Exodus 15:25

“And he cried unto the Lord, etc.] Or prayed, as all the Targums, that God would appear for them, and relieve them in their distress, or, humanly speaking, they must all perish: happy it is to have a God to go to in time of trouble, whose hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that he cannot hear! Moses knew the power of God, and trusted in his faithfulness to make good the promises to him, and the people, that he would bring them to the land he had swore to give them: and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet; what this tree was is not known; if it was in its own nature sweet, as the author of Ecclesiasticus seems…”

“the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet--Some travellers have pronounced this to be the Elvah of the Arabs--a shrub in form and flower resembling our hawthorn; others, the berries of the Ghurkhud--a bush found growing around all brackish fountains. But neither of these shrubs are known by the natives to possess such natural virtues. It is far more likely that God miraculously endowed some tree with the property of purifying the bitter water--a tree employed as the medium, but the sweetening was not dependent upon the nature or quality of the tree, but the power of God (compare Joh 9:6). And hence the "statute and ordinance" that…”

“A tree ... - The statement points to a natural agency, but the result was manifestly supernatural. He made ... - The Lord then set before them the fundamental principle of implicit trust, to be shown by obedience. The healing of the water was a symbol of deliverance from physical and spiritual evils. return to 'Top of Page'”

“And he cried unto the Lord - It is the greatest relief of the cares of magistrates and ministers, when those under their charge make them uneasy, that they may have recourse to God by prayer; he is the guide of the church's guides, and to the chief shepherd, the under shepherds must on all occasions apply themselves: And the Lord directed Moses to a tree, which he cast into the waters, and they were made sweet - Some think this wood had a peculiar virtue in it for this purpose, because it is said, God shewed him the tree. God is to be acknowledged, not only in the creating things useful for man, but in discovering their usefulness. But perhaps this was only a sign, and not a means of the…”

“15:25 See 2 Kgs 2:19-22 for a similar incident.”

“cried: Exo 14:10, Exo 17:4; Psa 50:15, Psa 91:15, Psa 99:6; Jer 15:1 a tree: Kg2 2:21, Kg2 4:41; Co1 1:18 a statute: Jos 24:21-25 proved: Exo 16:4; Deu 8:2, Deu 8:16, Deu 13:3; Jdg 2:22, Jdg 3:1, Jdg 3:4; Psa 66:10, Psa 81:7; Pro 17:3; Jer 9:7; Pe1 1:6, Pe1 1:7 Exodus 15:26”