Please Don’t Hit Me – The Rock Series

Scripture: Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13

Theme: Obedience Leads to Rewards

Title: Please Don’t Hit Me – The Rock

In this sermon we see the importance of obedience that would have helped enable the Children of Israel to be ready for a new experience with God in the Promise Land. It can also teach us some good lessons.

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our strange story this morning is actually the continuation of another strange story that took place 38 years earlier with Moses and Aaron at the same location.

We can read about that story in Exodus 17:1-7.

+The Children of Israel had been gone from Egypt for a few months and were making their way to Mt. Sinai.

+The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY had already provided His People manna from heaven for bread and quail for meat.

They were encamped at a place called Rephidim. It was about 15-20 miles north of Mt. Sinai.

The people were once again grumbling with God. This time it was not about bread or meat but about water. They couldn’t find any water and just knew that they would die. That God had led them out to the desert to die.

And so, as you read the story in Ex. 17:1-7 the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron to go to a certain rock – the rock at Horeb and strike the rock with the staff that had been used during the Plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea and immediately water would flow out of the rock.

The Bible tells us that Moses did just that and sure enough water began to flow out of the rock and the people were saved.

However, Moses was most unhappy with all this God testing and quarreling and as a result, he renamed the place with two names – Massah (which means testing) and Meribah (which means quarreling).

It was Moses’ intention that by renaming the place an important milestone would be firmly established. Each time the people of God would come by this place and hear the two names that they would be more determined than ever to honor God, obey God and understand that God loves them.

That story is a rather strange story in its own right. Not very many times in history have we had stories about someone getting water from a rock by hitting it with a wooden staff. Even a staff that was as famous as Moses’ staff.

Now, let’s fast forward to our strange story this morning.

Almost 40 years have passed.

Moses is almost 120 years old.

A lot of things had happened over the past 40 years.

+God had given His People the 10 Commandments and His Covenant of Holiness.

+The adult generation that had walked out of Egypt 40 years earlier were almost gone. Only a few remained like Joshua, Caleb and Moses.

+The people of Israel were now a new generation. A generation that had grown up listening to Moses, learning how to be God’s People; learning how to follow God, obey God and worship God.

+Long gone were the days of the Golden Calf incident, the 12 spies debacle and even the sad days of Balaam and his donkey.

The Israelites were right on the cusp of entering into the Promise Land. Their 40 years of wandering around the desert was just about over.

Numbers 20 tells us that they found themselves back in the same area where their parents and grandparents had complained and quarreled with God over water some 38 years earlier. And just like their ancestors, they were now complaining about the lack of water. I guess some things just never change.

It is right here where the story gets a little strange. Even more strange than it was some 38 years ago when Moses was told by God to hit the stone with his staff.

We see:

+God once again ask Moses to do something to make the water flow.

But this time, he is not to use his staff. He is not to use the same staff that has over the last 40 years been used to bring about some plagues, win some battles and even provide water.

This time the LORD plainly tells Moses to take the staff with him, but it will not be used. Or rather it should not be used.

Instead, Moses was to speak to the rock. He was to tell the rock to bring forth water for the People of God.

The Hebrew word here is Debar – it plainly means to talk to or to speak to someone or something.

It’s the word used to describe how God communicated with Noah, with Abraham and with a host of other people throughout the Old Testament.

It wasn’t a new word or a difficult word to understand.