“Marah & Manna” (Exodus 15,16)
Published 12 September 2025
Scroll down for “Lessons Learned…”
Designed for Personal Bible Study or for Bible Teaching
⚠️ The 5 Greatest Mistakes
- 1️⃣ Expecting celebration to remove the need for daily trust (15:1–3 → 15:22).
- 2️⃣ Drinking first and discerning later—rushing into “Marah” moments (15:23).
- 3️⃣ Forgetting the IF in God’s conditional promise (15:26)—healing is relational and responsive.
- 4️⃣ Letting hunger rewrite history (“pots of meat”—16:2–3) and distort memory.
- 5️⃣ Hoarding today’s manna and missing tomorrow’s mercy (16:19–20,27).
💥 The 5 Greatest Failures
- 1️⃣ Community grumbling that targets leaders instead of petitioning God (16:2–3).
- 2️⃣ Testing God while refusing His simple test (16:4–5).
- 3️⃣ Ignoring Sabbath instructions and finding none (16:27).
- 4️⃣ Treating Elim as destination rather than refreshment for the journey (15:27).
- 5️⃣ Neglecting memorials that teach the next generation (16:32–34).
🚫 The 5 Greatest Sins
- 1️⃣ Mental—unbelief that God can sweeten what is bitter (15:24–25).
- 2️⃣ Mental—nostalgia that sanctifies slavery (16:3).
- 3️⃣ Verbal—complaint culture that drowns gratitude (16:2).
- 4️⃣ Overt—disobedience in daily gathering and Sabbath rest (16:19–20,27).
- 5️⃣ Overt—refusal to heed God’s “IF” when healing is offered (15:26).
🌱 Great Spiritual Growth Applied
- 1️⃣ Carry the song into the desert—praise before provision (15:1–3,11,18).
- 2️⃣ Bring bitter to God—cry out and watch Him sweeten (15:25).
- 3️⃣ Embrace Jehovah Rapha—healing is relational obedience (15:26).
- 4️⃣ Practice “enough for today”—train your soul in daily trust (16:4–5,16–18).
- 5️⃣ Keep memorials—jars, dates, and stories that disciple your children (16:32–35).
🧭 Great Leadership Principles Gleaned
- 1️⃣ Name the place—Marah and Elim mark lessons as well as locations (15:23,27).
- 2️⃣ Teach the IF—clarity about conditions builds faith and health (15:26).
- 3️⃣ Turn grumbling into gathering—point people to God’s daily instructions (16:4–5).
- 4️⃣ Guard rhythms—double portion + Sabbath preserves joy and trust (16:22–30).
- 5️⃣ Install memorials—leadership that remembers, equips futures (16:32–35).