The experience of the children of Israel at Marah exposed them and tested them, and they realized how much bitterness there’s in the environment and in their being; as a result of Moses crying out to God, He showed him a tree which he cast into the bitter waters, and they became sweet.
In our Christian experience this is a type of experiencing the cross of Christ which tests us and exposes us, and as we apply the cross of Christ and live a crucified life, the bitterness in our being and in our circumstances is changed to the sweet waters of the Lord’s presence.
After the experience of Marah, the Lord led His people down to Elim – not “up” to somewhere, but still down to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees (Exo. 15:27).
After the experience of the cross, we have the experience of resurrection; death leads us to life, and the experience of Christ’s crucifixion issues in the experience of His resurrection. However, we may want God to lead us “up” after we experience the cross, but He still would lead us “down” to Elim to experience His resurrection.
In particular, the experience at Elim refers to experiencing the resurrection life growing (the palm trees) and flowing (the springs of water) for the carrying out of God’s ministry.
The palm trees signify the victory of the evergreen life that is flourishing, rejoicing in satisfaction, and victorious over tribulation; where palm trees are mentioned in the Bible there’s victory, life flourishing, and rejoicing.
The springs of water in the Bible typify life that flows out God in resurrection into His chosen people, flowing into them and out of them for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Our God is a flowing God: He flows from eternity past and into man as living water to become in man a spring of living water flowing with man into the New Jerusalem for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Hallelujah, in resurrection the divine life is flowing and growing to mingle God with man for the accomplishing of God’s eternal purpose and administration!
The Experience of Elim: Twelve Springs of Water and Seventy Palm Trees
After the people of Israel experienced God as their Healer at Marah, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters (Exo. 15:27). Elim means “mighty ones”, “strong ones”, or “great trees”. The Bible doesn’t say much about what the people of Israel did at Elim, but it says that there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees.
Israel’s experience at Elim is a picture of the resurrection life; after experiencing the healing of the bitter waters at Marah, we are led by the Lord to experience His resurrection life.
A spring in the Bible signifies life that flows out of God in resurrection into His chosen people; in John 4:10 the Lord offered to give the Samaritan woman living water if she would just ask Him. If we ask the Lord to give us to drink, He will give us living water in resurrection!
In John 4:14 we see how the flowing Triune God enters into us as living waters and flows out of us as springs of waters of life into eternal life, the totality of which is the New Jerusalem! As a spring of water, God flows in Christ as the Spirit in resurrection to quench our thirst and water us, then He flows out of us into others to water them also (see John 7:38-39; Rev. 22:1).
The palm trees signify the victory of the evergreen life that is flourishing (Psa. 92:12), rejoicing in satisfaction (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15), and victorious over tribulation (John 12:13; Rev. 7:9). The righteous men will flourish like a palm tree – Lord, may we flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon!
The palm trees were used in the feast of tabernacles, signifying the evergreen life that is rejoicing in satisfaction. Finally, in Rev. 7:9, the overcomers have palm tree branches in their hands: they were victorious over tribulation undergone for the Lord’s sake. Hallelujah, in resurrection we enjoy the flowing divine life of God and the growing evergreen life that flourishes, rejoices, and is victorious!
The number twelve in the Bible signifies the mingling of divinity (signified by number 3) with humanity (signified by number 4) for the complete and perfect carrying out of God’s administration eternally (Rev. 21:12).
There are twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples, twelve months in one year, and number twelve is everywhere in the New Jerusalem as seen in Revelation; the number twelve signifies the mingling of divinity with humanity for the complete and perfect carrying out of God’s administration eternally. Twelve springs of water signifies that God as living water is flowing into us, His chosen people, to be mingled with us for the purpose of accomplishing His administration.
Seventy is composed of seven times ten; seven signifies perfection and completion in time dispensationally (not eternally), and ten signifies fullness. In the book of Revelation there are seven churches, seven golden lampstands, seven Spirits, seven lamps of fire, seven eyes, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. All these sevens are related to God’s dispensation in time; in eternity they all are replaced by number twelve.
Seventy as ten times seven signifies completion and perfection in time for God’s dispensation in full. Seventy palm trees signify that there’s a fullness of God’s dispensation in time, and we enjoy this fullness and completion and perfection in resurrection. Wow, Hallelujah for such an experience in resurrection!
God’s People Carry out His Ministry by His Flowing and Growing Divine Life in Resurrection
May the Lord enlighten us to not only understand and enjoy the significance of the twelve springs of water and the seventy palm trees at Elim but also enter into this experience in resurrection today.
The twelve springs at Elim signify God as living water flowing into us as His chosen people to be mingled with us for the accomplishing of His eternal administration, and the seventy palm trees signify God as life growing in us to carry out His administration dispensationally to express the riches of the divine life and its victory.
This means that God is flowing into us as living water to be mingled with us for the accomplishing of His eternal administration, and He is growing in us as the divine life in resurrection to carry out His administration and express the riches of His divine life and its victory.
If we put these two together – twelve springs and seventy palm trees – in our experience, they signify that we as God’s people are to carry out His ministry by the flowing life (signified by the twelve springs) and the growing life (signified by the seventy palm trees).
In the Bible there are two cases mentioning twelve and forty: in Exo. 24:1 and 4 there are the seventy elders of Israel and the twelve tribes of Israel, and in Luke 9:1 and 10:1 the Lord called the twelve disciples and appointed seventy others. In both cases the numbers twelve and seventy are used to indicate that the Lord’s people carried out His ministry, which in the picture of Elim is done by the flowing life and the growing life in resurrection.
Hallelujah, we as God’s people are to carry out God’s ministry in resurrection by the flowing life and the growing life to minister life into people. When we care for others we need to first have our inward being touched by the cross so that any bitter waters would become sweet, and second we need to minister to them in resurrection by the flowing and growing life of God.
Lord Jesus, lead us from Marah to Elim to experience the growing and flowing divine life in resurrection. Make us those who have any bitterness and sickness dealt with by the cross and who minister life to others in resurrection. Lord, we want to experience You and enjoy You as the living water flowing into us to be mingled with us for the accomplishing of Your eternal administration. Lord, grow in us as the divine life in resurrection for us to carry out Your administration and express the riches of Your divine life and its victory. Praise the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msg. 31, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (1), week 7 / msg 7, The Experiences of Marah and Elim (you can buy this morning revival book here via LSM and here via Amazon).
- Hymns on this topic:
# I have come to the Fountain of Life, / A fountain that flows from above; / I have passed from the waters of strife / And come to the Elim of love; / I have drunk of the heavenly well, / In the depths of my being it springs. / No mortal can measure or tell / The gladness the Comforter brings. (Hymns #523)
# Drink the living water, / Rivers flowing free! / Water! Living waters! / Have Your way in me! / Daily increasing the growth of life in me, / For His glorious building and His recovery! (Song on Rivers of Living Water Flowing)
# By Thy life and by its flowing / I can grow and be transformed, / With the saints coordinated, / Builded up, to Thee conformed; / Keep the order in the Body, / There to function in Thy will, / Ever serving, helping others, / All Thy purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #840)
About aGodMan
Through the help of the picture…at Elim we see that resurrection life includes twelve springs and seventy palm trees. It includes life flowing in a perfect and complete way to carry out God’s administration for eternity. It also includes life growing to carry out God’s administration to express life that is flourishing (Psa. 92:12), rejoicing in satisfaction (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15), and victorious over tribulation (John 12:13; Rev. 7:9)….[Palm trees] signify rejoicing in life’s satisfaction and victory over tribulation. Eventually, resurrection life carries out God’s ministry both dispensationally in time and eternally. (Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, p. 365)