at me that I might fall but the Lord helped me the Lord is my strength and song and has become my salvation the voice of rejoicing in salvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly the right hand of the Lord is exalted the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly and so that same terminology is used there and you can obviously see how that apply to the crossing of the Red Sea but you can also see how this would apply with even eternal salvation right and in the Old Testament there is a term actually that is used more so than believe and that is trust trusting in the Lord blessed are all they that trust in him and just over and over again he knoweth them that trust in him and here in Psalm 118 it is saying it is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in man it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes and the idea is that for salvation for him to become your salvation you have to trust him putting your trust in the Lord is how you get that salvation but there is also a day of salvation the Bible says now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation and when it comes to eternal salvation that is true there is a moment when you get saved it is not this period of time where you are kind of saved and not really saved it is either you are saved or not there is a moment in time when you get saved and you do not have to remember and I know some people will ask me and they will be like well I do not remember the exact day I do not remember the exact time you do not have to remember the exact time that you got saved you do not need to remember the exact day I do not remember the exact day though I could probably try to figure it out based off of like when this revival service happened or whatever but in the end I know when it happened I know when I changed my mind I know around the time I remember coming to the knowledge of the truth and believing it but there is a moment there is a time I got saved it was not like I was kind of saved or partially saved I was either not saved or I was saved and that is the idea once you get here now go to Isaiah 12 Isaiah 12 uses the same terminology of he has become my salvation and I kind of just want to cross referencing that phrase right is become my salvation because it is interesting on how it is used right and the idea of salvation both spiritually speaking like when you get saved from hell but also salvation dealing with physical salvation and the idea of how God can deliver us from our enemies and deliver us from people even in this life physically but in Isaiah 12 verse 2 it says hold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song he also has become my salvation sound familiar same terminology that is used in Exodus chapter 15 same terminology that is used in Psalm 118 and in Isaiah here the same thing it is interesting because Jehovah is even mentioned and obviously you know at the burning bush and when he is telling them you know what they are going to be called he is basically saying this is what you are going to know me by now is Jehovah but then it says in verse 3 this is interesting dealing with you know trusting in the Lord obviously you see that same thing God is my salvation I will trust and it says he has become my salvation notice in verse 3 therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation and in that day shall ye say praise the Lord call upon his name declare his doings among the people make mention that his name is exalted so you see the same terminology that is used with eternal salvation right for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved how shall they call on him whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and the idea that there is a time when you believe there is a time when you call out for salvation in the Old Testament a lot of times we also see calling out or calling upon the name of the Lord for physical salvation or just even calling out to God for salvation you know just calling upon the name of the Lord out of faith for different things the most important obviously is calling upon the name of the Lord for eternal salvation that should be number one that should be number one priority but we do see how it also applies physically with physical salvation one of the ways that I always love there you know he is become my salvation and the idea that the Lord is our salvation right not us right it doesn't say anything in here about well by your good works this is your salvation now later on it will talk about like keeping the commandments so these plagues don't come upon you and that you know that gets into another realm of you know physically speaking on this earth on you know getting chased by the Lord and all that as his people and obviously he is making a covenant with this nation but go back to Exodus chapter 15 Exodus chapter 15 and verse 3 and you can preach a bunch of stuff there it says I will prepare him and habitation I mean obviously in the New Testament our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost but even at that the Bible talks about how you know Jesus is standing at the door and he is knocking and we need to let him in to make so he can make his abode with us and that is the idea of abiding in Christ and having a habitation for him like letting him abide with you essentially and that hasn't changed now obviously in the New Testament we have the Holy Ghost that is living inside of us and dwelling in us and at that point you can grieve the Holy Ghost and you know quench the spirit and all that but in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 3 look at verse 3 here it says the Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name so you know when you are living in this world where people don't know who God is you are dealing with people that are just like why can't you be more nice you know the God they will be like God didn't do this or God doesn't feel this way just tell me you haven't read the Bible you know just tell me right now that you haven't read the Bible because if you have read any of the Bible you will know that God is a God of judgment I mean if you make it past Genesis 6 right you have made it to the point where he is going to flood the whole earth and kill everybody except for Noah and his family right and then I mean God forbid you get to Genesis 19 and you hear about what he does to the Sodomites you know and fire and brimstone comes down on them then you get to Exodus and obviously you know the judgments that he brings upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt you say well in the New Testament in the New Testament you know he is a lot more loving and that's the Old Testament yeah because in Revelation I mean he is not killing people en masse when he is pouring out his plagues or