# 46 2024 Dev. Ex.17:2 Water and War! Read all of chapter seventeen first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s Story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Ex.17:2 “So they quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.”’
Ex.17 has two very different kind of events. God was leading them from place to place with His cloud, all they had to do was follow. God had taken care of them, a string of miracles, getting them out of Egypt, protecting them from Pharaoh, giving them food and water up to this point. How quickly they forgot all that God had done for them.
The second event was that they were attacked, unprovoked, by the Amalekites. The Amalekites were dependents of Esau, Esau had sworn to kill Jacob, they reconciled, not so his offspring, memories were long in the Middle East as they are today.
Vs.1-7 The people quarreled with Moses over water, the lack of it. “Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”’ This was a not a passive situation; “Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”’ God instructed Moses to take his staff and hit the rock, God said to Moses, “I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.” Horeb is the place where Moses saw the burning bush, and it is the mountain of God where the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. But The Rock means much more, The water came out of it like a river, in great abundance. It foreshadows, Jesus, the Rock of spiritual abundance. How weak our faith is sometimes! Life is a series of tests along the way, tests by God and some of our own making. How quickly we forget God’s grace and Jesus’ love!
Vs.8-16 The Amalekites, Amalek was one of Esau’s grandsons. They attacked the people of Israel, a large group of about three million people. We are not told how it all started but Moses appoints Joshua as commander, this is the first time we hear about him. “Moses said to Joshua,‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”’ This was another test, the water situation caused the people to say “ is the Lord among us or not?” Not only was God among them but God used Moses in a powerful way to impress upon the people that God picks leaders, as he does today. Many of us have forgotten that truth. Rm.13 is a good reminder of how we must live!
As long as Moses held up his arms with God’s rod, the Israelites were winning but when tired he put his arms down the Amalekites were winning. Every leader needs help so Aaron and Hur held up Moses arms, one on each on a side. That is our job to come along side our church leaders in fervent prayer and to come alongside the leaders of our land and hold them up in fervent prayer. Amen!
“Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against (to) [c] the throne of the Lord…” How important is unity right now? Let us all lift up each other’s hands by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all Prophets, Priests, and Kings!
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