Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen people.
Speaker 2: Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of
Speaker 2: Israel to advance. Stretch forth your hand over the sea,
Speaker 2: and behold my wonders. I will triumph over Pharaoh and
Speaker 2: his armies. My glory will be revealed, and my name
Speaker 2: will be exalted among the nations. They will know that
Speaker 2: I am the Lord.
Speaker 1: The people fell back and beheld the red sea. Yielding
Speaker 1: to the will of God. The voice of the Creator
Speaker 1: tamed the dark and chaotic abyss. Moses turned his voice
Speaker 1: thundering over the stunned crowd.
Speaker 3: Run step into your freedom.
Speaker 4: You will feel the tip of my smear of faith.
Speaker 3: Woo, and your unnamed we'll bowl at my feet, and
Speaker 3: the bag bar our fair. He has a name. Now
Speaker 3: all of Egypt will remember.
Speaker 1: Moses lowered his staff and the waters fell like mountains.
Speaker 1: Pharaoh was crushed under the weight of the sea. The
Speaker 1: chariots splintered, the swords disappeared, and the rushing waters drowned
Speaker 1: out their screams. The oppressors of God's Chosen people were
Speaker 1: buried in darkness.
Speaker 5: When Pharaoh refused to bend our, God broke him. The
Speaker 5: Lord till every first born son in the land of
Speaker 5: Egypt for you.
Speaker 3: It is for this reason we redeem our sons.
Speaker 5: It is for this reason we will sacrifice to the Lord.
Speaker 5: We are afraid people, We are indeed people.
Speaker 3: We are the Chosen People.
Speaker 6: When the Israelites tasted the bitterness of Marah, they also
Speaker 6: tasted the sweetness of God's deliverance. Shalloh, my friends from
Speaker 6: here in the holy land of Israel. I'm ya l
Speaker 6: Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Welcome
Speaker 6: to the Chosen People. Let's begin. What do you do
Speaker 6: when life turns bitter, when hope dries up and the
Speaker 6: sweetness of the past is just a distant memory. Today
Speaker 6: we journey with the Chosen People as they wander the
Speaker 6: wilderness and encounter the waters of Marah. Water's too bitter
Speaker 6: to drink, and we'll ask ourselves, how do we find
Speaker 6: faith when the waters of our lives turn bitter? And
Speaker 6: can bitterness itself be a path to something sweeter?
Speaker 1: The sun was relentless, an ever watching eye of disdain
Speaker 1: and agony, who felt the back of his neck charring
Speaker 1: more and more with each passing hour. He looked back
Speaker 1: at the children of Israel, squinting against the harsh rays
Speaker 1: attempting to blind him. The people had left the Red
Speaker 1: Sea with light feet and hearts, that their countenance was wilting.
Speaker 1: After three days in the wilderness of Sure without any
Speaker 1: fresh water to quench their weary throats. He collective murmur
Speaker 1: could be heard throughout the crowd.
Speaker 4: Ah, that'd sell a thing here for for one drop
Speaker 4: of dew on my tongue.
Speaker 7: They've let us on our children straight into the Desert's
Speaker 7: no plan.
Speaker 1: What about our children?
Speaker 4: This was a half big plan. Moses and Aaron are fools.
Speaker 4: At least we had wells in Egypt.
Speaker 1: Who was among them, listening with agitated ears. He didn't
Speaker 1: share their growing disdain, but he did share their thirst.
Speaker 1: Who approached his mother with a report.
Speaker 8: I'm afraid that these people will turn feral if we
Speaker 8: don't find water soon.
Speaker 7: I share your concern, but we don't want to seem
Speaker 7: ungrateful to the Lord or Moses.
Speaker 8: I don't think we can skirt around it.
Speaker 3: Mother.
Speaker 8: It's better for us to bring the complaints to him
Speaker 8: rather than for him to discover them through a revolt.
Speaker 1: Miriam and her approached Moses, who walked a few paces
Speaker 1: ahead with Aaron.
Speaker 8: Lord Moses the people are growing weary from a lack
Speaker 8: of water. We have to find something soon.
Speaker 1: Moses nodded to affirm the concern. He pointed to the
Speaker 1: hills about half a day's journey east.