tormenting people with scorpions or you know killing them with big balls of hail that way a talent and yeah that's not happening right so you know when people they have this false God in their mind and a lot of Christians have this false idea who God is and they may know the Gospel and they know that salvation is by grace through faith and that they are saved but they don't know God there is a difference between being known of God and knowing God knowing God is the only way you are going to know God is by knowing his word knowing what he said and Exodus 15 here says the Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name you know there are so many things that are said out there that are just completely backwards God is a God of peace the fruit of the Spirit you know, love, joy, peace yeah but there is a time for war and there is a time for peace and there is a time to love and there is a time for hate, God is love but you know what, God hates certain people so, I mean you can't take that away from God there is a time that he hates there is a time he loves, there is a time of war there is a time of peace, so obviously there is a time where God is making peace and there is a time where he is making war And that's all right, and it's not bipolar, it's just facts, okay? This whole idea of the yin yang or the, you know, the light side and the dark side, like we're in Star Wars or something like that, like it's either you're all like good and there's no hate and there's no, you know, anything like that. And then over here it's like anything that's hate, you know, anything with hate is bad, that's not biblical, okay? You know, you got to get off George Lucas' book and get on to the Bible and it says that God is a man of war. He also says that his name is jealous, but yet people will say to you, well, it's bad to be jealous. Now obviously I know what they're saying, a lot of cases when they're talking about being jealous, they're talking about being envious, right, which is different, right? Being envious over what other people have, but the Bible defines jealousy as being basically being jealous over things that belong to you, okay? So having a godly jealousy for my wife, for example, is actually right. And God having jealousy over his children and over those who he's bought with his own blood, that's actually right, okay? And it actually says that his name is jealous. So all these things, it's interesting how when you read through the Bible it goes completely against what the world teaches and what they think and who they think God is. It's always going contrary. But it says here in verse 4 here, it says Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. So I know we kind of covered this a little bit last week, but notice, you know, remember he chose his chosen captains to go out after them. That's who drowns in the Red Sea. So it's not like it was just like his minions, you know, or it was just like his foot soldiers or anything like that. We're talking about chosen chariot captains. They died, okay? So his elite forces are what are destroyed here. In verse 5 here it says the depths have covered them. They sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in peace as the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee. Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And I want you to remember as I'm reading this, this is a song, okay? This is a song that's being sung and being, and obviously it's a song that's being sung to praise God, but also to rejoice because God did this and he saved them. Remember how the Lord, you know, is my strength and song and has become my salvation, but how did he save them? By killing them, killing the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Now go to Isaiah 52, I'm sorry, Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42, I want to show you another place where it talks about the Lord being a man of war, okay? Now we all know that the Bible says that the Lord is a consuming fire as well, and so there's a lot of attributes about the Lord. You know, we can't just put him into this box and say, well, he's only this, right? Like God is love. It's like, yes, he is love, but you know what? If you love certain people, then you're going to hate those that would harm them, right? The idea there is that if I love my children, then I hate pedophiles, okay? I mean facts. And this idea out there is like, well, you know, I don't hate anything. Like, yeah, right. First of all, you're lying. Second of all, you know, that's just not true. Everybody hates something. And those same people that say that, you know, when they accuse us, they'd be like, oh, you guys are just so hateful. It's like they hate our guts, right? You know, the same people that are just like, well, love is love and all this, they hate our ever-living guts, and they wish that we would die, and they say it constantly, right? They send in death threats. They send in like all kinds of stuff, and so they're a bunch of hypocrites, but here's the thing is that everybody hates something. But obviously there's a lot of people that hate things they shouldn't hate, right? There's a time to hate, and there's a time to love, but you obviously need to have it in the right place. But when it comes to war, there's a time for war, and there's a time for peace. And you know, the Lord obviously knows when there's a time for war, and I love this verse because I believe this is very applicable to, I mean, you think about the Israelites, right? How long were they in bondage before the Lord delivered them? I mean, that's a long time. We were talking about they were in Egypt for 430 years, but they were evil and treated for 400 of those years that this is going on, and generations are going by, and then at the end there, they're in hard bondage, and they're caused to work with rigor. And all this is going on, and basically you can always look at the Lord and be like, well, where is the Lord? You know, why isn't He judging them? Why isn't He taking care of this situation? And look at Isaiah 42 and verse 13. Isaiah 42 and verse 13, it says, the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man. He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war. He shall cry, yea, roar. He shall prevail against his enemies. Notice this in verse 14. I have long time holding my peace. I have been still and refrained myself. Now will I cry like a travailing woman. I will destroy and devour at once. So you can kind of think about how that applied, obviously, to Israel when they were coming out of the land of Egypt and how it's like He's not holding His peace anymore. He's not, you know, He's not sitting still. He's going to rise up and take control of this situation and obviously destroy them. But you can kind of see how this applies even