Water from the rock Message
We had a funeral this week at the church where I work. One of the Jr. ministers met with the family to go over arrangements. The next morning those same family members came to church. When I greeted them at the door they told me they were here to meet with one of the Sr. ministers to finalize plans for the funeral service. In truth they were there to complain about the Jr. minister and to demand that a Sr. minister officiate at their mother’s funeral. This set the tone for the week. On the day of the funeral, I had to call security to the parking lot because family members were quarreling loudly – o.k. they were screaming at each other. And during the repast dinner when one of the family member fainted, another member lied about being medical personnel and almost prevented the stricken woman from receiving care. Now I understand that they were grieving a loss, but what really impacted me was the manipulative spirit that moved so freely between family members.
This morning we’ll look at another spirit that plagued a family.
Exodus 17
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded.
Where are they going? To the promised land.
Who was directing their route? God
How? A cloud by day and a pillar by night.
They camped at Rephidim,
From the Desert of Sin to Rephidim would be about a day’s journey across a very dry, barren plateau. The only relief from the sun was the cliffs of Rephidim.
They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
Who was directing their route? God
Didn’t he know there wasn’t any water there?
Did it matter to God that there wasn’t any water there?
2 So they quarreled with Moses and said,
“Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me?
I can relate. I can’t tell you how many times I have said, “I’m not the person who makes the rules. I just enforce them”.
There are rules and policies in place in every situation. We may not like them, but we have to abide by them. For instance, in many stores you can not get a refund for your purchase without a receipt. It doesn’t matter if the product is defective or not. No receipt, no refund.
Moses wasn’t the one driving the bus. He was following the cloud just like the rest of them were.
Then Moses asks a second question
Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
How were they testing God?
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?”
One more time, who brought them to Rephidim (the place without water)? God.
But who are they blaming for their predicament? Moses.
Was Moses the source of their trouble?
Would God have brought them out of Egypt to die of thirst in the desert?
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord,
Who cried out? Moses. Was he the only one who saw the cloud by day and the pillar by night? Of course not, but he was the only one to seek God’s help.
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The children of Israel were doing more than complaining and murmuring. They were getting ready to stone Moses.
5 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. 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.”
Notice that God did not say he was going to punish the people for their rebellion. Instead he was patient with them.
So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
What happened? Water gushed from the rock, and the people were satisfied.
7 And he
Moses called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Massah (“temptation”); Meribah (“chiding,” “strife”, “provocation”)
Fast forward 40 years. The children of Israel had been wandering around the desert and ended up where they started.
Numbers 20
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Miriam was Moses’ sister. This fact reminds us that most of the older generation had died in the wilderness.
2 Now there was no water for the community,
During Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness, water was their greatest physical need. Yet the Lord had provided it continually.
2b and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.
Sound familiar?
3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
Now remember some of these people were born in the desert. Others were small children when they left Egypt. Their families weren’t wealthy members of society, they were slaves. They wouldn’t have remembered Egypt as a wonderful place. Why do you think they would say such things? This would indicate that the generation that had passed away never ceased to complain and grumble. Should we be surprised that they were so quick to blame Moses?
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses,
Again Moses relies on God for direction.
8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
Though God told Moses to take his rod with he was only to speak to the rock for it to yield water.
This verse speaks volumes to me. How often does God tell us to do something simple: speak to the rock, go to church, be still, and we make a major project out of it. We think that can’t be all, it’s too simple.
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses spoke to the people, accusing them of being rebels against God. By his actions, Moses joined the people in rebellion against God with his judgment against them and disobedience. And of course pride since he & Aaron were going to bring water out of the rock. Quite a contrast from Num 12:3 3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
I’ll bet Moses and Aaron felt pretty good about themselves. See how much better they were than those rebels. And see how we took care of them.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Moses failed to take God at His Word. He didn’t speak to the rock, he hit the rock.
Why did water gush forth? Because the children of Israel needed it and God was their provider.
But Moses still disobeyed God. He relied on the symbol of his authority the staff and not on the word of God. By not taking God at his word, he treated him as common and not holy.
Notice too that Aaron was included with Moses in God’s judgment.
Unless we glorify God in all that we do, God will deal with us and we will miss the blessing He has planned for us.
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.
There are several lessons we can learn from today’s study.
Ø If we follow God’s leading he will provide for us
Ø Those who are in authority over us have been placed there by God
Ø Murmuring and complaining lead to rebellion
Ø It is paramount for us to teach our children reverence for the Holy
Let me leave you with this:
A minister asked a little boy one Sunday morning. “Who was that cussing so loudly when I passed your house?” “Oh, that was Daddy,” came the reply. “He was late for church and couldn’t find his Bible.”