Another Drink of Water?
February 21, 2016
Exodus 17:1-7
I am finding it fascinating to track the relational aspect of the children of
Israel with their God. As we continue our study of the life of Moses, we have
left Egypt and are headed to Mt. Sinai, where the LORD has promised that the
people will meet with God. We are almost there. In two weeks, we will be there.
This will be a peak, a high point. Everyone knows about Moses on Mt. Sinai,
meeting with God, receiving the 10 commandments written on two pieces of
stone.
But what I am finding fascinating at this stage is the state of the
relationship between the LORD and His people. They have not even met with
God yet, but their relationship with Him has already deteriorated substantially.
It is not good and it is getting worse. You would think it would be the opposite.
Knowing what we know, their relationship ought to be getting better and better.
They have seen His mighty hand. They had a front row seat to all the plagues.
He has delivered them from the hands of their enemies in the most miraculous
way imaginable. He split the sea so they could walk right through and closed it
up on their enemies. Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea.
He has put a physical sign of His presence ever before them, a pillar of
cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He was guiding them day and night. He
has provided drinkable water in the midst of the desert. He has provided meat
and manna, He continues to provide manna day after day after day. You’d think
that by now they would be warming up to this journey of faith. You would
think they would be thankful for His provision, trusting of His guidance,
placing all their needs before Him knowing that He will meet them in
spectacular and abundant ways.
But such is not the case. They get thirsty, they grumble. He provides, life
goes on. They get hungry, they grumble. He provides, life goes on. And today,
they get thirsty again. So what do you suppose they do? They not only grumble,
but the tension in the relationship is actually escalating. Follow along as we read
this short text. Take note of the feature word of the story. It gives us a clue as to
the state of the relationship. READ Exodus 17:1-7
So, what word stuck out? Of course, “quarrel”. So, we have progressed
from grumbling to quarreling. This is not good.
Main point: Picking a fight with the LORD is not good for your relationship
with Him.
Make sense? Of course it does. You ought not think you can bully the LORD.
Even if He shows you grace and mercy for the sake of His name, you must
know that it will affect your relationship with Him. He does not take too
kindly to bullying. And so it is here. The Israelites pick a fight with the LORD
and with Moses. The LORD does meet their needs, but at what cost? We will
see that as we get to Mt. Sinai. Their time with God there does not go as
expected. Their relationship has been damaged. The distance between them is
pronounced. How did they get to that point? You need look no further than
passages like this one. They picked a fight with their God. They tried to bully
Him.
So as we go through the text, I ask you to pause to examine your
relationship with God. How open and warm is it? Is there distance between you?
If so, what has caused it? I assure you, God is not the One who wronged. It is
not His fault. (2 parts)
I. “Entitled” people would rather complain than ask. vv. 1-4
Instead of living as a faith filled, grateful, humble, blessed, obedient
community, they were an entitled, whiny, argumentative mob, who thought they
knew better than their leaders, even when their leader was the LORD. I don’t
think it will be a surprise to see how this turns out. When you determine that
you know more than God, you end up dying in the wilderness. The blessing
reserved for you ends up falling on others.
v.1- 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, the journey continued. Notice that their travels were being directed by
the LORD. The wording here actually emphasizes the mouth of the LORD.
He was telling them where to go, where to set up camp, when to move to the
next camp. And so, among those moves, they camp at Rephidim. God said to
stop there. Right? Then we notice “there was no water for the people to drink.”
I think you already know at this point where it is all headed.
How should they have responded? I think it is clear that they should have
applied their past experiences to their present situation. I suggest they should
have gathered to pray, or even asked Moses to pray for them (as had been the
case before). If they had simply let their needs be known to God, how do you
think He would have responded? I think of the Sermon on the Mount,
(Matthew 7:7-11) where Jesus says,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks
finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if his
son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him
a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those
who ask him!”
This is the way the system has been designed to work. This is what a warm
and close relationship looks like. Is this how the Israelites responded?
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?”
2
The first term sets the course. They “quarreled.” They fought, they argued,
they picked a fight. Before it was grumbling, complaining, but now it has
escalated. They are fighting. You can’t see it in English, but the verb “Give” is
plural. That means the assumed subject is plural. YOU (meaning Moses and
Aaron, or probably Moses and the LORD) give us something to drink. Now,
those of us who are parents recognize the tone here. “Give us water to drink.”
That’s a command. That’s an order. Is that how you ask for things? What type
of relationship does this imply? How must they view Moses? How must they
view God?
It seems to me that they view Moses as their servant whom they can boss
around and God as their genie who is there to do their bidding. I picture Moses
trying to stem their rebellion, reminding them of the presence of God,
cautioning them from picking a fight with God. Moses knows God well enough
to know how that will turn out.
And so Moses replies to them with questions. Why are you fighting with
me? Why are you picking a fight with the LORD? Don’t you remember what
happens to people who fight with the LORD? Don’t you remember what
happened to Pharaoh? You act as if some blind guide has led you on a wild
goose chase in the desert. You see the cloud. He is guiding us. He will provide
for us. Calm down! That’s how I envision the conversation. But Moses’
reasoning was not successful.
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?”