now, right? You think about how now you're looking at, like, why isn't the Lord just judging this nation? Why isn't the Lord just judging this world? What's He waiting for, right? And why is He carrying so long? And you wonder, obviously, the Bible gives us a reason why, because He's waiting for the precious fruit of the earth and He's long-suffering for it. And there's reasons why He hasn't come yet. And so, obviously, God knows best. But you can kind of see how this would apply in the fact of I have long time holding my peace. I have been still and refrained myself. Now will I cry like a travailing woman. I will destroy and devour at once. And it talked about before that how He's going to roar. And obviously, He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And you can think about how He's going to come all at once. And you can think about how this obviously applies to the Second Coming, because you see the travailing woman, how that obviously applies and says how, you know, they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them as a woman and travail, right? And so this fits perfectly with, you know, obviously, end times. But I think it also points back, or you can look back, especially with that same terminology of how He saved them out of the land of Egypt, okay? So you can kind of see how, listen, you know, God is, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You know, the Lord is the same. And so He works the same way. And so it's no marvel that the way He delivers in the Old Testament is going to be the same type of way He's going to deliver in the New Testament. It even talks about how He brings us out on eagle's wings, or brought them out on eagle's wings. And then it talks about how He's going to, obviously, at the rapture, He's going to send forth His angels to, you know, obviously be caught up in the clouds and all that. So going on, back in Exodus chapter 15, go back to Exodus chapter 15, we see some more details about the parting of the Red Sea, and I'm not going to spend too much time on this because we kind of already hit this last week. But notice in verse 8 here, it says, And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the flood stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. So obviously, I talked about this as far as how I believe, personally, that the depths being congealed in the heart of the sea would be considering how they would have flat, dry ground that they're going across, okay, so you don't have to worry about them going down 200 feet or whatever it is when they're traveling across the Red Sea, because that's what a lot of atheists will say, that there's just no way that they're going to traverse through all that stuff that's down the bed of the sea. But I believe, obviously, that, you know, he made a path for them to go. Now, in verse 9 here, it says, The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. And so you can imagine that, you know, you think about this world and how that's what our enemies are thinking against us, they're like, we're going to destroy them, we're going to be satiated, we're going to, you know, all our desires are going to be fulfilled upon them, but notice what it says here, it says in verse 10, Thou didst blow with Thy wind, and the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretched out Thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. So we see here that you can kind of, you obviously can relate to this and the fact that the enemies that are coming after us physically, on the fact that, you know, what their intentions are, what they think is going to happen, and then obviously how God can save and just completely turn that around. And you can think about how they're going through this Red Sea and they think they're really going to destroy them, and it's just this delusional idea of how you think, they think they're going to fight against God. And we know how that turned out for them. Look at verse 19, dealing with these details of the Red Sea here. Verse 19 says, For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them, but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. Now, I've heard this preached that this is why some would believe that Pharaoh actually went into the Red Sea and died. I personally don't believe that's what it's saying here because it doesn't say Pharaoh went in, it says the horse of Pharaoh. Now, I don't believe, obviously, he jumped off his horse and said, get in there to his horse. I think that's kind of silly to think of that way, you know, like, you know, he just smacks it on the rear end and then it goes riding in there just to die, you know? What I believe this is saying, though, is that when it says the horse of Pharaoh is talking about his host of horsemen and his chariots, meaning this is that it's like saying the sword of a certain country, right? And obviously, there's not one big sword, right? Or, you know, in this case, one big horse, that's the horse of Pharaoh, but more so talking about his horsemen, okay? And to give you an idea, go to Exodus chapter 18 where it uses this terminology. Now, this terminology of like the sword of Ammon, the sword of Gideon, the sword of the Lord, right? These are phrases that are used a lot to talk about like their armies, right? Like the host or their, you know, whatever the case may be. And it's not just talking about like a single sword, okay? And notice what it says in Exodus chapter 18 and verse 4 dealing with actually the sons of Moses, but just to show you here that terminology. In verse 4, it says, the name of the other was Eliezer, for the God of my father said he was mine help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh, okay? So, I don't believe it's talking about like a physical sword, like the physical sword that was on Pharaoh, but more so talking about like his power or his sword, right? When you think about, for example, the Antichrist, it says that one of his heads are going to be wounded with a deadly wound, with a sword, it says. I don't believe that the Antichrist has to literally be killed with a sword, okay? I think that's terminology that's used to talk about he's going to be killed in battle. He's going to be killed with the sword, right? Because if you live by the sword, you shall die by the sword. It says that in the exact same chapter, actually. So, obviously, you know, in modern warfare, we're not dealing with swords. But that terminology is talking about battle. It's talking about, obviously, weaponry of some sort, okay? And in this case, when you're dealing with, for the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots, I believe he's talking about basically his host of horsemen, if you will. Like the horse of Pharaoh, meaning that it wasn't just like some fringe group of horsemen that he brought, like the stragglers. It was his chosen chariot men, you know, horsemen, his chosen captains. It was the horse of Pharaoh, meaning like it was his host of horses, if you will. And I believe that's what it's stating, okay? And, you know, obviously history, as far as who they think was the king, they think that King Ramesses II, which was like one of the greatest kings in Egypt, was the king when this happened. But really, there's no history, like as far as if you're going to look up history about this event, you don't see it, okay? But we know what happened, obviously, because the Bible teaches it, and we don't need them to find any evidence of this being written or anything like that. But you can imagine that in Egypt, do you think they're going to be writing about how they got completely annihilated, right? You think Pharaoh went back home and just like, all right, let's write this on the walls, guys, you know, about how we just got our rear end handed to us, and we just lost this whole host of army. You know, we're just going to admit defeat, guys, and write it on the walls for all eternity, right, or for the rest of time. So the idea of them not writing that or not talking about that, and also this, know this, is that when it comes to any type of ancient, like even Egyptian stuff, the percentage of stuff that's actually even available is very small, like very small as far as what we have. And even literature in itself and writings, we don't have, that stuff just is not preserved for us to see all that information. So maybe they did write about it, but it just, you know, got lost, and they just haven't discovered it or it just got completely destroyed or whatever. But in the end, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Word of God is going to be the greatest account than any type of thing that you dig up anyway, right? Because if you dug up something in Egypt that talked about Moses or talked about departing of the Red Sea, you know, it's probably going to be inaccurate compared to what the Bible says, okay? But I just wanted to hit on that to kind of show that terminology. I think when it says for the horse of Pharaoh, it's like saying the sword of Pharaoh. It's like saying something equivalent to that. Whereas the horse of Pharaoh is kind of more so talking about the horsemen and the chariots. The sword of Pharaoh would be more so just talking about his power to kill and his power to basically, obviously, the sword a lot of times is dealing with execution and stuff like that. So go back to Exodus chapter 15 and verse 13. And here we're going to see some specifics that are going to be stated that basically, all the inhabitants that they're going to be going into and taking over and all that or passing through are going to hear about this event and they're going to be afraid because of this event and obviously the Red Sea party. Verse 13, it says, thou and thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab trembling shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness of thine arm, they shall be as still as a stone, till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased. Thou shall bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. So this is something that's stated in Exodus chapter 9 that's going to happen. And it's reiterated in Romans chapter 9. So in Exodus chapter 9 and verse 16, you can turn there if you want, but it says in Exodus 9, 16, and in very deed, for this cause have I raised thee up for to show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. So that's what he said to Pharaoh as far as why he's allowing him to basically, and why he's hardening him. Because in Romans 9 and verse 17, it says, for the scripture said unto Pharaoh, even for the same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. And then it goes on to say, whom he will have mercy will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. And that's why he's hardening Pharaoh. That's why he allowed him to be in that position so that he could show his great wonders. But the reason why he was doing that is so that all the earth would hear and know that he is the Lord. And here we see some specifics, right? We see the inhabitants of Palestine, right? We see the dukes of Edom, and Edom is obviously Esau, right? So the Mount of Esau. And so when they're going through the wilderness there, they're kind of going through that area where it's the land of Esau, the land of Edom. And you get into that story as they're going through the wilderness, obviously. But then it talks about Moab, and then it talks about all the inhabitants of Canaan. And the thing that it states here is that they're going to melt away. They're gonna be fear and dread shall fall upon them. And it says that this is gonna happen until thy people pass over. Now, you know what's interesting about that is that obviously it wasn't supposed to be 40 years later that this was gonna happen, but it ended up being 40 years later until they actually went in. And go to Joshua chapter two. 40 years later, they're still talking about this event. I don't know if sometimes you realize that because obviously you're just kind of reading through the Bible, and to you, it shouldn't take you 40 years to get to that point, right? Right, you read through Exodus and be like, you're in Numbers, and you're like, I'm 40 years later, I finally made it to Joshua. You are not doing it right, okay? You're not reading fast enough, okay? Get the audio Bible. And you'll get there faster, okay? But in Joshua chapter two, dealing with Rahab the harlot, in verse 10 here it says, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you. So, that was 40 years ago at this point, right? In Joshua chapter two, when they just came over to Jericho to spy out the land, so they're crossing over Jordan. It says, and keep reading there, it says, when ye came out of Egypt, and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. Now that happens later, obviously, when they're coming up to that land, but what's mentioned as far as we heard about what happened with the Red Sea. And then it says in verse 11, and as soon as we had heard these things, what, the Red Sea being dried up, and all these other things that happened as well, as soon as we heard those things, our hearts did melt. What did it say in Exodus chapter 15? All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away, right? I mean, the same terminology is even used when it comes to this. It says, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. That's for 40 years. Think about that. The moment they heard it, their hearts melted and they didn't have any more courage, and that lasted for 40 years, and they're coming into Jericho 40 years later, and they're still afraid about what God's gonna do. So think