seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 17:1 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. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
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?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front 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.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Here's the link to the commentary.Behold, I will stand before you there: One of the great themes of this journey from Egypt to Canaan was that God was with them. He was with them each step of the way, and here again He would show His presence to Moses and to Israel.
“If God had not stood upon the rock, in vain had Moses struck it. Means must be used, but God only depended upon for success.” (Trapp)
"I will stand there before you".... I had to put it in a different color because it's so miraculous in itself. Everyone says "God is love". Whenever something horrible happens, like the floods and winds and rain of a hurricane, or torturous heat, or war, people think God is angry or mean. The fact of the matter is.... I don't think the Israelites thought "God is love". I think they were more inclined to think of God as the Egyptians thought of their gods.... there but not there.
There's a commercial.... "When your house is falling down and there's termites all around... call Johnnie Termite". Once the house is falling down, isn't it a little late to call the exterminator? My point is... the Israelites knew who God was... but they didn't know God.
Do you think the Israelites were on this journey with God or Moses?
I bet the Israelites thought Moses was the one that caused all the plagues.... him and his brother and their sticks.
If it wasn't for Moses and that fancy stick of his, Pharaoh wouldn't have lost his son and he wouldn't have run them out of Egypt.
This was all Moses' fault.... and now they can't even find a drink of water. Do they need to find another foul spot and get the poops again?
This was all Moses' fault.... and now they are thirsty.
When Moses hit that rock and water came out... do you think the Israelites really believed it was God? I don't.
I think when Moses hit that rock, water came out... The people thought the stick brought the water. I would even go so far as to believe the Israelites found a stick and carried it with them... a new little god for the pouch.
A good parent will let a child scrape their knees. A good parent will smack a child's hand. A good parent will let a child learn that bees sting and dogs bite. A good parent will let their children feel the hot sun so they will appreciate the cool breeze. It was always God... the Israelites had just been around the Egyptians too long and adopted their useless gods.
If God hadn't stood right before Moses at the rock.... Moses could have beaten that rock until his stick broke into toothpicks and water would not have come from the rock.
Moses knew it.... but the Israelites didn't.
Need a drink of water... here...
Go beat a rock with a stick.
