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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?"
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
The Lord answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink."
So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
Exodus 17:1-7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we start our study of Exodus, chapter 17, we see a common problem rise back up to the forefront. For after facing yet another challenge on their way to Canaan, the Israelite people fail to place their trust in God to provide their needs, resorting again to openly complaining to Moses about their circumstances. Look again at these first seven verses of this chapter:
The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?"
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
The Lord answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink."
So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
Here, we once again find God’s people concerned about water.
You may recall the first time this issue came up. In that instance, the traveling group of Hebrews had come upon a water source but couldn’t drink it because of its bitterness. Desperately thirsty, they grumbled to Moses and when he came to the Lord with the matter, He showed the Israelite leader a piece of wood that sweetened the water and made it drinkable once placed in it.
That was then and this was now though. For this time, there was no pool of water, or any piece of magic wood, but the complaints of the Israelite people were all the same. Sadly, no matter how many miracles they had witnessed God perform up to this point, which included the aforementioned wood as well as the quail and manna from Heaven, the people of God refused to just trust that He would take care of them, even though He had done so every step of the way after they departed Egypt.
Amazingly, this led to the Hebrews considering this question:
"Is the Lord among us or not?"
As we look at our passage today, it becomes obvious that Moses has become completely frustrated by the Israelites’ faithless attitude. We see it through his words as he cries out to God saying:
"What am I to do with these people?"
These words caused me to pause for a moment and wonder if God didn’t feel the same way about the people of Israel…and possibly about us today as well.
For we too often allow ourselves to go down the untrusting road of the Israelites, failing to exercise faith in a God who loves us and has loved us, protects us and has protected us, guides us and has guided us, and provides for us and has provided for us. He has never failed to live up to His promise to never leave us nor forsake us or to give us a burden we couldn’t bear as long as we turned to Him for help. And He reveals to us miraculous works each and every day.
If you don’t believe the latter, here’s an example for you.
For think about how many babies are born daily. Each is nothing short of a miraculous work of creation, God’s awesome way of replenishing the population of His people as they are fruitful and multiply. Every single baby born began as nothing more than a single cell before developing and emerging from the womb as a living, breathing human being! Frankly, there isn’t anything more amazing than that to me and God truly does show us that He is indeed present and very active as He always has been.
These opening verses of Exodus 17 lead us to some good questions steeped in self examination:
Do we really believe and trust that the Lord hears our prayers and provides for us in accordance with His will for our lives?
Do we properly open our eyes to recognize the miracles He performs each and every day, in and around us?
Or do we choose instead to persistently complain about anything and everything, refusing to accept that God is going to act on our behalf in His perfect way and in His perfect time?
And even worse, do we too often think and behave as if God has somehow abandoned us, even going as far as wondering like the Israelites whether the Lord among us or not?
Friends, we can’t allow ourselves to bottom out when it comes to our faith for the truth of the matter is that the same Lord of ancient Israel is the Lord who is among us and with us now. He has never changed and still is performing incredible works of wonder all around us. All we need to do is to open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to realize and recognize Him at work. For whether He needs to make water flow from a rock or a child flow from the waters of a mother’s womb, either way, He is present and actively working in our lives and the lives of others. And so, there no need for anyone to wonder whether or not He is among us for He is right where He has always been, ever present with the people He loves and cares deeply for.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
