"The Impeachment of God" (Exodus 17:1-7)
Admit it. We're all grumblers.
We grumble about our low pay, our poor working conditions, our idiotic co-workers. If
unemployed, we grumble about the stagnant economy, corporate greed, the injury that forced us
onto disability.
We grumble that our husband leaves dirty socks randomly scattered throughout the house. We
grumble that our wives "save" us so much money every time there's a sale. We grumble that our
kids don't listen. That our parents won't listen. That our friends are all too eager to listen, then
sharing what we've said with others.
And, let's face it. We grumble against God. We might rightly grumble against the selfish
injustice of the world. But we also grumble against God. There's a story in the Bible about
God's people grumbling against Him. And what this says about us. It also tells us of God's
response to this grumbling. And what this says about Him.
Exodus 17 contains one of my most favorite stories about Jesus. Yes. About Jesus. We're most
definitely going to have a densely packed Bible message today. So, you most definitely want to
pop open your Bible and turn to Exodus chapter 17.
Exodus 17:1-7 says:
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.
2 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?” 3 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?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord,
“What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord answered
Moses, “Go out in front 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. 6 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. 7 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?”
PRAYER
To begin, I'm going to hit you with a pretty heavy theological thought. A thought that helps us
better appreciate more fully how Christ is the main character of Exodus generally, and of this
passage within Exodus particularly.
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You might think the only place to find "Gospels" is in the New Testament. However, in
studying Exodus we find that there are "gospels" even in the Old Testament. Let me clarify. I'm
defining the “gospel genre” as any document containing a divine covenant at its literary center,
that is also focused on the career and teaching of the Covenant Mediator.
This is exactly the situation with Moses in Exodus and Christ in the Gospels. Capturing this
connection between the Exodus Covenant Mediator and the Gospels Covenant Mediator is a key
to realizing the full meaning of Exodus 17:1-7. There are many reasons given to us for making
this connection.
Think of all the shared ideas in Exodus and in the Gospels that theologians might reference as
significant type-antitype distinctions. In Exodus the Covenant Mediator is Moses, while in the
Gospels the Covenant Mediator is Christ. In Exodus the mediating representative teaches his
people the Law, while in the Gospels the Mediator teaches His people the true meaning of the
Law. Have you ever noticed all of the foreshadowing of Christ from Exodus to the four gospels?
Both the Israelites and Christ head to Egypt for survival only to return to the Promised Land.
Israel spends forty years in the wilderness and Christ spends forty days in the wilderness. In the
Old Testament God reveals His Law on the mountain while Christ reveals the true nature of the
Law during His Sermon on the Mount. In Exodus there is prominence on the Sinai narratives
and the career of Moses, the Covenant Mediator. In the Gospels there is prominence on the
passion narratives and the career of Jesus, the Covenant Mediator.
In the New Testament Gospels the Covenant Mediator is also the Covenant Maker, and when
covenant sanctions are handed out, it is the Covenant Maker Who absorbs the punishment. In
Exodus 17:1-7 the Covenant Mediator, Moses, is not the Covenant Maker. Yet, careful study
unveils that even in the Old Testament the one true Covenant Maker is present. And He absorbs
the punishment when the people violate the sanctions of the covenant.
Are you following? If not, hang in there with me for a moment longer. It's all downhill sledding
from here. I've given you this introductory set-up so that as we continue the true meaning of
Exodus 17 might explode into your mind in a way that it never has before. This is exciting!
When reading Exodus 17:1-7 what do we find? What's going on? What's happening? In
Exodus 17:1-7 we actually see the overlap of two trials. These seven verses tell the story of the
chosen ones of the LORD turning against God and God rescuing them from such folly. If we
thumb back a few pages in our Bible we'll see that the people have been put to the test by God
for several chapters, and in their response to this test they prove to be guilty. They turn against
their saving God. To the One Who brought them out of bondage their response is to bring
charges against Him. In doing so they unwittingly bring charges against themselves. In this
passage, court is called into session, but not by whom one might expect. A guilty verdict is
rendered, but not against the one initially thought to be on trial. Punishment is executed, but not
upon the guilty party. This is an astounding portion of Scripture. It connects directly to the
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Good News of the New Testament and in dramatic fashion it illustrates the very center of
Redemptive History. No kidding!
