The Rocky Road to Rocky Water ; .Exodus 17:1-7
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Introduction
Introduction
This isn’t quite a continuation from Sunday, but we are going to continue in the story, we are just going to fast forward a bit, so turn if you will to Exodus chapter 17.
On Sunday we looked at Exodus 6, the anatomy of God. We just quickly saw some characteristics of God in the story of Him commissioning Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. We looked at 4 characteristics:
The hand of God - a hand of comfort and judgement.
The mouth of God - He is speaking to you today, are you listening.
The ear of God - He is a God who listens to the groanings of His people, He hears you.
The arm of God - stretched out for you so that you might be redeemed.
The only title that I could come up with was “The Rocky Road to Rocky Water” and I asked my fellow-staff members what they thought and they were not impressed but I couldn’t think of anything else so I just left it as that
Tonight we are fast forwarding in the story to where they have escaped from Egypt, but are still wandering around in the desert, in the wilderness.
As we work through this Scripture, I’m going to give you the points like usual, but I thought I’d change it up and offer some application questions to ask ourselves as well. So you’ll see the main point, as well as a question to ask yourself to help you apply it to your own life.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?
1. People Chide (v. 2)
1. People Chide (v. 2)
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
Chide- to complain harshly, scold, rebuke, or to blame. Similar to how we talked about grumbling on Sunday, grumbling is complaining with bitterness at the root. Chiding is complaining with anger at the root.
Application Question: How often do I “chide” about authority in my life?
The children of Israel have just experienced a great victory by escaping from the bondage of Egypt, and they get a little thirsty and immediately turn on God and Moses. They have already experienced the miracles of God and His provision, in the previous chapter is when He miraculously gave them manna and quail to eat after they complained that it would have been better to stay in Egypt since they had bread to eat. Talk about dramatic.
**Elliott freaking out if he doesn’t get breakfast right away, pulled the pancake out of the freezer and started eating it. I’M STILL SCRAPING THE CRUSTIES OUT OF MY EYES MAN CHILL. I’ve taken care of you for this long I’m not gonna let you starve today.
The children of Israel lost their trust in God at the quickest and smallest inconvenience. What is your reaction when you don’t get exactly what you want , exactly when you want it? Do you forget what God has done for you like how the children of Israel forgot that He provided them with manna and quail?
Moses goes on and says why are tempting God?
What does it mean to tempt the Lord? It would be similar to testing the Lord. You’re momma ever say that? “Boy don’t test me”.
In the Bible, there are examples of both an acceptable and unacceptable kind of testing God. It’s acceptable to “test” God in regard to tithes and offerings, for example, but unacceptable when the test is rooted in doubt.
Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” This is the only situation given in the Bible in which God tells His people to “test” Him. Interestingly, the Hebrew word used for “test” in this verse is bachan, which means “to examine, scrutinize, or prove (as in gold, persons, or the heart).” Just as gold is “tested” with fire to prove its quality, God invites Israel to test Him in tithes and offerings and see that He proves His faithfulness in response.
There is another Hebrew word for “test” used elsewhere in the Bible. Nacah means “to put to the test, try, or tempt.” It is used in Deuteronomy 6:16, where God commands Israel to not test Him: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”
This second, unacceptable kind of testing is when doubt leads us to demand something of God to prove Himself to us. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 in the wilderness, in response to one of Satan’s temptations. “The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”’” (Matthew 4:7–10). Essentially, the devil was telling Jesus to “prove” God’s Word was true by forcing God’s hand—if Jesus was in peril, God would have to save Him. Jesus refused to test God in such a way. We are to accept God’s Word by faith, without requiring a sign (see Luke 11:29). God’s promises are there for us when we need them; to manipulate situations in an attempt to coerce God into fulfilling His promises is evil.
Here in Exodus 17 , As God was leading Moses and His people toward the Promised Land, they camped at a place where there was no water. The Israelites’ immediate reaction was to grumble against God and quarrel with Moses (Exodus 17:1–3). Their lack of trust in God to take care of them is evident in their accusations toward Moses: “They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’” (Exodus 17:3). The Israelites were obviously in a situation where they needed God to intervene. The point at which they tested God, though, is when doubt and fear overtook them and they came to the conclusion that God had abandoned them (see Exodus 17:7). They questioned God’s reliability because He was not meeting their expectations.