about that event, and obviously how God caused that event to happen, and it helps you really understand the bigger picture. Because we can look at, well, why does God let this person live? Why doesn't God just kill that person over there because they're wicked as hell? And I understand where you're coming from. And you can say the same thing about Pharaoh and his servants and those that were wicked when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, but then you don't see that bigger picture, that coming all the way to the point where they're literally following them through the Red Sea, and he destroys that host in the sea. But what did that cause? That caused Rahab to get saved, and her house actually got physically saved. I don't know if all her houses are saved, but she's in the Hall of Faith in Hebrew chapter 11. She's actually even mentioned in James chapter two about how she was justified by her works as well. I mean, she's listed there with Abraham as far as the faith and the works working together. And why did that happen, or how did that come to be? Because of the parting of the Red Sea and because of what God did and showed, obviously, ultimately by hardening Pharaoh's heart. And so it's a great story, and this whole story really does show you, obviously, God's power to save, but also just that bigger picture of why God allows the wheat and the tares to live together, and why he doesn't pull up the tares. And obviously, because he might pull up the wheat as well when he pulls up the tares, and you can understand, if he pulled up Pharaoh, maybe Rahab wouldn't have gotten saved. And I'll say this, I guarantee Rahab's not the only person that got saved out of that story, right? I mean, when you're talking about all these nations fearing Boab, Edom, all the Palestine, right? And then you're dealing with all the inhabitants of Canaan and hearing about this and being afraid. Now, not all of them, just because you're afraid doesn't mean you get saved, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So I mean, that's the beginning. That's why we show people you're a sinner and we're on our way to hell. That's why we start off with that. So going on, though, in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 20, we see Miriam being brought up. And what I want you to notice is that at the beginning of this chapter, it says, then sang Moses and the children of Israel. Okay, it doesn't mention Miriam here. Then, go down here in verse 20, it says, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances, and Miriam answered them, sing ye to the Lord, for he had triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. So I want you to look at this very carefully. First of all, the narrator says that she's a prophetess. Now, that's actually not unbiblical in some cases for women to preach. Case in point, the gospel. When you look at Acts chapter two, at the day of Pentecost, it talks about how your maids and your handmaidens, the women and the handmaidens, are going to prophesy. So what would that be called? What would you be called then? A prophetess, okay? A prophetess is obviously the feminine of being a prophet, and I don't believe this is a bad thing here, okay? But I want you to look at something here. In verse 20 there, it says, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, notice this, and all the what? Women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. So who followed her? Was it everybody? Women, okay? Then it says, and Miriam answered them. Who? The women, right? So who's she talking to? She's talking to the women because that's who followed her, okay? Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. So this isn't Miriam just getting up and just like, all right, everybody that's of Israel, listen to me now. You see? Every word's important. This is her basically prophesying to women. And prophesy can mean teach, can mean just to preach, right, to teach something. So you think of the prophecy that was given to Lemuel by his mother, okay? That's in Proverbs 31, obviously the virtuous woman. That's not like some like future thing that's going on. And by the way, what does she say to them? That they triumphed, you know, and that the horse and the rider have been thrown into the sea. Is that future or past something that just happened, right? So she's not prophesying about something in the future. She's actually talking about something that just happened. And she's speaking to women. Go to Titus chapter two, Titus chapter two. And so this is actually biblical for women to teach other women, okay? But I do not believe that a woman should be a pastor of a church of men and women, right? I mean, obviously, well, first of all, I don't think they should be a pastor of a church of just women, okay, that's weird. Okay, so we shouldn't have a church that's just one gender anyway. There's only two, by the way, so I guess there'd be two churches if you did that. But so, obviously, when you're dealing with being a pastor and preaching to everybody, then you need to be a man. Okay, and you see Moses singing and the children of Israel. He's leading the whole group, okay? And that's fine, that's good. Moses is a man. But when you see Miriam stand up, notice that it's just the women she's addressing, okay? And notice what it says in Titus chapter two and verse one. It says, but speak thou the things which become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith and charity and patience. The aged women, likewise, that they be in behavior as become as holiness, not false accusers, not given the much wine. Notice this, teachers of good things. But who are they teaching? That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. So it's not wrong for a woman to teach, but it has to be in the right spot. Now when it comes to preaching the gospel, obviously I believe a woman can teach a man how to get saved, right? Because you're dealing with a natural man that needs to get saved and you can preach the gospel and get someone saved, okay? I believe that at the day of Pentecost, you know, at that point you can show them the gospel and I believe that's biblical and fine, okay? But when it comes to, you know, outside of preaching the gospel, I think women are supposed to be teaching women or children, okay? Obviously my wife is gonna teach my son, you know, not just my daughters, right? So that's, she has the authority over the children, but I have the authority over her and the children, so obviously ultimately I have the ultimate say, I'm the head of the home and all that, but she can teach, you know, and when it comes to our church here, I don't believe it's wrong to have a women's prayer meeting, for example, where you have women coming together and praying together, but you know, what would we