Exodus Chapter 17 Deep-Dive: Water from the Rock

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ISRAEL MIRACULOUSLY PASSED THROUGH THE RED SEA JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THIS, THEN GOD MIRACULOUSLY PROVIDED BREAD (MANNA), AND MEAT (QUAIL) … IN CH 16 … THE MIRACULOUS DAILY PROVISION OF MANNA WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE EXODUS, WATER WILL BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROBLEM … 

Ex Ch 17 Water from the Rock

1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim (COULD BE “A PLACE OF HEALING”, OR IT COULD BE JUST A PROPER NOUN-NAME), but there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” (HEBREW TEST & TEMP ARE THE SAME WORD – LIKE A BLACKSMITH TESTING A SWORD AS HE MAKES IT … THINK OF JESUS BEING LED INTO THE WILDERNESS BY THE SPIRIT SO HE COULD BE TEMPTED/TESTED BY THE DEVIL … JESUS’ LIFE RECREATES THE EXODUS BEGINNING WITH HIS BAPTISM/RED SEA, THEN INTO THE WILDERNESS … BUT HE DOES BETTER THAN ISRAEL DID) BACK TO MOSES … DON’T GRUMBLE … GOD KNOWS YOU NEED WATER … YOU’RE TESTING HIM BUT IN REALITY, HE’S TESTING YOU … AND YOU’RE FAILING! 3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel (HEADS OF THE TRIBES AND CLANS … THE LEADERS/JUDGES), and take in your hand the staff (PS 23, YOUR ROD & STAFF COMFORT ME – LEAD ME AND POP ME UP-SIDE-THE-HEAD WHEN I NEED IT… A SYMBOL OF AUTHORITY AND LEADERSHIP) with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb (AN APPEARANCE OF GOD IN PHYSICAL FORM … THIS IS JESUS, THE PERSONAL MESSENGER/REPRESENTATIVE OF YAHWEH) , and you shall strike the rock (OR, STRIKE THE ROCK ON WHICH GOD IS STANDING … A DANGEROUS, THREATENING THING TO DO TOWARDS GOD … SO, GOD TELLS MOSES TO JUDGE BETWEEN HIM/YAHWEH AND THE PEOPLE … THEN LAY THE PUNISHMENT/STRIKING ON GOD … THEN GOD WILL PROVIDE WATER, SO, THE PEOPLE ACCUSE/CURSE GOD BUT HE RESPONDS WITH BLESSING), and you shall strike the rock and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

COMPARE THIS SCENE TO WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE EXODUS IN NUM 20:8, IN THAT CASE GOD TELLS MOSES TO SPEAK TO THE ROCK, BUT MOSES STRIKES IT TWICE IN ANGER … THAT’S MOSES JUDGING GOD AND GOD WAS NOT PLEASED AND BECAUSE OF THAT BOTH MOSES AND AARON WERE EXCLUDED FROM ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND.

AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN EX 16 … EVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EXODUS GOD WAS NOT PLEASED WITH THE NATION OF ISRAEL … HE’S ANGRY WITH THEM BECAUSE OF WHO & WHAT THEY HAD BECOME DURING THEIR TIME IN EGYPT EZ 20:4-10… AND HE’S GOING TO BECOME MORE AND MORE ANGRY AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH THE EXODUS.

PAUL RECOUNTS THIS SCENE FOR THE NEW BELIEVERS IN CORINTH:

1 Cor 10:1For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

BACK TO EX 17: Israel Defeats Amalek

Ex 17:8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

Amalek is a grandson of Esau (Edom) – Jacob’s brother, so, the Amalekites are close relatives of Israel. It’s interesting that scripture names the man Amalek here, instead of naming the Amalekites. There is a lot of extra scriptural material stating how nasty the Amalekites were, however, none of that is from scripture. Here we have God working his signs and wonders in Egypt for months before this, then Israel miraculously passing through the red sea just a few weeks before this, then we have the song of Moses in which Moses PROPHESIES the nations in that region are going to be terrified of Israel:

From Ex 15, Moses’ song of praise after crossing the Red Sea - two chapters ago: 13“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 15Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

SO, MOSES PROPHESIED THAT THE CHIEFS OF EDOM, THAT WOULD INCLUDE AMALEK, WILL BE DISMAYED, EXCEPT … AMALEK WASN’T … HE DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION TO GOD’S TERROR AND HE WENT OUT AND MADE WAR ON ISRAEL … EVEN IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF YAHWEH’S MIRACULOUS SIGNS … THAT IS WHAT INFURIATED GOD AGAINST AMALEK

Deut 25:17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

ALSO, 440 YEARS AFTER THIS EVENT … 1 Sam 15:1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” AND IT WAS SAUL’S FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS DIRECTIVE FROM GOD THAT LED TO HIM LOSING THE KINGSHIP OF ISRAEL.

TWO REFERENCES TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AMALEKITES BEING TIED TO THIS ACT OF WAR AGAINS ISRAEL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EXODUS AND NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE ANY WORSE THAN ANY OTHER CLAN … DISOBEDIENCE IS WHAT INFURIATED YAHWEH!

BACK TO MOSES IN EX 17

9So Moses said to Joshua, (FIRST MENTION OF JOSHUA – he’s chosen to lead the army) “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” (SPECIFICALLY SPOKEN BY MOSES AS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR JOSHUA?) 10So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed (JOSHUA ENCOURAGED??), and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed (JOSHUA DISCOURAGED). 12But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

THIS IS THE ONLY INCIDENT IN SCRIPTURE THAT I CAN THINK OF WHERE A MAN HOLDING UP HIS HANDS IS WHAT DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT ISRAEL WAS SUCCESSFUL AT WAR, SO, I THINK THE HANDS BEING HELD UP IS TIED TO JOSHUA DEPENDING ON THAT SIGHT … WHEN HE SAW THE HANDS RAISED HE FOUGHT HARD AND WON, WHEN THE HANDS WERE DOWN HE BECAME DISCOURAGED AND ISRAEL BEGAN TO LOSE …

14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

WHY DOES GOD TELL MOSES TO RECITE THIS IN JOSHUA’S EARS ?? … Joshua was supposed to destroy the Amalekites when Israel took possession of the promised land but it didn’t happen! That same failure is what led to King Saul’s demise, also …

AND THAT WILL WRAP UP EX CH 17

 

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