I invite you to take your Bibles and turn to the book of Exodus. If you're unfamiliar with the Bible, if you're new to the things of God, the Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament with the ministry of Jesus, the life, The death, the resurrection of Jesus as the dividing point. Everything in the Old Testament is leading up to the coming of the Messiah, the coming of Christ. Everything in the Old Testament points to the coming of Christ, the ministry of Jesus. The Gospels, we see Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John explaining the life and ministry of Jesus or recounting it. And then the rest of the New Testament is explaining the implications of what Jesus did, how he came into the world to save us from our sins and how we are then to live. We are working our way through the life and ministry of Moses and the children of Israel as they've been rescued out of Egypt and are on their way to the promised land. We are in Exodus chapter 17. The Israelites have been freed from Egypt. They've gone through the Red Sea as Moses parted the sea by the power of God. It was God who parted the sea and they crossed the sea on dry ground and the sea then swallowed up Pharaoh and his army. Now they've been wandering in the desert and we found them complaining again and again. Exodus chapter 17, verse one through seven. At the conclusion of the reading of this passage, for those of you who are just returning, I'll say at the end of the scripture reading, this is the word of the Lord, and you can respond, thanks be to God. And I encourage you to say that from your heart. Hear the word of the Lord. 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. 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? 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. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. 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 the place Masa 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? This is the word of the Lord. Thanks. Yes, this is the word of God. The grass withers and the flowers of the field fade away, but this is the word of God. And God's word stands forever. We join me as we pray and call now on the name of the Lord. Let us pray. Oh Lord, our God, we bow before you because you are worthy of our reverence and awe and worship and respect and you are worthy of our lives to serve you and to live for you, to follow you, to obey you because you're the one who made us and all things. You are our creator. You're the one who formed each one of us in our mother's womb. You're the one who gave us our very first breath. You're the one who's provided for us every single day of our lives. You've given us health and strength. You've given us, Lord, every blessing we've ever received. It ultimately is coming from your hand. Oh, Lord, you are also the one who's given us new life in Christ. Thank you that you've not left us to ourselves and to our sins, but you came and brought us to yourself and you brought us to a place where we would cry out to you for mercy, to say, have mercy on me, Lord, a sinner. I need a savior. Lord, thank you that you have brought the kingdom of heaven to us. You've brought us into the kingdom of heaven as well. You've opened our eyes to see and our ears to hear and our heart to believe. You've drawn us to Christ. Oh Lord, we give you thanks and pray that you would come and bless every single soul here, every single one who's hearing my voice even over our live stream, but particularly here in this place, that you would come and visit us with the gathering of your people, that Christ would dwell here in our midst, that he would shepherd his flock here in this place, that though we cannot see him, the risen Christ would be here among his people. speaking to us through the living and abiding Word of God and through the humble means of the preaching of the Word of God. An act which the world scoffs at and mocks and belittles and ridicules. And yet the preaching of the word of God is what you've ordained to be the means by which you bring people to saving faith. You bring people to believe that they are sinners and need a savior. And every week you bring us again to the point where we would cry out again Lord have mercy on me. Christ is my only hope. Oh, Lord, come and visit us here. Draw near to each family, each soul. You know what each one needs most of all, and you are able to meet all of our needs out of the riches of your grace. Lord, come and visit us here. Encourage those who are discouraged and, Lord, build up those who feel weak. Revive those who are dry and who feel far from you. O Lord restore us. Come and visit us Lord and teach us today. May Christ be here beyond the veil that separates this world from the next shepherding his people. We ask all of this not in our own righteousness but we ask all of this in the name and for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, the next two scenes that we come to in Exodus chapter 17, the next two scenes that the Spirit of God records for us in this journey of the Israelites on the way to the promised land, in these next two scenes, God reveals for us two different life issues that his people have to contend with. after leaving Egypt. Two different problems. Two different matters. And both of them happen here in this chapter. Both of them are dire situations. They're serious. This is no laughing matter. They're weighty matters. But both of them provide proof of God's grace to sinful people. Both of them are proof of God's mercy to sinners like us. Both are evidence that the living God never leaves his people alone to fend for themselves in their desert journey to the promised land. Just like us in our wilderness journey, this world is a desert, a wilderness filled with all kinds of hazards on our way to the promised land. Not a physical land, but on our way to heaven. From the time