Speaker 3: When I was a shepherd, I often look for these
Speaker 3: types of slops. When hills collect in this pattern, they
Speaker 3: tend to host reservoirs. Tell the people we aren't too far, yes,
Speaker 3: Lord Moses.
Speaker 1: Who jogged back to the rest of the people. Miriam
Speaker 1: remained beside her brothers. Moses turned back to her and smirked.
Speaker 3: You have yourself a fine boy there, Miriam. You should
Speaker 3: be proud.
Speaker 7: Oh, I am proud. He's a strong young man with
Speaker 7: a good heart. He didn't inherit his mother's rough edges.
Speaker 3: His grandchildren's generation will grow up without the memory of slavery.
Speaker 7: It's a remarkable thought.
Speaker 9: Let's just make sure we make it to the next generation.
Speaker 9: We're only guessing there will be water over those hills.
Speaker 3: Faith, brother, Faith. Just because you can't see something now
Speaker 3: doesn't mean it doesn't wail on the horizon.
Speaker 1: The desert hills coiled around a deep ravine like a serpent.
Speaker 1: The sun charred every plant on the periphery except a
Speaker 1: small ring of green sloping down into a shaded pool.
Speaker 1: The children of Israel stood atop the hills looking down
Speaker 1: at the water. It was a deep indigo with a
Speaker 1: thin film of oil atop it. Aaron winced at the
Speaker 1: sight of it.
Speaker 9: It doesn't look very refreshing, does it.
Speaker 3: No, it doesn't. I wonder if it's good to drink.
Speaker 8: I'll inspect it.
Speaker 1: Lord Moses Hood descended the slope and approached the water, skeptically,
Speaker 1: taking his hand and bringing it to his face. He
Speaker 1: sniffed it, coiled from the stench, and then sipped some
Speaker 1: in his mouth. Immediately he spat it out, shaking his
Speaker 1: head in disgust. Who quivered and looked up.
Speaker 8: It's bitter, Lord Moses, there's no way we can drink it.
Speaker 9: Blast it. What are we going to do? These people
Speaker 9: don't have enough strength to travel any longer.
Speaker 1: The people all began to stir. A collective groan traveled
Speaker 1: like a wake from the front of the throng all
Speaker 1: the way to the back. Their murmurs rose to the heavens,
Speaker 1: a sigh of distrust and irritability. Moses feared the worst
Speaker 1: might come from their thirst.
Speaker 4: Hey, what are we supposed to do. Now, Moses, you're the.
Speaker 2: One who brought us out here.
Speaker 7: It's your responsibility. What are we going to drink?
Speaker 3: We're gonna die out here.
Speaker 1: Moses' eyes widened. Their incessant groaning pricked at his mind.
Speaker 1: He felt anger traveling up his spine and to his extremities.
Speaker 1: He clenched his staff tightly, feeling as if he might
Speaker 1: snap it in two.
Speaker 3: Ah, God, I spotted an entire sea for you people.
Speaker 9: As we speak.
Speaker 3: A cloud of smoke is before us to guide us
Speaker 3: to paradise. Yet here you are whining like children.
Speaker 1: Moses rolled his neck back and composed himself. He looked
Speaker 1: at Aaron on his right and Miriam on his left.
Speaker 3: Speak to them and tell them it will be all right.
Speaker 3: I'm going to speak with the.
Speaker 7: Lord Ah as you wish. But what do we tell them?
Speaker 7: Where will we find water?
Speaker 1: Moses ignored her and stormed off. His feet churned up
Speaker 1: dust as he stomped. He stood at the banks of
Speaker 1: the large bitter pool, gazing at it for ansis. It
Speaker 1: smelled sulfuric with a tinge of rotted algae. He whacked
Speaker 1: a stone with his staff and watched it travel upward.
Speaker 1: And PLoP into the water. Moses stared at the water
Speaker 1: some more, then at the staff in his hand. The
Speaker 1: Lord had performed mighty He wanders through this staff. Through it,
Speaker 1: seas had parted and rivers had turned to blood. Perhaps
Speaker 1: with it Moses could remove the bitterness from the water.
Speaker 1: He inched close to it and gently placed the tip
Speaker 1: of his staff into the pool. He watched the oils
Speaker 1: separate slightly. Moses removed his staff and crouched down to
Speaker 1: the water. Then, with a steady hand, he lapped upside it.
