Rock and Pray
Exodus 17:1-16
1. The Virginia Tech Massacre is on our minds. You may not know this, but Matt and Janet Dawson graduated frome there -- and met at Virginia Tech. ICR founder Henry Morris was at one time a faculty member there.
2. Marylu and I have literally dozens of friends who are either foreign or home missionaries.
3. One of Marylu’s friends is with Campus Crusade for Christ. She mentioned 4 students from the group were killed that day, while many others were traumatized. She wrote:
"Our staff members are all OK. They were gathered together for their weekly staff meeting off campus when the shootings occurred. They are actively ministering to the students, helping them talk this out, pray, cry, anything that will help them process
what they are going through. The regional Campus Ministry has formed a crisis team and they are also helping the staff team at Virginia Tech in ministering to the students."
The staff of Campus Crusade want to serve others and glorify God as best they can during such an awful tragedy.
4. We need to glorify God during times of tragedy -- and even more so during times of victory --as exemplified by Coach Tony Dungy of the Colts; when the Pacers won it all, Dungy was very clear to "give God the glory." This is what the godly life is about.
Main Idea: Life is a series of challenges and battles, and its main issue is "Who gets the glory?"
I. God’s Provision: The ROCK (Exodus 17:1-7)
A. The legitimate NEED (1)
B. The terrible ATTITUDE (2-3)
1. "Some people go through life just standing at the complaint counter" (Hot Off the Press)
2. The probably emboldened one another to complain: "If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." (Anatole France)
3. It was not a mistake to leave Egypt; but even if it was a mistake, what good is medicine after the patient has died?
C. The holiness of AGGRAVATION (4)
1. Moses was overwhelmed -- he was being held accountable for what was not His domain….
2. Moses was happy tending sheep in quiet Midian…
3. He feared that the people were going to stone him!
4. There is an old saying, "If you make friends with a donkey, you can expect to be kicked." Moses made friends with many donkeys-- but not by choice, but by God’s will…
5. Moses is humble, godly, and trust God -- yet he is frustrated and aggravated; so was Jesus when He wept over Jerusalem or marveled at unbelief-- it is okay to be frustrated, aggravated, or disappointed; we should take these feelings to God, as Moses did…and process them, not stuff them!
D. The PROVISION (5-6)
1. Why take elders? To show solidarity and make the people realize that their gripe is with God, not Moses…
2. Even though the "70 elders" who would be judges had not yet been appointed, they seemingly existed even while in Egypt…
3. Moses commanded to strike the "Rock of Horeb"
4. In a future video, you will see how this rock is at the head of what was once a reservoir…had to provide water for 2 million people and their livestock…
E. The SYMBOLISM (7)
1. The negative: WHINING
• Massah = test
• Meribah=contention
2. JESUS (I Corinthians 10:1-4)
"For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."
• Jesus goes with us -- even in OT times, the concept is there!
Life is a series of challenges and battles, and its main issue is "Who gets the glory?"
II. The Source of VICTORY: Our Dependence Upon God (17: 8-16)
A. Trust in God does not PRECLUDE strategy (8-9)
1. Joshua is Moses’ understudy; organizes troops
2. Joshua chose men…intelligence, effort
3. Another man introduced shortly is Hur, probably Moses’ brother-in-law
4. Moses on mountain, the people fighting
5. God’s sovereignty & man’s responsibility, an antinomy/paradox
B. God’s GLORY is the focus of our battles (10-13)
1. Prayer is all about DEPENDENCE
• Prayers offered with an attitude of dependence glorify and delight God
• John Piper puts it this way: "Prayer is his delight because prayer shows the reaches of our poverty and the riches of his grace." (Pleasures of God, p. 210)
2. No one doubted that GOD gave the victory
Since God provided the victory and power, God gets the glory
C. Winning BATTLES does not mean the war is over (14-16)
• future, long-term conflict with Amalek
• fulfilled in I Samuel 15:8 (under King Saul) and completed by David (I Samuel 30:17) 400 years later!!!
D. There are some mighty potent lessons in this text:
1. Prayer itself is nothing; it only makes a difference if our prayers signify dependence
2. We need others to support us in prayer (pray for one another)
3. God does not need us, but He has chosen to use us and our efforts…are we usable and are we making efforts?
4. Because we win a battle does not mean we have won the war
4. Some solvable problems will not be solved in our lifetime…
E. But the battles, victories, or losses are not as crucial as this issue: WHO GETS THE GLORY!
Life is a series of challenges and battles, and its main issue is "Who gets the glory?"
CONCLUSION
1. God has included us in something marvelous. It is called the Christian life.
2. It doesn’t always seem so wonderful. At times, it is a tough struggle.
3. But it puts us in the position to do what will most fulfill us: to glorify God as recepients of His grace and mercy.
