Reading: Exodus 17:1-7 Coverage: Exodus 15:22-18:27
A test cricketer is dropped from the team. An athlete goes through a form slump, or suffers an injury. A musician or a band, after a fantastic first CD, goes for years unable to put out their follow up album. A long successful celebrity goes into rehab. It’s the standard fodder for tabloid newspapers and glossy magazines.
And no doubt one of the metaphors that comes to mind will be… 'This time for me has been walking through the desert… These were my wilderness years… After wandering aimlessly, I’m glad to be on the right track…'
We know from such metaphors that the wilderness is a time of testing. And when people talk about their wilderness wandering, that is what they mean. A difficult period in their lives, when they are tested and tried. They have to reassess their lives in light of the new situation that faces them.
These metaphors no doubt come from Israel’s wilderness experience. Israel has been miraculously freed and rescued. But that doesn’t mean all their problems are over. Being saved by Yahweh has brought a whole new array of challenges. Their situation is much more serious, because now they’ve come close to God. And the pressure of this new situation will bring out who Israel really are.
Israel has seen God do amazing things to rescue them. The 10 miraculous signs. Culminating in the death of the firstborn. And then God’s victory in the Red Sea.
So how does saved Israel respond to Yahweh. Well, Israel further tests YHWH. They put the Lord their God to the test. In fact, the desert is a place where both God and his people are tested by each other. First, let’s see how Israel tests Yahweh.
Grumbling
Three days have passed since Yahweh wiped out the Egyptian cavalry. Three days ago, they sung on the shores of the sea. But now, they are faced with a water shortage. We see their response in Exodus 15:24:
‘So the people grumbled[1] against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"’ (Exodus 15:24 NIV)
And as they start, so they continue. In fact, the sad litany spoken against this generation of Israelites is: they grumble. A month or so later, they fear a food shortage. So we read Exodus chapter 16 verses 2 to 3:
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." (Exodus 16:2-3 NIV)
They think God and Moses his servant are out to kill them. And they’ve forgotten about the vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep that they’ve brought out of Egypt (Ex 12:38). Could they not feed them. But they seem to want extra. They expect YHWH to provide food apart from the flocks and herds he has already provided?
And they’re kidding themselves. We were stuffed full of meat in Egypt! Come on! They’ve forgotten that their lives were bitter in Egypt. Not to mention the amazing Red Sea rescue, which they saw with their own eyes. Short memory, must have a short memory!
Again, not two months have passed since their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 19:1), yet again we read the same story, this time at Rephidim. Look with at chapter 17 verses 3 and 4:
3But 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." (Exodus 17:3-4 NIV)
In each of these incidents, Israel is said to grumble. Muttering, murmuring, quarrelling, complaining, fighting, sulking. Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I’ll go and eat worms. You hate us, you want to kill us, you aren’t providing for us. In the first instance, their complaints are directed against Moses. But Moses is only the messenger. Ultimately, their real target is Yahweh. They are grumbling against Yahweh. And someone who has a complaint with God is cruising for a bruising.
Testing God
Moses recognizes this: For he says to them in Exodus 17:2:
"Why do you quarrel[2] with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test[3]?" (Exodus 17:2 NIV) In fact, that is what Moses called that place. Exodus 17:7: And he [Moses] called the place ‘Massah’ [= testing] and ‘Meribah’ [= quarrel] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7 NIV)
Testing Yahweh and quarrelling with Moses is not a one-off. One blemish on an otherwise clean page. No, this is Israel’s continual, habitual response. In fact, after two years, Yahweh has had it with that generation. His patience runs out when Israel refuses to take the promised land. So Yahweh says in Numbers 14:22:
…[N]ot one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times -- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. (Numbers 14:22-23 NIV)
Numbers tells us that God will not allow that generation of Israelites to enter the land. They will wander the desert 40 years until they are all dead. Their bodies will litter the desert. And their children will take the promised land. But the sad thing is, even after over 40 years has past, Israel still grumbles. The new generation that has arisen, their children, fall into the same trap. They too, test Yahweh, grumble, and don’t trust him. Numbers paints the picture of another ‘Meribah’, some 40 years after the first. A new Israel stands with Moses at the edge of the promised land. And we read Numbers 20 verses 3 to 5:
3 They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! 4 Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" (Numbers 20:3-5 NIV)
So grumbling against YHWH and testing him was Israel’s typical response to God. The Psalms, written 500 years later, agree.
Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation (Psalm 95:7-10 NIV)
Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember his power -- the day he redeemed them from the oppressor. (Psalm 78:41-42 NIV)
Now, there was meant to be some testing going on in the desert. But Israel had it all the wrong way around. They weren’t meant to be testing God. God meant to be testing them. That is why God led the people into the desert -- in order to test them.
Now, who likes tests here? I know you guys love them. Little trivia quizzes, like the HSC, end of year uni or tafe exams, basic skills tests. Insignificant little chats with your boss called ‘Performance Appraisals’ or ‘Budget Reviews’. None of you feel any pressure when these come along. But the rest of us real people get worried about tests. Will I pass? Will I stuff up? Will I get through? And what sort of a future will I have after this test? We know from experience that tests are painful, and sometimes real people fail. I remember the 37% I got in my first exams at Uni. That’s right, I’m not bullet proof, I fail tests too. Sometimes we learn things by failing. Like, I have to study to pass exams. Or, I studied and just don’t get this. I think I’ll study something else. They’re all good lessons.
Most teachers don’t set tests for their students to fail. There is the odd saddist, but most aren’t like that. Most teachers set tests so that their students have learnt so they can pass them.
God doesn’t set tests so that his children can fail them. God doesn’t want us to fail, or tempt us to fail. He actually gives us tests so we can pass them, and learn as we undergo them, and show to him (and ourselves) how much we’ve learnt with him. The tempter, Satan, wants us to fail God’s tests. But God wants us to pass the tests he sends. That’s why James says:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. … 12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life …13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed…. . (James 1:2-15 NIV)
And that is what God is doing in the wilderness. Testing his people so that they will grow to be holy as he is holy. We see this explicitly stated at a number of places in our section of Exodus.
There [Marah] the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. (Exodus 15:25-26 NIV)
God commanded them to obey him. And he promised that if they did, they would be free of the diseases that plagued the Egyptians (v26) In other words, Yahweh was testing Israel’s obedience. Would they obey YHWH’s clear commands. God wanted them to obey, and gave them every reason to obey.
God did the same thing in Chapter 16 verse 4 God said regarding the bread from heaven, the manna:
The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. (Exodus 16:4)
My people need to trust me for my daily bread. For God’s people, it is no problem living hand to mouth, from one week to the next. For Yahweh is their security, their savings account, their bank balance. God will do everything they need for their good. And for us, God will do whatever it takes to make us holy, and more like Jesus.
Another test for the people was the Sabbath (Exodus 16:5, 24-30). God commanded them to rest on the Sabbath, one day in seven. God was showing that he a kind, merciful Lord, very different to the Egyptians. And that on the Friday they could collect enough manna for two days, and it wouldn’t go off like on the other days.
So God tested the Israelites so that they learned to trust and obey him. But God’s intention was always to provide for them and protect them.
Sure there was mutual testing going on in the desert. But God always intended to provide for his people.
Water
Three times, God provided for them water in the desert. At Marah, 3 days into the desert, God made bitter water sweet. (Exodus 15:25) At Elim, God provided them with a desert oasis (Exodus 15:27) 12 fresh water springs, one for each tribe. And he threw in abundant shade and dates to eat. This was a foretaste of the good things that God had prepared for them. And at Rephidim near Horeb, God again provided them water. Fresh running water from a rock (Exodus 17:6). Whether through things we think miracles, things we think unusual, or things we think normal, God generously provides the things he knows we need.
