Message 41
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 17:1-7; Num. 20:1-13; 1 Cor. 10:1-4
When the children of Israel came into a region where there was no water, they quarreled with Moses and tempted God (Exo. 17:1-2; Num. 20:2-3). They had seen God’s miraculous acts, but they did not know God’s ways (Psa. 103:7).
Suppose that you had been among the children of Israel at that time. You would have seen God’s miraculous power exercised in sending the plagues on the Egyptians. Furthermore, you would have experienced the Passover and a marvelous exodus from Egypt. Then you would have passed through the Red Sea as if you were walking on dry land. Following that, you would have tasted water which had been changed from bitter into sweet, and you would have enjoyed the twelve springs and the seventy palms at Elim. Just recently, you would have begun to partake of the heavenly manna miraculously provided by God. Now by following the leading of the pillar, you come to a place in the wilderness where there is no water. If this were your situation, what would you do? Would you complain and contend with Moses? When we come into such circumstances, we may think that we would thank the Lord. However, if we could actually do this, we would be the most spiritual of saints. If we were in such a situation, we would surely complain to the Lord. We would probably forget everything, including prayer, and complain about our situation. Like the children of Israel, we might say to the leading ones, “Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” (17:3). I do not believe that any of us would praise the Lord or offer thanks to Him. Instead, we would blame the leading ones and find fault with them.
In 17:2 we are told that “the people quarreled with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.” While the children of Israel were quarreling with Moses and tempting the Lord, in their midst was the pillar, standing between earth and heaven. But in the very presence of this pillar, the people complained to Moses. Reacting to the people, Moses said, “Why quarrel with me? wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah?” (v. 2, Heb.). The people seemed to forget that the pillar was with them.
We may consider ourselves superior to the children of Israel and think that in such a situation we would never quarrel, complain, or tempt the Lord. We need to realize that for the children of Israel the pillar was outside of them. But for us today, the pillar is within us. Often when we complain about why we have come into a certain environment or circumstance, we have the sense deep within that the Lord who indwells us has brought us into this situation. Many of us can testify that a number of times when we have been complaining, we have sensed the Lord’s presence within us. Sometimes we have had this kind of experience when we were complaining about the elders of the church or accusing them regarding something they had done. While we were criticizing the elders, we became conscious of the pillar within. Therefore, we should not think that 17:1-6 describes only the children of Israel. This portion of the Word is also a picture of us today.
If the children of Israel had known the ways of God, they would not have quarreled with Moses or tested the Lord. Rather, they would have realized that their deliverance from Egypt was not initiated or carried out by them. It was wholly God’s doing, carried out on His initiative. God sent Moses to the people to tell them that He would do everything necessary to bring them out of Egypt and into the wilderness where they would serve the Lord. The people would then have remembered that in Egypt they had seen God’s mighty acts. This should have given them the assurance that God would meet all their needs. They would also have understood that they were not in the present situation by their own choice, but by the Lord’s leading. The Lord led them there, and He was present with them, as indicated by the pillar which stood between heaven and earth. Hence, there was no need to worry about the supply of water. God certainly would not allow them to die of thirst. He would provide the water they needed. Therefore, they could be at peace.
If the children of Israel had been that spiritual, they would not only have offered thanks to the Lord; they would have praised Him with singing and dancing. They could have declared with confidence, “Our God has brought us here. He has His plan, and He will provide us with whatever we need for our living.” Although this should have been the attitude of God’s people, their actual attitude was altogether different. It seems as if they forgot everything God had done for them. Moreover, they even ignored the Lord’s presence in the pillar. They quarreled with Moses and questioned whether or not the Lord was among them.
Lest we be tempted to laugh at the children of Israel or criticize them, we need to realize that our situation today is the same. In 17:1-6 we have a photograph of ourselves. In doctrine and in teaching we may be clear and knowledgeable. But when we are in the actual situation, we forget everything we know. It may even seem to us that there is no God, for we may question whether God is among us or not. At such a time, we may fail to realize that the Lord is within us.
In 17:7 we are told that the name of the place was called Massah and Meribah because of the quarreling of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord. The original name of this place, perhaps the native name, was Rephidim. Massah means tried, tested, tempted, proved. Meribah means quarreling or strife. Massah was a place of testing. Three parties were involved in the test at Massah: Moses, the children of Israel, and God. Israel tested God, and God tested Moses on the one hand and the children of Israel on the other. Hence, at Massah all three parties were put to the test. Psalm 81:7 confirms the fact that God put Israel to the test at Massah and Meribah, for it says God proved the people “at the waters of Meribah.” The only one who passed the test at Massah was God. Moses and the children of Israel failed. Although Moses and the children of Israel failed this test, God did not condemn them.
God tested the people by purposely guiding them by the pillar to a dry place. After leading the people to a place without water, God was silent and did nothing for a period of time. If He had immediately provided living water, the people would not have been exposed. In order to expose the people, God deliberately refrained from acting to quench their thirst. This put them to the test. As we have pointed out, because they quarreled with Moses and tempted God, they failed God’s test. If they had known God’s ways, however, they would have passed the test at Massah. They would have said, “The Lord has brought us here with a purpose. He will never let us down. Rather, He will surely meet our need. Let us thank Him, sing praises to Him, and dance before Him.”
