Exodus 17:1-71And 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. 2Wherefore 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? 3And 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? 4And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5And 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. 6Behold, 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. 7And 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? (Exodus 17:1‑7)
The wilderness journey was one of testings and .trials, but it was also one which proved the all-sufficiency of God to meet their every need. It put faith to the test; and alas, it also discovered the lack. of faith on the part of many who "could not enter in (to Canaan) because of unbelief." Hebrews 3:1919So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:19). This world is now a "wilderness" to us, as Christians, and how often we find ourselves tested by the trials of the way!
When the children of Israel came to Rephidim they could not find any water to drink, but, instead of turning to the Lord and asking Him for it, they began to murmur again. The Lord had always met their need in the past, so why not trust Him on this occasion? Alas, they put the blame on Moses instead. And don.'t we often do the very same thing ourselves? We get into some trouble, and then we start to blame others. It is an old habit which began with. Adam who blamed his wife; then Eve blamed the serpent, and so it has come down to our day. But it is a very serious thing to do, for God is over all, and nothing happens but what He allows. May we learn to take everything from His hand! Let us look up and seek His help in every time of need, but let us be careful not to blame others. If we do, then there is a message for us, as well as for the Israelites, in the words of Moses, "Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?"
Moses still loved the people of God, although they were almost ready to stone him at this time. Let us learn a little lesson from. this too, for we should never cease to love and care ]'or the children of God no matter how badly they treat us. We should love them because they are His people, not because of the good we see in them. If we find a feeling of bitterness arising in our hears against some person who has been unkind to us, we can do as Moses did here; we can pray for that person. It is the easiest way I know to gain the victory over such feelings, and so Moses' case the years that follow show how patiently he loved and cared for the children of Israel all through their journey.
Moses was then told to take his rod with which he had smitten the river. and go to the rock, The Lord told him that He would stand 'before him upon it, and that when he smote the rock the water would come out so that the thirsty Israelites might drink. What sight to see that vast multitude drinking the fresh sparkling water flowing from the smitten rock! But this is more than just an interesting story, for God has told us that "that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:44And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4). What a beautiful figure of the Lord Jesus who was "smitten of God" (Isaiah 53:44Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)) for us at Calvary. Through the work that He accomplished there, when He bore the full stroke of God's judgment against sin, we can drink freely of the water of life. Our thirsty souls can find perfect satisfaction in Christ, and may we repeat God's invitation to any unsaved reader of these lines, "Whosoever will , let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22: 17, We can also see in this a figure of the Spirit of God, who indwells the believer, to bring him into the present good of his portion in Christ. (John 7: 37-39.)
Messages of God’s Love 7/17/1949