Bread and Meat (16:1-36; cf Nu 11, 2 years later)
Moreover, God didn’t require them to slaughter their herds and flocks. They didn’t have to trade them for flour. God provided bread and meat from the skies. God organized an air drop of essential foodstuffs morning and evening. Morning, manna. Evening, meat. All of it home delivered. The only had to go out their front door and pick it up off the ground. And once a week, God told them to rest. Finally, a Lord that wasn’t a slave driver. A Master who provided a fully paid holiday one day in seven (16:5, 24-30).
But as they continue walking with God, God does demand more of them. Previously God didn’t want them to engage in battle. They came from Egypt as a 600,000 strong army (Exodus 12:37; 13:18). But Yahweh made sure they didn’t have to fight. It was too much too soon (Exodus 13:17). But now God calls them to fight. They are ready to be tested in battle.
God could, of course, win the victory himself, without Israel raising a finger. He has done it plenty of times previously without needing Israel’s help. That’s what the 10 plagues and the Red Sea were about. But then, Israel only get to be onlookers and beneficiaries. They watch as God does. But now God wants them to be his co-workers. God graciously gives Israel the privilege of being his agents in the world.
The same could be said about a lot of things. Evangelism or prayer, for example. God doesn’t need us to evangelise or pray. As if God needs us to do these things for him. God could have chosen to save people another way apart from evangelism or prayer. If we don’t pray or tell people about Jesus, we haven’t hurt God. We cannot tie God’s hands so he’s helpless. Poor, pitiful God – his people aren’t talking to him or about him. So now he can’t do anything.
No, it’s poor, pathetic church. For God graciously gives us the privilege of being part of his infallible purposes for the world. And if we won’t do what God says, God’ll just use someone else. And we miss out. So it’s really poor, pitiful church. Church ‘left behind’, ‘by passed’ church, looking on as God does his thing through others. So fighting for Yahweh now becomes Israel’s privilege. And this foreshadows Israel’s role future role as executor of God’s judgment. For Israel will take possession of the promised land. And in doing so, they will wipe out bigger and stronger peoples than they are. For victory is not based on size, strength, or skill, but on Yahweh and his will. Remember Yahweh’s promise to Abraham:
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:3 NIV)
So whoever curses Abraham’s descendants has picked a fight against God.
Now the Amalekites are big strong fighters. But the key to the victory is Moses’ intercession. When Moses’ arms are stretched out and his hands held up, Israel wins. But when Moses tired hands fall, the Amalekites get the upper hand. The victory comes through God’s man stretching out his hands. And this points to one like Moses who would later stretch out his hands. Jesus, who through stretching out his hands on the cross, won the victory for God’s people[10].
Now, with God’s help, Joshua won the victory over the Amalekites. But in Exodus 16:35, Israel’s future faithlessness is referred to.
The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. (Exodus 16:35 NIV)
Now the journey from where the people were attacked to the edge of the promised land took 11 days (Deuteronomy 1:2) Why, then, did it take 40 years? Were they really slow walkers? Well, Exodus 16 verse 35 is pointing to Israel’s cowardly failure. About a year later[11], and God again commanded Israel to fight (Numbers 13-14). God was about to give them the promised land. And Joshua was there again, sword in hand, ready to go. “Come on, we can take these guys!” He knew what Yahweh could do. And by his side was Caleb, itching for the fight. They encouraged the people to obey Yahweh, Moses and Aaron, and fight. But the people refused, rebelled, and generally spat the dummy. “We’d be better off dead in the desert, let’s go back to Egypt, shut up, Joshua or we’ll stone you” (cf Numbers 14:2, 4, 10).
And God got sick of their bellyaching. So Yahweh condemned that whole generation to what they said would be better. “You wish you’d died in the desert? OK, you can wander the desert for 40 years, until the last of you is dead. Then your children can take possession of the land." It’s terrible sometimes when God gives us what we ask for.
