Water from the Rock

Led by God. Israel traveled “according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink” (17:1). God had led them to a place with no water. A real need. “And the people thirsted there for water” (17:3). They were worried about “our children and our livestock” too. Thirst in the desert is dangerous. Contending. “Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water, that we may drink’” (17:2). To contend means to argue or quarrel angrily. Testing the Lord. Moses answered, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?” (17:2). To tempt the Lord means to test Him, to demand that He prove Himself. Forgetting. They had seen the plagues, the sea, the sweet water at Marah and the manna every morning. They still doubted. The same accusation. “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (17:3). They said the same thing when they were hungry (16:3). What we learn. Remembering what God has already done helps us trust Him with today's problem.

Guided into need (17:1). Israel traveled “according to the commandment of the Lord.” They did not wander into Rephidim by mistake; God led them there. God's leading includes places of need, where He tests and teaches trust (Deuteronomy 8:2). Contention (17:2). The Hebrew verb riv (say: REEV) is a legal word, used for bringing a lawsuit. The people are not only complaining; they are putting Moses, and through him God, on trial. Testing the Lord (17:2). The verb nasah (say: nah-SAH) means to test or put to the proof. Earlier, God tested Israel (15:25; 16:4). Now Israel tests God, reversing the proper relationship. Deuteronomy 6:16 later commands, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah,” and Jesus quotes it when tempted to throw Himself from the temple (Matthew 4:7). A repeated charge (17:3). The accusation that God brought them out “to kill us” repeats 16:3 almost exactly. Each time the people forget the provision that came before. Their memory is short; God's patience is long. Real thirst. Being thirsty was not a sin. Children and animals were in real danger. The sin was in the angry demand and the accusation against God, not in the need itself.

God's people left the desert where the manna first came. God led them to a place called Rephidim. God was leading them there on purpose. But when they got there, they found no water. The people were very thirsty. Their children were thirsty. Their animals were thirsty too. Being thirsty in the hot desert is scary. The people went to Moses and argued with him. “Give us water to drink!” they said. Moses asked, “Why are you testing the Lord?” God had already given them water at Marah. He had sent bread every morning. But they still did not trust Him. They forgot all the good things God had done.

There was no water. The people were thirsty and angry. They argued with Moses. They forgot that God always helps. He had helped them before.

A leader under pressure. The anger was aimed at Moses. “They are almost ready to stone me!” he said (17:4). Leading God's people was very hard. Crying out. “So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘What shall I do with this people?’” (17:4). Moses did not fight the people or run away. He prayed. An honest prayer. Moses told God the truth about how hard things were. God welcomes honest prayers. The same pattern. At Marah, “he cried out to the Lord” (15:25). Again and again, Moses took problems to God. Not alone. Moses could not make water. He could not calm the crowd. But he knew who could help. Cast your cares. The Bible tells us to cast “all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Moses did exactly that. What we learn. When people are upset with us, or when a problem is too big, we can pray first. Prayer is not a last resort. It is the best place to start.

The cost of leadership (17:4). “They are almost ready to stone me!” Moses' life was in danger. Stoning was a form of execution carried out by a crowd, and the people's anger had nearly turned violent. Their distrust of God spilled over into hostility toward God's servant. Prayer as the leader's response. Moses' “What shall I do with this people?” is neither polished nor calm. It is a cry. The Hebrew tsa'aq (say: tsah-AHK), to cry out, is the word used for Israel's cry in slavery (2:23; 3:7). Moses now cries out on their behalf, even as they threaten him. Intercessor. Throughout Exodus, Moses stands between God and the people. Here he does not ask God to punish them but to tell him what to do. In the same way he will pray for Israel after the golden calf (32:11-14). Honest lament. Scripture is full of prayers like this one, especially in the Psalms. Faith does not mean pretending all is well. It means bringing what is true to the God who hears. Philippians 4:6 invites believers to make every request known to God “with thanksgiving.” A better way. When conflict comes, most of us want to fight back or pull away. Moses turned to God first. You can do the same when people around you are angry.

