Water From the Rock
Download MP3I invite you to open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 17. Exodus chapter 17. This is, what does your worship god say? Part 8, part 9. I'm not exactly sure where we are.
Jeffrey Heine:And the gospel through the life of Moses. Before we read chapter 17, the first 8 verses, let me read one verse from chapter 14, the last verse. It says, Israel saw the great power that the Lord used to get against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses. Chapter 17.
Jeffrey Heine:All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, encamped at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. 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?
Jeffrey Heine: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? 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.
Jeffrey Heine: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. And he called the name of that place Massah and Meribah because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, is the Lord among us or not? Pray with me. Lord, we are anxious to hear your word.
Jeffrey Heine:We come with great expectation waiting to hear from you, not from me. Lord, I could say really good things, some great things, but they would still be death because they came from me, and we need life. So spirit of God, we ask that you would speak to us and speak words of life. I ask that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, let your words forever change us.
Jeffrey Heine:I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. I really love good fiction, and this is the time of year that I love just getting a book, cuddling up on a couch, maybe with a little fire and reading. And the books that I'm drawn to, the books that I love are the ones that at the very end, all of the pieces come together, and you have one of those moments. Everything comes together, and you know, a really good writer is gonna leave little hints throughout.
Jeffrey Heine:So when you finally get to that climactic, you know, chapter at the end, it all makes sense. And you're like, why didn't I see this? It's it's been there all along. And the Bible is one of these books, not fiction. It's a true story, but the writers have been giving hints all throughout.
Jeffrey Heine:And when we get to Jesus, we have one of those moments. It's like, yes, now I see it. Now it all makes sense, those hints, all throughout scripture. And we've been looking at a number of these hints or these foreshadowings in the past few weeks as we've looked at the life of Moses. When we when we study the life of Moses, you really get the foundations for the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:You get the the foreshadowings or the foundations of Christ there. And it's been fun seeing looking out and seeing light bulbs go out, go on and hunt out with you guys as we've been going over this. And, you you know, our very first week when we started looking at Moses, I I reminded us that, you know, the Mount Transfiguration, when when Jesus went up to to that mountain, he met 2 figures, and one of them was Moses. And it said that he was talking with Moses about his departure, And that word departure is exodus. And so here we have Jesus up on a mountain like Moses was so long earlier.
Jeffrey Heine:Both had been transfigured, and they're talking about the exodus. And Moses led the Exodus. And Moses led the Exodus with the little e. And Jesus says, what you had done is a foreshadowing of what I'm gonna do. Exodus with a capital e.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, when when you free people from sin and death. Your life pointed towards this. That's why we've been studying Exodus. Now last week, we we looked at how right after the Lord saved Israel, parted the Red Sea, and they went through it. The Lord went before him and led him right into a desert, not to the promised land, but he led them straight into the desert.
Jeffrey Heine:And this time throughout scripture is described as a time of testing. A time of testing. Now we all know what a test is. A test is you you take a test to see if you qualify for something or you don't qualify for something. You fail a test, you don't qualify.
Jeffrey Heine:Next, person has to take it. Or you don't get in that you don't get the job you want, or or you don't graduate, or whatever if you fail the test. Now this right here is a pretty simple test for the Israelites. Now look at go back 1 chapter to chapter 16 verse 4. We looked at this last week.
Jeffrey Heine:I didn't get to go in detail about this, but says, then the Lord said to Moses, behold, I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. And and the law is this, you go only gather one day, don't hoard it up, just one day. That's the test. That is a really easy test. I mean, don't you think that's a pretty easy test?
Jeffrey Heine:I'm gonna rain bread down, gather one day's worth. There's you know, it's not physics here. There's not algebra problems. There's it's not, hey, here's a test. Lift lift that really big rock.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, this is simple. Everyone there can do it, yet they failed the test. They failed the test. The next day, they all go out and they're all hoarding stuff, and it all turns bad. And and so god, after they failed the test, he does nothing.
Jeffrey Heine:Says you shouldn't have done that. The next day, they wake up and there's manna. So they failed the test, and God still provided, which kind of makes you scratch your head and think what what the heck are these tests really about? I mean, they they failed the most simple test, and nothing happened. Well you got to realize 2 things about the Lord's test.