But even here we see the kindness of God. He could have wiped them out in an instant, but he mercifully lets them live, lets them see their children grow up. And during that 40 years, God looked after them, sent them bread from heaven. We read in Nehemiah 9:21:
For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. (Nehemiah 9:21 NIV)
At this time, Moses also received a visit from his Jethro, his father-in-Law. You will remember that Moses married one of Jethro’s daughter’s, Zipporah. They met at a watering hole of course. That’s where you meet all the eligible bachelorettes. And it was Zipporah who saved Moses life by circumcising her son and touching Moses with the blood of his firstborn.
Now, Moses meets up once again with his father-in-law, his wife and his sons. And the meeting is a source of mutual blessing . Jethro is blessed by Moses. And Moses is blessed by Jethro.
And here we fulfilled the promise of blessing to the nations. Whoever blesses you I will bless (Genesis 12:3). Jethro the Midianites blessing of Moses is rewarded with blessings from YHWH. Yahweh reveals himself to Jethro:
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God. (Exodus 18:11-12 NIV).
This is the ministry to which Israel was called. As Yahweh will promise in the next chapter, if Israel obeys him, they will mediate God to the rest of the world.
Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' (Exodus 19:5-6 NIV)
But it is not only the nations, Midian, that is blessed. Moses is blessed to by Jethro. When Moses is worn out from fatigue, Jethro suggests the solution. Delegate or disintegrate. Divide the labour and conquer the problem (cf Nu 11, Dt 1). And while the bible is not a “Corporate Management How To”, there is wisdom in all this. Jethro says to Moses. You must represent the people before God.
And you must…
20 Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. 21 But select capable men from all the people-- men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-- and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. (Exodus 18:20-22 NIV)
Moses was actually the problem here. Instead of training, he was doing. Instead of multiplying ministers, he was wearing out himself. Moses was the bottleneck.
And friends, as a minister, I can say that sometimes ministers are the bottlenecks. They become the bottlenecks if they don’t train and equip you to do the ministry. For we’re protestants here, we believe in the ‘priesthood of all believers’. Your pastor-teachers are not here to say nice things when the budgie dies, and talk about the weather and football over cups of tea. We’re here to put you to work. Church is a recruiting agency for Christ, and pastors are called to train and delegate: As Paul says in Ephesians 4:13:
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… (Ephesians 4:7-12 NIV)
That’s what I understand my job is. To prepare you, God’s people, to do the work. You don’t employ me to do the work. You employ me to get you to do the work of ministry. Every time you put a new minister on, you make more work for yourself, not less. My Mission here is to Multiply Ministry. And I’m looking at you. That’s what an Assistant Minister does. Assists the Ministers. And the Ministers are you.
Now, it takes two to tango. If your pastors are bludging by doing the work, instead of training, equipping and inspiring you to do the work, they can hardly tut tut and shake their finger. But if the people aren’t FAT, “Faithful Available and Teachable”, then they can’t be trained.
Well, we’ve seen Israel in the wilderness. They tested their God, instead of submitting to the God who was testing them. And so God extended that test for 40 years. And when we come to the New Testament, we see Jesus that Jesus submitted to God’s testing in the desert, and didn’t test God back.
For Jesus is not just the Son of God who comes out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15). He also goes into the wilderness to be tested for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11). And he had no bread, he didn’t grumble and complain. Rather, he fed himself by God’s word. And while it was the devil who tempted him, he saw God’s hand behind it all. For he was determined not to put the Lord his God to the test.
Bread and Meat: Believing in Jesus
Now Jesus didn’t turn the stones into bread in the desert. But a little later, he pitied those who came to him on a grassy mountain. And he fed 5000 men and their families with just 5 loaves and two fish (John 6). And afterward they came looking for him to see what other freebies Jesus was giving out. They asked:
“Moses gave our fathers bread from heaven. What will you do?” Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35 NIV)
Living Water: Receiving the Spirit
In the wilderness, Israel cried out for water. And Jesus answered Israel’s cry. He called on Jerusalem to believe in him and receive living water. John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39 NIV)
Where Israel failed, Jesus fulfilled. Jesus was faithful for the forty day fast in the wilderness. He did not put the Lord to the test. Jesus is the true bread from heaven. He who believes in Jesus, eats the bread of God. And the ascended Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to every believer. The Holy Spirit is that life giving stream for which Israel in the desert thirsted. The Church in the Wilderness Israel was faithless in the wilderness. Jesus, the true Israel, was faithful in the wilderness.