Speaker 1: His eyes widened, then he spat it out with utter disgust.
Speaker 1: Moses wiped his tongue on his tunic and spat whatever
Speaker 1: he could out. The water was still bitter. The same
Speaker 1: tactics hadn't worked. With frustrated breaths, he spoke to the Lord,
Speaker 1: what are we to do?
Speaker 4: Lord?
Speaker 3: We can't travel any further without water. You wouldn't have
Speaker 3: brought us out here without plans to vibe for us.
Speaker 3: What is your will? What do I do?
Speaker 1: Moses listened for the comforting, commanding, and terrifying voice that
Speaker 1: had often occupied his mind. For a moment, he wondered
Speaker 1: if the Lord would be silent now that he had
Speaker 1: freed his people, had he resigned to doing enough? Were
Speaker 1: they on their own?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: Was Moses doomed to lead without the guidance of the Almighty?
Speaker 1: Who was he without the voice? These wrestlings of doubt
Speaker 1: and fear often visited his mind. In his waiting, a
Speaker 1: shift in the air occurred. It was subtle, brief, and
Speaker 1: nearly unnoticeable, yet it rustled the branches of a small
Speaker 1: tree nearby enough to catch Moses's ear. It was a
Speaker 1: gingo tree with leaves of bright green and coarse roots.
Speaker 1: Moses remembered these trees from his wandering and median They
Speaker 1: were used by the healers for purification, ceremonies, and treating infections. Immediately,
Speaker 1: Moses rose to inspect it. He ran his hand over
Speaker 1: the jagged bark, sliding it upward towards a low hanging branch.
Speaker 1: He held it, pulled it, and broke a piece off.
Speaker 1: The sap tripped from where the branch had been broken.
Speaker 1: He looked around, seeing a log from a tree that
Speaker 1: had just fallen. The log was sweating sap from the
Speaker 1: harsh sun. It dripped with the amber substance to the
Speaker 1: floor and caramelized against the stones. A smile curled up
Speaker 1: Moses's withered and wrinkled face. He laughed and shook his head,
Speaker 1: turning his chin upward. The Lord didn't want to use Moses' staff.
Speaker 1: He wanted to remind Moses that this desert was not
Speaker 1: a death sentence. Within it were hidden treasures placed by
Speaker 1: him to provide for his people. The Lord had saved
Speaker 1: his children from death. He certainly wouldn't lead them to
Speaker 1: their death. Moses turned and waved to Aaron, Miriam.
Speaker 3: And her Arin Her over here, help me with this.
Speaker 1: Her was the first to descend, lifting a log with
Speaker 1: Moses and bringing it closer to the shore.
Speaker 3: Eh toss it in on three one two hurry.
Speaker 1: The log floated atop the dark water. HER's eyes widened
Speaker 1: in surprise as the oils dissolved and the inky water cleared.
Speaker 3: Ah erin try the water. What why me? Because her
Speaker 3: and I have tried it already. It's your turn.
Speaker 9: No matter what happens, I'm naming this place, Mara. The
Speaker 9: bitterness has played with my emotions.
Speaker 1: Aaron approached the water, cupped it in his palm, and groaned.
Speaker 1: He looked back at Moses and then at the water.
Speaker 1: He sipped, smiled, and took another. He cupped another palmful
Speaker 1: and threw some back at Moses.
Speaker 9: It's sweet as honey hoo.
Speaker 1: And Miriam hurried over to take a sip. They smiled
Speaker 1: and hugged, then bent down to drink some more. That's
Speaker 1: when the voice spoke again to Moses, the voice of
Speaker 1: a provider, protector, and sustainer.
Speaker 2: If you will diligently listen to my voice and do
Speaker 2: that which is right in my eyes, and give you
Speaker 2: to my commandments and keep all my statues, I will
Speaker 2: put none of the disease on you that I put
Speaker 2: on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord, your healer.
Speaker 1: Tears flowed down the cracks in Moses's face. He nodded
Speaker 1: and sprinted up the hill to the people. With a
Speaker 1: raspy and labored voice, he shouted to them, the.