Throughout history even those who are called God's people have shamefully "grumbled" against
Him and His Covenant Mediator representatives. As we'll be re-taught today, God's response is
to execute justice while at the same time lavishing love upon the "grumblers". He does this not
only by interceding through Covenant Mediator representatives such as Moses, but by even
acting as THE Covenant Mediator Himself.
The "grumbling" theme within Exodus is clear immediately from the very mindset of the people.
As they were freely traveling from slavery to the Promised Land they carried with them an
attitude problem. They were unhappy at being thirsty and they blamed God. They blamed God
not only for being thirsty, but blamed Him for even bringing them out of Egypt and into the
wilderness to begin with! Chapters 15 and 16 indicate that the people had been carrying around
this sort of "grumbling" spirit for some time, and it reaches its head in chapter 17. In fact, the
people appear to have begun "grumbling" almost immediately following their rescue from Egypt.
Right on the heels of the victory songs of Moses and Miriam. These songs are found in Exodus
chapter 15, and just three verses after the end of Miriam's victory song... just three verses later...
the people are said to be "grumbling". In verse 25 of chapter 15 we're told that the people are
being tested by God. Yet, they are also being provided for with purified water to drink. The
miraculous provision of God continues in the next scene, which comprises the whole of chapter
16. This is the well known story of God providing manna for food, which God sends (believe it
or not) as a continued testing of His people. (See verse 5 of chapter 16, and you'll see what I'm
talking about.) As they are tested, the people continue their "grumbling" through large swaths of
the narrative. (See verses 2, 7, 8, 9, and 11.)
In Chapters 15 and 16 God is leading His people. Providing for them. And testing them. Would
the people remain faithful and continue to place their hope and trust in God? Or would they turn
against God? In chapter 17 the people respond to this period of being tested by God with their
own test of God. By "grumbling" again against God the people show that they have failed the
test. This sort of "grumbling" against God is a protest against God. Their act of filing a protest
against God is proof that they have failed God's testing, and that they are deserving of standing
trial to face judgment. Ironically, the people are bringing charges against God, but in doing so
they are bringing charges against themselves. So, God convenes a courtroom scene and delivers
judgment. Convening the elders, assembling the people as witnesses, and bringing the staff of
judgment are all the stuff of a courtroom. And note that God calls all of this together. The elders
and everything else were not already convened. Moses was afraid he'd be stoned to death... yet
where's the evidence of a fair trial? Was Moses about to become the victim of a hastily gathered
and unlawful "trial" like Jesus would later be?
The words "grumbling" and "testing" lie at the center of understanding this portion of Scripture.
We know without question this is so because of the names Moses gives the place at the
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conclusion of the passage. "Massah" (
) and "Meribah" (
) mean "test" and "strife". At
the root of the word
(the word for strife) is the word
which carries with it the meaning
of "dispute", "complaint", "lawsuit". The lawsuit idea behind this word pops up all throughout
the Old Testament. Now, consider how often in the Old Testament the meaning of what
happened in a particular place is forever remembered by the naming of the place in memorial.
And the setting for Exodus 17:1-7 is memorialized in just such a way, driving home the point
that all people should remember this was the place where God tested His people and that their
sinful response was to strive against Him with a lawsuit. God was looking to see if the people
would follow Him even if it meant hardship, and the people did not want to follow in this way.
They challenged His leadership, even seeming to reject His leadership, and questioned His very
existence among them. In a sense, one might say that the people were impeaching God, but He
would not be removed from office. Ironically, He had every right to remove this mob from
being His people, but He did not.
