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Hello again! This is my favorite time of year, when temperatures begin to drop in the northern hemisphere, American football starts, and there’s still enough daylight to get in an after-dinner walk in my neighborhood before dark! I hope you’re able to enjoy some of the beauty of the new season wherever you are!

 Last Week’s Work

I believe the Spirit made it clear to me that I should concentrate my study on the Wow! about the LORD testing Israel and giving them three specific rules. The verse also identifies the LORD as Healer, which fits nicely into our study series for this year, but those commands are what made me sit up and take notice. Last week I noticed two of them are directives to listen. But this week, the Spirit used the other command, do that which is right in [God’s] eyes, to remind me again of my previous study of Ruth and its setting at the time the judges ruled. In that same week, our pastor preached from Judges, citing its repeated refrain,everyone did what was right in his own eyes. I remember that statement well: it seems to be the very opposite of the LORD’s command in Exodus 15:26. I was WOW!ed all over again and ready to start mining this passage for characters, locations, and timeframes!

WHO (CHARACTERS)

I noticed four characters mentioned in this passage:

• Moses, who made Israel journey into the wilderness of Shur. He cried to the LORD about the bitter water and obeyed the LORD’s command to throw the log into the water.  
• Israel, the people who followed Moses to Marah and grumbled about the bitter water there. They were given a statute and rule (listen and obey) and were tested by the LORD.
• The LORD, who showed Moses the log and commanded him to use it to make the water sweet, who promised He would spare Israel from Egyptian plagues if they would listen and obey, and who revealed Himself as the LORD, your healer.
• The Egyptians, who suffered diseases at the hands of the LORD.

WHERE (LOCATIONS)

• Red Sea: where Moses and Israel left.
• Wilderness of Shur: the region Moses and Israel entered.
• Marah, also referred to as there: the place where Moses and Israel couldn’t drink the bitter water, and where the LORD “healed” the bitter water, made a statute and a rule for Israel.
• Elim: where Moses and Israel journeyed next, a place with plenty of water and lots of shade.

WHEN (TIME FRAMES)

The single time phrase I noticed was three days. This was the amount of time Israel walked from the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur. I don’t know about you, but I can barely go three hours without a drink of water (and a restroom!), let alone three days!

Dig-In Challenges

Here’s my plan for this week:

1. PRAY the prayer I wrote last week before I study. Then I’ll…
2. MINE: Look for repeated words or phrases in this passage and check for synonyms or pronouns that refer to the same concepts.
3. MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) in the passage.
4. MINE: Note any lists (3 or more similar items) mentioned in Exodus 15:22-27.
5. Record what the Spirit prompts so I can use it in Steps 4 and 5.

Remember, you can download this printable summary of the DISO process for more specific instructions. I’ll share what I discover with you next week, so I hope you’ll join me then.

Next week I’ll be unable to post my results from home at my usual day and time, so I’ll post them early (hopefully) or as soon as I can. Either way, they should be available no later than Monday, October 5.