be, ugh, if I can speak. Ooh, I should've run on the, you know, like you didn't know that it was a Pentecostal meeting. What would be weird is if we had a prayer meeting and it was a bunch of men in here too and then a woman got up and led the prayer. That's weird. That's out of sorts, that's not, I don't believe that should be done that way, right? I don't believe that we should have a woman up here leading singing. Who led the song to the children of Israel? Moses, okay? Who led the singing to just the women? Miriam, okay? So this is a great example, I think, of something that we see in the, and you kinda see this too where in the New Testament it'll talk about how women are to keep silence in the church and, you know, all this as far as the preaching, because that whole chapter, first of all, 1 Corinthians 14 is talking about preaching, okay? It's talking about preaching in the church and that by course and all these different things. And then it says, as also set, they should be obedient unto their husbands and, you know, keep silence in the church. It says, as also set the law. Well, sometimes when it says that, it's not stating that there's like a line that says that exact same thing, but more so that principle's taught in the law. In an exodus, this principle of a man leading the whole congregation singing and a woman just leading women is the principle, okay? And Titus hits this as well as far as women teaching, the elder women teaching the young women. This also, notice that it's the elder women teaching the younger women, okay? It's not that, you know, when it comes to that, I don't think that the younger women, like the teenagers should be getting up and being like, let me give you my two cents and like trying to teach all the women in the church, right? Obviously, I think it's the age of women and obviously this isn't just dealing with age, but also with spiritual age, right? Because you have the idea of like a pastor being an elder, that's not dealing necessarily with age as much as it's dealing with an elder in the faith, meaning that they're not a novice, okay? So I don't believe that women that are novices should be getting up and teaching other women. Does that make sense? Like I think it should be someone that actually knows what they're talking about. This doesn't mean we're gonna have a conference, a women's conference. I personally don't really like those things, okay? I don't think, I think that those things can easily decline and go into things it shouldn't go into, okay? Does that make sense? I am not here to say that I'm for women's conferences or women getting up here behind the pulpit and preaching and all that stuff to other women, okay? But I do think that women can teach other women things about the Bible. And if you look at that list in Titus chapter two as well, I mean, things in there are things dealing with the Bible about, you know, loving your husbands and submitting unto your own, being obedient unto your own husbands. I think that there's obviously Bible verses that are brought up for that and obviously preaching the gospel, you're gonna use the Bible to preach the gospel. And so, but it needs to be in its right place. And I think that this chapter is actually very interesting on how it puts that in its right place when it comes to just singing, because that's kind of what we're dealing with right here is just singing. But with singing, what are you doing? Teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, right? So there is teaching when it comes to singing. So if I suffer not a woman to teach nor to assert for authority over the man, should I have a woman up here leading singing? No. Okay, so just some principles there. This isn't a whole sermon on, you know, why women aren't to be pastors and why women should be leading singing, but this is a great story to really show that, okay? So go back to Exodus chapter 15 and let's get into the last portion of the chapter here which is dealing with the waters of Merah or Marah, however you wanna say it. And this is where God's gonna actually turn these bitter waters into sweet waters. And I believe you're probably dealing with like salt water. You know, when you're dealing with bitter, a lot of times I believe you're dealing with salt water. Could be bitter for other reasons. You know, maybe it's a marshland, I don't know, or whatever the case there. But if you're dealing with that, they're right next to the Red Sea, you're probably dealing with salt water, right? But in Exodus chapter 15 verse 22, it says, So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea and they went out into the wilderness of Shur and they went three days journey in the wilderness and found the water. So how long has it been since the parting of the Red Sea? Three days, okay? So three days have gone by and they don't find any water. Now obviously, I don't believe that, they probably may have some water on them to a certain extent. It doesn't say like they were completely out of water, but more so they didn't find any water, okay? Because obviously you can only go without water for so long and all that. But in verse 23 here it says, And when they came to Merah, they could not drink of the waters of Merah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Merah. So basically that's how it got its name. So when you're reading the story like in Exodus here, a lot of times you'll see stuff that's like, they'll talk about like they had manna for 40 years. It's like, wait a minute, we haven't got that far yet. What you have to understand is that Exodus was written after that, okay? So I believe you're dealing with like at the end, like where Moses is about to die is where you're probably getting this stuff written down. So it shows you that Exodus is obviously written after that. But that being said is that this place is called Merah and it's interesting, sometimes it'll just state the name before it even gets the name. But this is why it got its name. Go to Ruth chapter one. And I'll just show you another verse that kind of shows you that Merah or Mara, that it means bitter, okay? So that makes sense. And that's just what that name means. So this is the story obviously with Naomi and Ruth. And basically she comes back in, her husband died, her two sons died. She's coming back in empty essentially. So, but it says in verse 19, so they too went until they came to Bethlehem and it came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them and they said, is this Naomi? And she said unto them, call me not Naomi, call me Mara for the almighty had dealt very what? Bitterly with me. So you see why it's named that way and the Bible does this all the time where it'll say a name and it'll say why it's called that. And that's where it's giving you the definition, okay? So