Jeffrey Heine:They're not test as we would think of them. They're not to show God anything, they're to reveal to us who we are. They're to reveal to us our imperfections, reveal to us the darkness of our heart, and we're gonna get to that in a couple weeks when we get to the law. These tests don't reveal to God anything that He didn't already know. But it revealed to the Israelites that all their their free from Egypt, they still brought slavery with them.
Jeffrey Heine:They're a slave to materialism. They're a slave to greed, and they've got to be freed from these things before they ever enter the promised land. The second thing we learn about God's test is they're not given in order to see if you make it, if you make the grade, if you qualify or not. That's not the at all the purpose of these tests. It's not like, you know, if you you test a battery, and if it if the battery's good, you keep it.
Jeffrey Heine:If it's bad, you throw it away. That's not what God's doing. You failed the test, gone. Next. It's more of like if I'm testing one of my daughters, and I tell her, clean up all your toys.
Jeffrey Heine:To make it, you know, realistic, Natalie, clean up your toys. And, and Natalie says no. She failed a really easy test. I don't throw her out. Next child, you know, I I might discipline her, but I keep her, because I'm in a relationship with her.
Jeffrey Heine:She's my daughter, And God has entered into a covenant relationship with these people. He's not gonna discard them at all. His tests aren't to see whether you qualify or not. We none of us qualify. None of us.
Jeffrey Heine:They reveal to us who we are and they show God's tremendous patience and care. And it allows him to correct us and to mold us into his image. And what we see here is a really difficult test in Exodus 17. Manna, easy. Exodus 17, a little more difficult.
Jeffrey Heine:And the passage that we read, we see once again Israel is complaining, groaning. They quarrel with Moses, Why do you take us out here to kill us, to die? And and like we've looked at the last 2 weeks, they're delusional in their thinking. They're very delusional. I mean, because God has taken them every step of the way, 10 plagues, parting of the Red Sea.
Jeffrey Heine:He's already given them water once. He's already rained down bread from heaven. And and so why in the world would they doubt that he led them here to kill them? Why would they think that? Why would they doubt his goodness?
Jeffrey Heine:They're here because God took them here. They need to trust. Now I've thought about this a lot in this past week because I don't know about you, we we looked at it and it's like a mirror. You look at these Israelites and it's a mirror, and I gotta ask, why don't I trust? Why don't I trust?
Jeffrey Heine:Now these numbers might be slightly off. I'm 35 years old, 35 and a half, 365 days times 3 meals a year, Sorry. A day. Sorry. 3 meals a day times 35a half.
Jeffrey Heine:I've roughly had 38,000 continuous meals in my life. 38,000. I'm not counting leap year and all that stuff. You know, some one of you I know is gonna, like, get your calculator out. Roughly 38,000 times in a row.
Jeffrey Heine:And in all the times that I can remember that I have sat down and eaten, I have thanked God for giving me the food. God, thank you. You have given me food. 38 1,000 times in a row you have provided for me, yet I doubt the Lord's provision when I look at the future. It's a pretty good track record God has.
Jeffrey Heine:Every day of my life, I've had clothes on. That's almost 13000 days I've had clothes on. Great track record. Why do I doubt God's provision when I think of the future? Why do I doubt it?
Jeffrey Heine:But I do. And actually, when I think about our doubts when it comes to god's provision, I think it's not so much that God will provide our most basic needs. He'll give us food or he'll give us shelter or give us things like that. I think we have an understanding, okay, God, I I can trust you for that, but are you gonna give me what I want? I know you'll meet my basic needs, but are you gonna give me what I want?
Jeffrey Heine:And we're just like the Israelites that we looked at last week, in which, you know, they're they're saying, God, we're so hungry. We're so hungry. And as they're saying this, there's moo in the background. There's baa, there's sheep all around, there's there's livestock, and they're saying, god, we're so hungry. We have nothing to eat and they're saying this as all the cows and all the sheep are are mooing and bang And what they're saying is, well, I don't want to go through my savings.
Jeffrey Heine:I wanna keep that. I just want more. I want an abundant life. I don't want just the basics, and I don't wanna make any sacrifices. And a lot of times, we're just like that.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not that we don't doubt that God will provide for us, It's just we want more. We don't wanna, you know, get our clothes at Walmart. We wanna go to the summit. And that's what we pray for. And if God doesn't give that to us, we are ingrates.
