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Exodus 17:1-7 NRSV
Water from the Rock
17 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[a] and Meribah,[b] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
Footnotes:
a. Exodus 17:7 That is Test b. Exodus 17:7 That is Quarrel
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"Is the LORD among us or not?" - John D. Painter
This remarkable passage of Hebrew Scripture can be approached in a variety of ways. We could focus on the complaining thirsty people; we could consider Moses' total frustration as he cries out to God for advice and counsel. I am moved to address the question that lies at the heart of this episode in the wilderness: "Is the LORD among us or not?"
It is rather startling that this should be the question among the Israelites at this point. But perhaps their sojourn in the desert has left them with what some commentators have called a severe case of "wilderness amnesia." They have already forgotten that God has provided food ("Manna from Heaven") for them just one chapter earlier in Exodus 16:1-36. Nor do they remember that God made the bitter waters of Marah sweet (Exodus 15:22-27). And perhaps most baffling of all, they have failed to recall how God parted the waters of the Red Sea (Reed Sea) as they fled Pharaoh's army (Exodus 14:1-31).
 It is these "wilderness murmurings" at Massah and Meribah that were the basis for God's decision to deny Moses entry into the Promised Land (See Numbers 20:1-13). And it is the testing and quarreling of these "stiff-necked people" at Massah and Meribah that lies at the heart of God's resolve to keep them wandering out there in the desert for 40 years (See Psalm 95:8-11).
The fact that the people complain to Moses and to God is a typical human reaction when faced with a situation of extreme need, such as deep hunger and thirst in the wilderness. "It furthermore leads to questions of theodicy, contemplating the relationship between God and suffering as evident in the people's cry of despair in verse 7: 'Is the Lord among us or not?' This question, 'Where is God?' is a question that is echoed in the book of Job as well as in every situation in which the people of God are suffering. In the wilderness, people more often than not may be faced with an acute sense of God's absence.
"It is significant to note that, as in the story of God's provision of food in Exodus 16, the wilderness is still there. In Exodus 17, the people are experiencing God's provision in the form of water gushing from the rock, even though the wilderness is still all around. With regard to liturgical time, one could say that we will still dwell a long time in Lent before Easter comes.
"However, in the midst of Lent we may find that God is providing life-giving water, so quenching our thirst. Also in the Lenten periods of our lives when we are experiencing deprivation of some sort, we are ensured of God's constant presence providing us with what we need.... The life-giving gift of water is symbolic of the ultimate goal that God's children may not only survive but also flourish."*
* From "Commentary on Exodus 17:1-7" at WorkingPreacher.org by Juliana Claassens, Professor of Old Testament at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.
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One of the familiar hymns which uses the metaphors of God's provision of food and water to speak about our journey through life is the familiar hymn by William Williams (1745), "
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" (
United Methodist Hymnal #147):
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
Bringing together images of God's liberation that are embodied in God's accompanying presence in the fire and the cloud as well as God's gracious provision of food and water, believers throughout the centuries are professing their belief in a God who will be our travel partner in our life's journey -- a confession that is particularly meaningful in those times when we find ourselves in the wilderness.
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| Prayer for those in the wilderness: Here's a prayer of intercession inspired by the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. It was written by Martha Spong, and posted on RevGalBlogPals (see below for link).
Prayer of Intercession
Holy One,
We pray for the wanderers.
We have been among them,
seeking your path,
wondering where to turn next.
Like the Hebrew people of old,
we find ourselves in the wilderness.
How will we survive?
We pray for the discarded.
We have been among them,
not chosen for the team,
left behind by the friends,
rejected by the one we loved.
Like Hagar with her child,
we have wondered how we will live.
Where will we find a way to quench our thirst?
We pray for the lost.
We have been among them,
unsure of our direction,
unwilling to ask for assistance,
or unable to find a guide.
Like the Israelites,
lost for 40 years,
we need your law of love to lead us.
We pray for the restored.
We have been among them,
at long last welcomed
in the place for which we longed,
secure in our identity
as your beloved children.
When we come into your home,
let us share our joy
tempered by the knowledge
that we would be nowhere
without your grace and mercy.
Grant that grace and mercy to us continually, we pray. Amen.
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