what does Mara mean? Bitter, okay? So that's why it was called bitter. The waters were bitter. Why is Naomi saying that she wants to be called Mara? Because the Lord dealt bitterly with her, okay? Now go back to Exodus chapter 15, Exodus chapter 15 and verse 24. And so three days go by and they're murmuring against Moses. It's always interesting to me too where it's like they murmured against Moses. And then it'll be like they murmured against Moses and Aaron. It's like man, just keep beating up on the messenger. I mean, the idea here is that it's like, well, they're just doing what God told them to do. They're just telling you what God told them to tell you, right? And so this gets into the idea of like a preacher and how like the preacher will get beat up for just stating what God says. And so there's nothing new in the sun but this is something that you gotta think about obviously with church too. Like if I preach something and I step on toes, I'm the messenger, right? Don't beat up on me because it's what the Bible says. But in verse 24 there, it says, and the people murmured against Moses saying, what shall we drink? Okay, so I mean, you can understand. I mean, it's not like you're out in left field and be like, why are they complaining? It's only water. You know, like obviously you can understand how that would be a stressful situation. Like, are we gonna die of thirst out here? Like we're out in the middle of nowhere, right? The waters that are here, they're all bitter. We can't drink this. But there's gonna be a miraculous thing that happens here. In verse 25, it says, and he cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed 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. Okay, so talking about God proving them there and the idea that they're murmuring against the man of God, but they're also murmuring against the Lord, essentially, and he's gonna prove them with this miracle here. And it says, and he 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 will 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. You know what's interesting about, when you go through chapter 15, 16, 17, 18, and going into 19, where, chapter 19 is really where you see him saying, this is the covenant that I'm gonna make with you if you keep my commandments, if you keep my statutes, that there's like stuff sprinkled in there about what they're gonna be keeping and how this covenant's gonna be done because you'll see in this chapter, he's talking about like, if you keep my commandments, these diseases aren't gonna come upon you. That's brought up later in the law, as far as them as a nation, that I'll bless you if you keep my commandments, but I'll curse you if you don't keep my commandments. It's kinda like this little preview into the covenant that he already made with them. And it's kinda interesting because he's basically showing you you're already in this covenant. I haven't given you all the information yet, but I'm kinda giving you the information right now, but you're already in this covenant. The moment he took them by the hand of the land of Egypt, chapter 16, when he's dealing with the manna, he's gonna be talking about the Sabbath, which he hasn't even told, you know, like he hasn't got the 10 commandments where he's saying keep the Sabbath, but he's gonna mention that because they're already in that covenant even though they haven't gotten it written down on the tablets, all that going on there. So I just think that's interesting on how it's kinda like giving you these little bits and pieces before you even get to that point where he's stating it all out, okay? Now, so he makes the water sweet with the tree. Now, you know where I'm probably gonna go with this, but obviously there's a lot of spiritual things that are going on with this. I mean, the next chapter we're dealing with the manna, the bread that came down from heaven. If you don't think I'm going to John chapter six, then you're crazy when I get to that chapter. But in this, how many days did they go until they got to the bitter water? Three days. What is the tree? What do you think the tree would represent if the tree took away and made the bitter water sweet? So look at the James chapter three. When I think of bitter waters and sweet waters, I automatically think of James chapter three, but I want you to see how bitter waters are associated with iniquity, okay? I'm not saying that the ocean is inherently wicked, but obviously what it pictures. But obviously the ocean is kind of useless when it comes to drinking water, right? I mean, it's all this water, but you can't drink it unless you boil it. But in James chapter three and verse five, it says, "'Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts with great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. The tongue is a fire in a world of iniquity." So it's talking about how your tongue is a world of iniquity. "'So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and seteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell.'" Then it says, "'For every kind of beast and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind notices, but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.'" So we got the picture here that the tongue can be a world of iniquity. It can be unruly evil, deadly poison. Then he's gonna give some examples of what he means by this, because he's talking about what's being said, what's coming out of your mouth, right? And it says in verse nine, "'Therefore, bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?'" So we're talking about which one do you think's the bad water here? So when you're thinking about that, what would that apply to? The blessing would be the sweet water. The curse would be the bitter water. It says, "'Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear all of berries, either of vine figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.'" Okay? So when you're dealing with the bitter water, what are you dealing with? Salt water. And obviously the sweet water would be fresh water. But when you're dealing with this, you're dealing with a blessing or cursing. But when you're dealing with the cursing, you're dealing with iniquity. You're dealing with unruly evil, right? We're not talking about like righteous indignation or a righteous curse upon somebody. We're talking about obviously a wicked cursing, right? Cursing somebody, cursing your father and mother, you know what I mean? Like things like that that would be wicked to do, okay? And so I just want you to see that the bitter water would represent iniquity, essentially, it represents sin. Go to 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 2 and verse 21. So what would the tree represent? Well, I believe obviously the tree would represent the cross. And the Bible