Speaker 3: Lord is your healer, not your task master, long ane
Speaker 3: of the days of under a tyrant. If we listened
Speaker 3: to his voice and hear his commands and keep his laws,
Speaker 3: will not suffer the same fate as the Egyptians. You
Speaker 3: are right. The Egyptians perished from too much water. We
Speaker 3: will perish from no water. Not true my brothers and sisters,
Speaker 3: descend the hill, taste see for yourselves. Behold the power
Speaker 3: of our God.
Speaker 1: Moses gestured back to the water. The crowd peeped down,
Speaker 1: seeing the others dancing by the banks of the pool,
Speaker 1: they rushed with great force downward, gleefully sharing from the spring.
Speaker 1: The pool of Mara had been purified by the sap
Speaker 1: in the log, but what remained in the water was
Speaker 1: even more purifying. Within the water, where all the minerals
Speaker 1: needed to cleanse their stomachs of the sickness that often
Speaker 1: spread in the slums of Egypt, their bodies were also
Speaker 1: replenished from the salt in the water, and each person
Speaker 1: felt more powerful to press on The Lord provided healing
Speaker 1: and purified them from the inside out. He had turned
Speaker 1: their bitterness into sweetness, their despair into delight. The Lord
Speaker 1: is a god of restoration and healing. Moses's face beamed
Speaker 1: with delight. He looked in the distance, where the pillar
Speaker 1: of smoke still smoldered for guidance.
Speaker 3: Where you go, I will go. Now you stay, I
Speaker 3: will stay, whether it be on Mara's bags or the
Speaker 3: promised lands shores.
Speaker 1: After the children of Israel were replenished, They followed the
Speaker 1: Lord through the sharp ravines down into a valley tucked
Speaker 1: between two mountains or The place was named Elam, adorned
Speaker 1: with grassy patches for their livestock and palm trees for shade.
Speaker 1: Twelve springs were arrayed throughout, with seventy palm trees towering
Speaker 1: over them to provide shade. Each pool hosted a tribe
Speaker 1: of Israel that night. The people danced by the fire
Speaker 1: and enjoyed cups of boiled water and tea leaves. The
Speaker 1: Lord was among them, pleased to provide this moment of
Speaker 1: peace to his chosen people. Aaron sat beside Moses. Both
Speaker 1: of them stared at the fire's reflection in the water.
Speaker 1: Aaron smiled and nudged his brother.
Speaker 9: Do you ever have doubt, Moses?
Speaker 3: Of course I do.
Speaker 9: It doesn't seem like it. You seem to always be
Speaker 9: a steady pillar of trust.
Speaker 3: I doubt, Aaron, but I rarely have time for those
Speaker 3: doubts to take shame. The Lord has done what he
Speaker 3: said he was going to do time and time again.
Speaker 3: He fulfills his promises.
Speaker 9: Yes, but people have short memories, Moses.
Speaker 3: It will be part of your job as a leader
Speaker 3: to keep the Lord's goodness on the top of their.
Speaker 1: Minds Aron nodded, considering the weight of his manful. He
Speaker 1: was one of the people, but close to Moses. He
Speaker 1: constantly oscillated between their feelings of doubt and Moses' words
Speaker 1: of faith. Soon enough, he'd have to figure out how
Speaker 1: to bridge that gap in his own heart. And for
Speaker 1: the people.
Speaker 6: Wow, the Chosen People have crossed the Red Sea to
Speaker 6: freedom and have begun to wander the wilderness from slavery
Speaker 6: to freedom. But now they're concerned with surviving the brutal desert.
Speaker 6: It's here we find them perched and weary, at a
Speaker 6: place called Marah, which in Hebrew literally translates as bitter.
Speaker 6: They have at last found a spring to quench their thirst,
Speaker 6: but they.
Speaker 3: Can't drink from it.
Speaker 6: The Israelites complain that there's no good water to drink
Speaker 6: because the water at Marah is bitter. They're thirsty, and
Speaker 6: they start to get a little bit hopeless. So God
Speaker 6: commands Moses to take the branch of a certain tree
Speaker 6: to cast it into the water, and behold, the water
Speaker 6: becomes sweet. But what does this all mean, my friends?
