#14 The Fourth Crisis of Israel In the Wilderness—Thirst: God’s Provision of Water Exodus 17:1-7
Several years ago I watched a movie which featured Malcolm Muggeridge. Standing beside the family plot in an English cemetery, this elderly Christian statesman spoke as one who would soon join those of his family who had died. I will never forget the way he contrasted his youthful dreads and desires with those of his old age. He said that those things which he felt were most desirable in his youth he now saw to be of relatively little importance, while those things which he dreaded in his youth had proven to be the richest experiences of his life.
I believe that Muggeridge is right. Those things which we think are most important often prove to be otherwise, while those things which appear to be undesirable, even painful, often prove most precious and profitable. Out text is an excellent example. The Israelites viewed the lack of water at Rephidim as a disaster and an indication that God had abandoned them to die in the desert. They questioned whether God was with them or not.
In reality, God was with them in a way that was beyond their comprehension, a way that would be revealed centuries later by the apostle Paul. What first appeared to be an indication of God’s absence proved to be one of the most dramatic illustrations of God’s presence, provision, and protection. Let us listen carefully to the words of this text, for they offer encouragement to every saint who has ever questioned the presence of God in a time of personal crisis.
(17:1-7) Introduction: the craving for water, the need to moisten parched lips, is one of the strongest drives that a man has. As long as a man’s thirst is quenched, he can go on about his normal life. However, if water is withheld for a long period of time, the body begins to dehydrate. If water is not provided soon after dehydration, the man will become sick and eventually die.
Now note: physical thirst is a picture of spiritual thirst. Men who sense spiritual thirst will do anything to satisfy their thirst. Spiritual thirst is a normal thing, but it becomes abnormal when man tries to satisfy his thirst with the things of the world...
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· immoral sex · fleshly pleasures · selfish power · self-centered fame · worldly friends · pornography |
· possessions · property · recognition · position · overeating |
The thirst of the human heart can be met by God and by God alone. This is the much needed lesson of this passage: The Fourth Crisis of Israel In the Wilderness—Thirst: God’s Provision of Water, Exodus 17:1-7.
1. The crisis: thirst—the Israelites had no water to drink (v.1).
2. The terrible sin of Israel (v.2-3).
3. The cry of God’s servant: he cried out to the Lord (v.4).
4. The provision of God (v.5-6).
5. The place memorialized (v.7).
As they moved toward Mt. Sinai, the people of Israel were still being led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. But the Lord was still directing Israel into difficult and trying situations in order to prove His power and build their faith and character. After all, life’s journey involves much more than merely reaching a destination. If we aren’t growing in faith, in the knowledge of God, and in godly character, we’re wasting our opportunities.
Leaving the Desert of Sin where God’s miraculous provision of manna had commenced (cf. chapter 16), the Israelites went from place to place, as the Lord directed them. It is significant to note that God was in no hurry to bring the Israelites into the land of Canaan. While Israel’s later “wilderness wanderings” were the result of their sin at Kadesh‑barnea (cf. Numbers 13‑14), the wanderings here are designed to serve as Israel’s “boot camp” experiences. The events of chapter 17 occur while Israel is camped at Rephidim,[1] where there was no water for the Israelites or their cattle.
It is important to note that it was God who led Israel to Rephidim where there was no water. The Israelites traveled, we are told, “from place to place as the Lord commanded” (emphasis mine). While the cloud is not specifically referred to in our text, we have previously been told that God always led Israel by means of the pillar of cloud (in daytime) and of light (at night, cf. 13:21‑22). While the Israelites are without water, it is apparent that it is God’s will for this to be their dilemma.
Israel’s response to the lack of water is no mere repetition of their previous actions,[2] however. Described here is an even greater transgression than we have seen previously. The Israelites should have learned to trust God to supply their needs, based upon His previous provision of water at Marah (15:22‑26) and quail and manna in the wilderness of Sin (chapter 16). Furthermore, the Israelites did far more than just grumble, as they had previously done.
Before this, the Israelites had grumbled against Moses and Aaron (15:24; 16:2, 7‑8), but now they are quarreling[3] with Moses and about to stone him (17:4). Before, the Israelites asked Moses what they were to drink (15:24), but now they are demanding that Moses give them water to drink. Since Moses had been able to miraculously sweeten the waters at Marah and to produce quail and manna, the people appear to be demanding that he perform another miracle for them. It is as though he must prove he has God’s authority to lead them by producing water miraculously.
It is bad enough that the Israelites argued with Moses and demanded that Moses provide them with water, but the text informs us that they were also challenging God here as well. Moses accused the people of “putting God to the test” in their quarreling with him (17:2). Since Moses’ authority is due to his divine appointment (chapters 3 and 4), to quarrel with Moses is ultimately to dispute with God. The issue, however, is not only whether Moses had the right to continue to lead this people, but whether God was among His people. The challenge of the Israelites was, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Imagine this question being asked as the pillar of cloud, in which God was present and by which He revealed His glory and led them to this place, hovered in their sight.
Moses’ rebuke (that the people were putting God to the test) fell on deaf ears. They began to rehearse their memories of the “good old days” in Egypt, contrasted with their miseries and near‑certain death in the desert (17:3). Unable to dissuade the people, Moses could only cry out to the Lord for help (17:4).
God’s answer was that Moses should walk on ahead of the people. Among other things this indicated that Moses was making no retreat. It also reminded the congregation of Israelites that Moses was their leader, because when water was provided from the rock the people had to follow Moses to get to it. Some of the elders were taken along by Moses to witness, it would seem, this new miracle. (Did Israel’s hardness of heart prevent them from this privilege?) As commanded, Moses took along his staff—the same one with which he had struck the Nile (17:5). The Lord promised Moses that He would be standing before Him at the[4] rock at Horeb.[5] Moses was to strike the rock, causing water to flow from it. When Moses did this, water came forth in abundance, providing for the needs of the Israelites. He named the place Massah (test) and Meribah (quarrel), an epitaph which the Israelites would gladly have stricken from their history.
