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1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5 The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17:1-7 NRSV)
Hi Friend. Nellie and I have PhDs in Road Travel with Children. We have logged what has to be a little over a million miles in various vehicles of different sizes, colors, and shapes. The PhD stands for Please Help us Diosito! (which is Spanish for God!). Seriously, we loved every minute and mile of all the trips we have taken with our four wonderful daughters. Our girls were well-behaved, loving towards each other (most days), and open to the challenges of the open road. But we have seen movies and heard stories from others where parents have shared their horror stories that rival the behavior of the people of Israel like we just read. The comments of verse 2 sum up pretty much every road trip by a parent and thirsty kids. This one passage gives us an idea of what we can be capable of doing and saying, many times without us being aware or even if aware, we don't care as long as we get our point across. In fact, "We want water!" is second only to "Are we there yet?" These are cries of frustration and anger and maybe bewilderment. And one can only begin to imagine how Papa Moses felt at having to hear this so often. In fact, we don't have to imagine for long because in the next verse, Moses says, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" Sigh.
The trip from Egypt to Canaan, the promised land, took forty years. It was mostly through desert-like conditions, and many hardships. The trip, had it been taken directly would not have taken forty years; but the purpose of God was to form a people. Several significant spiritual events took place along the journey including the giving of the Law to Moses. Not to mention the miracles of the opening of the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land, and then it filled in on the approaching armies of Pharaoh killing them. The people of God kept forgetting one thing; they were no longer slaves, they were now free men! They no longer had to make bricks in the hot Egyptian sun without straw; what they could not forget was the meals they had enjoyed back in slavery; meat, vegetables, etc. And as they traveled, they had to fully trust God because God provided as they traveled. Food was delivered to them in the morning and evenings; water was found along the way, and yes, there were patches where there was no water, and this was such a place. And again, God provided. Moses was told to strike the rock at Horeb, and water would flow out of it. And if anything in Israel is just as pretty as anything else, is water. There are some regions we saw where the water is plentiful and just awesome looking. As the photo above shows, the water flows just as God said it would, and is still flowing.
"Is the Lord among us or not?" is the name of the place now. What an appropriate name. It's a question kids ask when panicking about food, water, where to go to the restroom, etc. Parents ask that question just as often as kids. Preachers ask that question at the end of worship or at the end of the month; no matter who does the asking, God does the answering; I am here! And usually if it's not in words, it is in the saving actions God takes among us and for us. If you're feeling like that at this reading, this devotional is for you; God has heard your cries and pleas and is at work; God will answer you soon enough.
PRAYER: Loving and patient God, bless all who listen or read this devotional. You better than anyone know what we face and why we ask what we ask; answer us with Your grace and love and bless us. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help those asking the tough questions!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