How often do we grumble, and complain, and chide because of unmet expectations? There’s a certain situation going on in our life and we expect God to snap His finger and resolve that issue immediately. What our reaction when He doesn’t do what we were expecting? The great apostle Paul begged the Lord to take the thorn in his flesh away, but God didn’t. He did not get his way, and listen to his reaction:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Do you take pleasure in your infirmities? Do you rejoice when you don’t get your way? What about when it comes to the authorities Christ has placed over you in your life? For teenagers that would be parents, teachers, pastors and so on. For adults that may be parents, maybe bosses at work and things like that. It’s probably no secret that the authorities that are in your life are not perfect. No doubt Moses was not a perfect leader. You can see some sarcasm in his tone throughout these books and even see him get easily upset at the people. However, God has ordained and placed those authorities in your life for a reason, even if it seems like they aren’t doing a very good job. There’s a whole chapter in the Bible about obeying the governing authorities in your life because it is right, go read Romans 13 tonight.
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
So yes, people chide, especially when it comes to authority in their lives, whether it’s God or family or a boss, however, chiding should not be a characteristic of the Christian.
Chiding is usually external. It is voicing your complaints causing contention and strife. This is what the children of Israel did. However, in our culture today, I think many people recognize this as disrespectful and know it will cause issues and strife so they don’t externalize it and say it out loud. But, they don’t have any issues chiding in their mind internally. They ransack their brain over and over with the situation and the person that upset them to the point where they might blow up and actually say it out loud. However, chiding internally is wrong, just as chiding externally is wrong.
When we teach sin to kids, we teach “Sin is anything I think, anything I say, or anything I do, that breaks God’s law”.
Sin isn’t just about the externals, it is also about how you’re thinking internally. And oftentimes this is where we compromise ourselves. Because there are no immediate consequences. No one else knows what we’re thinking, so we can think whatever we want. However, you should strive to make sure that your thoughts are still pleasing and glorifying to God. You have the power to control your thoughts because of the Holy Spirit living inside you. Lean on Him and trust His power. Here is how Paul explains it in 2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Take your thoughts captive. Don’t chide externally or internally. Chiding should not be a characteristic of the Christian.
What should be the overarching characteristic of a Christian?
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
So choose submission, love, and patience over chiding, grumbling, and complaining.
Application Question: How often do I “chide” about authority in my life?
So #1 People Chide, and then
2. Moses Cries (v. 4)
2. Moses Cries (v. 4)
And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
Moses cries, cry baby Moses; no this was the right response in this situation. Cry out to God, and ask what shall I do.
Application Question: What is my response when I get overwhelmed?
And we’ve all been there before right. Where we have a lot going on and we just get overwhelmed with all of our responsibilities. Some things you just can’t control, and you have to give those things over to God and trust that He will take care of them.
*I had one of those weeks last week as you can imagine. Work here is always busy and I had to leave it to go see my mother with terminal cancer. It was a week full of a lot of emotions. I was also sick for most of the week so I was like quarantined in a back bedroom for a lot of the time. So it was a long week. When we got back of course were still kind of just sad and emotionally exhausted, and so I said you know what, let me just go pick us up some dinner so we don’t have to worry about cooking tonight. So I go to my truck that had been sitting for a week cause we took Abbie’s car to Texas, and I thought, oh man I hope this thing starts, I hope the battery isn’t dead. So I’m clicking the key to get in and it doesn’t unlock so I’m like, of course, darn it. I clicked the button one more time and it unlocked, so I’m so thankful to God it unlocked just hope it starts. So I get in, shut the door, put the key in the ignition, and crank it and it starts up. But when it starts, the air blows through the vents and I’m hit in the face with puffs of string and grass and fuzz and poop. Apparently as we were gone a mouse had made a home in my a/c vent to escape the cold. And so when I turned my truck on I got hit in the face with his nest.
And I just couldn’t help but laugh, you know. It was the cherry on top to a great week. I think the devil himself probably possessed that mouse and climbed up in to my truck and did all that just to get at me.
It’s moments like those that test you. Whether you experience something big and dramatic and traumatic in your life, or just a bunch of little things stack up on top of one another and it overwhelms you, its moments like those when we need to cry out to God. It’s those moments that you need to cry out to God in worship as well. Listen to these words:
Take this fainted heart
Take these tainted hands
Wash me in Your love
Come like grace again
Take this mountain weight
Take these ocean tears
Hold me through the trial
Come like hope again
Even when my strength is lost
I'll praise You
Even when I have no song
I'll praise You
Even when it's hard to find the words
Louder then I'll sing Your praise
I will only sing Your praise
Even when the morning comes
I'll praise You
Even when the fight is won
I'll praise You
Even when my time on earth is done
Louder then I'll sing your praise
I will only sing Your praise
Crying and crying out to God is a sign of weakness. It is a sign of weakness. But that’s the whole point. We are weak. We are faulty. We do get overwhelmed, we do get stressed out, we do get anxious, or maybe even depressed. We are a weak creature. But the Holy Spirit that indwells you is not weak, He’s not faulty, He never gets overwhelmed, He doesn’t get stressed out or anxious or depressed. You can lean on Him and His power through faith.
