At Rephidim in the Wilderness

Exodus 17:1–7 ESV

1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Introduction

Israel is Continuing in the Wilderness

God is Molding them

God has Provided throughout

Exodus 17:1–3 ESV

1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

Here We Go Again

Should Sound Familiar

Three Primary Areas

Security - Am I safe

Provision - Do I have all that I need

Health - Can I live an active life

Addressing concerns

Lost in the Garden

Can only be Found in Jesus

Requires training by the LORD

Refocus

Doing with Israel in the Wilderness

Doing with Believers now through Discipleship

Bible Study

Prayer

Community

Still Being Tested (LORD Led)

Israel Testing God

Matthew 4:5–7 ESV

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Deuteronomy 6:16 ESV

16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Is the LORD among Us (Ex 17:7)

Are You still on my side?

Do You still care about me?

Are You still willing to Provide for me?

Understand Who God Is

Immutable - Not Moldable by us

Faithful - Chesed (Faithful Love)

Good - Right and Just

Love - Dotes over His Own

Exodus 7:4 ESV

4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

Moses Goes to the LORD

Just Like Before Cries to the LORD

Concern about Leading the People

Concern about His Life

Exodus 17:5–6 ESV

5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Let’s Show ‘Em Again

Instructions to Moses

Callback to the LORD in Egypt

The LORD is There

Is the LORD among Us (Ex 17:7) - Yes

Are You still on my side? - Yes

Do You still care about me? - Yes

Are You still willing to Provide for me? - Yes

Exodus 17:7 ESV

7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Naming the Place

Memory

Quarreling and Testing

Called out Through Scripture

Psalm 95:7–9 ESV

7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Hebrews 3:7–8 ESV

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

What we See About God

The LORD is NOT to be Tested

What Would be Tested

The LORD's Perfections are Perfect

Shows Our Inadequacy

The LORD is Faithful

Keeps His Promises

With His People

Provides from His Abundance

Psalm 51:1 ESV

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Lamentations 3:22 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

Conclusion

Israel is Becoming ...

The LORD Tests and Moves ...

Move from the Grumbling ...