The Makings Of A Memorial

THE MAKING OF A MEMORIAL

Exodus 17

I. The Murmuring

II. The Marauders

A. The Strategy of the Foe

1st – He attacked Unexpectedly – Vs. 8

2nd. – He attacked Indirectly – Deut. 25:17-18

3rd – He attacked Viciously – Deut. 25:18

4th – He attacked Arrogantly – Deut. 25:18

B. The Strength of our Forces

1. The Staff (Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua)

a. Energy

b. Encouragement

c. Endeavor (prayer is work)

2. The Staff (the rod of God)

III. The Marker (His Banner)

A. write

B. rehearse

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and looked to be perfect Christians.

Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers’ deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly.

All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

"I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with,

"But, compared to his brother, he was a saint."

I. The Murmuring

1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. (Have we ever been ready to stone a political leader?)

5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

As a rule, Man’s a fool

When it’s hot, He wants it cool.And when it’s cool, He wants it hot,

Always wanting What is not.

—Bits & Pieces, June 22, 1995, p. 5

“If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet, and sweep through it, and it would draw to itself the most invisible particles. The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find some heavenly blessings.”

—Henry Ward Beecher

II. The Marauders

A. The Strategy of the Foe

2 Corinthians 2:11, “11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Now I want to show you how Amalek did what he did:

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

1st – He attacked Unexpectedly – Vs. 8

* Israel was not expecting his attack.

* They had just experienced a spiritual blessing and then Amalek shows up. (Vs. 5, 6)

1 Corinthians 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.