There are many scholars who would attempt to interpret this miraculous provision of water as a merely natural phenomenon. For example, there are those who suggest that there was a vein of water near the surface of the rock and that Moses just happened to hit this rock in the right place, so as to “uncap” the supply. This sounds more like the television description of how Jeb Clampett (of the Beverly Hillbillies) accidentally discovered oil on his place—a shot fired from his rifle accidentally released oil hidden underground.[6]
An old test repeated (Ex. 17:1-3)
Israel had a long way to go before they would qualify as a godly nation. So far, every new trial they experienced only brought out the worst in them. When they arrived in Rephidim, in the Wilderness of Sinai, they again found themselves without water. They had failed this test once before, so God had to test them again. He had proved that He was able to provide water and food for them, so why were they quarreling with Moses? Because their hearts were still in Egypt! They were guilty of ingratitude and unbelief, wanting to go back to the old life; and as a result, they again failed to pass the test.
Every difficulty God permits us to encounter will become either a test that can make us better or a temptation that can make us worse, and it’s our own attitude that determines which it will be. If in unbelief we start complaining and blaming God, then temptation will trap us and rob us of an opportunity to grow spiritually. But if we trust God and let Him have His way, the trial will work for us and not against us (Rom. 8:28; James 1:12-15) and help us grow in grace. When people are out of fellowship with the Lord, and are angry and bitter, they usually want to do unreasonable things that could only make the situation worse. In this instance, the people wanted to stone their leader! (Ex. 17:5) How that would have changed their situation is difficult to discern, but disobedient people often look for a scapegoat.7-1
(17:1) Trial— Thirst— Water— Crisis— Israel: there was the crisis of thirst, of coming to a place and finding no water to drink. Israel had left the desert of Sin and marched to Rephidim where they were expecting to find water. But when they arrived, they discovered to their horror that the creeks were dry. There was no water.
The people had been wandering about in the desert for days, perhaps weeks; and remember, there were two to three million of them. They were tired, weary, and thirsty—totally exhausted. Nerves were on edge. Water supplies had no doubt been running low for days, and each family had been rationing their water supply. When they reached Rephidim, they obviously had run completely out of water. Then they heard the most frightening words imaginable: “No water. The creeks are dry.”
A crisis existed, the most severe crisis that a people could face out in the dry, barren desert: no water. It was a matter of life and death, of survival. What were they to do? What could they do?
Now, note a significant fact: it was the LORD Himself who had led them to camp at Rephidim, who had led them by the pillar of cloud, by His very own presence. Why? Why would the LORD lead them to a place where there was no water?
The answer lies in the name of the LORD. The LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh) means the God of revelation and deliverance.
Þ The LORD was obviously planning to reveal Himself at Rephidim, to reveal that He is the God of salvation and deliverance, the God who saves and delivers His people through all the trials of life.
Þ The LORD was obviously planning to test His people at Rephidim, to test and strengthen their faith: to teach them to trust Him more and more, to trust Him to take care of them and their needs more and more.
Þ The LORD was obviously planning to glorify Himself at Rephidim, to glorify Himself by proving that He is truly God, the God who saves and delivers His people through all the trials and problems of life.
What causes so many trials and problems in life? Often, we do. We are often the cause of problems and trials, of bringing affliction into our own lives. We act foolishly and abuse our bodies, break the law, mistreat others, act irresponsibly, misbehave, fail to take care of things, and on and on the list could go. We often cause many of the problems and trials that confront us.
But note: sometimes trials arise in our lives that are beyond our control, trials that we did absolutely nothing to cause. These are often caused by God. God sometimes puts us in situations that really try us, that cause serious problems for us. Why?
1) God uses trials to test, prove, and strengthen us. God uses trials to arouse us...
· to cry out to Him for help.
· to trust Him more and more.
· to become stronger and stronger in enduring and in standing up for Him.
· to be a strong testimony and witness for Him that He does truly exist and can deliver and save those who trust Him.
· to draw closer and closer to Him in prayer, trust, fellowship, and communion.
2) God uses trials to glorify and praise Himself. When the LORD delivers and saves us through a trial, we glorify and praise God for delivering us.
3) God uses trials to reveal that He is the God of salvation and deliverance, the God who saves and delivers His people through all the trials of life. Thereby people know that God is the LORD...
· that He does exist
· that He is the only living and true God
(17:2-3) Israel— Grumbling— Complaining— Murmuring: there was the terrible sin of Israel. What did Israel do? Did they pass the test of God? Did they trust God, trust His goodness: believe that He loved them and cared for them? Note what they did.
1. The Israelites looked to a man not to God; they had their eyes and hopes placed upon an earthly leader not upon the LORD. Note what happened: they argued and grumbled against their earthly leader, Moses (Exodus 17:2). They demanded of Moses, “Give us water.” They treated him as though he were a magician, as though he could work miracles and meet their needs.
The point is this: the people’s eyes were on Moses and not on God. They focused upon Moses as a wonder worker, as a worker of miracles. A man was the object of their attention and loyalty not God.
Our trust must always be in God not in man. In the terrifying and difficult trials of life, man can be of little help. Man can help us very little if at all when facing...
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· terminal illness · very old age · a terrible accident · the death of a loved one · an awful tragedy |
· bankruptcy · natural disasters · life-threatening situations · a supervisor’s hatred or anger |
Our hope is in God not in earthly leaders. Therefore, we must learn to look to God not to men for help.
2. The Israelites tested God: they were questioning God’s goodness and demanding that He prove Himself, demanding that He take care of them right then and there (Exodus 17:2).
How could the people question God’s goodness when He had done so much for them? How could they doubt His existence and His care? Why were they complaining and grumbling and arguing with God’s servant? The answer is obvious:
Þ Because they were not a people of prayer. Instead of complaining and grumbling against God and Moses, they should have gone to Moses and suggested that they all seek God in prayer, seek Him to meet their need. Just imagine what a great sight that would have been: two to three million people on their knees together—out in the middle of the desert—crying out to God to provide water for them. What a different picture we would have in Scripture of Israel if they had only done what they should have: joined Moses in prayer, seeking God to meet their need. But this was not to be.
3. The Israelites accused Moses of being an impostor: of misleading them and leading them to their death (Exodus 17:3). Note how serious the situation became: the people were ready to stone Moses (cp. Exodus 17:4). They became violent, filled with uncontrolled anger, malice, and rage.
Þ They forgot all about God’s wonderful provisions in the past: how God had already provided water for them.
Þ They forgot all about how gloriously God had used His servant in the past: how Moses had freed them from Egyptian slavery and led them through the Red Sea.
