Exodus 17 - you shall not put the Lord your God to the test....

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, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore 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?" 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, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, 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[a] and Meribah,[b] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Though the people focused their complaint against Moses, Moses understood that their problem was against the Lord: Why do you tempt the Lord?

i. When we have a problem, instead of thinking "I'm in a desert; it's not surprising there isn't much water here. I need to look to God to meet this need," we do what Israel did: we look for someone to blame. But that solved nothing!

Behold, I will stand before you there: most importantly, God would be with Moses through this difficult challenge of his leadership. Now Moses could lead boldly!

e. Water will come out of it: the plan made no sense; but Moses had to operate in obedience to God. The wisdom of the plan could only be seen in its ultimate success.

i. God required faith in Moses the leader; to do such a thing in front of the nation and the elders meant Moses had to have a lot of trust in God - think how foolish he would look if it failed!

After God provides water, Moses names the place as a rebuke to the children of Israel.

a. Naturally speaking, this rock may have held an artesian spring which God caused to burst forth when Moses struck the rock.

b. God remembered the way Israel tested Him at Massah and Meribah, recalling it in Deuteronomy 6:16 (You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah), Deuteronomy 9:22 (at . . . Massah . . . you provoked the Lord to wrath), Deuteronomy 33:8 (Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, and with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah).

c. What made this incident so important to God? Because they tempted the Lord, saying "Is the Lord among us or not?" In a time of difficulty, the children of Israel - directly or indirectly - doubted the loving presence and care of God among them.

d. Later, when Israel remembered God's provision in the wilderness at the Feast of Tabernacles, they had a specific ceremony where they recalled this miracle of water from a rock. In that exact context, Jesus said: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38).

i. The living water Jesus spoke of was the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); it is no less miraculous for God to bring the love and power of the Holy Spirit out of our hearts than it is to bring water out of a rock - our hearts can be just as hard!-> see ezek 36!! below!!!

ii. Jesus was struck with Moses' rod - the curse of the law - and from Him flows water to satisfy our spiritual thirst.

Let the water and the blood

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save me from its wrath and power.

see the incident at matthew 4:
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

"'He will command his angels concerning you,'



and

"'On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

7Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

sometimes our demands from God is simply ridiculous... we have no rights to bargain with God... that is the mentality of modern christians... the Vending Machine God... the scripture is clear... you shall not test God... God WILL provide... to try and hasten God's timing is a sin in a way... it is falling out of his radar... we are called to simply trust and obey his ways....

the temptation here is to dare God to rescue you (based on misapplied scripture, psalm 91:11-12) , it turns to ? emotional needs: security (cf later part in sermon on the mount when Jesus talk about our needs- matt 6). The big question is : would God protect?? Potential weaknesses Satan sought to exploit: Pride, insecurity ( since God wouldnt move or help, i am going to have it my way anyway), need to test God ( lack of faith to understand His presence - "anti-omnipresence)... Jesus answer? Deut 6:16 , Dont test God!!! Focus: God's plan....

ppl like those in health and wealth gospel is playing Satan's role here to MISINTERPRET and WRONG APPLICATION of the bible... to put God to the test is to disobey God!!! would any good shepherds do that????