What about us? In what way will we wander the wilderness? The wilderness for Israel was the time of testing. Israel looked back at bitter slavery in Egypt. They looked forward to the distant promised land. And unable to trust God for the future, nor to accurately remember the past, they failed the test time and time again.
The New Testament says that this is the sort of thing we face. For we live between two places. We are strangers and aliens in our world. We look back to the death and resurrection of Jesus. And we look forward to the new creation, the renewal of the heavens and the earth. And unless we remember this, we will fail the tests God sets us time and time again.
The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian Church of these things. Turn with me in your bible to 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1 (NIV).
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
In other words, the Israelites had their own sort of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They had the outward expressions of their faith. But on the inside, they did not trust God in their hearts. And when the test came, they proved faithless, and they experienced God’s anger.
So in chapter 10 verses 6 and following we read:
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."
God must be our God. Not another God, like food, drink, sex, pleasure, success, sport, work.
Verse 8 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
We need to flee sexual immorality. They were baptized and took the Lord’s supper, but they fell and were punished. So we must be careful.
9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-- and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did-- and were killed by the destroying angel.
Do you think that grumbling deserves the death penalty? Those little gripes and complaints that we indulge in. Where’s our dinner, you don’t love us, you don’t care for us. Well, God zapped his Old Testament church for that kind of faithfululness. So we ought not to test him, lest we suffer God’s displeasure. For verse 11 tells us…
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Our Father in heaven, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Let’s pray.
[1]The word for ‘grumble’, ‘murmur’ or ‘complain’ is found Exod 15:24; 16:2, 7f; 17:3; Num 14:2, 27, 29, 36; 16:11, 41; 17:5; Josh 9:18: BDB, 534, Durham, 211. The word the LXX uses to translate it is used at Exod 17:3; Num 11:1; 14:27, 29; 17:6, 20; Jda. 1:14; Judg 1:14; Jdt 5:22; Ps 58:16; 105:25; Isa 29:24; 30:12; Lam 3:39; Matt 20:11; Luke 5:30; John 6:41, 43, 61; 7:32; 1 Cor 10:10.
[2]The people ‘quarrel’ with Moses and ‘test’ YHWH. The word for quarrel means strive, contend, shout noisily, or even a physical fight. Used at Exod 17:2, 7; 21:18; 23:2f, 6; and Num 20:3, 13; Deut 1:12; 17:8; 19:17; 21:5; 25:1; 33:7f. LXX translates with loidore,w, found at Gen 49:23; Exod 17:2; 21:18; Num 20:3, 13; Deut 33:8. And in the NT, John 9:28; Acts 23:4; 1 Cor 4:12; 1 Pet 2:23 .
[3] The word for ‘Test’ means ‘test, try, prove, tempt’, found at Gen 22:1; Exod 15:25; 16:4; 17:2, 7; 20:20; Num 14:22; Deut 4:34; 6:16; 8:2, 16; 13:4; 28:56; 33:8. The Gk is peirazo. The nouns ‘test and quarrel’ (Massah and Meribah; in 17:7) are derived from the cognate verbs which feature in the story; the sons of Israel quarreled with Moses and tested YHWH.
[4] peirasmos
[10] Enns takes the view that such typological exegesis is ‘excessive’ and ‘both right and wrong’: Exodus, 353, 354. He however sees how such an approach can be valid.
[11] The bread and meat from heaven in the desert occurs about a month after the exodus (15th day of the 2nd month: Exodus 16:1). They arrive at the Sinai desert a month later (third month on the very day (ie, 15th): Exodus 19:1). By Numbers 9:1-5, a year has passed since the Exodus. Then Israel celebrates their first memorial Passover. The second month of the second year is indicated by Numbers 10:11.