A Position of Provision
EXODUS 17:1- THERE WAS NO WATER FOR THE PEOPLE TO DRINK
These people accuse Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them. Perhaps they doubt his motives as well as his leadership. Moses, acting as Yahweh’s agent, has brought them salvation time after time. However, when they are hurting, they lose faith that he can do great works.
The Israelites Journeyed by stages for rest and refreshment. They needed a source of water at each resting place because people and livestock require significant amounts of water every day far too much to carry.
At Marah, the water was bitter (Exodus 15:23). This is an extremely serious problem. Again, we see that People and livestock require significant amounts of water, and cannot survive
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He asks what he should do because he fears that the people will stone him. Stoning is a method of execution by throwing stones at the guilty party, which would be Moses.
The Jewish law prescribes stoning for various capital offenses such as idolatry and blasphemy. If Moses were guilty of intentionally leading these people to their deaths, stoning would be highly appropriate. This is a dangerous situation; our natural inclination is to fight or flee. God tells Moses to do neither. Moses is instructed to move to the front of the people to reaffirm his status as their leader. He is to take the staff which God gave him to use in miraculous ways.
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb.” Moses is to strike the rock with his staff. Exodus 17:6 - “You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” In this account, God orders him to strike the rock, and Moses obeys. The elders serve as witnesses to the miracle.
‘He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because the children of Israel quarreled and because they tested God, saying, “Is God among us or not?”’ The simple position of striking the rock is self-explanatory. This was the time that Moses