Exodus 17:1-16
The LORD Leads His People to Rephidim
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling 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 quarreled 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 quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
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.”
Job 2:3
Job is Blameless in the Eyes of the LORD
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Hebrew 4:14-16
Jesus Did Not Sin
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Galatians 1:1-5
Jesus Died for Our Sins
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
James 1:2-7
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Do Not Lose Heart Through Trials and Sufferings
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I used to think that it would be great for life to be comfortable all the time, every second of everyday...And to feel good everyday...But life is not like that...At least, my life is not like that...God seems to allow suffering...He is the One who brought up Job and Job's name up to the evil one...The LORD says in Job, that there was no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears Him and shuns evil...And Job still has maintained his integrity, though you incited Me against him to ruin him without any reason...Jesus was another One who was upright and blameless and also free of sin...Yet, we know that these two men suffered...
When Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert the LORD commanded them where to go...At one point in the desert He commanded them to go to Rephidim and set up camp...In the desert at Rephidim there was no water, so naturally God's people would quickly get thirsty and wonder where they were going to find water...And not only would there be no water at Rephidim, to make matters much, much worse, a group of Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites there...God had commanded them to go to Rephidim, and now they were being attacked by a warring group of Amalekites... Led by Joshua in battle, many people would suffer and die in this battle with the Amalekites at Rephidim (a place where God had led them)...Only with God's help being there helping Moses keeping his hands up with the assistance of Aaron and Hur, could Joshua and his men win this battle...
God led His own people to Rephidim, where many would die...God offers Job's name to the evil one, and later God would send His Own Son, who was sinless, to us to die on the cross for our sins...The Bible tells us God was there and involved in all these things...
It seems to me that God knows there must be some sacrifice in each of our lives -for His reasons...Sacrifice and suffering experiences are a part of life...In fact, it seems that God might just lead us into some places that will not only strengthen our faith in Him, but strengthen our trust in Him...This strengthening may come weeks, months, or years later but it will come, if you believe, and it is not easy...The believer has to hold on to the belief that their pain, their sacrifice and their perseverance are great builders of character and integrity... Why would God have allowed His people to be attacked in Rephidim, or Job to suffer, or His Son to die on the cross for us?...St. James, the brother of Jesus, said that our faith produces a perseverance...And we must let this perseverance finish its work, so that we may be mature and complete, and not lacking anything...Suffering, trials, and perseverance makes us grow and mature -not only in character, but also in our faith...These things help complete us for the Goodness that lies ahead...
And all the time that we suffer, persevere, and sacrifice, He is there, He is near...He was right there with His people in Rephidim...He was watching over Job...And He was always with His Son...We must take comfort in knowing He is there...But this is not always easy, especially when we are tired, or ill, or depressed and in a low mood...
And one might believe that God allows this suffering and sacrifice as part of His Plan or His Future Purpose for us...This is surely many Christian's belief...Tragedies happen and suffering happens...These things may show us that maybe we need to change something currently in our lives, or to make us more Christ-like...Or maybe they are a test of our faith, or maybe not...We never find out why God let Job suffer...Our suffering maybe to help others when they are suffering...And we seem to hold on to these things in our memories...So maybe later we will realize what sacrifice and what suffering leads to, which is possible an eternal glory -since God is so near...
Churches and the Bible have a purpose...C. S. Lewis wrote that the Church exists for no other purpose, but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs...The Bible has the same purpose...I must believe that God gives us sacrifice and suffering for this very reason...Jesus rescues us from this present age...And maybe, just maybe -when we can fix our eyes on not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, because the seen is only temporary -we will discover this Truth and see this glory...Then we will better recognize the unseen and see what is eternal...And He will be with us not only, in the here and now -He will be closer to us in the future after we have outwardly became fragile and weaker and have moved on to our next life...