The beginning of utilizing God’s strength in your life, is the realization that you have no strength.
We quoted these verses once but I want you to hear it again
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
If you are constantly going through life in your own power and your own strength, you will get burnt out. Especially dealing with other people, because they are also weak. Think about it, you are a broken human being affected by the curse of sin. Your fleshly and broken and when you’re not walking in the Spirit it affects you and others around you. And the people around you, guess what, they are also broken people affected by the curse of sin so they are also liable to give in to their flesh. So it only makes sense that sometimes we are going to stress each other out and upset each other, because we aren’t perfect.
But if you can choose to trust God and walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh, it will affect you and those around you positively. If you are walking in the Spirit and someone around you is not, and they wrong you, you are more likely to have the right response to give them grace and mercy and to just love on them regardless.
I understand this is easier said than done. But maybe you’re desperate tonight for some help from God. Oftentimes God will orchestrate the circumstances in your life to make you desperate, to get your attention, to tell you hey you’ve been trusting in your own strength too much lately, you haven’t even considered me and what I could do. So He brings us to a place of desperation to humble us and to bring us back into a right fellowship with Him.
I’m reminded of Elijah, if you remember when he was extremely exhausted and was running for his life and he was depressed and just didn’t have any sort of hope.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
You know what the Lord’s response was to that? Here Elijah have a piece of cake and take a nap and you’ll be good. Elijah wanted to just die and Moses thought He was gonna die, and yet both of these men were the ones who were at the transfiguration of Christ.
Just a quick note, the Lord also blessed Moses with a good mentor to help him deal with all of these people. In the next chapter, Moses’s father-in-law Jethro comes to visit him and then he sees all these people lined up to talk to Moses and is like, man why are you doing this. No wonder you’re burnt out and overwhelmed. Here’s what happened:
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
What that also tells us is that we need to be willing to listen to counsel from others, and be willing to get help from others. You don’t have to do everything on your own. This was another answer from God to Moses’s cry: providing him with a godly mentor.
The Lord will give you exactly what you need when you cry out to Him.
Application Question: What is my response when I get overwhelmed?
It’s okay to have emotions, but what you do with that emotional energy will determine the impact you have on yourself and others around you.
So #1 People chide,
#2 Moses cries, and then
3. God Commands (v. 5)
3. God Commands (v. 5)
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Here we see God’s answer and His command. He tells Moses to go before the people and take the elders. I think it is important to note that Moses communed with God in private before he went and led the people and responded to them. Oftentimes it is during the times of solitude and quietness that God prepares us for a visible role or a visible task. It is important that you seek the Lord in private before you pursue any matter in public. If you have a big decision coming up, it is a good idea to seek the Lord in private and to hear His commands.
Application Question: Do I strive to always obey God’s commands?
Notice also that the Lord commanded Moses to also take the rod, and the Lord was specific, look at the verse, take thy rod, the one you smote the river with. Don’t take just any rod or staff, take the one that you parted the red sea with.
This rod is a reminder of what the Lord had done for them in the past. That’s a common theme with the children of Israel over and over that the Lord had to remind them of everything He had done for them, that’s why they celebrate the passover, to remember and commemorate how the Angel of Death passed over them and they were able to escape Egypt.
Imagine as Moses lifted this rod into the air, the children of Israel would be flooded with the image from just a few weeks back of how Moses lifted his rod and parted the red sea. As Moses lifts the rod its as if God is saying “Already? You have already forgotten again just how good I am to you and how I always take care of you?”
In Exodus 4:20 it is called the “rod of God”. The “rod of God”.
Moses also uses the staff in the battle at Rephidim between the Israelites and the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8–16). When he holds up his arms holding the "rod of God" the Israelites "prevail", when he drops his arms, their enemies gain the upper hand. Aaron and Hur help him to keep the staff raised until victory is achieved.
Finally, God tells Moses to get water for the Israelites from a rock by speaking to the rock (Numbers 20:8). But Moses, being vexed by the complaining of the Israelites, instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded, strikes the rock twice with the staff. Because Moses did not obey God's command to speak to the rock, implying lack of faith, God punished Moses by not letting him enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).
He obeyed God’s command the first time, but he did not obey God’s command the second time, and he paid the consequences for it. Moses had the right intention, but He did not do it God’s way. The same is true for us. When we try to accomplish God’s will for our lives, but we try to do it on our own without His input and don’t do it how He wants, we will face the consequences for it. Ultimately, Moses still got the job done, water still came out, however, he was punished for not obeying the Lord exactly how He had said.