3
They grumbled all the more. They repeated their complaints from before,
adding insult to injury by bringing in their children and livestock. Everyone,
everything will die of thirst. They were the “responsible” ones. They were
responsible for their children and livestock. I find it highly ironic and instructive
that indeed they would all die in the wilderness, but not from thirst or
starvation. Their children would be allowed to enter the promised land, but they
would not. Their rebellion would continue and escalate to the point where they
would not enjoy the benefits of God’s provision. They would ultimately be held
responsible for their words and actions. They would lose the fight they picked
with the LORD.
Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people?
They are almost ready to stone me.”
4
Notice that Moses positions himself apart from the people. He cries out
to God as He always does. He complains, but to the One who could do
something about the situation. He makes clear that his complaint is not with
God but with “these people.” How might this altercation end? We see here that
Moses is at the end of his rope. If the LORD doesn’t do something quickly, the
people will stone him. Mutiny is right around the corner. The people are
determined to rid themselves of their leader!
Let’s recap. The people have been through the same situation before. God
met their need. But instead of relying on that memory to guide them, they come
in with guns blazing. They are entitled to water and Moses is going to give it to
them “or else.” The LORD is going to give it to them “or else.”
Can you see how this characterizes their relationship not only with Moses
but with God? These “people of God” are heading in the wrong direction. They
are pushing against God rather than leaning closer to Him. Instead of being
drawn to the One who has proven Himself over and over, they have presumed
to know more than Him, pushing Him to meet their demands. If not? They will
kill their leader. This is not good.
But isn’t this just like us? Really, when we get into a troubling situation
that requires faith to see the hand of God, how do we respond? Do we view
God’s provision as a blessing or an entitlement? Do we presume to know better
what God should do than He does? Do we sometimes tell God what to do
rather than ask Him what to do? Do we sometimes pick a fight with God?
Ouch!!!
II. Only a God of great mercy and grace would bless people who rebel against
Him. vv. 5-7
This is where we see the true nature of our God. At this point, I would
have said, “Tough luck. So sorry. You’re on your own. Find your own water.”
But that is not Him. He is gracious and merciful. He has committed to leading
His people, providing for them. And so, He will, once more. And He will do so
once more not by moving them to where the water is, but by miraculously
providing water from the most unlikely of sources: solid rock.
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.
5
As we’ve suggested, the LORD answers with grace and mercy. Moses is to
forge ahead, this time taking some of the elders of the people with him. I see
this actually as pointing to the next story, which we will get to next time. Up to
this point it has been Moses as leader and Aaron as his spokesman. And so as
here, it is Moses and God against the people. But God’s desire is to move more
people onto Moses’ side. He doesn’t want a “Moses against everyone” scenario.
The people need to be engaged in the process. Moses is needing some support.
And then we notice that Moses is to take his staff, as we have been calling
it, “The stick of God.” Take with you some witnesses and the inanimate object
that tells you it was an act of God, the same stick you used when you struck the
Nile.
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.
6
Now, there is similarity here to another story, but I do not want you to get
confused. Numbers 20:1-13 records another rock striking incident that you
might have been expecting. It is remarkably similar, but takes place years later.
READ.
It seems once more that the Israelites did not learn their lesson. Indeed,
this time Moses is caught up in the rebellion. So, the problem in Numbers was
Moses striking the rock rather than speaking to the rock. Clearly there is anger
and rebellion. And the consequence was that Moses would not be allowed to
enter the promised land. But here in Exodus 17, there is no rebellion from
Moses. He is obedient, water comes out of the rock, the people have water to
drink, the adventure continues. The “stick” rescues them once more. But there
are consequences. The people’s relationship with God has suffered.
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?”
7
Perhaps you noticed the text in Numbers also named the place “Meribah.”
Both were named for what led up to the miracle: quarreling. This is the place
where the people quarreled with God. Here in Exodus, the place was also given
another name, “place of testing.” Now, I don’t think it takes a genius to figure
out that if the LORD names that spot “quarreling” and “putting God to the
test,” it is not a good thing. It was to be forever remembered that this was the
spot where the people fought with God over His provision of water. Should
they mark the spot with a monument, a museum, a temple? I think not. This
was to their shame. This was where their rebellion against God intensified. This
was a battlefield, and the people left feeling as though they had won. Their
complaining, grumbling, quarreling, testing of God had been successful. They
got their water. But at what cost? Does the text mention anything about
worship, about a time of thanksgiving, about repentance and reconciliation? Not
at all. This was the place of quarreling.
Sadly, this was a marker in their deteriorating relationship with their God.
And even sadder, this is not the low point. It gets worse from there. It will come
to the point where Moses has to plead with God to keep Him from destroying
them all. In fact, at one point he will offer himself to take their punishment.
Does this sound familiar? “And the LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
But in their minds, they have won. Their quarreling had gotten what they
wanted. In their minds, they fought with God and won. But we know better.
The name of this place was not “We won.” They did not prevail. They did not
win. They fought with the hand that was feeding them. He is still gracious and
merciful, but their relationship suffered. We will see that in the weeks ahead.
We will see that in laws that come down from on high. It is not good to
provoke the LORD your God or put Him to the test. Right?
Listen to these words from Moses in his great sermon called
Deuteronomy. Our incident makes it into the sermon making our point. READ
Deut. 6:10-19
If we believe this passage is the Word of God, then what should be
different about our lives?
1) We will treasure our relationship with our Lord.
2) We will trust His provision for us.
3) We will not view it as victory when we stomp our feet, raise our voices,
and fight to get our way.