Moses also failed the test at Massah. At that time Moses was an old man, more than eighty years of age. Because he was an elderly person, we might expect him to be patient. But in this situation Moses was not patient. When the children of Israel quarreled with him, he reacted immediately by asking why they were quarreling with him and tempting the Lord. It seems as if Moses was saying, “There is no reason for you to quarrel with me. I haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t you realize that I was not the one who led you to this place?” Moses’ reaction to the people’s quarreling indicates that in this situation he was defeated. Like the rest of the children of Israel, he did not pass the test.
Although Moses reacted to the people’s complaint, in chapter seventeen he did not react too strongly. After speaking to them, he cried to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me” (v. 4). It is difficult to tell whether Moses here is praying or making an accusation. As he was crying out to the Lord, he seems to be making an accusation against the people.
If you had been Moses, how do you think you would have reacted? Doctrinally, we may be more knowledgeable than Moses was, but actually we are no better than he. According to our doctrinal understanding, we know that Moses should have said, “Lord, I thank You for Your faithfulness. I praise You and worship You for bringing us to this dry region. Lord, even though there is no water in this place, I look to You and believe in You. Your supply will come in time.” Moses, however, did not pray like this. On the one hand, he reacted to the children of Israel; on the other hand, he accused them of wanting to stone him. All this shows that at Massah Moses was a failure.
Although the Lord did not condemn Moses and the children of Israel for their failures at Massah in Exodus 17, He did condemn them for their failures at Kadesh in Numbers 20. When the people complained again about the lack of water, Moses, having learned the lesson at Massah, did not react at first. But unable to tolerate the situation, he eventually reacted very strongly, saying, “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Num. 20:10). Then, disobeying the Lord’s command to speak to the rock, “Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice” (v. 11). In doing this Moses violated God’s economy. As a result, he was forbidden to bring the children of Israel into the good land. According to Numbers 20:12, the Lord said to him and Aaron, “Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (Heb.). Like their sister Miriam who died at Kadesh, Moses and Aaron were to die in the wilderness. They were to have no share in bringing the people into the land of Canaan.
The incident in Exodus 17:1-6 took place at the beginning of their time in the wilderness, when the children of Israel had just begun to follow the Lord. For this reason, although the children of Israel behaved very poorly and although Moses himself failed, God was not angry with them. Actually, He was fully prepared to meet the situation. As we pointed out, in His work of creation, He had prepared the rock which was to be smitten. Then by the pillar God led them to this very place. Even though the people quarreled with Moses and tempted God, the Lord was not angry with them. Thirty-eight years later, at Kadesh, the situation was much different. By this time, most of those who were there in 17:1-6 had died. This means that those present at Kadesh were of the new generation, those who had been born in the wilderness. In the chapters prior to Numbers 20 a large number of people had been slain by the Lord. In Numbers 20:1 we are even told of the death of Miriam. After her death the quarreling broke out in Kadesh concerning the lack of water. This instance of the people’s quarreling was toward the end of their years of wandering. Therefore, the Lord was very angry with them. Furthermore, the Lord was strict in dealing with Moses.
In Exodus 17 Moses’ failure consisted only in reacting to the quarreling of the children of Israel. But in Numbers 20 he not only reacted to the people’s quarreling; he also broke the basic principle of God’s redemption. Christ, typified by the rock, should have been smitten just once. This was the reason in Numbers 20:8 the Lord charged Moses to speak to the rock, not to smite it. The rock had already been smitten in Exodus 17. Nevertheless, Moses failed by smiting the rock a second time. Christians throughout the centuries have done the same thing, in effect crucifying Christ again. To do this is a serious violation of God’s principle in His redemption and administration. Far more than merely a personal matter, this was a matter relating to God’s administration. This was the reason God dealt with Moses so severely.
We need to learn from this failure of Moses to be careful in our reactions that we do not touch God’s administration. When we lose our temper, we need to take heed lest we act in such a way as to break a basic principle of God’s redemption and administration. It is extremely serious to react in such a way as to touch God’s administration.
We have seen that the shortage of water is a test both to God and to God’s people. In our family life or church life God often allows us to come to a stage of dryness. This is especially true in the church life. There is not one local church which is always flowing with living water. Sometimes in the church life we come to Marah, where the waters are bitter. On other occasions we come to Elim, where there are twelve springs of water flowing. However, we seldom stay at Elim very long. Under God’s leading, we in the church are eventually brought to Massah, where there is no water at all. Here we are put to the test. When there is plenty of water to drink, it is easy for us to behave ourselves in the proper way. The brothers all act like gentlemen, and the sisters are pleasant and nice. But when there is nothing to drink, we may become quarrelsome and unruly, perhaps even casting off all restraint. The situation is the same in married life. When everything is pleasant and positive, the husband and wife may be humble, kind, and gentle. But when we are led to a dry place in our married life, our behavior undergoes a drastic change. Instead of kindness and gentleness, there is murmuring and quarreling. When there is enough food for everyone, there is no fighting. But when there is a shortage of food, even those who ordinarily behave like ladies and gentlemen will fight for it. Likewise, when there is an adequate supply of water to drink, we can be polite and allow others to drink first. But when we are thirsty and dissatisfied because of the shortage of water, we shall fight and strive for ourselves. In this way, in the church life and in the family life, we are exposed.