Earlier this morning we read a portion of John's gospel account. Because there's a direct
correlation between Exodus and the Gospel of John. At the opening of John chapter 6 Jesus
miraculously feeds a crowd of five-thousand and later tells the people that He is the true manna,
the true bread from heaven, the true bread of life. This point, that Christ is the sustenance people
need, is amplified by three dramatic "I am" statements from Jesus. (See John 6:35, 41, 51.)
Then, astonishingly, we're told that Christ's "disciples were grumbling about this" among
themselves! In this "grumbling" the disciples did not go so far as to publicly level legal charges
against God as did the Israelites in Exodus 17. Yet, the disciples did have difficulty processing
the "hard teaching". So, Jesus asked if they wanted to abandon His leadership. They responded
"no" because they were reminded that by His Word He provides eternal life. The Israelites in the
desert were living through a time of "hard teaching/testing". They began doubting God's
provision. So, God reminded them with a sort of object lesson that He's the provider of eternal
life, sparing their lives, by accepting upon Himself their punishment.
These ancient people, even in the midst of God's provision, forgot that God provides. So, the
need to remember was re-taught over and over again. Yet the people of God would continue to
forget, and quickly. In Judges 2, just one generation after Joshua the successor to Moses, it is
clear that the nation of Israel had already fallen away from remembering God and following His
leadership. Deuteronomy 6:16 says: "Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah".
Despite this warning, harkening back to Exodus 17, the people forgot God and continually tested
Him. This is true for all of Israel, except for the perfect Israel (Jesus). This perfect
representative of Israel, the perfect Covenant Mediator, remembers God even when facing
hardship. In fact, Jesus quotes directly from Deuteronomy 6:16 when responding to His
temptation in the wilderness. Jesus passes His test in the wilderness, whereas the Israelites fail
their test in the wilderness. In Exodus 17, and throughout Redemptive History, we see a
reversing of God's testing. The people have failed to pass the test. So, God intervenes Himself
as the ultimate Covenant Mediator, and in the person of Jesus Christ God passes the test for us.
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His love is thus proven. But His justice must always be upheld. So, He executes judgment on
this very same Jesus, Who is Himself God, and Who is representatively present as the
punishment-bearer in Exodus 17:1-7.
Jesus is visible in Exodus 17:1-7 in several ways, especially when taking time to detail the
responses of Moses and God in the situation. In verse 4 Moses cries out (prays) to God, fearful
that the people are about to execute him. In the New Testament Jesus battles the same sort of
fear and cries out to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. Both men faced an unrighteous penal
act, one death by stoning, one death by crucifixion. Both the Covenant Mediator representative
and the Covenant Mediator find themselves woven into a narrative with a forensic theme. Both
men are wrongfully charged by the people and both cry out to God. Yet, Moses is spared as God
intervenes on behalf of the people. While Jesus is sacrificed as God intervenes on behalf of the
people.
In Exodus 17 God tells Moses to pass before the people, to go before the presence of the elders,
to use the rod of judgment to strike the rock upon which God was standing. With Christ it is
God Himself Who passes before the people (during the triumphal entry and on the road to
Golgotha). With Christ it is God Himself Who goes before the presence of the elders (in an
almost secret session of the Sanhedrin and then later before the crowds shouting "crucify him!").
With Christ it is God Himself Who takes the blows of the whip and the blows of the nails
hammered into the crossbeams after first passing through His body. In both situations, separated
by more than a millennium, God allows "the staff of His judgment" to be wielded against His
Son... Who is also God Himself. He not only allows it, but He called about the circumstances
that brought it about. From before time God foreordained that He would save His people
through the sacrifice of His Son. And in Exodus 17 it's God Who called the court scene together.
Moses feared being stoned, perhaps without the benefit of receiving a proper trial. Ironically, the
people are the ones who should've been on trial. Yet, it was God Who orchestrated the
courtroom scene to then Himself stand trial, almost appearing to concede to the myopic selfcenteredness of the people. And He takes the punishment due the people, suffering the blow
upon the rock.