that the children of Israel left Egypt and were rescued out of Pharaoh's hand, they couldn't free themselves. God sent a redeemer. God sent Moses to come and bring them out of Pharaoh's hand. From the time they left Egypt until they would cross the River Jordan, He would guide them and protect them and guard them and keep them and defend them and provide for them every single day, every step of the way. He promised this. He is their faithful, covenant-keeping God. That is, He made an agreement. He instituted or established a covenant that He would be their God and that they would be His people. And when they are faithless, He remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself. He made a promise with them. It's why He rescued them. I will be your God and you will be my people. And all along the way he had so much to teach them. And some of those lessons were hard. But the same way you can look back over your life and you can see how sometimes the best lessons that you learned in life were hard lessons. So here, two different problems arise, two different matters, two weighty or serious situations confront them, and both of them are very real pictures of the Christian life, or of life for Christians. Listen, both of the stories here in chapter 17 are little windows into your life. as you are on your trek through this life, going from your redemption in Christ, going from your rescue out of the hand of Satan, through this desert wilderness of life in which the book of Hebrews says we are aliens and strangers, Until you cross over the river Jordan, that is into your final home, that which Hebrews, the book of Hebrews calls a better country, a better city, a place not made with the hands of men, a place whose builder and maker is God, that which Jesus called, speaking to his disciples, my father's house. That place where Revelation 21 says, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. So the first incident here in chapter 17 that we'll look at today, the threat is internal. It's from inside them. And the second, the threat is external. from the Amalekites on the outside. We'll look at the internal threat this week and the external threat next time, which will probably be in two weeks. As Juwan and I will swap next week, he'll preach in the morning and I'll have a different sermon series in the evening. And we'll come back to this in two weeks. So first of all, first of all, what was the dire situation of the Israelites? What was so serious? Well, verse 2 says the people were thirsty for water again. And they quarreled against Moses, verse 2, or they grumbled against Moses. And again in verse 7 it says the Israelites quarreled against the Lord saying, is the Lord among us or not? Is God really there, verse 7? So you see, once again, we find the Israelites in need. They set out from the place where God first provided quail and manna to eat that bread that came from heaven. They moved on, it says in verse one, from the wilderness of sin. Now don't confuse that with sin meaning transgression. That's a location name. There's also a wilderness of zin. It's a Hebrew name. In fact, we don't know exactly for sure where this wilderness was. It was somewhere between after they left the Red Sea and on their way then further into the wilderness. Notice what God's Word says. It would be easy to miss. It says they moved on by stages according to the commandment of the Lord. That is, they set out traveling from place to place, in stages, as the Lord commanded. That's really important to see. They were following the Lord. As the word of the Lord came through Moses, through the guidance of the pillar of cloud and fire, the people follow. They're not going on some side track. They aren't heading out on a shortcut of their own. They're following the Lord. So in that sense they're being obedient when their situation turns very serious and dismal. Back when they reached Mara the water was bitter. Remember that where they cried out to Moses. Moses cried out to God and God had him throw a stick a piece of wood in the water and the water turned sweet. A picture of Christ and his cross. At Mara the water was bitter. Here at Rephidim there was no water at all. Or at least they didn't have any access to water. I don't think that's what they were expecting. The word Rephidim in Hebrew suggests a resting place. The word means resting place. We see that too in America. We have names. Canada I'm sure has the same. We have names that reflect something of what is there. There's a pretty prairie Kansas, not too far from where I went to college because it's pretty and it's a prairie. The Indians did that with Topeka. You know, Topeka, Kansas means a good place to grow potatoes. There's Hot Springs, Arkansas because of the hot springs there. There's Coon Rapids, Iowa. I don't know why they call it Coon Rapids, but I'm sure it has something to do with raccoons. Rephidim would have sounded wonderful before they even got there. And Moses knew this territory. Word was probably spreading throughout the camp, throughout the host of people. We'll stop and rest at Rephidim. It should be nice there. Ah, a resting place. Rephidim, that'll be sweet. Maybe it's another Elim, more palm trees and fresh springs. Oh yes, children, you can play in the water there. But when they get there, their disappointment is immediate. This isn't what they were expecting. Moses, what have you done? And those making the complaint are not just saying it for themselves. They're concerned about their children and their animals, too. They say that. Now, there are several commentators who suggest that there was water there. There was an oasis. And again, they don't know exactly the location. Somewhere near the Mount Sinai, the text simply says there was no water for the people to drink. That is, it's possible that there was water there, but they couldn't drink it because they had