Welcome back! As I started refining my grasp of this passage, the Spirit led me to wonder where this incident falls in the general timeline of Israel’s departure from Egypt. I thought the reference to the diseases God inflicted upon the Egyptians might indicate their departure from Egypt was still fresh in their minds.

Last Week’s Work

LITERAL CONTEXT

As a matter of fact, Chapter 14 relates the story of their miraculous escape from Pharoah and his army (by crossing the dry bed of the Red Sea). And the text of Exodus 15 prior to the study passage records the songs the people sang as they worshipped God for annihilating their Egyptian enemies. 

WRITING TYPES

This text is narrative, and I believe it records actual events as God liberated the nation of Israel from servitude to the Egyptians and relocated the whole nation to what would later be known as Sinai.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The ESV Global Study Bible Introduction dates the Israelites’ departure from Egypt about 1446BC, and Moses is the primary credited author of it, as well as Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It’s also clear from the outline of the book in the introduction that this incident took place at the beginning of the Israelite’s journey away from Egypt.

The original audience for Exodus was the Israelite nation and their descendants, and it was written to preserve their history as a people.

INTERLINEAR RESEARCH

I was curious about the terms translated listen and give ear in my focus verse. The first reference is to the Hebrew term shama (H8085) is defined in the Lexical Summary section on biblehub.org as to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.). The entry for Exodus 15:26 specifically mentions obey as well.

Give ear is translated from azan (H238). There’s a topical discussion of the root concept that indicates it conveys the idea of listening with intent, discernment, and readiness to respond. Though the words are different, I think they say basically the same thing, that the Israelites were expected to listen closely to the LORD and obey Him.

What struck me most about this discussion is the importance of hearing God in the context of relationship. God doesn’t want to be a remote sovereign. He wants to be the One we turn to in pain and dis-ease. And that leads right into my examination of rapha (H7495), your healer. I discovered in the Topical Lexicon section of Biblehub this word always refers to the Lord’s work bringing wholeness where damage, disease, or disorder has intruded. As in this case, it doesn’t apply just to humans: the altar of the LORD, water, and land have also been healed by YHWH Rapha! This makes me think of God’s great love for us that even in the fallen world we inhabit, He heals (though sometimes this doesn’t look the way we want or expect it to!).

Dig-In Challenges

Here’s my study plan for the coming week if you want to work along with me:

1. PRAY, of course.
2. REFINE: Consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool [I’ll be going here] to find and read through the available cross-references for your focus verse(s) and log what the Spirit shows you.
   NOTE: For your study, follow the above link, then use the Prev or Next buttons below the verse text to go to your focus verse(s).
3. REFINE: Next, compare at least a few other translations of your focus verse(s) and write about what you find in your study journal. I’m planning to compare the ESV, AMP, NIV, NLT, and GNT versions starting with this biblehub.com page. After following this link, you can navigate to your verse(s) by entering the reference in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.
4. REFINE: Last, I plan to check a few commentaries on my focus verse, Exodus 15:26. If you already have a favorite study Bible or commentary, feel free to review it, too. If you don’t, I recommend bibleref.com if you’re new to the Bible or Bible study: it’s easy to follow, and you can find information about the whole book and certain passages. If you’re looking for something with more detail, try the commentary section of StudyLight.org. There, you can access multiple verse-by-verse commentaries on Exodus 15:22-27 by clicking the box for your focus verse, then clicking the name of the commentary listed immediately under the text of the verse you chose. I recommend you review more than one commentary and listen to the Spirit’s guidance on them.

I encourage you to do what you can this week to dig deeper into God’s Word. I know you’ll find immense treasure there. And I hope you’ll check in with me again next week!