Actually, the Lord brings us into a dry stage specifically for the purpose of exposing us. In such a situation the Lord tests us, and we test Him. He tests us to see how we shall react. Will we pray, praise, and thank the Lord, or will we murmur and complain? Furthermore, the leading ones among the Lord’s people are also tested by dryness, just as Moses and Aaron were. They are tested both by God and by God’s people. However, among all the parties tested, God is the only One who always passes the test. Rarely do the servants of God or the leading ones among the people pass God’s test. Even more rarely do the people as a whole pass the test.
Ezekiel 47:19 and 48:28 both speak of “the waters of strife in Kadesh.” In each case the Hebrew word for “strife” is Meribah, the name given to the waters in Numbers 20:13. The water which flows from the smitten rock should be the water of peace. But because of our failure, it becomes the water of Meribah, the water of strife, contention, quarreling. Although God is faithful and merciful, we are sinful and faithless. For this reason, the water which should be the water of peace is called the water of striving.
According to our opinion, God should not supply living water to those who are sinful and unfaithful. However, God did not withhold the supply of water. Rather, He used the law to smite His Christ so that living water could flow forth to quench our thirst. This reveals God’s faithfulness and mercy.
The picture in Exodus 17 of the living water out of the smitten rock exposes the sinfulness and unfaithfulness of God’s people and the shortage of His servants. We who serve the Lord must take the lead among God’s people to confess our shortage. We often react in a negative way when tests come. We are simply not able to pass the tests placed upon us by God and His people. Although God is faithful and merciful, we are sinful, just as the children of Israel were. Although they had been redeemed, at Massah they still behaved like sinners. Christ was smitten for us so that the living water could flow out of Him to quench the thirst of sinful people. In this picture we see an important aspect of the gospel.
In Exodus 17 Moses was more than eighty years of age, and in Numbers 20 he was nearly one hundred twenty years old. But neither time could he pass the test. The quarreling that breaks out because of the shortage of water puts us to a very difficult test. When the Lord allows the church to come into such a stage of dryness, not even His leading servants are able to pass the test. Whenever we are short of Christ as the living water to quench our thirst, we are automatically subject to God’s test. Due to the shortage of water, today’s Christians are subject to one test after another. Fighting, striving, quarreling, and criticizing are commonplace because of this shortage.
In order that we might learn a lesson, sometimes the Lord leads us into a dry land. Here we have the opportunity to test God and to be tested by Him. Both His people in general and His servants in particular are tested. But as we have pointed out repeatedly, only God is able to pass the test. He alone is qualified. This indicates the seriousness of being short of Christ as the living water to quench our thirst. How crucial it is for us to have Him to meet this need!
In a later message we shall see that for living waters to flow out of us, we need to be one with Christ in being smitten. He has been smitten, and we need to be smitten also. If we are not identified with Him in this matter, there will be no way for the living water within us to flow out. We all need to be identified with the smitten Christ so that the living water may flow.
In the Bible more is said about spiritual water, or the water of life, than about spiritual food. It is rather easy for readers of the Scriptures to be impressed with the drinking of the water of life. Even when we were in the denominations, we heard messages about drinking the living water. But very rarely, if ever, did we hear anything about eating spiritual food. In the Word drinking is more vital than eating.
According to the revelation in the Scriptures, the eating is in the drinking, and the drinking is in the breathing. Some Christians have seen the importance of drinking, but not the necessity of breathing. Although we may have the doctrine of drinking, without breathing we would have no practical way to drink living water. If we would eat, we need to drink; and if we would drink, we need to breathe. If we have Exodus 16 but not Exodus 17, we have the eating without the drinking. In practice we cannot have one without the other, for the eating is always in the drinking.
The sequence in the Gospel of John indicates this. In chapter six John speaks of the eating of manna. Then in chapter seven he goes on to cover the drinking of the living water. The sequence of eating and drinking in John is the same as that in Exodus, where we have the manna in chapter sixteen and the water in chapter seventeen.
If we are enlightened by the Lord, we shall realize that we need drinking even more than eating. For this reason, in 1 Corinthians Paul emphasizes drinking more than eating. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 he says that we have all been made to drink of one Spirit. If we fail to drink, we shall not be able to eat. Drinking includes eating. This means that the spiritual food is included in the water of life. Hence, without the water of life, we cannot have any spiritual food.
According to Revelation 22:1 and 2, the tree of life grows in the river of water of life. This reveals that wherever the water of life flows, there the tree of life grows. The water brings the tree to us. The water is the source, for it is the water of life, not the tree of life, which proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The fact that the river flows from the throne and that the tree grows in the river indicates that drinking of the water of life is even more crucial than eating of the tree of life.
