Êxodo 17

Êxodo 17

Sproul comments that "Even though they murmured against Moses directly, they called God into question because Moses was God’s representative on earth. What folly was this! The God who had delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, made the bitter waters sweet, and provided quail and manna had certainly proved His faithfulness. His word alone should have been sufficient. Yet the Israelites called His faithfulness into question. We learn from this how distrustful is the human heart. Despite the many ways God has cared for us, protected us, and delivered us, we still doubt Him." There is an interesting play on words in Moses' question about Israel testing the LORD. The verb nacah/nasah is used 5x in Exodus, 3 times to describe God's testing of Israel and here in Exodus 17 twice of them testing God!. Here are the three uses of God testing Israel... Exodus 15:25+ Then (WHEN PEOPLE GRUMBLED OVER BITTER WATER - Ex 15:23-24) he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He (JEHOVAH) tested them. Exodus 16:4+ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, (HERE IS THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST) whether or not they will walk in My instruction. Exodus 20:20+ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order (THERE WAS PURPOSE TO THE TEST) that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” This is the same verb used once in Numbers of Israel testing God one time too many with the consequence that they would not enter the promised land Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test nacah/nasah) these ten times and have not listened to My voice,shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. (Nu 14:22-23) Test (tempt) (05254)(nacah/nasah) in most OT uses has idea of testing or proving quality of someone or something and doing so often through adversity or hardship. As the following context makes clear (note "to see," lit., "to know," in 3:4), the purpose of this divine test was to determine if Israel was truly loyal. An examination of parallel passages shows that such divine tests were designed to reveal otherwise hidden character qualities. Testing which shows what someone is really like generally involves difficulty or hardship. Nacah/nasah in Ex 17:2 is translated in the Septuagint with the verb peirazo which in this context is clearly used in a bad sense reflecting the ill intent of Israel to try God Himself, His virtue, His attributes, His goodness, His grace, etc. The present tense indicates this was Israel's continual reaction towards the tests God had sent! Interestingly, peirazo is the same verb used to describe the temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness where "for forty days, (HE WAS) being tempted by the devil." (Lk 4:2+) In a very real sense, the children of Israel were essentially doing the devil's work here in Exodus 17 by testing Jehovah! THOUGHT - Temptations and trials are two sides of the same coin, PEIRAZO conveys both ideas (compare idea of "test" in James 1:2+ with a idea of "temptation" in James 1:13+) in short, all that goes to furnish a test of character. The trials may come from God (or under His permissive will from Satan) and will either to make us better or make us worse depending on our attitude/response to the test. If we are like Israel, and we grumble and quarrel because of the test, then the test will fail to bring about the spiritual growth God desires us to experience. On the other hand if we "trust and obey" and let God have His way, we will experience spiritual growth from the trial as explained in James 1:2-4+. = "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (MATURING IN YOUR FAITH)." In a sermon titled "Faith Tested and Crowned," Alexander Maclaren distinguished between being tempted and being tried. He said that "the former word conveys the idea of appealing to the worst part of man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong. The latter means an appeal to the better part of man, with the desire that he should stand." "Temptation says, 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.' Trial or proving says, 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.'" Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us; God tests us to bring out the best in us. Gilbrant - As for Rephidim itself, this was an oasis somewhat less water-fed than Elim, but apparently enjoying a water table high enough to maintain palm trees of considerable size even to this day, even though there were no open springs. The name Rephidim is related to the root raphad, which in Sabean Arabic means “terraces,” derived from the idea of “support”—quite appropriate for an area where rain water had to be carefully conserved. The long journey from the Wadi Gharandel (Elim) to the Wadi Feiran, not far from Jebel Musa (the traditional site of Mt. Sinai), must have resulted in distressing thirst, even though the morning dew with its manna may have relieved this problem to a certain extent. At any rate, with their characteristic petulance, the Hebrew multitude fell into anxious self-pity, and lodged bitter complaint to Moses and Aaron. Each new trial of faith found them easily despondent and in deep discouragement. They had not yet learned as people of faith to look away from their problems to their divine Problem Solver. Sadly enough, this proved to be their behavior pattern all the way from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 14). Unfortunately also, it is all too frequent a reaction on the part of Christians today, for we tend to lose our confidence in God when new difficulties confront us, and we forget how faithfully the Lord has brought us through our trials of the past. Thus we miss the blessing which He intends for us as we go through testing and affliction. (The Complete Biblical Library – Exodus) The Psalms record Israel's testing of the Lord... Psalm 78:41 Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel. Psalm 78:56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies, Psalm 95:9 “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. Psalm 106:14 But craved intensely in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. John Currid - When Satan tempts Jesus to throw himself off the temple to see if God would be faithful and truly save him as he promised (Matt. 4:5–7+), Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.’ Jesus is being tempted to commit the same sin into which Israel fell when they were tested in the wilderness. Jesus, however, does not fail, as Israel failed, but remains true, obedient and faithful to God....Attempts to use Moses at Massah/Meribah as a model for ministry today are not very successful. That is not the point of the story, and many of these studies easily slip into allegorical teaching. (A Study Commentary on Exodus) Exodus 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” Currid - But the people were thirsty for water there. So the people grumbled against Moses. And they said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’ NET Exodus 17:3 But the people were very thirsty there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, "Why in the world did you bring us up out of Egypt– to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" NLT Exodus 17:3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?" KJV Exodus 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? ESV Exodus 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt - Ex 16:3 Exodus 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries FAILURE TO FULFILL FLESHLY DESIRES LEADS TO EXAGGERATION But the people thirsted there for water - What does this say about their focus? Self! What should have been their focus? Jehovah and His past provisions in their time of need. But fallen flesh focuses first on the "big I." (And remember Israel's reactions are just an ugly picture of our depraved flesh, yes, even present in those who have been born again!) This is why they grumbled against and quarreled with Moses. There was no water and they wanted water. Self wants what it wants when it wants it! F B