So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Three days without water in a dry wasteland, no light trial. They should have prayed; instead they attacked Moses and demanded he wring drink from God as if He were his servant. Unbelief is always proud, too stubborn to ask directly, so it commands through intermediaries.
AI summary
The people could hardly tear themselves from that triumphant shore, yet the pleasures of our way to Canaan must not delay us, though a wilderness lies ahead. God trains His people by want and disappointment in the creature, that they may turn to the Creator where true comfort alone is found.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 15:22-27
The waters at Marah were bitter indeed, so bitter that three days without water could not drive people to drink them. Some scholars place these among the brackish fountains Pliny and Strabo recorded along that coast, though modern travelers have found better candidates in the valleys near the Red Sea's shores. The name itself was given by anticipation, after the event revealed what those waters were.
AI summary