You encourage me by your presence here this evening. I wasn't sure just how many people might venture out in the dark and the cold to be here this evening, but I'm grateful for your presence. Of course, I know there are many perhaps who are listening to the broadcast on WCTS radio or watching the live stream. We're glad that you're here joining us in that way as well. This evening, Exodus chapter number 17, Exodus chapter 17. I trust you brought a Bible or you have a device. You can make your way to the Old Testament book of Exodus chapter number 17. When we think of Israel's wilderness wandering, we most often think of the years after their sinful unbelief and their disobedience at Kadesh Barnea described in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. It was at Kadesh Barnea, you'll remember, that Moses sent 12 spies into the promised land to scout it out and to bring a report. Of course, 10 spies returned with a bad report. Two spies returned with a good report. The bad report from the 10 spies was that the land was bigger and stronger than the people of Israel. There was no hope for Israel. The good report from the two spies was that it was a good land and that they could conquer it with the Lord's help. But of course the children of Israel believed the bad report of the ten spies and they turned away, not trusting in the promises and the provision and the power of God to take the land. And because of their faithless response, God sentenced Israel to wander in the wilderness until everyone 20 years old and older died. That's Numbers 14 verse 29. Deuteronomy 2 verse 14 tells us that it was then 38 years later that Israel would at long last cross over into the promised land. Okay then, so why do we call it the 40 years of wilderness wandering if Deuteronomy 2 verse 14 tells us it was 38 years from Kadesh Barnea until they had crossed over into the promised land? Did we just round the number up from 38 to 40 just out of generality? The answer is no. We need to add to those 38 years of wilderness wandering another two years that Israel first spent in the wilderness between their escape from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea and their arrival at Kadesh Barnea when the 12 spies were sent into the promised land. So if you were to add those two years, And then the 38 years after Kadesh Barnea, we have the grand total of 40 years of wilderness wandering. It is those two years of wilderness wandering between the Red Sea and Kadesh Barnea that we have been studying here in these early chapters of the book of Exodus, here this evening, Exodus 17. And I would argue that God was in no hurry to bring Israel to the border of the promised land because he wanted to prepare Israel after 400 years of being in Egypt. God wanted to prepare them for these couple years in the wilderness, prepare them for the great things of the promised land by teaching them and training them in small things. We might think of these first two years of wilderness wandering as a spiritual boot camp, perhaps, to get them ready for all of the challenges ahead. Of course, we could also think of the 38 additional years of wilderness wandering as an extended boot camp to correct them in preparation for the blessings ahead, but those of you that are familiar with the rigors of boot camp, I never entered into military service, I don't think I could have survived, The rigors of boot camp, we've heard the stories. They're not easy, they're not comfortable. In fact, it's demanding and difficult, especially for those that are training for special forces. And boot camp and training is hard. But those who do endure and persevere through boot camp, through those training exercises, and they follow their commander's instructions, they become the best of the best soldiers. Unfortunately, Israel struggled in their boot camp, as it were. In the boot camp of the wilderness, they grumbled and they complained and they murmured about the hardness of their circumstance. And while there were grave consequences, this is what I've written for you there at the top of your notes, if you picked up a copy of the outline there in the foyer. While there were grave consequences to Israel's complaining, God demonstrated amazing grace toward them. And that's what I want to highlight for us this evening from Exodus 17. In spite of Israel's complaining in the wilderness boot camp between the Red Sea and Kadesh Barnea, those two years, God demonstrated amazing grace and I want to show you that this evening in a message or a study I'm calling Man's Grumbling and God's Grace. Let's pause for prayer and then we'll look at Exodus 17 together. God in heaven, we thank you. for the opportunity to gather again here together as your people in this place or to gather together to sing the hymns that we sang, to read the scripture before us, to study it, to learn and be instructed by it. Lord, I pray that your spirit would teach us. I pray that we might not err in the same way that Israel did in the wilderness, that we might not grumble and complain and murmur, but that we would trust you and follow you with our whole hearts. So God, we commit our study to you now. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Exodus chapter 17, are you with me? Exodus 17, verse number one. Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. So Moses said to them, why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord Yahweh? And the people thirsted there for water and the people complained against Moses and said, why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord saying, what shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb and you shall strike the rock and water will come out of it. "'that the people may drink,' and Moses did so "'in the sight of the elders of Israel. "'So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah "'because of the contention of the children of Israel "'and because they tempted the Lord, "'saying, is the Lord among us or not?' Number one, as I've structured this narrative, the grumbling of God's people. Israel had a need. They lacked water. Again just as they needed water back in the wilderness of Shur when they came to Marah in Exodus 15 verses 22 and 23 again now once again in Rephidim in Exodus 17 they needed water and the need for water was it still is a common problem in that area of the world even to this day. However the people didn't make an appeal in their need. They made an accusation about their need. And that's an important distinction that I want us to note here. There's a difference between an appeal and an accusation. Lord, I have a need. An appeal. It's another thing to blame God for your need and make a demand of him. Letter A in your notes, Israel's complaining to God. or they're complaining, put God to the test, number one. Or letter A, I guess, there. Israel's complaining, put God to the test. And we know this from the end of verse number two, they tempted or tested the Lord, the end of verse number two, and also the end of verse number seven, because they tempted or tested the Lord. the Lord. But first consider, before we speak of them testing the Lord, note that God was actually testing them. And I've given you a whole string of scripture references there. Do you see it? I'm going to reference each of these scriptures in a variety of ways, but you'll find there Psalm 81, verse number seven. Psalm 81 verse number 7, God says, I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Meribah is the place cited in Exodus 17 verse number 7. God led Israel to that place at that time to test Israel with the need for water. And when God tests us, he always tests us for our good. Another scripture reference I've given you there, Deuteronomy 8 verse 16, Moses told the people, God fed you in the wilderness with that was Exodus 16, our last chapter, that he might humble you and that he might test you to do you good in the end. Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse number 16. So folks, when we face the hardships of life as a child of God, we must know that he purposes to do us good. Perhaps God's testing in our lives is to confront us about a matter just as God confronted Israel here. It revealed and corrected their complaining and their grumbling heart. Perhaps God is testing us to strengthen us as he did for Israel. It strengthens our faith, Israel's faith for the future when they were sure to have many other needs. Perhaps God's testing, the fire of our trial is to purify us so that we can come forth as gold. You might circle there that Deuteronomy 8 verse 16, that he might humble you, that he might test you to do you good in the end. God has a purpose to do you good. And God tested Israel, in this case, for that very same purpose. On the other hand, at the same time that God was putting Israel to the test, Israel was putting God to the test. Again, I cite verse two and verse seven in Exodus 17. And I would reference at this point Psalm 95 verses eight and nine. Again, I've given you that reference, Psalm 95 verses eight and nine. God said, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me, they tried me, though they saw my work. Psalm 95 verses eight and nine. Psalm 106 verse 14, another reference I've given you there, says the very same thing of Israel. They tested God in the desert. So what's the problem with testing God? Well, Deuteronomy 6, verse 16, I've given you that scripture reference. See how we're pulling all these things together? Deuteronomy 6, 16 commands us not to test God because to do so demands that God prove himself to us in a way that we dictate. It puts us in the driver's seat. It puts us at the helm, us giving orders, us calling the shots and demanding something of God. God, you answer me. perhaps in the way that Job first challenged God. Of course, in the end, God says, no, you answer me, right? And so I would offer this, letter B, Israel's demands revealed their lack of faith in God. Letter A, Israel's complaining put God to the test. Letter B, God's demands revealed their lack of faith in God. Let me try to illustrate this for us in a contemporary way. Over the years, the United States has entered into agreements or treaties or deals with rogue nations like Iran. Perhaps you're familiar with the Iran nuclear deal or the nuclear proliferation treaty. Some of these things, do they sound familiar? I barely know what I'm talking about, but follow the illustration here. This is what I understand that our nation has arranged in agreement with other nations. As part of those agreements, there are tests that must be conducted. Tests that must be done, on-site inspections conducted to prove compliance with the terms of the deal. But why? If a treaty is signed and if an agreement is made, why? Why, if a promise has been made by the other party, why isn't it good enough to take that other party at their word? Why must we inspect? Because we don't trust them, right? We don't trust that they're gonna hold up their end of the bargain. So Psalm 95 verses eight and nine, I read it just a moment ago, the reference is there. God says, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me, they tried me, though they saw my work. That is, Israel knew God's promises. Israel had seen God's work, what he had done for them. They understood that God's promise was good, because they had seen his work, and yet they refused to believe his promises, and they failed to trust him. And so here really is the ultimate test of faith. The ultimate test of faith is trusting one in the face of something threatening or something even fatal, like nuclear proliferation. We'll take you at your word. We won't worry about the threats. We won't verify or inspect. However dangerous it might be for us, We trust you. No, we don't. Okay, how about this? How about with the lack of water? Equally as fatal, perhaps not as spectacular as nuclear war, but the lack of water. Could you trust God in the face of something fatal? and I'm submitting here, Israel's demands revealed a lack of