Death—death from thirst and dehydration—was staring them in the face, and they were terrified. They had grown so little in God and knew so little about God that they immediately turned against God’s servant Moses.
Again, why? How could the Israelites so quickly forget God’s blessings? So quickly forget how God had magnificently delivered His people?
1) Because of their hearts and minds. Their hearts and minds were...
· carnal
· fleshly
· self-centered
2) Because of unbelief and distrust. They had not grown in prayer nor in trust of the Lord. Day by day out in the wilderness wanderings they had kept their minds upon carnal things, the things of this earth instead of upon God. They had obviously thought little about God, little about His glorious person and power, little about His wonderful salvation and deliverance.
Thus, they had learned little about God...
· little about trusting and believing Him
· little about worshipping and honoring Him
· little about witnessing and bearing testimony for Him
An unfailing resource (Ex. 17:4-7)
Moses did what he frequently had to do as a leader: he called on the Lord for help (15:25; 32:30ff; Num. 11:1-2; 12:13; 14:13ff). “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). The Lord instructed him to take some of the elders with him, plus the rod that symbolized God’s power (Ex. 7:20), and to smite the rock in the sight of the people. When Moses obeyed, the water gushed forth from the rock and met the needs of the people and the livestock (Pss. 78:15-16; 105:41; 114:8; Isa. 48:21). A gracious God met the needs of a complaining people.7-2
The rock is a type of Jesus Christ smitten for us on the cross (1 Cor. 10:4),7-3 and the water is a type of the Holy Spirit whose coming was made possible by Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven (John 7:37-39). This explains why Moses was wrong to smite the rock when he should have spoken to it (Num. 20:1-13), because “[Christ] died to sin once for all” (Rom. 6:10, nkjv, and see Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28).
“Massah” means “to test,” and “Meribah” means “contention, quarreling.” The Jews had not yet learned that God tests His people in the everyday experiences of life. He uses the difficult experiences of life to strengthen our faith and mature our character. But Israel’s faith in God was very weak, for they thought their God had led them to a place where He couldn’t care for them! The trouble with the Israelites was that they had hard hearts that wouldn’t submit to the Lord, so they rebelled against His will. In fact, the older generation had unbelieving hearts throughout their entire journey from Egypt to Canaan (Ps. 95:6-11; Heb. 3).7-4 They complained about water at the beginning of their pilgrimage and also forty years later at the end (Num. 20:1-13). On the map of our lives, how many places ought to be named “Testing and Quarreling” because of the way we’ve complained about our circumstances and failed to trust God? It’s one thing to sit comfortably in church and sing “All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?” and quite something else to be confronted with distress and disappointment and meekly say, “Not my will but Thine be done.” Corrie ten Boom used to say, “Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.”
(17:4) Prayer— Intercession: the servant of God cried out to God for help. The people were upset and impatient with Moses, to the point of violence: they were ready to stone Moses. He was experiencing what Paul was later to experience: “the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved” (2 Cor. 12:15). Moses did the only thing he could: he got alone with God and cried out to God for help. Note that Moses was very upset with the Israelites: he called them “this people” (“these people” NIV) instead of “my people.” The sin and personal attacks of the people against Moses had put a great distance, an alienation, between them. The prophets of God often felt this distance and alienation when the people rebelled against God and attacked them (Isaiah 6:9; Haggai 1:2).
(17:5-6) Need - Necessities— Provision— Supply— Rock, The— Israel— Water: there was the provision of God. God heard the cry of His dear servant, heard his desperate plea for help.
1. God told His servant to walk ahead of the people: to take with him some of the elders of Israel and his rod or staff (Exodus 17:5). Why take the elders with him? To be eye-witnesses of the miracle. Why take the rod? Not to strike some plague or chastisement upon them but to call forth the power of God. God wanted to meet the need of the unbelieving and distrusting backsliders. Note the patience, forbearance, and longsuffering of God. Note His willingness to work a long time with us, longing for us to repent and trust Him—just as we should always do.
2. Now note what God promised to do for His backslidden people: He promised to stand before His servant by the rock in Horeb (Exodus 17:6).
3. God instructed His dear servant to strike the rock, and He promised that water would flow out of it (Exodus 17:6).
4. God’s servant obeyed (Exodus 17:6). Moses took his staff and struck the rock in sight of all the elders standing there. The result: water flowed out of the rock, flowed like rivers that branched out into streams.
Note another fact as well: the LORD Himself is said to have been standing there causing water to gush forth out of the rock. How was this possible? By God, by His omnipotent power. The LORD was standing there by the rock and when Moses struck it, the LORD caused a river and springs of water to flow out of the rock or out of the ground from under the rock. This is exactly what is declared in other Scriptures.
The wilderness will leave a person dry, parched, and empty of any moisture. This is a picture of man being spiritually dry, parched, and empty. Spiritually...
· man has a dry spirit; God seems far, far away.
· man has a dry soul; a personal relationship with Christ and personal devotions are lacking.
· man has dry friendships; surface relationships are the norm.
· man has dry hearing, the words of God are only faintly heard.
· man has a dry family life, little communication and little fulfillment and love.
· man has a dry heart; tenderness dried up long ago.
· man has a dry love life; self-centeredness quenches any chance of sharing together sacrificially.
· man has a dry mind; worldly distractions rule every thought.
· man has a dry career; work has become a loathsome chore.
· man has a dry vision for the future; little hope exists for a full and satisfied life.
Empty people have a desperate need to quench their thirst. But note, there is glorious news: there is water to quench man’s dry, parched thirst. There is a living water, a water that gives life to man. That water is Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus Christ is the water of life. He can quench the dry, parched thirst of man. This is the strong declaration of Scripture. Jesus Christ declared that He is the water of life, the water that saves and gives life to man. Jesus Christ is the only water that can meet the thirst of man’s soul, that can satisfy man.
There is a great lesson here: we must learn to trust God, believe Him, depend upon Him to take care of our needs. God will meet our needs, even the most severe and difficult needs. God will do whatever is necessary to meet our needs: He will even give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to take care of us (Isaiah 43:20). Our task is to trust God, to depend upon Him.
(17:7) Rephidim— Massah— Meribah— Memorial: the place of Rephidim was memorialized. Moses wanted succeeding generations to always remember what had happened at Rephidim; therefore, he gave two names to the place.
