SCRIPTURE: Exodus 17:1-17
TEXT: 2The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” THEME: Prayer is a key component to building our relationship with God. INTRODUCTION The people of God have attitude. They are a bit snippety. With their backs up against the Red Sea they complained, “Are there no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” “We would rather be alive as slaves in Egypt than die in the wilderness.” Hungry they complained, “We sat by pots of stews and ate bread until we had our fill; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” It was very unlikely that they had it so good in Egypt, but this is how they felt. This story has two setting. The Wilderness where the people of God are being led by Moses out of Egypt, and Babylon where the people of God are held in exile from Judea and were the first readers of the book of Exodus hoping for their Exit back home. So, it is a recorded history of Israel and faith, and an encouragement to the present-day captives for freedom in the wilderness. SCRIPTURE And now without water they quarrel, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us, but not only us but our children as well, and also our livestock, and our dog and my cat, with thirst?” I embellished this a little bit but we get the point. They have been slaves for generations. So, when they are confronted with adversity, their ‘go to response’ is complaint. Except in this passage, they quarrel. A complaint is a grievance, problem, a concern, “it is too hot, it’s too cold, I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, I’m bored.” A quarrel is a verbal dispute, an argument, a disagreement. “You are leading us in the desert, you better make sure there is water. If you are so mighty then why were we captive? We are dying here, why don’t you do something? Couldn’t you have prevented this? How hard is it to get us from here to there? If you think that I am going to take another step in these conditions, then you’ve got another thing coming.” These weren’t just the complaint of the Israelites in the wilderness, but also the quarrels of the ‘captive exiles’ in Babylon. Their complaint took on a personal attack against God. In the Mana story, when they were hungry, they complained, but Moses was quick to tell them that they were complaining against the Lord. Having this ‘quarrel’ against Moses is a bone that they are picking with God. These are the primitive beginnings of prayer. They are living into their relationship with God. They are far from being model citizens, but God loves them, cares for them, protects them, listens to them, provides for them and is forming a relationship with them, in their freedom in the wilderness, that will form and shape them into the people of God. God tells Moses to take the staff that he used to turn the Nile into blood, and a few elders and go to a place he will show him, on a rock at Horeb. This could be the site of the burning bush, Holy Ground and Moses’ call, When Moses lead his sheep ‘beyond the wilderness in Hebron, God spoke, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this Mountain.” Exodus 3:1,12 Now why do you think the people of God are here in Horeb, where there is no water. To prove that God keeps promises and confirm that the journey may seem tedious but God is among them, it is God who sends and is their help. Moses strikes the rock and in front of the elders and water comes out. But he doesn’t name the place “water from a rock” after the miracle, instead he names this place, “Testing” (Massah) and “Quarrel” (Meribah) because the people of God quarreled saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” APPLICATION The people of God are learning that when they feel like complaining, it can be a signal for them to turn to God in prayer. They quarrel, “If you don’t do what we want, we are going to take our marbles and go back home (to Egypt),” - This is probably how they communicated to their masters as slaves to get their needs met. Knowing that God is present and listens to us, even when we have doubt, complain and are quarrelsome, what are we learning about praying to God? How does prayer change our relationship with God? When complaining and quarreling has been the only way that we have been heard in the past, when we find ourselves in a new relationship where we can be a part of each other’s lives, it takes some adjusting. The inmates are learning how to live in the outside world. The former slaves are learning how to live with freedom. The unloved are learning what it means to be beloved. The time, Israel will spend in the wilderness will be transformational. They are building a faith history of stories, of their relationship with God. It is beginning with their whining, their complaining and now their quarreling. Often, this is how a prayer life begins. Later they will have a ‘Psalm Book’ filled with such prayers. As they become more reflective rather than reactive, their prayers will have a chance to move to include, gratitude, praise and thanksgiving. In Exodus 15, after Moses and the Israelites successfully fled through the Red Sea there is a song of deliverance. Followed with more singing with tambourines played by Miriam and dancing women. Their life with God is beginning to shape them. So, whenever they get to a place when they hear themselves Quarreling or Testing God, this can be a trigger for them to stop their complaining and remember that God can provide in impossible ways, they just need to pray. Prayer helps us to get to know God. As we are seeing, prayer can include reflective work and not only complaint. As well as the celebratory praise of deliverance. So, even though the captivity in Babylon is dragging on, the God of promise is among you, and is there is help for the captive. CONCLUSION The people of God have attitude. They are learning that when they have something to complain about or even quarrel with God, that they can include it in prayer. It may not be the nicest way to talk to God, but it is a beginning and God hears, and provides what we need. It could be from the staff that turned the Nile into blood, it could be Moses who follows where God leads and does crazy things like strike a rock in the wilderness with a stick. Or it could be, being in a special spot, where bushes burn without being consumed, or shoes have to be taken off, or de ja vu, I feel like I have been here before with God, it is all God. Their story is revelatory of the kind of relationship all of us, can have with God. As their story becomes our story, and our complaint become a trigger for prayer to a God, who is among us.
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