faith in God. What would some other examples be of trusting God in the face of something fatal? What about Abraham, when God called Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? What about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace? What about the martyrs over the centuries who trusted and obeyed to the very point of death? Could we in our lives, could we say God has led me here? I will accept what he's ordained for me. I will trust God even in my desperation, even under threats of dehydration or nuclear war. I will take God at his word and I will trust him. And I submit Israel's demands revealed their lack of faith. Letter C, Israel's impatience, their impatience preempted God's provision. Their impatience preempted God's provision. Would God have allowed his people to die of thirst? If they had waited, would God have provided for them? Eventually. Well, we don't know. That's a hypothetical, of course. We'll never know because Israel's impatience preempted God's provision. That is, Israel acted prematurely in testing the Lord. What should or could or would Israel have done? They should or could have, would have remembered what Moses said to them when they were at the Red Sea. He said, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Just wait and watch. And we should remember the same when we are impatiently and impulsively demanding something from God. I'm not preaching at you, I'm talking to myself this evening, right? In my impatience, in my impulse to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God, how are you gonna provide? this time because this is a big deal here. What are you gonna do? At times in my impatience I grumble and complain to God and I identify areas of life that need to be fixed. Perhaps a change needs to happen or a provision, even a good thing. And you know what I do? I insist that God answer me now. Right? Lord, like, you're running out of time. I need this done for me now. One of the scripture references I've given you there, Psalm 106. Psalm 106 verses 13 and 14. Here's what the Bible says of Israel in this case. They soon forgot his works. Hasn't been too long ago they came to the Red Sea. Hasn't been too long ago that he fed them with manna. They soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel. This is Psalm 106, verse 13. But they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. Be careful that your impatience doesn't preempt God's provision. Rather, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, and then marvel and wonder how he provides. God is seldom early. He's never late, but he's always on time. Seldom early, never late, always on time. Letter D. Letter D. Israel's rebellion caused them to disobey. Israel's rebellion caused them to disobey. Psalm 78, verse 56, I've given you there. They tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep His testimony. Psalm 78, verse 56. Israel's attitude, or their rebellion, led them to disobedience. And this is deja vu all over again, for this is what God told them back in chapter 15. Let's turn the page back to chapter 15, allow me to remind you. Chapter 15, verse 24, look there with me. This is at Marah, Exodus 15, verse 24, and the people complained against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet, because the waters were bitter there. Then he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he, God, tested them. Okay, what commandments, what statutes, what decrees did God give Israel that they disobeyed? Well, they're not all detailed for us just here, but if you turn again now to chapter 17, where we are this evening, chapter 17, verse number one, then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord. Here's what I submit to you. God's command in this scenario, in this case, was a matter of direction. God gave Israel commands of direction and he purposed for Israel to be now in chapter 17 at this place at this time for the purpose of testing. Again, because they failed the last test back in chapter 15 with the bitter waters of Marah, here now Israel complains and they murmur again about being at this place and at this time and in their rebellion they turned it back against God in grumbling and complaining. All right, so let's make this personal and practical for us. Why are you where you are in life tonight? Why are you at your station of life at this time? You're single, you're married, you're with children, you're without children, you're employed, unemployed, you're well, you're ill. We could complain about every matter. But God has put us here. In this moment of time, this evening, your station of life, I think of the Apostle Paul, I've learned to abound, I've learned to be abased, I've learned in whatever state I am to be content because God has ordained this in my life. He's put me here. now for such a time. And really we ought to heed the counsel of James in the boot camp of life, perhaps the wilderness boot camp of life, an experience that we might call a trial, that the very testing of God, that God has ordained, is for our good so that we might grow in patience, in perseverance, And the crucible of testing that threatens to burn us is in fact the fire that God's using to purify us. The grumbling of God's people. Israel's complaining put God to the test. That was letter A. Israel's demands revealed their lack of faith in God. They didn't trust him. Take him at his word. Letter C, Israel's impatience preempted God's provision. They didn't wait for him to provide. They jumped the gun. Letter D, Israel's rebellion caused them to disobey in a whole variety of ways, as we'll discover even in the weeks to come. Let's look at verse number seven again. Exodus 17, verse number seven. So, he, Moses, called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and they became, I'm sorry, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not? Letter E, Israel's attitude doubted God's presence. Israel's attitude doubted God's presence. Israel's attitude was an attitude of critical