uses that terminology, actually a lot dealing with Jesus dying for us is him hanging on a tree. And notice in 1 Peter 2 and verse 21, it says, "'For even here unto where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.'" Interesting enough that obviously you're dealing with the sweet water and the bitter water coming out of the mouth, right, as far as what's coming out of your tongue or whatever. But it says in verse 23, it says, "'Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.'" You see how the tree would represent the cross, right? And obviously that when he was on the cross, the sins, our sins, he bore in his body on the tree. So when the tree was put into the bitter waters, you know what that did? It took all the bitterness out. And it was put onto the tree, if you will. And obviously that would represent how Christ took that. Go to Galatians chapter three, Galatians chapter three, and verse 10, Galatians chapter three and verse 10. Galatians chapter three and verse 10, it says, "'For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, curse is every one that continueth not in all things, it is written in the book of the law to do them.'" Verse 11, it says, "'But that no man is justified by law in the sight of God, it is evident for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.'" Notice this being made a curse for us, for it is written, "'Cursed is every one that hangeth on the tree.'" So this is used a lot. And actually, you know, the book of Acts talks about how they hang them on the tree. So the idea that this tree is used in this story is not an accident, okay? They go three days journey into the wilderness, can't find any water, okay? And obviously you can get into the water of life, and taking the water of life freely, and, you know, the wells of, we just saw the, you know, the wells of salvation, right? And all that is true when you're dealing with that, okay? So that picture there, I think perfectly represents salvation, and how, obviously, the Passover pictures salvation. Them, him destroying all their enemies in the sea would picture salvation, right? This pictures salvation. The manna coming down from heaven is gonna picture salvation. The water coming out of the rock after that is gonna picture salvation. You see how all this stuff is representing salvation? So when people think, well, you know, how would they know? And, you know, but it's on every page. When you're reading through this, I mean, Genesis is just over, and over, and over, and over again. You get in Exodus, it's like, I'm trying to find a chapter where it doesn't mention anything about picturing what Jesus did. So, you know, the law and all the prophets spoke of him. And so, but the last thing here, the last verse in Exodus, chapter 15, verse 27, and this probably deserves a whole sermon for itself. They traveled for three days in the wilderness, and they were murmuring against Moses because they came to this place that didn't have fresh water. Now, God proved them there and made it fresh, made it sweet, made it able to drink. But notice in verse 27, and they came to Elam where there were 12 wells of water and three score and 10 palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters. So, you know, it's this interesting thing that, you know, sometimes when you're going through trials and tribulations, you're just like, you know, I can't take it any longer, but it's just like, if you just went one step further, you'd be at, you know, salvation. And it's interesting because that, I don't know how far away that was, it didn't really tell us, like, the next day they went in there. But notice 12 wells of water. There's one for every tribe, right? You could also look at the fact that there's 12 wells of water, and there's how many palm trees? 70 palm trees. You could look at the fact that there's 12 tribes of Israel, but then there's the 70 elders that are established, and obviously they fear and don't want to hear the word of God. You could also think about that there's 12 apostles that he sent out two by two, but then there was 70 others that he sent out two by two. That's just coincidence, though. Like, all that's just coincidence, none of that. You know, man wrote the Bible. But I think this deserves a whole sermon for itself on being patient. Because you never know, it could be right at the door. You could be really close to those wells of water and those palm trees, and you're dry in the wilderness with no water. And I just always find it funny. I don't know why that's the way I look at it, but I always find it funny that they're just like, we're gonna die out here. You know, like, why'd you bring us out here? And they're murmuring. And then it's just like, boom, wells of waters. And I just wonder how close that was, right? But God proved them and gave them that water where they were at. But I just wonder how close that mara is to Elam. You know, was it just a hop, skip and a jump? It's just like, just over the hill and boom, there's the palm trees, there's the wells of water. And if they just would have stopped complaining and just kept going like they should have gone. And so it's a lesson to be learned there, but I'm gonna leave that for a sermon for another day on really getting into passages about that. And because it's something we all need to remember that sometimes we don't see the forest through the trees. We don't see necessarily the good times past that hump of tribulation, if you will, and the blessings that will come after that. We just keep going forward and just having patience. And, you know, my family, thinking of me up here preaching about patience, they're just like, man, what happened? Because growing up, I was not the definition of patience by any stretch of the imagination. But that's obviously what the Lord's for. The Lord can give you patience and obviously you need to pray for it. But let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you today and thank you for your word. Thank you for the book of Exodus and these stories that we can learn and be admonished from. And Lord, we pray that you to help us to glean everything we can from it. One, to learn the stories, but also to use them in our lives and apply them to our lives, ultimately to bring glory to your name. And Lord, we just thank you for these passages and we love you and pray to be with us throughout the rest of this week in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Everybody, they will come and sing one more song and that will be dismissed. All right, take your song books and turn to song 319. Song 319 in your song books, if you would stand, we'll sing just a closer walk with thee. Song 319. I am weak but thou art strong. Jesus keep me from all wrong. I'll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to thee.