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Sweet and bitter waters

Joined
Apr 30, 2022
Messages
1,570
In the story of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt we read in Exodus 15:22-23 that after Moses brought the children of Israel from the Red Sea, and were 3 days journey in the wilderness they found no water. And they came to a place called Marah,(Marah= "bitter") but could not drink the waters because they were "bitter".

But after Moses cried unto the Lord, the Lord then told Moses what to do to make the bitter waters "sweet". Exodus 15:25;”And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him "a tree", which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were "made sweet": there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,”

I believe this Tree that was cast into the waters to make them sweet is a "similitude" of the "Tree of Life", which also speaks of the Word of Life; just as God’s words are shown "as sweet." Psalm 119:103;”How "sweet are thy words" unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

So if God’s Word is like a sweet blessing, the opposite could be said of "bitter words" as in a "curse." And we see this here James 3:10-11;” Out of the same mouth proceeds 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?

We also see this same sign of God’s Word given as sweet in Ezekiel 3:3;”Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. Which also brings us to another mystery of the sweet and bitter shown here in Revelation 10:10;”I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. This is the sign of the blessing of God’s Word becoming "a curse". And so you might ask why?

It all goes back to what the Lord told the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt, how if they would hearken to His Word then they would receive the "blessings" from it, but if they refuse to hearken to His Word it would then become "a curse" unto them.
Deuteronomy 30:1;” When all these "blessings and curses" I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations,”
Which dispersal also happened after Israel, in part, rejected their Passover Lamb in Jesus, which I also believe is why the Lord commanded them to eat the Passover with a "bitter herb". Exodus 12:8;”That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with "bitter herbs", and bread made without yeast.”

And also seen here Lamentations 3:15; “He has filled me with "bitter herbs" and given me gall to drink. This giving of gall to drink was shown in Jesus on the cross, which is a "similitude" of how the people would also "curse" the blessing sent to them in Jesus, by the "bitterness" of their own words. Matthew 27:34;”There they offered Jesus wine to drink, "mixed with gall"; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.”

So in effect the blessing of the Living waters were made "a curse" to them because they did not receive the Word of God sent unto them; just as it was in the days of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 3:7;” But the house of Israel "will not hearken" unto thee; for they "will not hearken unto me": for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.” So instead of receiving God’s Word and being "blessed", they would reject it and be consumed by it, just as the Lord told Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 5:14;”Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. This is all a sign of the "consumption" that would be decreed by the Lord as was also forewarned of in Joshua 24:20;”If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and "consume you", after that he hath done you good.”

This consumption by fire and water was also shown in the judgments determined on the third parts in the book of Revelation, even in the waters "made bitter" by Wormwood. Revelation 8:11;”And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made "bitter".

And why were they "made bitter"? Amos 5:7;”Ye who turn judgment to "wormwood", and leave off righteousness in the earth,”
 
In the story of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt we read in Exodus 15:22-23 that after Moses brought the children of Israel from the Red Sea, and were 3 days journey in the wilderness they found no water. And they came to a place called Marah,(Marah= "bitter") but could not drink the waters because they were "bitter".

But after Moses cried unto the Lord, the Lord then told Moses what to do to make the bitter waters "sweet". Exodus 15:25;”And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him "a tree", which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were "made sweet": there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,”

I believe this Tree that was cast into the waters to make them sweet is a "similitude" of the "Tree of Life", which also speaks of the Word of Life; just as God’s words are shown "as sweet." Psalm 119:103;”How "sweet are thy words" unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

So if God’s Word is like a sweet blessing, the opposite could be said of "bitter words" as in a "curse." And we see this here James 3:10-11;” Out of the same mouth proceeds 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?

We also see this same sign of God’s Word given as sweet in Ezekiel 3:3;”Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. Which also brings us to another mystery of the sweet and bitter shown here in Revelation 10:10;”I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. This is the sign of the blessing of God’s Word becoming "a curse". And so you might ask why?

It all goes back to what the Lord told the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt, how if they would hearken to His Word then they would receive the "blessings" from it, but if they refuse to hearken to His Word it would then become "a curse" unto them.
Deuteronomy 30:1;” When all these "blessings and curses" I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations,”
Which dispersal also happened after Israel, in part, rejected their Passover Lamb in Jesus, which I also believe is why the Lord commanded them to eat the Passover with a "bitter herb". Exodus 12:8;”That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with "bitter herbs", and bread made without yeast.”

And also seen here Lamentations 3:15; “He has filled me with "bitter herbs" and given me gall to drink. This giving of gall to drink was shown in Jesus on the cross, which is a "similitude" of how the people would also "curse" the blessing sent to them in Jesus, by the "bitterness" of their own words. Matthew 27:34;”There they offered Jesus wine to drink, "mixed with gall"; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.”

So in effect the blessing of the Living waters were made "a curse" to them because they did not receive the Word of God sent unto them; just as it was in the days of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 3:7;” But the house of Israel "will not hearken" unto thee; for they "will not hearken unto me": for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.” So instead of receiving God’s Word and being "blessed", they would reject it and be consumed by it, just as the Lord told Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 5:14;”Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. This is all a sign of the "consumption" that would be decreed by the Lord as was also forewarned of in Joshua 24:20;”If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and "consume you", after that he hath done you good.”

This consumption by fire and water was also shown in the judgments determined on the third parts in the book of Revelation, even in the waters "made bitter" by Wormwood. Revelation 8:11;”And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made "bitter".

And why were they "made bitter"? Amos 5:7;”Ye who turn judgment to "wormwood", and leave off righteousness in the earth,”
Psalm 64:3
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitterwords:

Proverbs 5:4
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Jeremiah 2:19
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 4:18
Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

Lamentations 3:15
He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

Acts 8:23
For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Romans 3:14
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Hebrews 12:15
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

James 3:11
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

James 3:14
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

Revelation 8:11
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Revelation 17:15
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the ***** sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
 
The tree of life to heal the waters…

Genesis 3:22
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Genesis 3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Proverbs 3:13-18​

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.​

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”

Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Proverbs 15:4
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Revelation 2:7
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the treewere for the healing of the nations.( healing the waters)

Revelation 22:14
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
 
Prophecy of the healing of the waters ….

Ezekiel 47:1-12​

King James Version​

47 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”

Revelation 22:2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.( healing the waters)
 
The heavenly waters are the Living waters….

Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 17:13
O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of Living waters.

Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of Living water.

Zechariah 14:1-9​

King James Version​

14 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.”
 
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