questioning. And what was their questioning? What was their question or their doubt at the end of verse number seven? Look there. They're asking, where is God? Is God here among us or is he not? And folks, I would submit to you that this may be the most damning of all of Israel's rebellion for it was a direct attack against the person and the promise of God. God's person is omnipresent. God's promise was to be with them. In fact, God's presence was visible among them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night going back to Exodus chapter 13. But here's the amazing thing about their grumbling and their complaining. They're actually questioning Oh, but perhaps it's familiar to us. It's a familiar question. Where is God? Where was God when such and such took place in my life? God, why do you seem to be a million miles away? And yet in spite of the grumbling of God's people detailed here, God was gracious to them. He could have stricken them in some way, but he was gracious to them and he provided water for them at Meribah through the Rock of Horeb in spite of them even questioning God's very presence among them. Look at verse five. Let's back up to verse five again. And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people and take with some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and the water will come out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah. because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, they tested the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not? Psalm 78, verse 15 and 16, which I don't think I've given you. You need to add that somewhere. Psalm 78, verses 15 and 16. Here's what it speaks of this event. It says that Moses split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink and abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock and caused the waters to run down like rivers. Psalm 78 verses 15 and 16. It's an amazing provision. Don't think of this as a little spring or a trickle, a pool, an oasis. Think of this as a torrent to provide enough water for two million people plus livestock as well. a lot of water needed to be provided there. As Minnesotans, we're familiar with the Split Rock Lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior. You've been there perhaps many times. It's a destination for us here in Minnesota, of course, and Split Rock Lighthouse is famous for serving the shipping industry for the better part of the 20th century, and it's a fascinating history there. However, Split Rock Lighthouse is not standing on Split Rock. I assume perhaps you know that it was first named for a small canyon about a mile southwest of the lighthouse that had a natural rock formation with a river flowing through it. And I think our family has been there maybe three or four times over the years, maybe more than that, four or five times. But here, according to Psalm 78, verses 15 and 16, when Moses struck the rock of Horeb, it split and water gushed out. God's grace, God's provision to the people here. Over the years, archeologists and scholars have tried to find the split rock of Exodus 17. and many think that they've found it. In Saudi Arabia, they suggest that the split rock formation there is what is referenced here in Exodus 17, and you can Google it, and you can read the arguments for it or against it. It's a fascinating visual whether or not it's actually the place. We don't know, but I don't need archeology to accept the Bible's claim. Whether we ever find that physical rock or not is not the point of it all, but rather the miraculous provision of God in his grace for two million undeserving people in the wilderness, and that's what I'm gonna call the grace of God's power there, number two in the back of your notes. The grace of God's power. Now, here's something fascinating. There is a Jewish tradition that claims that the rock that Moses struck the split rock, if you will, that produced all of this river of water, that that rock followed Israel through the wilderness for 40 years and continued to provide water until Moses' sister Miriam died just before they entered the promised land. Because she was, of course, 20 years older, or 20 years or older from the time that they were at Kadesh Barnea. And the report is that Moses had to ask God again for water at that point. And that is when he struck the rock again when he was supposed to speak to the rock. You remember that occasion? And the consequences of Moses' disobedience in that case, he could not enter the promised land. That's in Numbers chapter 20. But you say, how in the world does a legend like that, that the rock of Horeb, this water producing split rock, followed Israel for 38 or 40 years through the wilderness. How does a legend like that come to be? Well, without denying it or verifying it, I would give us some explanation from 1 Corinthians chapter number 10. So go with me to 1 Corinthians 10. It's a fascinating cross-reference for us. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning in verse number one, First Corinthians 10, verse one, moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, that's the Red Sea, they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea, and ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink, for they all drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. The legend among the Jews, the oral tradition is the rock of Horeb followed them providing water for all of their wilderness wandering. But here's what Paul says at the end of verse number four, and that rock was Christ. But with most of them, God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Yeah, they were all buried in the wilderness for those 38 years of wandering. So here in this context, it appears that Paul is alluding to that very legend saying, yes, a rock did follow you for 38 years or 40 years in the wilderness wandering, but it was not simply a physical rock. It wasn't merely a rock that provided physical water. It was a spiritual rock. It was Christ the