Readers of the NIV have the power of this moment somewhat obscured from view. The NIV
translates the start of verse six: "I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb." Opting for
"by the rock" is unfortunate. It's not strictly wrong for the NIV to opt for the preposition "by", as
this is an acceptable rendering. However, the English equivalent "upon" is the overwhelmingly
most common way to translate this particular Hebrew preposition. (The word .) This is not a
totally fatal flaw for the NIV, as one can still see that it's Christ receiving the blow because He is
the Rock. (As we're told in 1 Corinthians 10.) However, some important nuance is lost when
opting for "by the rock" in lieu of "upon the rock". Consider, the title "Christ" is commonly used
in context of Jesus in His humanity. Certainly He is both God and man, and He suffers the blow
as both God and man. However, this point is illustrated more vividly when considering that God
is standing upon the rock while also being the very Rock itself. When the gavel of justice
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hammers down, God takes the blow in His deity and in the Son's humanity. Not only is Christ
struck as the Rock, but God is struck down as the One standing upon the rock. This all amplifies
the truth that God absorbs the punishment due His people, after which He then gives them water
for life (living waters).
Coming to fully appreciate what happens in Exodus 17 is crucial to truly and fully understanding
the depth of Moses' sin in Numbers 20, by the way. The two passages almost leave the
impression of being parallel, given their striking similarities. But while the similarities are
many, the differences are noteworthy. In both narratives the thirsty people of Israel bring a
complaint against Moses, and by extension bring a complaint against God. In Numbers 20 God
again sends Moses before the assembly with the staff of judgment in his hand, and once again
water pours forth from the rock. However, the narrative in Numbers 20 features different
articulation of the complaints, a significant difference in the prominence of Aaron, and the
absence of God saying He would stand upon the rock. The most significant difference is God's
specific instruction to Moses. Whereas in Exodus 17 God tells Moses to strike the rock, in
Numbers 20 God tells Moses to speak to the rock. Moses fails to speak to the rock. Instead he
speaks to the people and strikes the rock. What's more he strikes the rock not just once, but
twice! Keeping in mind that the New Testament reveals that striking the rock in Exodus 17 is
the striking down of God in sacrifice for His people, it is as if Moses is "re-sacrificing" God in
Numbers 20. The theological and soteriological implications are enormous when considering
that Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 teach that the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ was once for
all.
Actually, it seems probable that the writer of Hebrews wants us to call to mind the very moments
recorded in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. The book of Hebrews makes quite a point of comparing
and contrasting Moses with Jesus. And the rebellion in the wilderness following the Exodus
from Egypt is central to the Hebrew author's thinking when drawing attention to what "technicalspeak" might call the Moses-Jesus type-antitype. Quoting from chapter 3 beginning with verse
2:
He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s
house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a
house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but
God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”
bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as
the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our
confidence and the hope in which we glory.
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So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
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do not harden your hearts
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as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
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where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
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That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
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So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
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See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns
away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
“Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to
share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has
just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
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Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of
Egypt?
While Jesus is clearly positioned as the greater of the two, there is no doubt Moses is seen in the
New Testament as a precursor and forerunner of Christ. I've already pointed out some of the
similarities between Moses and Jesus, along with important distinctives which show Jesus to be
the perfect anti-type while Moses is the imperfect type. We talked about how Moses cried out in
prayer to God resulting in the death penalty being turned away from Moses; whereas Jesus cried
out in prayer to God, but the death penalty came anyway. Moses went before the people and
elders which led to his righteous vindication; whereas Jesus went before the people and elders
which led to His unrighteous conviction. Additional points of foreshadowing include having a
thirsty and hungry people (including Moses among them) given water and food in the wilderness
despite their rebellion; whereas a thirsty Jesus, in His righteousness, was given vinegar to drink
moments before being struck down on the cross, and a hungry Jesus in the wilderness said "no"
to turning stones into bread.