Þ Massah, which means test, testing. This, of course, referred to the people’s testing—doubting and questioning—of God.
Þ Meribah, which means argument, contention, and strife. This referred to the people’s complaining and grumbling spirit against God and His servant Moses.
Two important lessons must be learned from this point. We all (every believer) leave a legacy upon earth. We absolutely must not leave the legacy that the Israelites left.
1) The legacy of testing God: of unbelief and distrust, of doubting and questioning God, questioning His existence and His goodness.
2) The legacy of complaining, grumbling, and murmuring.
DEEPER STUDY (17:6) Rock of Horeb, The: Scripture teaches that the rock is a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the title of the song says, Jesus Christ is the “Rock of Ages.” Time and again throughout Scripture, the rock pictures the LORD. (See outline—§1 Peter 2:4-8 and notes—§1 Peter 2:4-8 for an in-depth study of “Christ, the Living Rock.”)
1. The Israelites are said to have drunk of the spiritual rock, the Rock of Christ.
“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).
What does it mean to say that Christ was the spiritual Rock that followed the Israelites? It means that He was the foundation, the support, the security, the solid footing of their lives. He was there to support them, to make them safe and secure and to provide for them, to provide whatever they needed.
2. Moses struck the rock and water flowed out of the rock, water that saved and brought life to the Israelites. Jesus Christ was “smitten, stricken, and afflicted” and became the fountain of living water for us all.
3. The Psalmist cried out for the Rock to help him in his distress.
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).
4. Israel remembered that God was their rock.
“And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer” (Psalm 78:35).
5. Jesus Christ is the rock, the chief cornerstone, that determines the fate of all people.
“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed” (1 Peter 2:6-8).
6. Jesus Christ is the only foundation upon which people can build and base their lives.
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).
2. God defeats our enemies (Ex. 17:8-16)
On the journey of faith, we not only experience trials involving the necessities of life, such as bread and water, but we also face battles when our enemies attack us. We’re pilgrims who are also soldiers, and that means we must occasionally endure hardship as we follow the Lord (2 Tim. 2:3-4).
The enemy (Ex. 17:8)
The devil is our greatest enemy (1 Peter 5:8), and he uses the world and the flesh to oppose us (Eph. 2:1-3). Just as Israel was delivered from Egypt by the power of God, so God’s people today have been delivered from “this present evil world [age]” (Gal. 1:3-4) through the victory of Christ. We are in the world physically but not of the world spiritually (John 17:14-16), and therefore must not become conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2). We renounce the things of the flesh (Gal. 5:16-21) and resist the attacks of the devil (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9).
The Amalekites were the descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau (Gen. 36:12, 16) who was “a profane person” (Heb. 12:16). The word translated “profane” (“godless,” niv) comes from a Greek word that means “a threshold”; it refers to somebody who is accessible and can be “walked on” by anybody or anything. The English word “profane” comes from the Latin and means “outside the temple,” that is, unhallowed and common. Esau lived for the world and the flesh and despised spiritual things (Heb. 12:17). Esau opposed his brother Jacob and threatened to kill him (Gen. 27:41), and Esau’s descendants opposed the children of Jacob (Israel) and threatened to annihilate them.
There’s no record that the Jews ever had to fight any battles in Egypt, but once they were delivered from bondage, they discovered they had enemies. So it is in the Christian life. When we identify with Jesus Christ, then His enemies become our enemies (Luke 12:49-53) and we must “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). But we need the battles of life to help balance the blessings of life; otherwise, we’ll become too confident and comfortable and stop trusting the Lord.
The strategy (Deut. 25:17-19)
The Amalekites attacked Israel suddenly from behind, at the weakest place in the camp, for they struck those Jews who were weary and feeble and were at the rear of the march. Amalek attacked after Israel had experienced a great blessing in the provision of the water from the rock. Satan and his demonic army (Eph. 6:10-12) know what our weakest point is and when we’re not ready for an assault. That’s why we must “watch and pray, lest [we] enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38, nkjv).
The enemy often attacks God’s people after they’ve experienced special blessings, but the Lord can use those attacks to keep us from trusting the gifts instead of the Giver. It was after his victory over the four kings that Abraham was tempted to take the spoil (Gen. 14:17-24); and after the victory over Jericho, Joshua became overconfident and was defeated at Ai (Josh. 7). After Elijah defeated the priests of Baal, he became discouraged and was tempted to quit (1 Kings 18:41–19:18); and it was after the blessings at His baptism that our Lord was led into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt. 3:13–4:1). “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
The victory (Ex. 17:9-13)
There’s no evidence that Israel fought any battles in Egypt. Even on the night of their deliverance from Egypt, they didn’t have to fight the attacking Egyptian army, because the Lord fought for them. “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show to you today” (Ex. 14:13). But now that they were on their pilgrim journey, Israel would have to enter into battle many times and trust the Lord for victory. “And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
This is the first mention of Joshua in the Bible, but he will be named 200 more times before Scripture ends.7-5 He was born in Egypt and named Hoshea, which means “salvation.” Later, Moses changed his name to “Joshua—Jehovah is salvation” (Num. 13:8, 16), which is the Hebrew equivalent of “Jesus” (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 4:8). He knew the rigors of Egyptian slavery and must have had an aptitude for military leadership for Moses to make him general of the army. He became Moses’ servant (Ex. 24:13; 33:11; Josh. 1:1), for God’s policy is that we first prove ourselves as faithful servants before we can be promoted to being leaders (Matt. 25:21, 23). Joshua had only one day to rally his army and get them ready for the attack, but he did it.
Israel’s great victory over Amalek involved three elements: the power of God in heaven, the skill of Joshua and the army on the battlefield, and the intercession of Moses, Aaron, and Hur7-6 on the top of the hill. God could have sent angels to annihilate the enemy (Isa. 37:38), but He deigns to use human instruments to accomplish His purposes. Joshua and his army would trust God and fight, Moses and his associates would trust God and intercede, and God would do the rest. In this way, God’s people would grow in faith and God’s name would be glorified.