no access to it. It's possible that the Amalekites prevented their access, which would fit with the Amalekite military coming to deal with this multitude of strangers whose mere presence threatens their water supply. So whether there was just no water or they couldn't get to the water, They couldn't have water. There was no water for them to drink, and it sets off another incident, another occasion of quarreling, of griping, of complaining, and they have another run-in with Moses. Now, in their disappointment, they react two different ways. First of all, they start grousing again. They start complaining. It says they complained, they grouse, they grumbled against Moses. They complained against the leadership. They grumbled against those who brought them there. They demanded a resolution. It's stated very bluntly in our English Bibles and it's equally blunt in the Hebrew text. Give us water to drink. Verse two. They didn't come in humility. They didn't come desiring to pray. They didn't come inquiring as to how the Lord might resolve this situation. They just demand. They demand that Moses give them answers. They just said give us water to drink. In fact the verb is in the plural. So Aaron must have been standing there to Moses's brother. You guys y'all give us water to drink. We want it now. There's a hint, too, of a formal complaint, a legal complaint, because the root word used for quarrel indicates a formal action to come. And then their second reaction, secondly, they question even if God was with them. They question God's presence. Verse seven, is the Lord among us or not? They grumbled and complained with Moses, or against Moses, and they wondered, where is God in all of this? You ever felt like that? Their position is actually one of defiance against God. Something has gone very wrong here, Moses. This is not what we were expecting. Is Yahweh among us or not? That's what they say. Is Yahweh among us? Remember what Yahweh means? Yahweh means the one who is the God of life. They're doubting or wondering about the very existence of God. Is there a Yahweh at all? Is there really a Yahweh anyway? Now we're able to see, from our perspective, as we look at their sin here, it's a lot easier, isn't it, to see sin in someone else's life. We're able to see from our perspective that the root of their grumbling and their quarreling is that they've forgotten the Lord. They've forgotten what God has already done. They forgot how God judged Egypt, how he came with power and brought the plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They have forgotten how God parted the sea when they were standing there by the Red Sea and they saw the chariots coming behind them, the cloud arising, and they felt like they were goners. They forgot how God miraculously parted the sea. They forgot how God provided at Mara when he made the bitter water sweet. They've forgotten the quail and the manna, even though it was still happening every day. I guess they no longer give credit to God. In their hearts, they're testing God. And they once again accuse Moses of false motives. And they accuse Moses and Aaron of irresponsibility. Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children? Notice there's a little emotional work going on there as they mention the children. You brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children. Their situation is dire, but they see Moses and Aaron and the Lord as the problem and not the solution. Actually, Psalm 95 recounts this incident, where the Lord says that there at Meribah and Massah, they tested me, though they had seen my work. That's so important. God says the children of Israel tested me even though they had seen my work in the past, though they had already seen what I had done. So in a position of exasperation, Moses cries out to God, Lord, what am I going to do? They're going to kill me. They're almost ready to stone me, he says. Now, what is Moses doing here? Well, he's praying. He's pouring out his heart to the Lord. And he's being completely honest. He's being completely honest. I encourage you, whenever you cry out to God, be completely honest with the Lord. Do you see why Moses is called the meekest man on the earth? Lord, what am I gonna do? They're gonna kill me. They're almost ready to stone me. You know, if James and John were there, those disciples that were nicknamed The Sons of Thunder. Remember what they wanted to do with the Samaritan village that wouldn't accept them? Lord, should we call down fire and burn up this village? I think if James or John were there, they would have said, Lord, what do you think about blasting off these people anyway? Moses has a little more maturity. Moses cries out to the living God. And again, just like at Mara when the water was bitter and just like when they didn't have food to eat, God graciously provided for his people. Secondly, once again here, you see the Lord's loving provision for his grumpy people. Verse six, he says to Moses, strike the rock. Strike the rock and water will come out of it. Once again, God responds with grace. They've just been through this, as I said, at Mara with the bitter water. They've just been through this with hunger, and God provided quail, and God provided the manna every day. They were up against the sea with the most advanced army of chariots and horses, warriors hot on their tail, and Yahweh rescued them. They've been through this before and God took care of them. So why would they doubt that now? Why would they quarrel with him now? Why would they blast God's servants? And yet, you know, the Lord doesn't blast them. What a gracious God we serve. Isn't this true of your life? How many times have you been grumpy? at the hand you've been dealt? How many times have you complained to God? How many times have you been ungrateful? How many times have you seen God at work one day in a marvelous way, and then on the