Time for Battle ~ Exodus 17:8-15

Описание: Theme: We must do the fighting, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Key Verse: “So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.” ~ Exodus 17:11

Is the Lord among us, or not?

That is the question that we were left with when we were last in the Book of Exodus.

The Israelites asked that question because circumstances seemed to indicate that He was not among them.

There was a big difference between what they expected from their exodus from Egypt and what they were experiencing.

Due to this discrepancy, they were quick to conclude that God was not really concerned about them, and they were going to die in the desert.

We all struggle with the differences between our expectations and reality. Sometimes the reality is better than our expectations but most often it isn’t. This leads us to feel as if something has been taken from us, after all, our expectations are usually good and reasonable.

The Israelites had experienced, firsthand, the mighty hand of God. They knew He could do anything He set His mind to do yet they still struggled. They were often thirsty and hungry.

God was teaching them to trust in Him, and they were having trouble learning the lesson!

When we look at the Israelites, we might think that we are actually looking into a mirror for we have the same struggles today. God is teaching us to trust Him, and we all have trouble learning the lesson.

Chapter 17 begins with the statement that they were following the command of the Lord, but they lacked water. Water being the most vital need of the human body. We can go many days without food, but we can’t go but a few days without water! If they were following God’s commands, then why wasn’t He providing their most vital need?

God’s ways are often confusing to us!

How did they handle this? They grumbled and demonstrated hostility toward Moses so much that he was afraid for his life!

Moses named that place Massah and Meribah, or testing and contention, to be a reminder of the
trouble they were causing. It says that they were doubting whether God was among them.

They were accusing God of leading them somewhere that He could not provide for them but in reality, God had led them to a place where they had to trust Him because they could not provide for themselves.

Today we are going to read what happens next. If you thought that fearing dying of thrist was bad, wait till you hear about what happens next!