Speaker 6: We've just witnessed God's miracles overpower Pharaoh's magicians. We've just
Speaker 6: seen the sea part at God's command. So why is
Speaker 6: this story so important? Well, Jewish tradition has several explanations
Speaker 6: for this story, but there's a very beautiful one that
Speaker 6: I want to share with you today. In Jewish thought,
Speaker 6: a tree represents the Torah, represents God's word, the Bible
Speaker 6: that we are studying right now. In the Bible, Proverbs
Speaker 6: three eighteen says quote, she is a tree of life.
Speaker 6: To those who uphold her, and those who hold her
Speaker 6: fast will be blessed. You want to hear it in Hebrew.
Speaker 6: This is how we say that verse in Hebrew, it's
Speaker 6: chaimh le macha zi kimba. In our last episode, we
Speaker 6: like in God's word to bringing shape and form into
Speaker 6: the world, just as the waters of the sea took form.
Speaker 6: And here Jewish tradition uses nature represents God's word too.
Speaker 6: It teaches that this proverb's tree is referring to the Torah.
Speaker 6: To the Bible. Yes, life's water can sometimes be bitter,
Speaker 6: but just as God commanded Moses to cast the tree
Speaker 6: into the bitter water and the water becomes sweet, He's
Speaker 6: reminding us that studying the Bible and observing its commandments
Speaker 6: can sweeten the bitter moments of our lives. The story
Speaker 6: is telling us today, when things are hard, turn to
Speaker 6: God and his word. And while we're studying this Bible story,
Speaker 6: there's a moment at the end that I'd like to
Speaker 6: look at now, at the end of verse twenty five,
Speaker 6: it seems a little bit strange. After the whole incident
Speaker 6: at Mara, the Bible tells us this quote. There the
Speaker 6: Lord issued a ruling an instruction for them and put
Speaker 6: them to the test end quote. What does the Bible
Speaker 6: mean by a ruling an instruction? Well, the Jewish ages
Speaker 6: suggests that even before the Chosen people received the Torah
Speaker 6: at Mount Zinai, some laws were actually given to them
Speaker 6: at the water of Marah, and one of those laws,
Speaker 6: according to tradition, was the law of Shabbat, of the
Speaker 6: Sabbath to keep the seventh day holy. You know, when
Speaker 6: I think of the beautiful, peaceful, spiritual, and sweet feelings
Speaker 6: that my family and I experience each week on Shabbat,
Speaker 6: I understand why the sages suggested that the Sabbath was
Speaker 6: one of those laws given at a place where the
Speaker 6: bitter waters turn sweet.
Speaker 1: For me.
Speaker 6: Despite life's problems during the week, despite the stress that
Speaker 6: I might feel, what gives me hope is that I
Speaker 6: always know that my family and I will be treated
Speaker 6: to the sweetness of Shabbat at the end of the week.
Speaker 6: It's a sweetness that began so long ago at the
Speaker 6: water of Marah. This ancient narrative speak to us today.
Speaker 6: What practical lessons can we draw from the waters of Marah. First,
Speaker 6: let's recognize that life's bitterness is inevitable. We all face
Speaker 6: moments when our water turns undrinkable, be it a sudden loss,
Speaker 6: a failed dream, or fractured relationship. In these moments, our
Speaker 6: initial reaction may be to question, to doubt, to complain,
Speaker 6: and that's okay. Our tradition teaches us to bring these
Speaker 6: raw emotions before God. But we have to make sure
Speaker 6: that that's not the end of the story, that it
Speaker 6: doesn't end there. Just as Moses turned to God, we
Speaker 6: too are called to seek his wisdom and our challenges
Speaker 6: to bring healing into our broken situations. In moments of bitterness,
Speaker 6: ask yourself, where is the tree? The lesson of Mara
Speaker 6: is timeless. Bitterness and sweetness are intertwined in every trial.
Speaker 6: There is an opportunity for redemption and transformation to be
Speaker 6: planted and to flourish and blessed where we are if
Speaker 6: we simply turn to God for instruction.
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with the Isle
Speaker 1: Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscript scribing to the
Speaker 1: Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dot Com production
Speaker 1: is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents.
Speaker 1: Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are
Speaker 1: the executive producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein,
Speaker 1: edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are
Speaker 1: voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan,
Speaker 1: Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced
Speaker 1: by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by
Speaker 1: Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier,
Speaker 1: Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team
Speaker 1: at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear
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Speaker 1: If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please
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