Water from a rock (an exegesis)

Water from a rock Exodus 17
By Yolandi Isabella Kruger

1The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[a] and Meribah[b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

2  We have a profound mystery revealed to us in Exodus 17:1-7. The picture of Gods people rejecting Him, in their disbelief demands us to see God true fulfillment in His salvation, I will be unravelling this scripture, as it is an echo of the goodness of God through out the ages, and the ultimate fulfillment of His love and glory in us through his son.

Through out the entirety of the bible , it is safe to say that there is a clear picture of God’s faithfulness through his unending love. In contrast , we see the hardened hearts of `his elect people, always rejecting Him. In Exodus 17 we are reminded of such unbelief of `God to the point where people demand proof of `His true favour. Gods chosen ones had complacent hearts and they were not interested in knowing God relationally. The entire process of obiedience comes into question when we survey this text. The first 3 things that they faced was 1) a lack of trust in Gods provision 2) a lack of faith that in this case goes hand in hand with trust and 3) a lack of submission to authority i.e earthly authority (Moses) and spiritual authority found in (God). However , both God and Moses (Moses being the vessel) earned authority through God's help by helping them cross the red sea , by protecting them from the army and by causing a physical miracle to occur ( water from a rock).  God also goes on to provide His faithfulness and love despite the Israelites attutide towards the leader (Moses whom he had appointed) and Himself. I think what is also important to realise when analyzing this text is that the rock being struck and poured out as a drink offering reflects the symbolic , symbol of Gods son Jesus. .

What this means to me is that this text is significant because it is a reflection that echoes the New Testament and shows us clearly that Jesus is the rock of ages. It leads directly to the story of salvation and that there is a freedom from captivity that is depicted in the text . Gods people are in a bad situation and they have no where to turn and in the worse it gets the harder it is for them to stay in an honest faith towards their situations. The lesson we can learn from this is that no matter how hard a situation God can still essentially get us out of “Egypt” whatever Egypt might mean to us in the natural sense. I honestly believe the covenant that God creates and the breakage of bondage and sin in this text refers brightly to the New Testament where Satan is defeated and Jesus pays the price and furfills the law.

Also secondly if we look at Moses as a leader and his relationship with God as a whole we can actually refelect back and realise that he had a sort of a shared identity with God and that propelled him to become a Shepard and steward of Gods word. If we live in a manner that is more worthy of God by sharing God ( Jesus’s) identity we can live fuller lives that are filled with God promises and miracles.

The important revelation that stands out in this text is that if we ask God and faithfully believe that He will supply He will. Not only will He supply all of our needs He is also the only one who can provide us with what we need even though Moses was able to perform in faith , even Moses became tired and weary. God is the only one who remains stable and faitful because God may move in the natural but his ways are supernatural and He is infinite. I get eternal salvation

conclusion Exodus 17 has a great deal to do with salvation , Gods promise , the beauty of community and supply in the form of land. We can conclude from this text that God is a faithful God that looks after His children and a God who is true to His word because of His sovreigneity and we can also conclude that God is a God of supply that gives freely , but not always on our own terms but in His own timing as we see in the stories of Abraham and Isaac and again in the promise leading up to the promised land.

4 Piper, J. (1993) Justification of God, The. Grand Rapids: Baker Pub. Group.

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MINB408A Identify the basic themes of the New Testament [Student ID Number]

References
Alter, R. (2004) The five books of Moses. New York: W.W. Norton & Co..

Grenz, S. and Olson, R. (1992) 20th Century theology. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Hayes, J. (1979) An introduction to Old Testament Study. Nashville: Abingdon.

Piper, J. (1993) Justification of God, The. Grand Rapids: Baker Pub. Group.

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