Themes of thirst and provision are clearly present here. And whether we realize it or not, what
God's people truly thirst for is God's loving kindness in rescuing them from the consequences of
their own covenant unfaithfulness. And the provision God's people receive is one of justice that
is delivered in such a way as to also deliver life to them.
As a quick aside, let's touch upon prayer. Note that the people did not go directly to God with
their complaints while Moses did. Moses illustrates what the trusting Christian does in the hour
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of trial: he turned to the Lord and asked for guidance. Moses faced or almost faced a trial with
respect to his claim of having been sent by God and having acted on God’s behalf. It is a trial
not unlike the trial of Jesus many centuries later. And both men respond to their trials with an
attitude of prayer.
Now heading down the homestretch, let's recap.
Exodus 17:1-7 presents a story from history in which God is placed on trial. God has been
testing the people to see if they would remain faithful or would turn against Him. In bringing
their charges against God, and God's Covenant Mediator, they proved to be unfaithful. So, the
people got what they wanted, a trial. However, it was God Who convened court, not the people.
It was the people who end up standing trial, not God. And yet, it was God Who received the
penalty due for the guilty verdict, not the sinful people. God's love and justice are on full display
as He's vindicated. Moses as Covenant Mediator (albeit a flawed one) stands as an example of
the one true Covenant Mediator, Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the people of Israel become a
negative example for the ages. At first the people seem to be making a challenge against Moses,
but they, in fact, prove to be making a challenge against God. The people demonstrate an almost
unbelievable level of disbelief, but Moses and God are vindicated. And in the process the people
are blessed, despite themselves, as God provides the water for life. Here are some words written
by A. W. Pink:
It was not when Israel were bowed in worship before the Lord. it was not when they were
praising Him for all His abundant mercies toward them. No such happy scene do the
opening verses of Exodus 17 present to our view. The very reverse is what is there
described. Israel were murmuring; they were almost ready to stone God’s servant; they
were filled with unbelief, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”. The giving of the
water, then, was God acting according to His marvelous grace. Where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. But, be it well noted, it was grace acting on a righteous
basis. Not till the rock was smitten did the waters flow forth. And not till the Savior had
been bruised by God was the Gospel of His grace sent forth to “every creature.” What,
my reader, is the response of your heart to this amazing and rich mercy of God? Surely
you say, out of deepest gratitude, “thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift”.
Here's what I hope you'll remember most and the lessons you'll apply to your life. This story
recorded for us in Exodus 17 helps drive home just Who is the unifying thread of Redemptive
History: Jesus Christ.
In this passage the illustrations are almost obvious. The people in the pews (and the one
preaching!) are the grumbling Israelites! Sometimes this grumbling is mere murmuring, other
times it rises to the level of bringing accusations against God. These complaints are not always
brought directly to God in prayer, but instead they take the form of complaints about God to
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others. Christians might sometimes even demonstrate blame of God by blaming church leaders.
Moses is a representative of Christ. Griping against him is griping against God.
However, the Christian people are also Moses! Christians are representatives of Christ to a lost
and fallen world. Like Moses, believers must seek God in prayer and obey God (as Moses does
in Exodus 17). Following Moses' lead, Christ-followers must also remember that they're guilty
of covenant unfaithfulness for failing to consistently follow God, but should also remember that
God has absorbed the death blow on behalf of His people and in the process He has given them
eternal life.
Believer's in Christ are rescued not because they're innocent, but because God has stepped into
history and saved them. He did so in the person of Jesus Christ Who became sin for His people
in the Gospel narratives. He is seen mediating in this very same way in Exodus 17 where the
people are found guilty in the trial, and God executes justice... only His justice is enforced
against Himself.
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are the very same God. This
one true God has been ever faithful to His plan for redeeming His people, and this plan has been
the same plan since the beginning of time. Humble gratitude, exceeding joy, and voluntary
obedience are the only responses that make any sense.
PRAYER
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