Jeffrey Heine:We grumble. This is a mirror to us. God has provided for us over and over again. God's gracious to me, gracious to you just like he was gracious to them. The story here is no different than what we had in God raining down manna from heaven, but it gets a lot more intense.
Jeffrey Heine:Look at verse 2, chapter 17 verse 2. Says, therefore, the people quarreled with Moses. Now Sarna Nahum and Robert Alter, they're these Jewish scholars who I I really, really get a lot out of. They're fantastic. And both of them point out that this word, that's there, that's different than grumble.
Jeffrey Heine:It says, therefore, the people quarreled. That word quarreled is a much more severe term. This is not just normal grumbling. This is this has taken it up a notch, and actually, it's used in a judicial context. This is what you would use in court, and this is absolutely crucial if you wanna understand this text because the people aren't just grumbling.
Jeffrey Heine:They're bringing an official accusation against Moses. Moses, you have brought us here to kill us, and we want a trial. We accuse you of this. And then it says that they were about to kill him. They were about ready to stone him, meaning they had found him guilty, and now they are going to try and execute Moses.
Jeffrey Heine:And then God commands Moses to do something that is absolutely astounding. I have chewed on this passage for for almost a year now, and every time I read it it still moves me. Look at verse 5. Says, and the lord said to Moses, pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders and taking your hand the staff which you struck the Nile. So Moses is now to walk through this angry mob.
Jeffrey Heine:This angry mob, he is now to walk through them, and he is to go and get the elders of the community, and he's to go and get his staff. And what's happening here is God is telling Moses to set up a trial. It's time for us to set up a trial. Go get the elders. They're the witnesses.
Jeffrey Heine:Go get your staff, which is really interesting. Everybody knows what the staff is. Go get your staff, yet they add a little detail. Go get your staff. The one that you struck the Nile with, meaning judgment is coming.
Jeffrey Heine:We're setting up a trial. We're gonna get the witnesses. Get the staff. We're bringing judgment here, And if I was one of the people there, I'd be terrified at this point. They realize what's happening.
Jeffrey Heine:Like, oh my gosh, we just made an official accusation against Moses. God told them to get the rod. He's meeting us here. They're thinking this is it. Moses is gonna act as the judge.
Jeffrey Heine:He's bringing with him the staff. And then look at verse 6, heightens the drama. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock of Horeb. Now I know at first reading that doesn't really kind of do much for you, but if you go through all of scripture, all of scripture, and thanks to the the wonderful creation of BibleWorks, you can do it pretty quick now on computer, just a few hours. Look at every reference of standing or before, and you will never ever find the Lord standing before anyone.
Jeffrey Heine:This is the only time in scripture. Other people stand before the Lord. The Lord doesn't stand before anybody. Kings come, and they stand before the Lord. Or better yet, if you find scripture, look at 1 Samuel 6, and it says, who can stand before the lord?
Jeffrey Heine:But it's always an inferior who stands before the superior, And yet here it says, god, it says, go there and I will stand before you. I will be the inferior. You're gonna put me on the dock, and you're gonna be the superior, and you're not gonna find this anywhere else in scripture. It's absolutely astounding what is going on here. Now, let's look what happens at this trial.
Jeffrey Heine:The people are the plaintiff. God's the defendant. The accusation is, God, you don't care about us. You brought us pointless suffering. You brought us out here to kill us.
Jeffrey Heine:You don't care about us. Moses summarizes their heart of their argument in verse 7 when he says, and he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, because they tested the Lord by saying, is the Lord among us or not? That's the heart of the issue. God, you're not even with us. You're not for us if you're here.
Jeffrey Heine:So the people are there. Moses has got the staff. They're trembling. He raises it up, and God says, now strike the rock where I'm standing. The rod of judgment falls on the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:You can search any religion in the world, and you will not find anything close to this. A God who says, judge me. When you bring your accusations, your delirious accusations, judge me. And the rod falls on him. And when this rod hits the rock where the Lord's standing, water flows out.
Jeffrey Heine:Grace flows. And so the people deserve judgment, but the lord himself stands as a substitute, and he takes it instead. So I mean, what what does this mean? What does this mean? Obviously, it means that we have a gracious god that if we fail him, which we're going to over and over and over again, even if we bring severe accusations against him, he forgives, and he loves us.
Jeffrey Heine:He is committed to us. Even when we say, you have deserted us. He just gives us life and grace. Now I I somewhat misled you just a little bit. Four point, I hope you'll forgive me.