It was customary for the Jews to lift up their hands when they prayed (Pss. 28:2; 44:20; 63:4; 134:2; 1 Kings 8:22, 38, 54; 1 Tim. 2:8), and since Moses held the staff of God in his hands, he was confessing total dependence on the authority and power of Jehovah. It wasn’t Moses who was empowering Joshua and his army; it was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “the Lord of Hosts.” As long as Moses held the rod up in his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he brought his hands down, Amalek prevailed.
We can understand how Joshua and the army would grow weary fighting the battle, but why would Moses get weary holding up the rod of God? To the very day of his death, he didn’t lose his natural strength (Deut. 34:7), so the cause wasn’t physical. True intercession is a demanding activity. To focus your attention on God and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) can weary you as much as strenuous work. Like Epaphras, we must be “always laboring fervently” in our prayers (Col. 4:12)7-7 and not just casually mentioning our requests to the Lord. Samuel M. Zwemer, missionary to the Muslim world, used to call prayer “the gymnasium of the soul,” and John Bunyan wrote, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart.” To put your full heart into intercessory prayer will cost you, but it will also bless you.
Joshua couldn’t have succeeded without Moses, but Moses couldn’t have prevailed without the support of Aaron and Hur. Not everybody can be a Moses or Joshua, a D.L. Moody or Billy Graham, but all Christians can be like Aaron and Hur and help hold their hands as they obey God. God is looking for people who will share in the battle and the victory because they continue steadfastly in prayer (Rom. 12:12; Isa. 59:16).
There’s also a reminder here that our Savior ever lives in heaven to make intercession for us as we fight the battles of life, and His strength never fails (Heb. 7:25). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit within also intercedes for us and guides us in our praying (Rom. 8:26-27). God promises victory to those who will pray and wield the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17-18).
The testimony (Ex. 17:14-16)
Moses didn’t build a monument to himself or to Joshua, or even to the victorious army of Israel. Instead, he was careful to give all the glory to God for Israel’s victory by building an altar and naming it “The Lord is my Banner.” In Egypt, he had probably seen the various divisions of the army, each identified with one of their many gods, so he lifted a banner to honor the only true God. Moses also gave the reason for this memorial: “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord” (Ex. 17:16, niv), referring to Moses’ intercession on the hill.7-8 God had answered prayer and helped His people, and Moses wanted to praise His name.
But Moses also put an entry into the official book of records7-9 that Israel should contend with Amalek until that nation was completely destroyed. Israel fought them again at Kadesh-Barnea but was defeated (Num. 14:45); Gideon conquered them along with the Midianites (Judges 6:33). King Saul failed to obey God and exterminate the Amalekites, so he lost his crown (1 Sam. 15) and was himself killed by an Amalekite (2 Sam. 1:1-16). David defeated the Amalekites who raided his camp (1 Sam. 30), and when he became king, finally subdued them (2 Sam. 8:11-12). During the reign of Hezekiah, his armies annihilated the few Amalekites who still remained. God’s judgment of the Amalekites teaches us that you can’t attack the throne of God and get away with it.
The incident at Massah and Meribah[7] is seminal in two very different ways. The events of this chapter are developed into two major themes in the Scriptures. First, Massah and Meribah becomes an epitaph of the hardness of the Israelites’ hearts (and not just that first generation) as well as for the Gentiles. Second, Massah and Meribah is an evidence of the grace of God and of His presence and provision for His people. We shall explore both of these themes and their relationship to each other.
This incident is far more than a mere occurrence of corporate “temporary insanity,” as the contemporary excuse for sin is so often labeled. The Israelites were not just momentarily “out of sorts.” Unfortunately, this incident is typical of Israel’s stubbornness. Moses informed them that it was typical of their stubbornness and rebellion against God:
Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff‑necked people. Remember this and never forget how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord. At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you (Deut. 9:6‑8, cf. v. 24; Heb. 3:10).
The grumbling of the Israelites in the wilderness was therefore a persistent problem, not a rare and infrequent one. Furthermore, the sin of this first generation of Israelites was almost identically reproduced by the second generation of Israelites, some years later (cf. Num. 20:1‑13). The problem of grumbling is one that is common to every generation, in every age. Thus, we find the events of Massah and Meribah frequently referred to in the Old Testament.[8] “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did” (Ps. 95:7b‑9). The New Testament picks up “Massah and Meribah,” making this incident a lesson for contemporary Christians as well (cf. Heb. 3 and 4; 1 Cor. 10:1‑13). We must therefore conclude that the problems which underlie Massah and Meribah are universal. Let us seek then to explore the nature of the Israelites’ sin here as well as the solution which God has for this sin.
(1) Israel’s actions at Massah and Meribah constituted testing[9] God (Exod. 17:2,7; Deut. 6:16; Ps. 106:14). Israel’s lack of water was by divine design, for God was testing the Israelites by their response to adversity: “I tested you at the waters of Meribah” (Ps. 81:7; cf. Deut. 8:2,16). It was good for God to test the Israelites, for it revealed the sinful condition of their hearts. It surfaced their willfulness and waywardness and revealed that God was always blessing them on the basis of His grace, not their works. God has every right to test His creatures, and His tests are always for our good (Deut. 8:16).
On the other hand, no creature has the right to “put God to the test.” To do so is to demand that God prove Himself in a way that we dictate. God had proven Himself more than sufficiently in the miracles of the exodus. Israel did not lack evidence; they only lacked faith. If God were among them, then let Him prove it by giving them water, then and there. How arrogant! How inappropriate! How sinful! The creature demands that the Creator jump through his hoops.
(2) Israel’s demand that God prove His presence among them betrayed their lack of faith in Him. The Scriptures indicate that Israel’s actions at Massah and Meribah betray hearts which are hardened and unbelieving: “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did” (Ps. 95:8‑9). They did not believe His promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord (Ps. 106:24b‑25; cf. Heb. 3:12, 19). “Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, and unreliable as a faulty bow” (Ps. 78:57).
Satan challenged our Lord to prove that He was the Son of God by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple, but our Lord rebuked him with a reference to the evil committed by the Israelites in putting God to the test at Massah and Meribah (Matt. 4:5‑7). Satan had no right to challenge the Son of God to act in a such a way, for this would suggest that God is so unreliable He must be proven. The Jewish religious leaders persistently challenged Jesus to prove Himself by giving them a sign (cf. Matt. 12:38), a challenge which He refused to take up (cf. Matt. 12:39ff.).
