Is God With Us, Or Not? (Exodus 17:1-16) Series

This morning, we will read two separate, but connected stories from Exodus 17. And as we read, eventually, we are going to find ourselves focusing on one main question: "Is God with us, or not?"

In the first story, we will see what life looks like, when you don't know for sure if God is with you. And in the second, we will see what life can look like, (1) if God is with you, and (2) you have confidence He's with you.

So. Story #1. Exodus 17:1-2:

(1) and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the mouth of Yahweh,

and they camped in Rephidim,

and there wasn't water for the people to drink,

(2) and the people quarreled (Gen. 26:20) with Moses,

and they said,

"Give to us water, that we may drink,"

The congregation has been moving through the wilderness in stages. Probably, this means that Yahweh has been a good shepherd to them, moving them from one water hole to the next.

But at Rephidim, there was no water. It's a dry camp. Probably, the distance between water holes was greater than the people could travel in a day. [It's a wilderness, uninhabited, for a reason].

And so the people, do what?

They "quarrel" with Moses. One lexicon defines "quarreling" as, "to be in a state of hostility and opposition to another person or group" (Swanson, DBL).

The people set themselves against Moses, and confront him. They challenge him to give them water, so that they may drink.

Basically, the people look at their situation, and decide that the buck stops with Moses. He's the problem, and he will be the solution.

Moses responds, still verse 2:

and Moses said to them,

"Why are you quarreling with me?

Why are you testing Yahweh?,"

Moses looks at what they are doing, and he asks two questions. The first: "Why are you quarreling with me?"

A single night, with a dry camp, is not a big deal. It's not worth treating Moses as an enemy. It's not worth the hostility.

And Moses then asks a second question: "Why are you testing Yahweh?"

We've seen Yahweh twice "test" the people, to see if they will obey him or not. Here, the people reciprocate-- they test Yahweh.

What does this mean?

What we've seen, over and over the past few weeks, is that God expects obedience. You have to do things his way. We saw that with the manna, in particular. You gather manna six days, not seven. The seventh day-- Saturday-- is a Sabbath to Yahweh. It's a day of rest. And when you gather manna, you gather enough for that day. You don't try to have leftovers. But the other part of obedience has to do with Moses. Moses is God's chosen servant. He's who God put in charge. And if you're an Israelite, what this means, basically, is that God expects you to do what Moses says. God commands Moses; Moses commands you. That's how life is supposed to look. So do what you're told, and don't be difficult about it (Hebrews 13:17).

Here, it's like Moses and Israel are on vacation. Israel is like a bunch of little kids in the backseat of the van, and they are complaining to their parents about the journey. And when they do this, they are "quarreling with Moses," and they are "testing Yahweh."

But in the end, it's God, and not Moses, who is driving the minivan. And when you complain to Moses, you run the risk your Father in Heaven is going to stop the car, and do something unpleasant to you.

So Moses wants to know, why would you do that? Why would you push God, to see how he will respond to you messing with his servant? Why would you test him that way? Why not just put up with a dry camp, for a single night?

Verse 3:

(3) and the people thirsted there for water,

and the people murmured/grumbled against Moses,

and they said,

"Is this why you brought us up from Egypt-- to kill us, and our sons, and our cattle, with thirst?,"

There's nothing rational about the people's response. Right? The people act like they are doomed. God will never again provide them with water. And so they straight-up challenge Moses-- did he bring them up from Egypt, just to kill them?

And even this, is pretty messed up. Who brought the people out of Egypt? At one level, Moses did. But at a higher level, it was very obviously God. So the people here show no spiritual understanding, at all. They are like toddlers on a bad day. Difficult. Unreasonable. Illogical.

Verse 4:

(4) and Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying,