To the Ends of the Earth

Luke wrote for us an account of all that Jesus began to do from the time of His birth until His crucifixion.  The Gospel of Luke is one of the four eyewitness accounts of the story of Jesus’s life.  One of the unique aspects of Luke’s account is that he treats the story as more of a historian than the other gospel writers do.

Luke, the historian, continues the story of what Jesus was doing in his account of the work of the Apostles.  We call the account “Acts.”  The full title is “The Acts of the Apostles.”  Another way of translating or saying this would be “the Works of the Apostles.”

It is the continuing story of what Jesus began to do. During His three years of public ministry, Jesus trained 12 men whom He called Apostles.  Apostle means sent one.  Strong’s Greek dictionary says it means, “a messenger, an envoy, a delegate.”  The word missionary or missions originated from the Latin word meaning to send. 

The idea of mission in English has come to mean “any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed” according to dictionary dot com.

The Apostles were sent by Jesus with a very important mission.  They were given the office and authority to carry out that mission.  The book of Acts tells how they carried out that mission.  Church history is the continuation of that story, just as the book of Acts is the continuation of Jesus’s story.  Church history is also the continuation of Jesus’s story.

The world persecuted Jesus as the religious leaders of His day along with the help of the Romans crucified Jesus.  This persecution continued in the book of Acts as the same leaders stoned Stephen.  It continued in the Middle Ages as believers were burnt at the stake in Europe and crucified on crosses in Japan.  It continues today as believers are beheaded in the Middle East and imprisoned in Asia.

Jesus said, “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”  (Matthew 16:18)[i]  This is the story of Acts and it continues in the story of the Church.  The Church is the Body of Christ.  We are His hands, His feet and His voice in this world.

When the Apostles kept asking, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”  (Acts 1:6) they had no idea of what was to come.  Jesus told Pilot: “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.  If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders.  But my Kingdom is not of this world.”  (John 18:36) 

The Apostles knew Jesus was God’s anointed servant that had been prophesied.  They knew Jesus was the long awaited Savior.  Now that Jesus was raised from the dead, they looked to Him for what was to come next.  They had no idea of worldwide conquest or grandiose schemes.  They were asking, “What comes next?” this is when Jesus said, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.  ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.  And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:7-8) 

We still wait for His return.  He has promised to return.  But the dates and times are not for us to know.  However, He did lay out what was going to be happening in the meantime.  What follows in verse 8 of Acts 1 gives an outline.  First was the receiving of power when the Holy Spirit was given.

The Apostles at this point had no idea who the Holy Spirit was.

Jesus had told them, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come.  If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”  (John 16:7)  They did not yet understand what He meant when He said this.  He said this to them when they were worried and upset because Jesus was telling them that He was going away. 

Jesus had also told them, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”  (John 14:12)  They did not put the two things together.  The Advocate coming and the greater works were part of the same thing, the giving of the Holy Spirit.

This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”

Our world sees power in the ability to perform wonderful works.  For example, in Star Wars, the mighty Jedi, Yoda, lifts what amounts to a small fighter aircraft from the swamp by concentrating and using the “force.” This is how our world sees power, power to change things with the wave of one’s hand.

However, consider this.  In 2010, 2.2 billion people called themselves Christians.[ii]  That is over one third of the world’s population at the time.  I would go with a much smaller number because I believe that many that are called “Christian” by the world do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.  Even given this, billions of Christians around the world in spite of hell’s best efforts to stop the building of the Church is a great testament to the power of the Holy Spirit.  What is lifting objects with one’s mind when compared to shaping world history and defying the power of hell? 

This power is still at work in us today.

Once the Apostles received power, the work of the Church began.  The outline in the book of Acts continues.  The story of Acts is how the gospel spread through Jerusalem and then through Judea to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

The story is wonderful and it is varied.

Philip was traveling in the desert and met an Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53.  Philip explained to the Eunuch how this prophecy was about Jesus.  The Ethiopian believed and the Church was established in Ethiopia.

Stephen was stoned and a great persecution of Christians started in Jerusalem.  The Church spread through the region of Judea as believers in Jesus moved out of Jerusalem.

Acts 11 tells us how these believers, scattered by persecution, established the Church in Antioch of Syria.  Later, in Acts 13:2-3 we are told:

“One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”  So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.”

The remainder of the book of Acts tells how through this endeavor the Church was spread to the ends of the earth.

  This is where the missionary endeavor started.  The Church spread organically as believers followed Jesus.  We are all to make disciples.  And, the statement is true that everywhere we go is the mission field.  According to 2 Corinthians 5:20,) “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.  We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  This is the mission of the Church.  It is our task.

However, in Acts 13 we learn the practice of dedicating or setting apart certain ones from amongst us for the special work that God has called them to.  We call these people missionaries.  In this sense, we are not all missionaries.  When looked at in this way, a missionary is one set apart with a special calling from God.

A couple years back, we laid hands on Kirk and Becca, dedicating them to the special work that God has called them to do.  We watched in alarm and prayer as the churches burned in Niamey.  We sent gifts to help our brothers and sisters in Christ rebuild from the ashes.  Later, we rejoiced as we heard the news of what God was beginning to do with the future leaders of the Church in Niger.

Friends, the story is not over.  It continues.  The Clearwater Evangelical Free Church started supporting Tom and Marcy Dorsch as missionaries shortly after the church began some 30 years ago.  It is through them that we are connected to Niamey.  This is part of Acts 1:8 in action.

The believers in Antioch did not send out Paul and Barnabas because the work was done there.  They sent out Paul and Barnabas because the Holy Spirit told them to.  The work is not done here in Clearwater.  With seven churches here in Clearwater, there are around 700 people in church in town this morning.  If another 300 traveled in to Wichita this morning to go to church, that leaves 1,500 people who are not in church in town this morning.  I do not know what the actual numbers are.  And even if my estimates are very low, I have a question.  Even among those in church this morning, how many of them are true believers?  Are half of our friends and neighbors on their way to hell?

We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses.  We have the privilege of being a part of the exciting things He is doing in the ends of the earth, and the privilege of participating with Him as He works right here in Clearwater.

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[i]  Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/04/02/397042004/muslim-population-will-surpass-christians-this-century-pew-says

Oops!

Oops!

Aaron said, “I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”

This is Aaron’s answer to Moses’s question, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”  (Exodus 32:21)

Have you ever made an excuse for what you did?  Or, have you ever tried to explain that it was not as bad as it was?  We all have opportunity to do this.  This is what Aaron was doing.

The idea of “Oops!” came to me as I was thinking about Exodus 32:35, which says, “Then the LORD sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.”  What a tragedy!  God says, “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people.  I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.”  (Ezekiel 33:11)  What had happened was serious.  People lost their lives.  And, Aaron did not have a good reason.  His story does not hold up to scrutiny.

The amazing part of this story is the grace and mercy of God.  To see this we need to go back to the beginning.

First, we have the making of the golden calf.

The descendants of Jacob had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years.  Their oppression became unbearable and they called out to the Lord for deliverance.  God sent a man, Moses, to lead the people out of slavery to a land that they could call their own.  God worked mighty miracles in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.  There were ten plagues.  Then they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground with the water standing up as a wall on either side.  When they ran out of food, the Lord provided a bread-like food they called Manna.  When they ran out of water, God made water come out of a rock.  God led them each step of the way with a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night.  The Manna and the pillar were there every single day.

After 2 months in the wilderness, the Israelites camped at Mount Sinai.  There the Lord descended on the mountain to meet with the people.  Exodus 19:16 says, “Thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain.  There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.” Verse 18 adds, “All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire.  The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.”

God spoke to them.  He gave them the 10 Commandments.  The 10 Commandments start out:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

“You must not have any other god but me.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”

The voice of God was so terrifying that the people asked Moses to be their go between and they would do whatever he said.  Exodus 24:3 tells us that they agreed to do everything that God had commanded. 