When we demand that someone prove themselves to us we reveal our lack of trust in them. For example, the United States and Russia frequently attempt to come to some kind of nuclear arms agreement. The Russians persist at attempting to negotiate an agreement which has no “on sight inspections.” The United States insists that such “tests” be a part of the agreement. The reason for this insistence is simple—we don’t trust the Russians. Demanding that God prove Himself to us betrays our lack of trust in Him. It is not He who is untrustworthy; it is us. When we demand that Russia give proof of their integrity, we are wise. When we demand such proof from God, we are fools.
A beautiful illustration of the kind of trust in God which does not “put God to the test” is found in Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow in worship to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, even when threatened with being thrown into a blazing furnace. When they spoke to the king, they said: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan. 3:17‑18).
Faith trusts in God, even when the result appears to be fatal.[10] The Israelites should have learned by now that God had promised to deliver them, not to destroy them, and that He had always protected them and provided for their needs, no matter how bleak things looked. And yet when they ran out of water, they doubt the presence of God and demand a miracle so that God may prove Himself to them once again.
(3) Israel’s actions at Massah and Meribah reveal their lack of patience. God would not have allowed His people to die of thirst, as they accused. Had they but waited, God would have provided for them. Their lack of faith was manifested in their impatience: “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test” (Ps. 106:14). In every instance where Israel lacked either food or water, Israel acted prematurely. God would have provided for His people’s needs in His own time, but this was too late so far as the Israelites were concerned. Unbelief is often hasty; faith is patient and endures.
(4) Israel’s response at Massah and Meribah were acts of disobedience. The first instance of thirst at Marah (Exod. 15:22‑26) was an occasion for God to test His people (15:25), as well as to teach them: “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you” (Exod. 15:26).
When Israel tested God at Massah and Meribah, God viewed their actions as disobedience: “But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes” (Ps. 78:56). “They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord” (Ps. 106:24; cf. Heb. 3:16,18; 4:6,11). The question we must answer here is, “Just what command of God did the Israelites disobey at Massah and Meribah?” The only commandments given so far have been general (15:26) and those which specifically related to the harvesting and use of manna in chapter 16. I find the key to be in the first verse of chapter 17: “The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded” (emphasis mine). The guidance which God gave the Israelites was by command our text informs us. When Israel resisted Moses and insisted that he had led them into the wilderness to die of thirst, they rebelled against the guidance of God, and thus they disobeyed His command. In the previous lesson, I likened grumbling to disobedience. Now, in the light of God’s commentary on this chapter, I must say that it is disobedience.
(5) At Massah and Meribah, Israel doubted God’s presence among them. It is an incredible thing that Israel could doubt God’s presence and power among them (17:7). God had evidenced His presence and power so many times in their very recent past—in the plagues, in their passing through the Red Sea, and in His provision of food and water. Moreover, God’s presence was manifested in the cloud (cf. 13:21‑22; 16:11). Nevertheless, the absence of water causes the Israelites to suspect the absence of God.
The amazing thing about the incident at Massah and Meribah is that God graciously provided His grumbling people with water in abundance, through the rock at Horeb. In spite of the great sin of the people in disputing with Moses and in putting God to the test, they were abundantly provided for. Because of this, the rock at Massah and Meribah quickly became a symbol of God’s presence and power among His people. It is little wonder that the Lord is worshipped as Israel’s “rock” in the “song of Moses”: “I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just” (Deut. 32:3‑4a; cf. also vv. 13,15,18). Psalm 95 begins, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation” (Ps. 95:1).
The rock of Massah and Meribah became the symbol of God’s presence with His people. From this time onward, the “rock” becomes a frequently employed term to refer to God’s faithfulness in providing for His people: “He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham” (Ps. 105:41‑42). “But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the Rock I would satisfy you” (Ps. 81:16).
The “rock” of Exodus 17 is therefore employed as a symbol of Israel’s hope for the future, because it symbolized God’s faithfulness to His people in the past when He promises to be faithful in the future: “They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out” (Isa. 48:21).
While the Old Testament saint came to view God as their “rock,” there was yet unfathomed meaning to this symbol which is revealed by the apostle Paul after the coming of Christ. Paul’s words are both profound and perplexing when he writes, “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” (1 Cor. 10:3‑4).
The Jews had a legend concerning the “rock” which tumbled along behind the Israelites in the wilderness, and some scholars seem to think that Paul somehow adopted it or modified it. The key to understanding Paul’s meaning when he speaks of Christ as the rock which followed Israel is the term “spiritual,” found three times in these two verses.
Paul could be spiritualizing the rock, using the term “spiritual” so that he can liken the experience of the Israelites to that of the Corinthians. Both had their baptisms (Israel in the cloud and in the sea, and unto Moses; the Corinthians in the baptismal waters, and unto Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 1:13‑17; 12:12). Both also had their “spiritual food”—the Israelites had their bread and water; the Corinthians their bread and wine. Other explanations of this text have also been offered.[11]
In what sense then is our Lord to be identified with the rock in the wilderness? I do not believe that we should go so far as to say that our Lord actually manifested Himself to Israel as a rock. The Lord told Moses, “I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb” (Exod. 17:6).
There is a world of difference between our Lord standing by that rock and being that rock. Nevertheless, our Lord was closely associated with the rock, as Paul suggests. This helps to explain why God saw Moses’ act of striking the rock in Numbers 20 as such a serious sin, so serious that it kept Moses and Aaron from entering the promised land with the second generation of Israelites.
For our purposes, it is not necessary to struggle over the precise meaning of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10. What we do need to understand is that Paul informs us that God was present with the Israelites in the person of His Son. Although the Israelites believed that the absence of water in the wilderness was sufficient evidence for them to conclude that God had abandoned them, Paul tells us that Christ Himself was present with them.
Here is the irony of the passage. At the very time when the Israelites are inclined to doubt (or at least dispute) the presence of God, the text informs us that God was very present, and the New Testament goes so far as to tell us that Christ was present as well. Was God among them? More so than they could have dreamed!
The great wonder is how Israel’s perception that God was absent could be so far from reality. How could the Israelites question God’s presence among them when it is so obvious that He was present? I would like to suggest that the reasons why Israel doubted God’s presence and demanded His provisions are the very same causes of doubt among contemporary Christians. The issue is this: “What are the evidences of God’s presence and power whether in days gone by or today?” The answers which are commonly believed reveal the shallowness of our biblical and doctrinal understanding.
