Stricken Rock of Horeb
Here we have the third water test that the Israelites
faced. And notice that they FAILED all
three! First, too much water at the
After all 3 failures, God tries to teach them the solution – THE CROSS!
Every test is an opportunity to recognize that we are totally helpless, and to trust in the Lord and use His resources.
Exodus 17:1-7
1 Then all the
congregation of the sons of
2 Therefore the
people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us
water that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel
with me? Why do you test the LORD?"
Again they argue with Moses! Why do they argue with MOSES? It’s not like he has water that he’s not giving them! Moses doesn’t have any either.
They are filled with anger, worry, and even hatred and murder (we’ll see). This is the worst congregation ever.
3 But the people
thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why,
now, have you brought us up from
4 So Moses cried out
to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do to this people? A little more and
they will stone me."
Moses is helpless, so he goes to God! He doesn’t argue with them. He doesn’t justify himself to them, even though he could:
“I don’t have any water either”
“I’m thirsty too”
“Don’t stone me – it’s not my fault”
You have to love God’s sense of humor; they were going to stone Moses, so God uses a rock to teach them the answer!
5 Then the LORD said
to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of
God tells Moses to remind them with the staff of all that God had done for them.
They kept on forgetting all of it!
Psalms 78:11
11 They forgot His deeds
And His miracles that He had shown them.
Psalms 106:21
21 They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in
Notice that God does not give them punishment for their failure to trust in Him. He simply teaches them the solution!
6 "Behold, I
will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the
rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses
did so in the sight of the elders of
Notice what happens: Moses strikes the rock with the staff, which refers to the discipline of God. But he’s not hitting the people (who deserve it) but the rock. The Rock is a lesson of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
1 Corinthians 10:4
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
This lesson comes at a place called Meribah – which means to murmur or complain! God’s purpose was to remind the Jews that their failures would be judged on the cross!
Psalms 78:20
20 "Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide meat for His people?"
My old Bible had a picture of this event, and it was like a small trickle of water coming out of a rock. But realize that there were 2,000,000 people with Moses! There must have been water gushing like mad! That’s the water of life available to everyone in the Cross of Christ.
Revelation 22:17
17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the
quarrel of the sons of
You bet He was!
God tried again and again to remind these people of the
solution that He provided. The solution
for
Next time we’ll see Moses’ big mistake, and why he was not allowed to come in to the Promised Land.