Moses then went up on the mountain to meet with God.  He took along some of the elders of the people, Aaron and Joshua.  Chapter 32 takes place after 40 days.  Joshua apparently stayed on the mountain waiting for Moses, but Aaron and the elders did not.

Verses 1 of Exodus 32 says, “When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “ Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us.  We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”

Two things you will notice right away.  First, they were still eating Manna every day.  Second, the mountain was still smoking and trembling.  No one had ever seen what they saw of the Lord’s presence and working on their behalf.  They had heard and agreed to God’s covenant.  However, they did not look to the Lord to lead them.  When Moses did not come down off the smoking, trembling mountain, they looked for Aaron to make gods to lead them.

This is way beyond “Oops.”  God calls it stubborn rebellion in verse 9 of chapter 32.  In view of it being in the very presence of God, it is hard to understand what was at the heart of this rebellion, but 1 Corinthians 10:6 explains, “These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did.”

This is what was behind the building of the calf.  We see it expressed in the aftermath of creating the calf.  Verse 5 tells us the people were excited when the calf was completed.  They immediately held a festival that included what the New Living Translation has termed pagan revelry.  The calf was probably fashioned after the Egyptian god “Apis” which was the god of strength and fertility.  According to Wikipedia, “Apis was the most important of all the sacred animals in Egypt, and, as with the others, its importance increased as time went on.”  The part the Israelites were excited about was apparently the pagan revelry, which was sexual in nature.  They were apparently going back to something familiar from Egypt.

At this point, God decided to destroy the people.  He told Moses, “Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them.” 

The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death.  How am I any different when I desire evil things in light of the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made to free me from slavery to sin?  Our rebellion against God is serious, and we deserve His anger.

However, two things in this account give us great hope. 

First, the intercession of a godly person accomplishes much.  Moses intercedes for the people.  He pleads with God to spare them, and Exodus 32:14 says, “So the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.”

Here is a great mystery.  How does an all-knowing, perfect God change His mind?  We cannot know or understand such a thing, but here it is.  It says that God changed His mind. 

This should encourage us to pray.  Pray for our children, relatives and friends who do not know Christ.  James 5:16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”  This is what we see here in Exodus 32.  There is great power in prayer.  God has chosen to listen to us when we pray.

First, we can have hope because God listens to prayer, and second because God is always willing to show mercy.

In this case, God withholds the deserved judgment.  He continues to provide Manna every morning.  His presence continues to be there with them.  These people, who in His very presence made an idol and said, “This is the god who led us out of Egypt.”  They were not deserving of God’s continued presence, leading and provision.  However, God is merciful, and often withholds the judgment we deserve. 

In Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah says:

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. (Lamentations 3:22-25, KJV)

Although none of us is perfect, without sin, God continues to provide everything we need.  God knew we would be unfaithful when He sent His Son, and yet He willingly paid the price for us.  Should we not then wait for Him?  How much should our souls seek Him?  Let’s not grow weary and seek evil things and someone else to lead us.  Rather, let us ask the Lord to remove the idols of our hearts that are the evil things so offensive to Him.  Let us ask God that we might worship with a pure heart.

Let’s put aside the “Oops, did I just do that!” of double mindedness.  The Israelites could not hold on to Egypt and follow God at the same time.  Neither can we.

The Law

What does it look like when people encounter the Almighty?  What does it look like when the Almighty steps into the lives of men?

He is our creator, and the maker of the universe. 

We see His appearance to Moses in the burning bush, and His presence in front of the descendants of Jacob in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.

We have been studying the Almighty’s deliverance of the descendants of Jacob from slavery in Egypt.  God intervened and with mighty signs and wonders led the millions of Israelites out of Egypt.  He led them out of Egypt to Mount Sinai to meet with them there.

This was a pivotal point in the life of the nation of Israel.  This was a pivotal point in the history of the world.  It is probably safe to say that this occasion has done more to shape history than any other, apart from the life of Jesus Christ.

