EXODUS 17
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 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?” 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?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 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. 6 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. 7 And he called the name of the place Massahand 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?”
– Exodus 17:1-7
EXODUS 16 WHEN THE ISRAELITES TESTED THE LORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When God’s people moved into Rephidim and camped there
There was no water source and they began to complain again
They blamed Moses once more for dying there of thirst
They began to doubt and questioned the presence of God
Despite God’s faithfulness to provide everything to them
They still had the audacity to grumble and not totally trust him.
The Israelites journeyed the wilderness for many years. During those times, they have witnessed God’s power and steadfast love for them by providing their food and ensuring they were protected from the elements. But when they moved to this place called Rephidim and they found not one water source, they began to grumble again and blamed Moses for taking them there to die of thirst.
REFLECTION
- Why do you think people automatically grumble each time there is a lack?