Messiah. And we could of course spend the rest of the night connecting the thematic dots of the rock imagery and the metaphor that is found in scripture. But this is the point at this point. Although Israel believed that their suffering in the wilderness was an evidence that God had abandoned them, at least they doubted that, where is God now? Is his presence even among us or not, right? God's gracious provision to them was an evidence that not only was God present with them, but that Christ himself was with them Because, and you need to write this down, I worked hard on this, better than us following Christ is Christ following us. How about that one? Better than us following Christ is Christ following us. And that's exactly what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 10. He's saying that the rock that you think followed you around for 38 years was in fact Jesus Christ. And the marvelous thing about this is not just the power of God in performing a miracle by splitting a rock and providing water, the marvelous thing is that the people weren't deserving of it, that's God's grace, and that it was an evidence of God's presence among them when they were undeserving of it. So therefore, let's change Roman numeral number two from the grace of God's power, we need to change that, let's change it to the grace of God's presence. God's presence with Israel and following Israel for those 38 and 40 years. The grace of God's presence and so I offer this proposition. As I printed at the top of your notes, God graciously, well, I didn't print this. I wish I would have. God graciously reveals his presence to us when our circumstances cause us to grumble. God graciously reveals his presence. Maybe it's the Spirit of God prompting you, I'm with you. I'm near. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Perhaps in some other material way, God's provision reminds you that God is near. He sees. He hears. And when the times of life go bad and we ask, God, where are you now? Is God even among us at Fourth Baptist in America? In my little world, God, where are you now? Where was God when I lost my job or I lost my loved one? Where was God when that tragedy occurred or that calamity happened? You say, Pastor Matt, you don't understand. I have prayed and prayed and prayed and it seems like God is a million miles away. You know, actually, I do understand because I'm a guy too, right? I'm like, I'm a man, I have feet of clay, I live in this tent, this tabernacle, this wretched body, right, as Paul called it. So when you contend with me, Pastor Matt, you don't understand, I do understand. Because at times, in those dark moments, in those wilderness wandering, God, are you hearing me? Are you seeing what's happening? Are you going to answer me? Lord, where are you now? This isn't unique to you or to me. I remember Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. Lord, if you had been here, where were you? when I needed you most. And of course, referencing the famous poem, Footprints in the Stand, when there's only one set of footprints, it's then that I carried you. So the grace of God's power, the grace of God's presence, we're gonna call it tonight, letter A, God's name assures us of his presence. His name, what name is that? Well, I've given you scripture references here, more than perhaps you care to use, but God's name, Jeremiah 23, 23, it's El Mikharov, it's a, Old Testament Hebrew name of God that we're unfamiliar with, it means that God is near. More familiar would be the name in Isaiah 714, Emmanuel, God with us. God's name assures us of his presence. Letter B, God's character assures us of his presence, his character. And a description of God's character, we might begin with just a grocery list of God's attributes. For example, God is everywhere present. He's omnipresent, okay. But at the risk of making a distinction without a difference, God's attributes of being omnipresent, I would say is expressed in his character of being imminent or near to his creation. Don't confuse imminent with omnipresent. which means about to happen at any time. I believe the rapture of the church is imminent. It could happen at any time, or imminent, A-N-T, is God's nearness to his creation. I've given you Psalm 139, verses seven to 10. Where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell or the grave, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, your right hand shall hold me. This is God's character. I've given you Psalm 23 verse number four, you know this well. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, those dark, shadowy seasons of life, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." God's character assures us of his presence. Then number three, letter C, God's promises assure us of his presence. I've given you two. The familiar and favorite, Isaiah 41, verse 10. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Then from the New Testament, Matthew 28, verse 20. Jesus promised his disciples, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. Folks, man's grumbling and complaining and murmuring, as illustrated by Israel here, I think is answered in the presence of God. May we be careful not to question or to challenge or to charge God as they did in Exodus 17. Is God even among us? Yes, of course he's among us. He knows, he sees, he cares, and he will lead us and guide us. Let's pray. God in heaven, forgive us as your church for grumbling and complaining about life circumstances. Lord, sometimes we feel like we're wandering in the wilderness. Sometimes we feel a sense of being lost and unsure where we're at, where we're going. Lord, at times we're desperate. We have needs. We're hungry. We're thirsty. And Lord, at those times, we may be tempted to test you and to question where you are and if you are. Lord, forgive us for that. I pray that we might follow close after you as you lead us, knowing that the rock is the Lord Jesus Christ who leads us all the way. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.