Trusting God in Our Thirst
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
I will exalt You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is Yahweh, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty deeds.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on the words of Your wondrous deeds, I will muse.
Yahweh is righteous in all His ways And holy in all His works.
Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will work out the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry for help and He will save them.
Yahweh keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
First Reading
First Reading
“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
“That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever!
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world.
“Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God,
Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!
Scripture and Prayer
Scripture and Prayer
Now some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him,
and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should marry the wife and raise up seed for his brother.
“Now there were seven brothers; and the first married a wife and died childless,
and the second
and the third married her; and in the same way, all seven died, leaving no children.
“Finally the woman died also.
“Therefore, this woman—in the resurrection—whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as a wife.”
And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.
“For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
“Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”
Intro:
Intro:
Water from rock
Christians are brought through the waters of death, the flood of destruction, in order that they might be established upon the rock, secure in the resurrection life of Christ.
Edmund P. Clowney
Bible Passage: Ex 17:1-7
Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of Yahweh, and they camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to put us and our children and our livestock to death with thirst?”
So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
So he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?”
Summary: This passage recounts the Israelites' journey through the desert, where they faced a severe lack of water and questioned God's provision, ultimately leading to Moses striking the rock to provide water.
Application: This sermon can help Christians understand the importance of trusting God during times of trial and need. It highlights that even in our wandering and struggles, God is faithful to provide for our needs if we turn to Him in faith.
Teaching: The passage teaches that God meets our needs in unexpected ways, reminding us to remain steadfast in our faith and rely on His provision. It warns against the dangers of doubt and unbelief in challenging circumstances.
1. Complaining to their Leaders
1. Complaining to their Leaders
Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of Yahweh, and they camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to put us and our children and our livestock to death with thirst?”
This is the same old pattern we have observed.
Israel once again grumbles at a perceived unmet need. At this point, it is safe to say that they have a habit of responding to adversity with doubts and grumbling.
They are in a negative habit.
Their growth in the Lord is stunted because they can’t get past this lesson!
Perhaps that is why we see God reinforcing it!
Deliverance
Crisis
Red Sea>Parted waters
Bitter Water of Marah>God healed using a tree
Lack of food> God sent quail and Manna
NOW: once again water is the issue.
Again, they throw their temper tantrum
“we are dying of thirst!”
Faith has again fallen away due to the circumstance of the moment.
In crisis, their first response is to grumble against Moses and long for the good ole days of slavery in Egypt.
In the midst of their emotional response, they couldn’t see the big cloud by day and fire by night.
They lost sight of God's presence and provision despite His past faithfulness and instead focus on Moses, the convenient one to blame.
AP: What is your first response?
When we are in the dry desert, how do we respond?
Are we like Israel and get amnesia to God’s faithfulness and lash out at the most convenient target of our frustration?
We must trust in God's ultimate plan.
That is the point of God’s repeated lessons.
Trust God. He knows best.
Don’t let the immediate need rob us of that knowledge
That trust can transform our doubt into hope.
If we have been in a habit of grumbling, we must break that habit!
Focus on GOD
Remind yourself of who He is
Praise Him
Practice gratitude-
Thank Him for what He has done
Count your blessings!
Reframe negative thoughts
Focus on what you have, not what you lack
Look for GOD’s solutions, not rehearsing the problems.
2. Crying out to the Lord
2. Crying out to the Lord
So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
The grumbling was so bad, Moses feared he was about to be stoned.
His response to the Israelites' demands involved turning directly to God in prayer, rather than reacting out of frustration or fear
He did the right thing.
They people had turned on their leader, but now Moses turns TO the real leader.
God was their provider and Moses sought God’s answer.
Moses had internalized a valuable life lesson:
Turn to God in faith and see His solution!
Where Israel was in a pattern of grumbling, Moses had developed a pattern of prayer!
God’s solution reinforced Moses’ position as His chosen leader.
pass before the people, bring the elders and the staff.
God’s miraculous provision would remind the people that He did hear from God and that they too should have turned to the Lord
AP: Go to God
The importance of seeking divine guidance and wisdom when we face insurmountable challenges cannot be emphasized enough.
We will face thirsty moments in life.
We will have real needs
We will face real obstacles
In those moments, we must look upward and ask for God's help, just like Moses did
Indeed, I ask you also, genuine companion, help these women who have contended together alongside of me in the gospel, with also Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We must develop a lifestyle of reliance on God's wisdom.
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Build a lifestyle of reliance upon God:
Study Scripture
This is how we know what God expects
Pray for guidance
Follow Moses’ example of turning to GOD in the midst of trials.
Rest in His peace
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.
3. Complying with God’s Directions
3. Complying with God’s Directions
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
So he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?”
In this part of the passage, God provides water from an unlikely source - a rock.
Either HE created a source of underground water for them, or He led them there because it was there and He was going to open it for them.
Either way, GOD provided water from the rock.
Massah and Meribah
Literally “testing” and “contending”
CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 17
So the new name was something like “Testing and Complaint” or “Quarrelsome Trial.” The Israelites’ question expressed their impatience with what they considered unsatisfactory performance.
Instead of a testimony of great faith, once more a place is marked by a failed test.
How disappointing after all GOD has done for them
Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker.
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,
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
“When your fathers tried Me, They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
“For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who wander in their heart, And they do not know My ways.
“Therefore I swore in My anger, They shall never enter into My rest.”
As we will see as the rest of the story unfolds, the generation of the Exodus never broke out of their bad habit of grumbling and doubting God.
AP: God provides for us
Just like the manna, the water from the rock is a symbol of Jesus. We have to be refreshed by him, the true living water, the only one able to satisfy our souls’ thirst (see John 7:37).
James Montgomery Boice
God's miraculous provision here foreshadows Christ as the rock of our salvation who provides living water.
Christ is sufficient!
He saves, provides for, and leads us
Paul points back to this narrative to make that exact point:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
and all ate the same spiritual food;
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.
He is not thinking of a material rock following them, or a movable well, but of the divine source of the water that journeyed with them.
David E. Garland; Roy E. Ciampa; Brian S. Rosner
After the reminder, Paul goes on to give the warning to the Corinthians
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased. For they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
We must learn from our text today.
Choose to follow Moses’ example.
Turn to GOD in faith, instead of complaining.
Conc
Conc
Big Idea: In times of doubt and thirst, remember that God provides for His people, teaching us to trust in His goodness and faithfulness.