When it comes to God’s commands, we do not obey the Mosaic Law like Jewish people. Christ has freed us from the Law and the whole purpose of the Law was to show us that we could not keep it, and we were in need of someone who could, that someone being Jesus Christ. However, this does not mean that I get to just go out and live my life however I want and not obey any sort of His commands.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
While we don’t follow the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament, since Christ fulfilled it and ended it,
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
However we still should follow the moral law. God has inscribed morality on every person’s heart so that they are without any excuse, the first two chapters of Romans tells us. Not only that, He does have New Testament commands for us as well, like the Great Commission for example.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
So there are still commands from God that we need to be diligent in following. Not out of duty or out of fear of Him striking us down if we don’t obey, but out of love for Him and His Word. It is a pleasure to the Christian to obey the Lord and His commands. Don’t partially obey Him. Don’t try to do it in your own strength. Don’t delay your obedience. Obey God’s commands from a faithful and loving heart.
Application Question: Do I strive to always obey God’s commands?
So #1 People chide,
#2 Moses cries,
#3 God commands, and then finally
4. Water Comes (v. 6)
4. Water Comes (v. 6)
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
**It’s a joke in our family that I struggle even now to drink water. It’s so bland to me I just have no desire for it, if there is any sort of alternative I would pretty much drink any other drink than water. In our hometown in Texas it is super dry and is basically a desert so water is kind of scarce. We had a plant in our town that would take all the water that went down any sort of drain or flushed away, and would recycle it and turn it into tap water. We called it the poo plant. I’m not even sure if that’s exactly right but it always smelled bad outside that building and that’s what I was told so I’m sticking to it. So anyways for some reason, maybe that’s why, I just don’t really like water.
But one time, my dad and I visited one of his friends in Cloudcroft New Mexico. It’s a little village in the Mountains of New Mexico in the Lincoln National Forest. It is a beautiful place with huge mountains and it looks like something out of fairy tale book, it’s one of those core memories as a child, I was probably about 10. there’s beautiful song birds everywhere and there’s elk and they’re screaming at us, which is terrifying the first time you hear it as a kid. My dad’s friend that we were visiting’s name was Lewis, super nice guy, super tall, and as we start our hike he explains that we are going to a natural spring that has the coldest most refreshing water in the world and that you’ll never want another soda again, you’ll just want this water because of how good it is. The natural spring water mixed with the cold melted snow apparently was the best thing ever. I was like alright man whatever you say, I’ve got a six-pack of root beers in my backpack just in case. So we hike and hike and hike and finally come to the spring, and we bend down and drink and it truly was amazing water, super cold. It was the most refreshing water I’ve ever had, especially after a long hard hike... and we didn’t need my root beers.
I can only imagine the relief the children of Israel after their wandering, how good that water must have been to drink. Notice in our text that the Lord is there. He is present. He is standing on the rock. The miracle was not of Moses or His own power, but was of God and His power.
God is present in your life. God is present in your life tonight. You may not feel like it, you may not sense it, you may feel like you’re all alone and exhausted and overwhelmed, in need of refreshment, but God is here. He’s here for you and cares for you and He’s going to give you what you need. Continue to trust Him. Consider Job’s words:
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
But I will maintain mine own ways before him.
Even if it seems like you are being deliberately attacked and you’re wondering where God is and why He wont rescue you, take comfort, He’s there, and He is offering His refreshment tonight, the Living Water.
Don’t you remember John 4, when Christ proclaimed Himself as the living water to the woman at the well. And then again in John 7 as he’s preaching?
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Don’t forget that Christ is also our rock:
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Just as Moses struck the rock, and it’s water flowed, Jesus our rock was also struck, nails were struck through His hands and His feet and His blood flowed, and it’s only by His blood that we are able to experience spiritual refreshment.
What about the second time when Moses struck the rock when he was only meant to speak to it?
The command and the picture God was trying to give is clear. The rock was struck once. It didn’t need to be struck again. All he needed to do was to speak to it and water would flow.
In the same way, once Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t have to die again. Romans 6:10
For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
He’s alive, and now if you’ll just speak to him, if you’ll just, “confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Maybe you’re thinking, Brother Zain, sure there’s some parallels but it seems really metaphorical, how can we be sure this is how this Scripture is meant to be interpreted?
This is how the Apostle Paul interpreted it.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Application Question: Have you taken a drink from the spiritual rock that is Christ? The water of life? Do you offer that drink to others?
Conclusion
Conclusion
1. People Chide
1. People Chide
Application Question: How often do I “chide” about authority in my life?
2. Moses Cries
2. Moses Cries
Application Question: What is my response when I get overwhelmed?
3. God Commands
3. God Commands
Application Question: Do I obey God’s commands?
4. Water Comes
4. Water Comes
Application Question: Have I taken a drink of the Water of Life? Do I consistently offer a drink to others?