What are the evidences of God’s presence and power we look for in the life of a person whom we believe to be godly? I would suggest that we, like the Jewish religious leaders of old, tend to look primarily at external appearances—success, popularity, a life free from struggles, suffering and sorrow. It is no wonder that our church leaders are so often chosen from the upper echelons of the socio‑economic strata.
What are the evidences of God’s presence and power which we look for in a church? Most often, we look at the size of the church, its staff, and its budget.[12] If there is a mood of excitement and we go away feeling turned on and having our needs met, we think that God is present in that church. Apart from the Jerusalem church in the early chapters of Acts, how many churches do you find in the New Testament which square with your standards for a “spirit filled” church?
This is why we find it very difficult to believe that God is present when things are not going well. We find it hard to believe that God would lead His people or His church into times and circumstances of difficulty. But when we think this way, we are no different from the Israelites. We doubt God’s presence and power whenever the going begins to get tough. We fail to understand the necessity and importance of the school of discipline through which God puts all of His children (even including His Son, cf. Heb. 5:7‑10).
Here is where the two major themes of our text converge, giving us a principle by which we can face the adversities of life with faith, rather than with fear, and by which we can trust God, rather than test Him: GOD OFTEN REVEALS HIS PRESENCE THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH HE APPEARS TO BE ABSENT. This principle is a reflection of the two principle themes of our text: (1) that the Israelites doubted God’s presence and demanded proof of it; and (2) that God was far more present with Israel at Massah and Meribah than the Israelites ever knew. This leads me to generalize God’s dealings with His people by pointing out that God uses those times in which we suppose He is absent to show us how real and present He is.
How can we be assured of God’s presence with us? Let me briefly outline some of the assurances Christians have of the presence of God in their midst, especially in times of adversity:
(1) Our Lord’s name assures us of His presence among us. When our Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth as a babe in a manger, we are told the meaning of His name: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22‑23, emphasis mine). The very name of our Lord, “Immanuel,” assures us that God is with us in the person of Christ, just as Paul says He was present with Israel at Massah and Meribah.
(2) Our Lord came to the earth, not to be with those who were at ease, but to minister to those who were afflicted. When our Lord was questioned about His contact with “sinners” He replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). And when the Lord Jesus presented Himself at the outset of His ministry, He revealed Himself as the fulfillment of this prophetic passage: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18‑19, citing Isaiah 61:1, 2).
(3) God sovereignly controls every detail of our lives. Thus, we are where God wants us to be, even when we are in danger or distress. We read in Exodus 17:1 that Israel was “traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded” (emphasis mine). In the place to which He leads us, God will be with us.
(4) God uses situations of adversity to draw us closer to Him. We are informed that Israel’s adversity was designed by God for their good:
“He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you” (Deut. 8:15‑16).
Thus, the difficulties which come into our lives are under God’s sovereign control, designed to produce (in the final analysis) that which is good for us. Adversity is therefore not an argument for God’s absence but for His presence with His people (cf. Hebrews 12:1‑13). Thus the psalmist can say,
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees (Psalm 119:67‑68).
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees (Ps. 119:71).
(5) God promises His children that He is always with them and that He will never forsake them.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:19‑20).
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you: never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
(6) God’s Spirit has been given to witness to His presence within and to intercede for us, especially in times of adversity.
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co‑heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. … In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will (Rom. 8:15‑17, 26‑27).
I would like to suggest that while we do not look forward to those times of adversity and testing (God testing us, that is), these are often the times when God becomes most present and most precious to us. A great deal of divine discipleship is worked out in the quiet and lonely solitude of our own wilderness situations, when we perceive that apart from divine intervention and provision, we would perish.
All too often we think of discipleship in “warm, fuzzy” terms, rather than in “wilderness” terms. We like to think of discipleship as intimate fellowship and sharing with other Christians, and so, in part, it is. But to be very candid with you, most of the men whom God “discipled” learned obedience in the lonely “wilderness” experiences of life. So it was for Abraham, for Jacob, for Joseph, for David, and the apostle Paul, to mention but a few.
Discipleship is the process of being disciplined, so that we are learners and followers of Christ. Generally speaking, we come to our greatest levels of trust and of faith when God pulls out all else on which we rely and leaves us only with Himself. Discipleship is not a comfortable process. And thus we should expect difficulties to come our way, and at the very same time, expect our Lord to be as near (or nearer) than He has ever been.
Is it possible that you are in a kind of wilderness, my friend, even as you read the words of this chapter? Then I would suggest that God may have purposed this so that you could come to know Him, in a much more intimate way than you have previously known Him. Perhaps you have never yet come to know Christ as your personal Savior. God may have pulled out all the props of your life, as He did with Israel, so that you could come to the point where you have no one but a gracious and loving God in whom to trust—first for your salvation—and then for your sanctification (your growth in His grace).
If you are a Christian and you have entered into a wilderness experience, I urge you to trust and obey God, to look for Him in a way that you have not yet known Him. Just as God meant Massah and Meribah for Israel’s good, He means your wilderness experience to be for your good as well. Ask God to reveal Himself to you in a new and fresh way, and He will do it.
The Fifth Crisis of Israel In the Wilderness—Warfare: Victory Through Prevailing Prayer, 17:8-16
The strategy (Deut. 25:17-19)
The Amalekites attacked Israel suddenly from behind, at the weakest place in the camp, for they struck those Jews who were weary and feeble and were at the rear of the march. Amalek attacked after Israel had experienced a great blessing in the provision of the water from the rock. Satan and his demonic army (Eph. 6:10-12) know what our weakest point is and when we’re not ready for an assault. That’s why we must “watch and pray, lest [we] enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38, nkjv).
