There’s a War On! Exodus 17:1-7: “So Moses cried to the Lord, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (v4)

Now let us read Exodus 17:1-7; All the congregation of the Israelites moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you find fault with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience? 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and 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, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you smote the river [Nile], and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [Mount] Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah [proof] and Meribah [contention] because of the faultfinding of the Israelites and because they tempted and tried the patience of the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?

What are the main points of Exodus 17? In Exodus 17 we see examples of God's power and man's effort working together. Moses struck the rock; but only God could bring the water. Joshua fought, Moses prayed, but only God gave the victory over Amalek. In it all, God received the glory. What is the lesson of the water from the rock? The Rock that was struck by Moses where water flowed freely to quench their thirst represented Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus is the Rock that we can depend on for our every need. Only water that flows from Him will satisfy our thirst for truth. How does God respond to the people's complaint in Exodus 17:5-7? The people complained to Moses, who in turn cried out to the LORD for guidance. The LORD told him to go to a rock at Horeb and strike it with the same staff that he used to strike the Nile River in Egypt. The people got water, and the location received two names—Massah and Meribah; [proof] and [contention] respectively. Road trips are never easy. This is something that Moses learned the hard way while journeying with Israel in the wilderness, that life road trips are never easy. Exodus 17:1-7 is one of a series of wilderness narratives situated between Israel’s departure from Egypt and its arrival at Sinai meant to teach us that life journey is not always easy. On the first leg of the journey, Israel departs from the Sea of Reeds, journeys through the wilderness of Shur (Exodus 15:22), and arrives finally at Marah, where God sweetens the bitter waters (Exodus 15:23-26). From Marah they travel to Elim, where they find twelve springs of water (Exodus 15:27). From Elim they travel to the wilderness of Sin, where God first provides manna (Exodus 16:1-36). And from the wilderness of Sin they travel to Rephidim, the setting for today’s text (Exodus 17:1-7). The wilderness narratives in Exodus share a number of characteristics in common. First, the accounts happen while Israel journeys from Egypt to Sinai. Second, the central conflicts revolve around resource scarcity, perceived and otherwise. Third, the people blame the leadership of Moses (and sometimes Aaron) for their troubles. Fourth, God hears the grievances of God’s people and responds to them by providing resources that directly address their needs. Is this not exactly what every individual, family, people or nation is passing through in life? In Exodus 17:1-7, the issue is water: “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” (Exodus 17:1). The first thing to note is that they undertake this journey under God’s leadership (“as the Lord commanded”). Presumably, this refers to the pillar of cloud and fire which guided the Israelites on the various legs of their journey (Exodus 13:20-22). God’s presence was with them, not only in the form of verbal promises, but visually and tangibly. In addition to God’s visual presence, the Israelites also had the daily reminder of God’s caring provision in the form of manna, which arrived six days a week. Signs of divine activity were everywhere. And yet, with parched mouths, the Israelites lash out against Moses: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (verse 3). The decision to blame Moses points to the central problem in this story. Israel had still not learned a crucial lesson: where God leads, God provides. God had secured victory over the Egyptians, enriched Israel with the wealth of their former captors, made a way through the Sea of Reeds, and provided regular supplies on their journey through the desert. If the wilderness narratives demonstrate anything, it is that God provides in every situation. But before we pillory (Pillory is when somebody is attacked or ridicule publicly) the Israelites too severely, we should note that they are not only on a journey through the wilderness, they are also on a journey of the soul—being transformed from an earlier existence as an enslaved people to that of an independent nation. Unlearning the habits of domination—reinforced by Pharaoh’s extractive and cruel system of slavery and subjugation—is difficult, painful, and patient work. It is the work of generations, a work of transformation that will take a long time before the people can get use to it and this is similar to its present form whereby people are finding it very difficult to live the life of faith, a life of total dependence on God. Accepting kindness and generosity when all one has known is violent exploitation was never going to be a quick or easy process. Israel had been subjected to a brutal existence under the yoke of Pharaoh. But they suddenly find themselves free of Pharaoh’s chains and the recipients of God’s kindness and mercy. Few would disagree that one of the Bible’s most difficult commands is the call to “trust.” This is especially true when the world teaches you that your survival depends upon distrust and skepticism. These wilderness stories demonstrate just how difficult it would be to transform a formerly enslaved people into a trusting free nation. In response to Israel’s murmuring, God stages a miracle, accentuated with a small amount of political pageantry or ceremony: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Pass on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you smote the river [Nile], and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [Mount] Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” (verses 5-6). The inclusion of Moses’ staff is a significant detail. The story begins in Exodus 4, when God turns this ordinary shepherd’s implement (staff) into a sign of divine power by transforming it into a snake as seen in Exodus 4:1-5. The staff was designed to convince the Israelites that the God of their ancestors had heard their cries and had sent a deliverer or a savior in the person of Moses. But it also did something for Moses, who had expressed concern that nobody would believe his story (Exodus 4:1). God’s promise was attached to this concrete thing—this “sacrament”—that gifted both Moses and the Israelites with confidence in the trustworthiness of their God. Even more significantly, however, is the fact that Moses’ staff was used in Exodus 7 to turn the life-giving Nile into a death-dealing canal of blood. According to 7:21, the bloodied Nile produced such a horrendous odor that “the Egyptians could not drink its water” (emphasis mine). In Exodus 17, the Israelites needed a similar miracle, but in reverse. Under pressure to slake or quench or satisfy Israel’s thirst, Moses is told to “strike the rock” at Horeb in the same way that he struck the Nile. Water came forth and the people were able to drink. The crisis is averted by divine generosity. And so it is today, God provides all our needs! The wilderness narratives are a treasure trove of insight, especially for congregations experiencing disruption, transition, or adversity. These texts have the profound capacity to mirror back our own community dynamics, showing how we also struggle to believe that where God calls, God provides. Can we as from today develop more faith in our God’s ability to provide for us?