Slices
Prepare
Be quiet and centre yourself. Imagine Jesus seated with you. Before you can speak, he asks you a question: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Take the conversation from there…
Bible passage
Water from the rock
17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, travelling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarrelled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’
Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?’
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’
5 The Lord answered Moses, ‘Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
The Amalekites defeated
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 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.’
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.’
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, ‘Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.’
Explore
Is there no end? First, no water (v 3) and then, armed threat from the Amalekites (v 8). Where is God when you need him (v 7)?
Moses, it appears, had no doubt. God was right there in this mess (v 4)! Staff in hand, Moses obediently drew water from the rock (v 6) and commanded victory over the enemy (vs 9–13). Moses’ staff (v 9) had a history (4:1–5; 7:20; 8:16; 14:16). It was a symbol of God’s powerful presence, and Moses was confident that absolutely nothing was going to obstruct God’s salvation journey. If God was set on saving Israel, God would make sure it happened.
We know the end of the story: Israel didn’t. We know God brought them through: they had no assurance of that (v 3). Then, as now, there is still nothing that can derail God’s salvation purpose: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us? … [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:31–39).
Respond
Picture where you will be today. Can you anticipate where you’ll face need or confrontation? What will it mean for you to ‘raise the rod of God’ on those occasions? Pray in the light of your reflection.
Deeper Bible study
‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”’1
There are two enemies, one internal and one external, in today’s reading. Both threaten to jeopardise Israel’s survival. The internal threat (vs 1–7) came from renewed grumbling. The moaning was debilitating, taking its toll on Moses, who felt threatened they would stone him, the judicial penalty for treason. Even more seriously, it expressed ingratitude to God and a lack of faith in his provision. The people had clearly learned nothing from their journey so far! God stepped in, ensuring a delicate balance between Moses taking responsibility as their leader (v 5a) and others witnessing to the fact that God himself was the source of the miracle (vs 5b,6).
The external threat came from the Amalekites (vs 8–16), the nomadic descendants of Esau, destined always to be at war with Israel. Moses’ staff plays the starring role again (v 5),2 because it was the means by which Moses performed signs, signalling God’s sovereign presence (note ‘throne’, v 16) and that he was at work. Their triumph was a God-given, not humanly devised, victory. Yet people also played a significant role, with Joshua being introduced for the first time and Aaron and Hur in supporting roles. They are, in Paul’s words, ‘God’s fellow workers’3 – but not his equal partners – in the battle. Rightly, they carefully recorded the event, naming God as their ensign in warfare from then on.
Satan still uses a variety of strategies to destroy the church, including internal division and external persecution. We should not be ‘unaware of his schemes’, so he doesn’t ‘outwit us’.4 We should be even more aware that God reigns and gives victory to his people in the midst of their battles when they trust and obey him.
Note down some of the lessons you would draw out from these two incidents to guide yourself and your church in the spiritual battle.
1 Phil 2:14–15 2 Cf Exod 4:1–17 3 2 Cor 6:1 4 2 Cor 2:11
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 36; Deuteronomy 1; Psalm 32
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for Angela Grigson, Senior Content Manager in the Development Hub team. Ask God to give Angela wisdom and insight as she works on several different projects at the same time and co-ordinates the work of many different contributors.