The enemy often attacks God’s people after they’ve experienced special blessings, but the Lord can use those attacks to keep us from trusting the gifts instead of the Giver. It was after his victory over the four kings that Abraham was tempted to take the spoil (Gen. 14:17-24); and after the victory over Jericho, Joshua became overconfident and was defeated at Ai (Josh. 7). After Elijah defeated the priests of Baal, he became discouraged and was tempted to quit (1 Kings 18:41–19:18); and it was after the blessings at His baptism that our Lord was led into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt. 3:13–4:1). “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
The victory (Ex. 17:9-13)
There’s no evidence that Israel fought any battles in Egypt. Even on the night of their deliverance from Egypt, they didn’t have to fight the attacking Egyptian army, because the Lord fought for them. “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show to you today” (Ex. 14:13). But now that they were on their pilgrim journey, Israel would have to enter into battle many times and trust the Lord for victory. “And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
This is the first mention of Joshua in the Bible, but he will be named 200 more times before Scripture ends.7-5 He was born in Egypt and named Hoshea, which means “salvation.” Later, Moses changed his name to “Joshua—Jehovah is salvation” (Num. 13:8, 16), which is the Hebrew equivalent of “Jesus” (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 4:8). He knew the rigors of Egyptian slavery and must have had an aptitude for military leadership for Moses to make him general of the army. He became Moses’ servant (Ex. 24:13; 33:11; Josh. 1:1), for God’s policy is that we first prove ourselves as faithful servants before we can be promoted to being leaders (Matt. 25:21, 23). Joshua had only one day to rally his army and get them ready for the attack, but he did it.
Israel’s great victory over Amalek involved three elements: the power of God in heaven, the skill of Joshua and the army on the battlefield, and the intercession of Moses, Aaron, and Hur7-6 on the top of the hill. God could have sent angels to annihilate the enemy (Isa. 37:38), but He deigns to use human instruments to accomplish His purposes. Joshua and his army would trust God and fight, Moses and his associates would trust God and intercede, and God would do the rest. In this way, God’s people would grow in faith and God’s name would be glorified.
It was customary for the Jews to lift up their hands when they prayed (Pss. 28:2; 44:20; 63:4; 134:2; 1 Kings 8:22, 38, 54; 1 Tim. 2:8), and since Moses held the staff of God in his hands, he was confessing total dependence on the authority and power of Jehovah. It wasn’t Moses who was empowering Joshua and his army; it was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “the Lord of Hosts.” As long as Moses held the rod up in his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he brought his hands down, Amalek prevailed.
We can understand how Joshua and the army would grow weary fighting the battle, but why would Moses get weary holding up the rod of God? To the very day of his death, he didn’t lose his natural strength (Deut. 34:7), so the cause wasn’t physical. True intercession is a demanding activity. To focus your attention on God and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) can weary you as much as strenuous work. Like Epaphras, we must be “always laboring fervently” in our prayers (Col. 4:12)7-7 and not just casually mentioning our requests to the Lord. Samuel M. Zwemer, missionary to the Muslim world, used to call prayer “the gymnasium of the soul,” and John Bunyan wrote, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart.” To put your full heart into intercessory prayer will cost you, but it will also bless you.
Joshua couldn’t have succeeded without Moses, but Moses couldn’t have prevailed without the support of Aaron and Hur. Not everybody can be a Moses or Joshua, a D.L. Moody or Billy Graham, but all Christians can be like Aaron and Hur and help hold their hands as they obey God. God is looking for people who will share in the battle and the victory because they continue steadfastly in prayer (Rom. 12:12; Isa. 59:16).
There’s also a reminder here that our Savior ever lives in heaven to make intercession for us as we fight the battles of life, and His strength never fails (Heb. 7:25). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit within also intercedes for us and guides us in our praying (Rom. 8:26-27). God promises victory to those who will pray and wield the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17-18).
The testimony (Ex. 17:14-16)
Moses didn’t build a monument to himself or to Joshua, or even to the victorious army of Israel. Instead, he was careful to give all the glory to God for Israel’s victory by building an altar and naming it “The Lord is my Banner.” In Egypt, he had probably seen the various divisions of the army, each identified with one of their many gods, so he lifted a banner to honor the only true God. Moses also gave the reason for this memorial: “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord” (Ex. 17:16, niv), referring to Moses’ intercession on the hill.7-8 God had answered prayer and helped His people, and Moses wanted to praise His name.
But Moses also put an entry into the official book of records7-9 that Israel should contend with Amalek until that nation was completely destroyed. Israel fought them again at Kadesh-Barnea but was defeated (Num. 14:45); Gideon conquered them along with the Midianites (Judges 6:33). King Saul failed to obey God and exterminate the Amalekites, so he lost his crown (1 Sam. 15) and was himself killed by an Amalekite (2 Sam. 1:1-16). David defeated the Amalekites who raided his camp (1 Sam. 30), and when he became king, finally subdued them (2 Sam. 8:11-12). During the reign of Hezekiah, his armies annihilated the few Amalekites who still remained. God’s judgment of the Amalekites teaches us that you can’t attack the throne of God and get away with it.
(17:8-16) Introduction: crisis—what do we do when some crisis stares us in the face? No crisis is more threatening and frightening than war—a war that is launched right at one’s back door. This is what now happened to Israel, but the focus is not upon the war. The focus is upon the thing that brought about the victory: prevailing prayer—the intercession, the crying out to God. Victory against the enemies of life comes from the LORD and from the LORD alone. When the enemies of life attack us, our duty is to go before the LORD and cry out to Him for victory. This is the lesson, the great focus of this passage: The Fifth Crisis of Israel In the Wilderness—Warfare: Victory Through Prevailing Prayer, Exodus 17:8-16.
1. The crisis (v.8-9).
2. The prevailing prayer (v.10-12).
3. The results of prevailing prayer (v.13-16).
(17:8-9) Amalekites— Crisis— Israel: there was the crisis of war.
1. The Amalekites attacked Israel while they were camped at Rephidim. Why would the Amalekites attack Israel? No doubt, because they felt threatened. They were a desert people who lived just south of the promised land of Canaan. They had obviously heard about Israel being freed from Egypt and of their march to Canaan, somewhere between two to three million of them. To reach Canaan, this large mass of Israelites would have to march either through or close by the land of the Amalekites. The leaders of the Amalekites had no idea what Israel’s intentions would be, to pass by their land in peace or to attack and ransack them. Consequently, the Amalekites launched a surprise attack against Israel. The attack was sudden, totally unexpected. Four facts need to be pointed out about the attack of the Amalekites.
a. The attack was most cruel and savage. It was launched first against the handicapped and the helpless: the stragglers—the sick, aged, and weary—who lagged behind the main body of travelers. Scripture says the Amalekites slaughtered them all (Deut. 25:17-19).