God gave the 10 Commandments on this occasion. 

God met with His people.

I have heard people talk about the God of the Old Testament.  The question, “Why is God so different in the Old Testament than He is in the New?” has been asked many times. 

A famous opponent of God, Richard Dawkins, in his book The God Delusion says:

 “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”  (pg. 51)

This is an extreme statement of how many perceive God as He appears in the Old Testament.  Dawkins, along with many of us, must be suggesting that he knows better how the Almighty should interact with humanity.

As one goes through the book of Exodus, he or she sees how obstinate and unbelieving we as human beings tend to be.  One sees stubborn unbelief in the face of the most incredible miracles in recorded history.

In chapters 19 and 20 of Exodus, God gets personal and direct in His interaction with the people He has led out of Egypt.  He physically comes down to meet with His people.  Exodus 19:16-19 says:

¹⁶On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. ¹⁷Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.[i]

Can you picture this? 

It was terrifying.  Exodus 20:18-19 tells us what the people felt like when they saw the Almighty appearing like this.  Exodus 20:18-19 says:

¹⁸When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

¹⁹And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

In this terrifying setting, God begins to lay out the terms of His covenant.  This covenant represents the conditions by which people can remain in a right relationship to God.

The first condition or statement of the Covenant is, “I am the LORD your God.”  (Exodus 20:2)

This statement is not a command, but it prefaces the first commandment.  The first commandment is, “You must not have any other god but me.” (Exodus 20:3)  The statement, “I am the Lord your God,” is the answer to the questions we have raised.  “What does it look like when people encounter the Almighty?  What does it look like when the Almighty steps in to the lives of men?” It even explains Richard Dawkins’ extreme reaction against God and His policies.

The answer lies in the truth of who God is.  This statement, “I am the Lord your God,” contains two names for God, Lord and God, or Yahweh Elohim.

The name Elohim is used in Genesis 1:1 when it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This name generally refers to the fact that God is the Creator and Judge of the universe.  The root of the name is “El” which means “Strong One,” or “Mighty.”  It is the name that contains the idea of the Almighty.

The name Yahweh is built off the root of “I Am.”  Yahweh expresses who God is as far as language will allow.  

As the “I Am,” we understand that God never had a beginning.  This truth is beyond our ability to comprehend.  

As the “I Am,” He will never end.  

As the “I Am,” He is absolute reality.  Outside of Him, there is no other reality, unless He creates it.  There can be no emptiness of space except He sustains it.  

As the “I Am,” he is absolutely independent.  There is nothing that He depends on or needs outside of Himself.  Conversely, everything else depends completely on God.  The universe and all it contains depends wholly on God for its existence.

It is this “Yahweh Elohim,” that comes to Mount Sinai and says:

⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ⁶And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.  Exodus 19:4-6

Look again at verse 5.  God says, “If you will obey me and keep my covenant.”

What right does God have to require obedience?  Why should it matter to Him? 

Besides the fact that everything is His and He made it all, there are also the natural results of rejecting Him.

The Canaanites, whose land the Israelites were going to possess show us an example of what happens when we reject God.  Deuteronomy 18:9-12 lists some of the things these people were doing.  It says:

 ⁹“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. ¹⁰For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, ¹¹or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. ¹²Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.”

Let us look at just one of the things listed here. 

The Canaanites were sacrificing their sons and daughters as burnt offerings.  In other words, the most innocent and helpless members of society were not protected by those entrusted with their protection.  They were not even given the status of human beings, and could be sacrificed for the benefit of those whose job it was to protect, nourish and love them.

This is what the Bible calls the deceitfulness of sin.  When we choose not to obey God, we naturally become the slaves of sin, of our own desires and appetites.  For example, most men have a desire for women.  If they do not control that desire, much harm and damage is done as they go from woman to woman to woman.  In other words, just because we are born with a desire does not mean it should be indulged.  God warned Cain that sin was crouching at the door ready to master him.  He gave in to his desire and murdered his brother.

