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. –Exodus 17:6
Moses, through the direction of the Lord just delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and they had since been traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped out at Rephidim (in southern Sinai), but there was no water for them to drink. Immediately, they all began to grumble and quarrel with Moses, demanding that he give them water to drink. Then Moses challenged them saying, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” But the people just continued to grumble and complain about why Moses led them out of Egypt to make them die.
Moses was frustrated with the Israelites, so he cried out to the Lord for help, and then Lord spoke the words in the verse above to him, and when he obeyed, the Lord provided water from a rock, and the Israelites drank to their heart’s fill. After this, Moses called the place Massah (Testing) and Meribah (Rebellion) because the contention of the Israelites and because they tempted the Lord, saying “Is the Lord among us or not?”
I believe that the Israelites made two fundamental errors that many of us still make when faced with difficult situations. First, when the people realized that there was no water, they immediately began to blame it all on Moses, responding to the problem in the flesh, rather than crying out to the Lord for provision. When faced with difficulties, it is very easy for us to begin to point fingers and blame others, but how many of us take the hard way and look at our problems through spiritual eyes? How many of us say, ‘I am in a seemingly impossible situation, but I will look to God to meet this need, because there is no such thing as impossible with the Lord?’ The first error that the Israelites made was playing the blame game with man, rather than turning to the Lord in faith.
Next, they doubted God. In verse 3, we read that the children of Israel grumbled to Moses saying, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” This is in a sense tied to the first error, but not only did they blame Moses, it was as if they totally forgot how the Lord parted the Red Sea (see Exodus13), made the bitter water of Marah sweet for them to drink (see Ex. 15:22-26), and rained down bread and meat from heaven for them to eat (see Ex. 16). How could they possibly doubt that God was with them after all that He had already done? This attitude was one of the Israelites greatest sins. When things were good, they rejoiced in the Lord, but whenever they got difficult, they doubted the loving presence and power of God.
Take an honest look at your life and how you deal with difficult situations. Do you view seemingly impossible situations as opportunities for the Lord to move and make a way where there seems to be none? Or do you grumble like the Israelites and wonder if God is really concerned about you or your situation? I challenge you today to trust in the promise of the Lord that says, never will I leave you and never will I forsake you. If the Lord has called you to do something, go somewhere, or experience something, trust that He will always be with you, even when things get difficult. (see Deuteronomy 31:6). View your dark times as opportunities for the Lord to move. Grumbling and pointing fingers will not get you anywhere, but if we possess a Moses-like faith that cries out to God in all situations, we too will see the Lord provide water from the rocks in our lives, that is, we will see Him bring life out of dead situations, and providence out of hard places.
Grace and peace be with you.
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WATER FROM A ROCK