Broadcast
Getting What We Don't Deserve - Part 3
Exodus 17:4-6
01/31/2024
4 So Moses cried to the LORD, ``What shall I do with
this people? They are almost ready to stone me.''
5 And the LORD said to Moses, ``Pass on before the
people, taking with you some of the elders of
Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which
you struck the Nile, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock
at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water
shall come out of it, and the people will drink.''
And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of
Israel. (ESV)
The children of Israel were camped at Rephidim near the
eastern shore of the Red Sea. There was no water in that place,
so they rebelled against Moses. In grumbling about Moses, they
were showing a lack of faith in God.
Moses was in a quandary. He needed to do something, but he
also knew any solution was beyond his abilities. In faith he
prayed to the LORD:
So Moses cried to the LORD, ``What shall I do with this
people? They are almost ready to stone me.'' And the
LORD said to Moses, ``Pass on before the people, taking
with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your
hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at
Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall
come out of it, and the people will drink.'' And Moses
did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
It is perfectly fine to ask God for His divine guidance when
we are in trouble. Indeed, the Psalmist wrote, ``Call upon Me in
the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify
Me.''1 In faith, we trust in God to supply us with all we need.
May our Lord grant us such faith, especially in times of
trouble and despair. Amen.