Our world today is full of the evidence of what men do without God.  God has given us true freedom of choice and we have filled the world with violence of every sort.  All the words that Dawkins uses to indict God are words that describe man’s inhumanity to man.  Priests, pastors and parishioners are no exception.  Abuse, crime, fraud and manipulation fill our governments, cities, homes and even churches.

Romans 6:16 says, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

Should the judge of the universe stand idly by while innocent young children are abused and murdered?  No, He does not and He will not.  Have we forgotten the flood?  Have we forgotten what happened to the Canaanites? Richard Dawkins, along with this generation, is deliberately forgetting or denying what God has done to deal with the sinfulness and evil we have perpetuated in our world.

We think that we are nice and do not deserve to be punished, let alone sent to hell to suffer forever.  Mount Sinai and the Law were given to show us just how wrong we are.  God is not a sadistic megalomaniac as Dawkins suggests.  However, He is righteous, just and pure and will not stand idly by while His creation is missused for the benefit of the whims of us megalomaniacs who think we have the right to tell Him how to judge.

God is extremely patient.  Far from being vindictive, in His great love for us He paid for our crimes Himself.  

As the “I Am,” He is the only One who could pay the huge price for our sinful rebellion against Him.  

At Mount Sinai, the Earth shook in terror at the presence of its Holy Maker.  At Mount Calvary, it shook with sorrow as the Only Begotten Son of God laid down His life to satisfy the conditions of the covenant that we all have broken.   

What does it look like when people encounter the Almighty?  What does it look like when the Almighty steps in to the lives of men?

It looks like fire, smoke and a shaking trembling mountain, or it looks like a Father calling to His children to come safely home.  The difference is only one thing.  John 3:36 says it this way:

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.

Through us, God is making His plea to all men to be reconciled to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ.  

Come to Him that you can have life, because without Him there is only the terrifying expectation of certain judgement.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

Living Water

Read Exodus 17.

Exodus is the story of the Lord delivering Israel out of Egypt.  It is the story of the mighty hand of the Lord working among men.  We know Him as the Almighty.  He is able to bend nature to His will.

Exodus 17:1 says:

At the LORD's command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place.  Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.[i]

First we notice that the community of Israel moved at the Lord’s command.  It has been some time since they left Egypt.  On the day they left Egypt we are told, “The LORD went ahead of them.  He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire.”  (Exodus 13:21)

The phrase “moved from place to place” is otherwise translated “in stages.”  This is not random wandering.  It is a measured journey to Mt. Sinai, where the people were to meet with the Almighty. 

According to Exodus 17:1, “Eventually they camped at Rephidim.  Rephidim most likely means “rests” (Bibleatlas.org).  A book called “Deserts of the Exodus” says this about it:

It is the most fertile part of the peninsula, well watered, with a palm grove stretching for miles along the valley.  Palmer speaks of passing through the palm grove as a "most delightful" walk; "the tall, graceful trees afforded a delicious shade, fresh water ran at our feet, and, above all, bulbuls flitted from branch to branch uttering their sweet notes."  (http://bibleatlas.org/rephidim.htm)

Ironically, the community of Israel found no water there.  Therefore, a place named for rest became a place of quarreling.  Exodus 17:2 tells us:

Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”  And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me?  Why do you test the LORD?”  (ESV)[ii]

The quarrel was severe enough that Moses told the Lord, “They are ready to stone me!”  (Exodus 17:4)  Moses even gave the place a new name calling it “Meribah” (which means quarreling).

The people were thirsty and feared for their lives.  They said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt?  Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?"  (Exodus 17:3)

This is consistent with the pattern that the people established.  Even though it was at the command and leading of the Lord that they move, they complained against Moses.  They maintained this pattern throughout their 40 years in the wilderness.  However, at this point in the book of Exodus we see a serious turn in their attitudes.  Moses called it testing the Lord, and Exodus 17:7 tells us what they said.  They said, "Is the LORD here with us or not?"