The people were very angry at Moses. They were so angry that Moses was afraid. He thought they might throw stones at him. Moses had a choice to make. He could yell back at the people. He could run away. But Moses did something better. He cried out to God. “What can I do with these people?” he asked. Moses told God exactly how he felt. He was honest with God. We can be honest with God too. When things are hard, we can tell Him. He always listens. Moses waited for God to answer.

Moses did not argue back. He prayed. “God, what should I do?” God always hears us. He hears you too.

God's answer. “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel” (17:5). The leaders would be witnesses. The rod. “Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river” (17:5). The rod that turned the Nile to blood would now bring fresh water. God on the rock. “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb” (17:6). God Himself would be present at the rock. Strike the rock. “And you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink” (17:6). Obedience. “And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (17:6). Moses did exactly what God said. Impossible made possible. Rocks do not hold water. Only God could bring a river out of stone. Psalm 105:41 says, “He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.” Grace again. God did not punish the angry crowd. He gave them water. God's kindness is bigger than our complaining.

Witnesses (17:5). The elders go with Moses so that the miracle is public and has witnesses. The leaders of the people, not only Moses, will see God act. The rod of judgment (17:5). God names the rod “with which you struck the river.” That rod had brought plagues on Egypt. Now it brings life to Israel. The same instrument of God's power can mean judgment or mercy. God stands on the rock (17:6). God said, “I will stand before you there on the rock.” So when Moses struck the rock, he struck the place where God had said He would stand. Paul later writes, “they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Many Christians see this as a picture of Jesus, who was struck so that life could flow to us. Horeb (17:6). Horeb is another name for the mountain region of Sinai, where God first met Moses at the bush (3:1). Israel is nearing the mountain of God. Plenty remembered. Later Scripture remembers how generous this was: “He split the rocks in the wilderness… He also brought streams out of the rock” (Psalm 78:15-16). Isaiah 48:21 uses the memory to promise a future rescue: “He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them.”

God answered Moses right away. God told Moses to walk ahead of the people. Moses was to take some of the leaders. He also needed his walking stick. It was the same stick that struck the Nile River. God said, “I will stand in front of you on a rock.” “Hit that rock with the stick.” Moses obeyed. He hit the rock, and water came out! There was enough for everyone. The leaders saw it happen with their own eyes. People cannot make water come out of a rock. But nothing is impossible for God. He gave His people what they needed. He was kind to them even when they were grumpy.

God said, “Hit the rock.” Moses obeyed. Water poured out! God gave them what they needed.

Two names. “So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah” (17:7). Massah means testing. Meribah means quarreling. Why the names? They were named “because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord” (17:7). The names were a warning to remember. The real question. The people had asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (17:7). This was the question underneath all their complaining. The answer. Yes! God was with them in the pillar of cloud. He gave them bread every morning. He stood on the rock and gave them water. A warning for later. Hundreds of years later a psalm warned, “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness” (Psalm 95:8). God's promise. “He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Jesus promised, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). What we learn. Even when we cannot feel God, He is with us. We can trust what He has promised.

Naming a failure (17:7). Massah (from nasah, to test) and Meribah (from riv, to contend) remember Israel's sin, not God's miracle. The names stood as warnings for later generations. The core question. “Is the Lord among us or not?” shows the root of the complaint. The issue was never only water. It was whether God was present and good. And they asked it while the pillar of cloud stood over the camp and manna covered the ground each morning. Remembered as a warning. Psalm 95:7-9 turns the event into a warning: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion… When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.” Hebrews 3:7-8 quotes the psalm and applies it to Christians: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” Presence promised. God answers the question throughout Scripture. “The Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The name Immanuel, “God with us,” and Jesus' promise, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), answer Massah's question once and for all. Faith versus testing. Testing God demands proof on our terms. Faith trusts His promises when proof is not yet visible.

Moses gave that place two names. The first name was Massah. Massah means testing. The people had tested God. The second name was Meribah. Meribah means arguing. The people had argued with Moses. The names helped people remember what happened. The people had asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” Was God with them? Yes! He was in the cloud every day. He sent manna every morning. He gave water from a rock. God is with us too, even when we can't feel it.

The people asked, “Is God with us?” Yes! God was with them. God is with us too. He never leaves us, not even once!