“THE PEOPLE WILL DRINK!”

 Exodus 17:1-7                                                 (ESV)

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?” [3] But 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?” [4] So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” [5] And 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. [7] And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?””

Our ABILITY to SEE the BLESSINGS of GOD can be clouded by circumstances in our surroundings that might be placed there simply to prove that HE IS GOD and WE ARE NOT?!?  The Children of Israel had been through some of the toughest times, but GOD was always there for them displaying HIS Sovereignty and Grace.  

Our plight isn’t always a reflection of our obedience and faithfulness.  It is more often a sign of GOD’S mercy and deliverance!  Sometimes we need to experience how poorly life can be without the PEACE OF GOD so we are able to PRAISE HIM adequately when HE guide us THROUGH “the valley of the shadow of death”!  Being able to recognize that HE IS GOD and WE ARE NOT is definitely one of the most difficult lessons I have experienced, but also the most rewarding!

The Children of Israel had been delivered from over 400 years of captivity in Egypt.  They “plundered” the Egyptians upon gaining their freedom.  The began “crying out to GOD” at the Red Sea.  Deliverance from their enemy meant they were free from the persecution of the past, but they STILL had no supply of water, something ALL HUMANS have NEED of!  

Moses, in his humanity, needed answers from GOD, answers that were infallible!  “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me” Moses asked GOD!  The response from GOD was EVERYTHING Moses could have dreamed of, “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”!  

ALMIGHTY GOD DELIGHTS IN IMPOSSIBILITIES, not to make us suffer, but to gain PRAISE for deliverance from our perceived difficulties!  The Children of Israel were “needing” water to survive, but they REALLY only “wanted” GOD in times of trouble.  When will I be able to SEE that I NEED GOD on my side and HE will make SURE “THE PEOPLE WILL DRINK”???