Considering the fact that they were eating Manna every morning and quail every night this is a remarkable question.  Considering the fact that they witnessed the plagues in Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on dry ground with the water standing up as a wall on each side, this is a remarkable question.

This same incident was repeated almost verbatim at the beginning of the 40^th year in the wilderness.  The account of the second occurrence is found in Numbers 20:8, the difference being that Moses was instructed to speak to the rock.  Because of these two incidents God gave a command in Deuteronomy 6:16.  He said, “You must not test the LORD your God as you did when you complained at Massah.”  The complaint referenced is, “Is the LORD here with us or not?” 

Many years later, immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness.  He too was without bread and water.  Satan came and tempted him.  At that time, there were three tests.  First, Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stone into bread.  Second, Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him.  Third, Satan tried to get Jesus to leap from the highest point of the temple.  Each time Jesus answered with Scripture.  The third and final answer Jesus gave that finally shut the devil up was, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’” (Luke 4:12)

Deuteronomy 6:16 gives a command that we must not test the Lord and Jesus repeats it in dealing with the temptations in His life.  This incident with the water seems to be the example of what it means to “test the Lord.”

A short explanation of testing the Lord would be to call His character or promises into question.  The community of Israel had experienced and seen time after time that God was both there and on their side.  Now, they were demanding that He prove once again that He was there and on their side.  God was clearly leading them.  God was clearly providing for them.  In this process, God was testing them to see whether they would trust Him.  God knew what He was going to do and it was His purpose to provide them with water.  Of course He would.  God did not lead them out into the wilderness to kill them with thirst.  They did not need to put God to the test.

God tests all of His children.  He led the community of Israel to a place with no water.  The Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness.  God will lead you into the wilderness.  It will just be you and Him, and you will need to trust Him.  There will be no water.

Jesus said, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!  For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  (John 7:37-38)

Believers of all ages have found this to be true. 

One day Jesus was traveling north from Jerusalem going to Galilee.  He chose the most direct route, which passed through Samaria.  After walking all morning, Jesus was hot and tired so He sat down by a well near a Samaritan town.  He sent His disciples into town to buy food.  While He waited there by the well, a woman came out to draw water.  One of the things Jesus said to her was, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”  (John 4:10)

This woman was thirsty, but she did not know what she was thirsty for.  It took an encounter with Jesus for her to realize that her real thirst was spiritual.

We all need this living water.  The experience of the community of Israel in the wilderness teaches us three things about this water.

The first thing is that God leads us to it.

God leads us to the living water by first showing us our need. 

God led the children of Israel to a place called rest, but there was no water.  God purposely leads us to these places.  For the children of Israel it seemed as if God was trying to kill them.  After all, He led them into a barren, hostile environment and there was no water.  Circumstances may seem to indicate God is against us, and we must learn to trust God’s word and promises in spite of circumstances.

The second thing we learn is that God goes before us. 

God told Moses, “I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.” (Exodus 17:6)

God was there all the time.  It was in the presence of God that the people said, “Is the LORD here with us or not?”  Jesus says to us, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20)  This is important for us to realize.  When we are going through the dry times, we need to remember that God is right there with us.  Jesus taught of our close association with the Father when He said:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him.  But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.  No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.  (John 14:16-18)

God leads us.  God is with us.  God refreshes.

Moses struck the rock and water gushed out, not because the people deserved it, but because of God’s grace.

Striking the rock was a picture of how God brings grace to us.  Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed.” 

The children of Israel deserved the blow for even asking their question, but God struck the Rock instead.  Even the Apostle Paul had to learn the lesson, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  In Paul’s case, he had a weakness that he called a thorn in the flesh.  It was such a problem that he pleaded with God three times that it be removed and each time God said, “My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness.”  In this, Paul learned to boast in his weakness because it glorified the strength of Christ.

If we never thirsted, we would never know the refreshing that only Jesus can bring. 

If God has led you to the point of thirsting, realize that it is an opportunity to call upon Him for refreshing.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.