very next day, you're down in the dumps, griping and complaining? And instead of giving you a stone, he gives you blessings again. So what did the Lord do? He told Moses to go on ahead of the people. There's no turning around, Moses. There have been many people that probably would have hightailed it out of there and said, you know what, I'm submitting my resignation right now. I don't even want to give you a two week notice. I just want to go. The Lord says, Moses, go out in front of them. He wanted everyone to get a good look at what was happening, to get a view of what was happening. And the Lord told him about a certain rock. More likely it was a huge boulder or a cliff. He instructed Moses to take the staff that he used to judge the Nile. Do you remember back with the plagues, what happened when he struck the Nile? This is important. What happened when he struck the Nile? It turned to blood, right? Remember? That's important to hold onto. He was to take that same staff, the staff of the Lord, and strike the rock at Horeb. And God promised that water would flow out. And so the Bible says, very plainly here, without any fanfare, so Moses did this, verse six, in the sight of the people and the elders. He did this right in front of them. He walked up to the rock with the visible presence of the Lord in the cloud of glory, and he gave it a great whack. Probably the sound resounded. He struck the rock and when he did, water came pouring out of the rock. And the water kept pouring and pouring and pouring and provided for all of the Israelites in the host. Two to three million people had water. God in his grace provided abundantly for them. Once again they could say our cup runs over. Once again God provided abundantly for them. They drank and drank. Their bodies and souls were quenched. Their quarreling ended. Their complaining ended. They filled their water pots. They gave water to their children and livestock. They probably gave the kids a much needed bath and everybody was happy again. God in his grace overlooked their sin and lovingly provided for them in the desert. So that's the story. That's what happened centuries ago. Only the story isn't over, it doesn't end there. Remember I said earlier that these two incidents that we see in Exodus 17 are pictures of real life for the Christian. Both of the stories in chapter 17 are windows into your life. You are on your track through this life, going from your redemption in Christ, from your rescue out of the hand of sin, out of the hands of Satan, to your final destination in heaven. The first incident is internal, from inside them. The second incident, their threat, is external, from the Amalekites. But the story doesn't end with them drinking the water from the rock. Because as Paul Harvey used to say, in a moment you're going to hear the rest of the story. The Bible tells us the rest of the story. There's more going on here than just God providing water for thirsty, grumpy people. In the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 10, the Spirit of the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, gives us, for all time, what's really going on behind the scenes. Paul says, the Apostle Paul says that what they were going through is the same thing you are going through. He says they all ate the same spiritual food as you eat, feasting on Christ. They all drank the same spiritual water as you drink. The Lord was working in their hearts just as he is in yours. In fact, the Apostle Paul says that rock, what do you see in 1 Corinthians 10? That rock from which they drank, he says, that rock was Christ. That rock that was struck by the rod of judgment, the same rod that brought blood in the Nile, that rock was Christ. That rock from which flowed streams of life-giving water, living water, that rock of provision and blessing and soul quenching, refreshing water, is a shadow of Christ. That rock is Christ. It was Jesus who filled them. So, thirdly, can't you see how this speaks to your own experience? Thirdly, there's a clear application of grace for your own life before God. You see, when like the Israelite people, life doesn't meet your expectations and it's so easy to respond like they did, it's so easy to doubt that God is even with you anymore. Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure there's times where you become very frustrated. Maybe you're disillusioned from time to time. Maybe you've even become tempted to turn away from God, to start complaining and quarreling with those who got you to the place where you find yourself in and blame you. Like the Israelites, so often we don't come to God asking for help. We don't come with humility. We don't come with a spirit of self-examination, but rather with a spirit that demands answers, that demands results now. And you end up going through a spiritual desert. You have no zeal. You have little desire to grow. Or obey. And you have great doubts. About God's plan for you. And your soul becomes dry. And empty. So what do you do. What's the answer. What do we think. What's important to remember when your soul is dry and you feel like God is far away? Well, I would venture to guess in a crowd this size, there are several who find themselves in this situation right now. And if it's not your situation today, it probably has been. Or it may be soon. What are you to do? Well, first of all, I encourage you to remember God's promises. Remember God's promises. The Lord says through Jeremiah, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The Lord said through his servant Joshua to the Israelite people later, not one of God's promises has ever failed. I remember visiting my grandmother, my mom's mom. She couldn't even remember who I was at that point. Driving from Lawrence, Kansas over to Butler, Missouri to see my grandparents. As I came into the house, my grandpa was up in a walnut tree trying to get caterpillars out of it at 80 some years old. And my grandmother, she didn't even know who I was. She knew she was supposed to know who I was. She said, oh, I'm so happy to see you. I could just fly around this room. I'm so thankful for God's promises to me and our family. She knew that. Remember, even in the most challenging things that come before you, God's promises. Even in their thirst, God's promises have not failed them. It was only for a brief time, it wouldn't be forever. And he would bring them relief. And so God will bring you relief. If you're going through a season of dryness right now, he will do so. Remember God's promises and remember those who've been there already. The Psalms are filled with lines about having a thirsty soul. David says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Remember, Christ cried that out on the cross. Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22. Psalm 42, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Or Psalm 63, oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 143, I spread out my hands to you, my soul thirsts for you like in a parched land. Repeat those prayers. God gave you those prayers there as a gift. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, Deuteronomy 29, 29 says. The what, the why, the how, how long, all those things belong to God. But the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever. This is God's gift to you, to pray those prayers you find in the Psalms. What are we to do? Well, thirdly, we're to remember that God can use a period of dryness for good. He's promised to do that, hasn't he? Romans 8.28 says, God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And all things would include this. All things means all things, even periods of dryness. It can be very disheartening when you feel like your soul is dry and you're in a weary land and the joy that you had in the Lord just isn't there right now. And it feels like there's this cloud hanging over your life like a dark winter day up in the north. God has promised he'll use it for good. How does God use periods of dryness for good? Well, it reminds us that we're in a wilderness here, that this isn't heaven, and that's a good thing. This is not our final destination. It's a good thing to remember this is not heaven. And it reminds us to set our hearts on things above, not on the things of this world, because the things of this world will never quench our thirst. Satan may lure you into thinking that, oh, if I only had a new car, oh, then, if I only had this, if I only had that. And how does God use it for good? It shows us how much we need the Lord, and that's good, because He alone is able to provide the refreshment that your soul needs, just Him, and that's a good thing. Those periods of dryness cause you in the end to seek the Lord, that's a good thing. To ask the Lord, to search your heart, to search your life, to see if there's anything in you that has caused this. To seek the means of grace, to come back and worship God. To seek the Lord more diligently so you'll find relief, and that is good. And to long for heaven where there'll be no more dryness ever. And also, when your soul is dry, it gives us a taste of what Christ endured as He bore your sins on the cross and He felt separated from the Father. That's a good thing. Remember, God is using this period of dryness for good. But lastly, remember that God doesn't intend for you to stay there. He has an answer for spiritual dryness. What is it? Come. Come to the living water once again. Come to the one who has refreshment for your soul. Come to Christ. Forget about all the substitutes you've ever tried. Maybe some of you have never come before. You've always been seeking fulfillment in the things of this world and you're just never satisfied because they don't satisfy you. As Pascal said, there is a God-shaped hole in everyone's heart and only God can fill that. We try to fill it with all kinds of other things. Nothing works. Come to Christ. Forget about all the substitutes you've tried. Learn again that you need to walk with God, to walk with your living, risen, conquering, loving, gracious Savior every single day from early in the morning till you go to bed. You need to come daily to the one who said, anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Come again, I call you today, to the one who died for your sins, for all of them. Come again to the one who's given you his righteousness as a gift. Come to the one who was struck by the Father, smitten and afflicted for our iniquities. Come again to the one who lives to intercede for you. Come again to the one who rose again and will raise you from the grave on the last day. Come again to the one who says, in my father's house are many mansions, many places, many houses. And if I leave you, I'll come back to get you and take you to be where I am. What a wonderful day that'll be. May the Lord prepare us today for that great day. I call you today, come to Christ. Lord, have mercy on me. Refresh my soul. Oh, he loves to answer that prayer. Praise the Lord for the indescribable gift of his son. Let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we bow before you and cry out to you again, thanking you for your mercy. Lord, refresh us, revive us, draw near to anyone here who has gone through a period of dryness and a desert. Lord, draw them to yourself. Prepare us, Lord. for the things of this present world, this present wilderness that will tempt us to grumble and complain against you. We know you're with us, you promised us that. You will be with us forever, even to the very end. Hold us close to you today. Lord bless your tithes and our offerings as we bring them before you. Bless Lord the giving and receiving and use of these gifts. May Christ be honored as we worship you through our giving. We ask for your blessing on this morning offering in Jesus name. Amen.