Jeffrey Heine:There actually is one other reference to the Lord standing before someone. There's one other place, and it's a very similar story, in which there is an angry mob, and they're all making accusations against a man. And they drag him before the the leader of the people, and they demand a trial. This is mob justice. Now we want a trial, we want this now, and the accusation is this man claimed to be God with us.
Jeffrey Heine:This man claimed to be god with us, and he needs to be on trial. And so you read in Matthew 27, the only other time where god ever stands before anyone, it says, Jesus stood before Pilate. Jesus was the inferior. Pilate acting as the superior. Jesus on trial, and just like the rock, he was struck.
Jeffrey Heine:He was struck. Isaiah says that he was smitten of God. And so he receives these blows of of divine justice and judgment that we should have received. Jesus is the one to whom that that struck rock points to. And if if you think I'm stretching this, listen to Paul's words in in first Corinthians chapter 10.
Jeffrey Heine:He says, I want you to know brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea and they all ate the same spiritual food and they drank the same spiritual drink for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. Jesus is the one who proves the father's love for us, once and for all. We never have to doubt, is God with us?
Jeffrey Heine:All we have to do is look at Jesus. He's the one who gives us life when we deserve wrath. And if you ever ask is the Lord in our midst, just remember Emmanuel, God with us. Do you believe that? I mean, if if this reaches into your core and you believe this, you are liberated.
Jeffrey Heine:What we've been looking at, you are liberated. I I I hope you see how freeing this is, how you could go through life and just fail Test after test after test, and yet god just loves you. And in light of such incredible, moving, sacrificial love, I hope your heart melts, and it frees you from trying to get love from every other thing this world offers. Trying to find your identity and anything else that this world says, this is where you find your identity. Rising up the corporate ladder, or being a mom, or being a dad, or or or or just being very wealthy, or or finding your identity and giving to the poor even.
Jeffrey Heine:None of those. No. You find your identity in me and in my love. I am here, and I am for you. It encourages me to take risk, to truly give God everything.
Jeffrey Heine:This frees us to trust him, to have joy even when all we can see in front of us is a wasteland. Now this text here actually helps us to understand the text that we're going to look at maybe in a month, month and a half or so, in numbers 20, you don't have to turn there. It's a it's a very similar story in which the people once again are grumbling all about, you know, oh, we're gonna die of thirst, we're gonna die of thirst. And you know the story, and I I sent a pun out, there's one striking difference between numbers 20 and, Exodus 17. Right over y'all's heads.
Jeffrey Heine:And Moses God commanded Moses, speak to the rock. Speak to the rock. And what did Moses do? He got the staff and he struck it. And that one sin there and Moses has done plenty of sins, but that one sin cost him the promised land.
Jeffrey Heine:Why was God so harsh this time? It's because these are not just miracles. They're pointers. They're laying a foundation. Moses, you're ruining the sign.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm struck down once. I don't have to be sacrificed again and again, and actually the word for rock in in numbers 20 is an elevated rock. It's different than this rock. It's a rock up on high, and you just speak to me, and I give you grace. Don't sacrifice me again.
Jeffrey Heine:I have done it all. I've done it all. So we see here in this text, you know, through the giving of manna, we we see last week, we saw the incarnation of Christ. God is the bread of life. I hope you think of that this Christmas season.
Jeffrey Heine:He's the bread of life. Every time you see little, oh, little town of Bethlehem, the Hebrew word Beth is house. Lehem is bread. It's the house of bread. Jesus was born in the house of bread.
Jeffrey Heine:He is the bread of life. The one in which we go when we find nourishment. He is the true manna come down from heaven, and when you see this rock you're being struck, see the substitute of Christ on your behalf. How we are all on trial before the Lord, there is a rod of judgment, yet Christ takes it. And let that move you to freedom.
Jeffrey Heine:Pray with me. Jesus, you have ascended. You are now elevated on high and all we have to do is ask and you say you will freely give us your spirit. You will pour out grace on us. And so right now, we ask.
Jeffrey Heine:Corporately, we ask that you would fill us with your spirit. Individually, we plead with you to fill us with your spirit. I ask that you would free us from the things that bind us. Right now, Lord, I pray that we would feel shackles breaking, falling down. In light of your love, may we be moved.
Jeffrey Heine:And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus, our Lord and our savior, our present and our future king. Amen.
