Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.

There are tests that come our way not only in terms of lack, need and shortage, but also in the form of direct attack.

‘There is no such thing in the Bible as easy progress, victory without cost, or access on earth to some supposed higher life where striving sacrificially against foes inside and out is a thing of the past. Such will be heaven, but not earth.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, p.162.

In this situation Moses knew who he was and what he was called to do. May we be found in the right place at the right time, and it will not be the same place for us all. It is sadly possible to want to be someone other than God has made you, and to be somewhere other than where He places you. Other people’s roles can appear attractive and we can envy their ‘ministries.’ But it’s a good thing Moses did not try to be Joshua and Joshua did not try to be Moses. Moses had insight into what needed to be done and who needed to do it.

And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

Alec Motyer writes so helpfully about this in ‘The message of Exodus’, p.182, and I simply want to quote him today:

‘The people ‘tested’ the Lord, and he ‘tested’ the people, which according to the Bible are two sides of the same thing. At the place named Massah and Meribah, Psalm 81: 7 (8) says, ‘I tested you at the waters of Meribah, whereas Psalm 95:9 says, ‘your fathers tested and tried me.’ ‘Testing’ God involves putting him on probation, withholding trust pending evidence. For the Israelites it meant doubting whether he who had proved sufficient in the past was still sufficient, now that things had taken a different turn (17:2-3). There is also an element of challenge to God, demanding that he prove his worth all over again: if, against all probabilities, he gets us out of this mess, then we will consider believing, but in the meantime we will suspend faith and obedience. For these reasons ‘testing’ – or in the older translations ‘tempting’ – God is deeply sinful.

When God ‘tests’ us, however, it is a different matter. He does so by bringing us into situations which call for trust and the endurance and obedience that proves our trust is real, so that by the exercise of faith in the face of new challenges, our trust in him can develop and mature until we come to see that everything that happens to us is under divine supervision and is brimful of divine purposes for good.’

I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Paul, writing about the wilderness journey of the Israelites in 1 Corinthians, states that Christ was with them and was their spiritual nourishment and sustenance. Even though they did not know it at the time, Jesus was with them. In fact, the rock Moses struck has regularly been seen by spiritual writers as  foreshadowing Christ, whose side was pierced (John 19:34) and the water coming from the rock as foreshadowing the giving of the Spirit (John 7:37-39).

For us, on our Christian journey, Christ is our nourishment; He is our sustainer. All we need is in Him.

Nevertheless there are warnings we need to heed, and this is what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10. It is sadly possible to feed on Christ, and to drink from Him, and yet still disobey and displease God (1 Cor.10:5-11). We can live well below the level of our privileges.

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’

5 The Lord answered Moses, ‘Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

‘God does not crash your party. He waits for you to wake up. If I am too absorbed in my own affairs, if I am too impressed with my own religion, too intent on bringing my truth as I understand it to the world, I will not seek him, and I will not seek him appropriately. I will do it halfheartedly. The promise is never halfhearted seeking. You will recall, he says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).’ Dallas Willard, ‘Living in Christ’s presence.’

‘The promise is never halfhearted seeking.’ I found that to be the most arresting phrase when I came across it yesterday. There was nothing ‘halfhearted’ about Moses’ prayer. He uttered a desperate cry from the heart in dire circumstances, and He received ‘wonderful counsel’ from the ‘Wonderful Counsellor.’

The Lord answered definitely, specifically and clearly. When God speaks, we may not understand why He shows us to do certain things, but He has His reasons and it is for us to obey.

The American missionary, Frank Laubach, said:

‘Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation – and for me the most important part is listening to God’s replies.’

Also…

‘The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says ‘Amen’ and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him our ideas.’

PRAYER: Lord, please give me ‘ears to hear.’

Thought: The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’.’ Alfred Brendel.

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’

Moses asked for wisdom (James 1:5,6), and he received (see verses 5,6 here).

He described his dilemma and gave expression to his fear. He took it ‘to the Lord in prayer’

Pray for church leaders to be prayerful. It is incongruous for any of us to try to ‘figure it out’ for ourselves. The church needs leaders who both talk to God and listen to Him.

‘The prayer level of a church never rises any higher than the personal example and passion of the leaders. The quantity and quality of prayer in leadership meetings is the essential indicator of the amount of prayer that will eventually arise among the congregation.’ Daniel Henderson.

So they quarrelled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’

Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?’

3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’

Once again they treated Moses unfairly:

• They attributed to him unfair blame;
• They made of him an unrealistic request;
• They credited him with an impossible feat.

As we have seen before, grumbling does not belong in the walk of faith. It is incompatible and inappropriate.

PRAYER: Lord, when things go wrong on my journey (or seem to go wrong), let my attitude be right.

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, travelling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

I can honestly say that I want all my movements to be ordered by the Lord. As I look back on the years since being in Bible College, I believe God took me to Southport, then led me to Lancaster, then to Leeds, and then to Boston Spa, where I have served for the majority of my years in Christian ministry. I’m grateful that I don’t look back with regrets or ‘What if’s?’ I’m sure the Divine Guide led me “from place to place.” This doesn’t mean it’s always been easy. At times it’s felt like a ‘wilderness.’ But I wouldn’t change my route through life because I believe it’s been ordained by God, and I’m profoundly grateful for the journey – right up to this point of coming to another ‘fork in the road.’

This passage, though, is primarily about a “community” of people, and so it causes us to think about the Lord’s leadership of His church. He does guide individuals, but He also directs the church of which He is the Lord.

But here’s the thing: in the walk of faith, we may well be led to places where our faith is tested. It’s not unusual. Remember, the children of Israel were not out of the will of God at “Rephidim”, but very much in it; and He was going to graciously prove Himself to them once again.

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.”’

33 So Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.’

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

36 (An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)

It was a great miracle that 2 million people were fed in the wilderness for 40 years. God wanted this to be remembered; He desired that the miracle be memorialised. He wants His church, in all generations, to believe that He is able to supply every need.

Is there any equivalent for us, I wonder? Are there in ways we can preserve the great deeds of the Lord in our lives for the sake of future generations? What can we do to pass on the faith-building lessons from our own pilgrimages?

Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much – two omers for each person – and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, ‘This is what the Lord commanded: “Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.”’

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 ‘Eat it today,’ Moses said, ‘because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.’

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.’ 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

The pattern of only gathering enough for each day was interrupted once a week so that the Sabbath could be honoured.

Again we see it is vital to obey God to the letter. There were unwanted consequences for failing to do so. God’s Word is to be taken seriously.

Note the simple and wonderful truth that God makes it possible for His people to do what He commands (29).

As Christians we are not obligated to worship God on a Saturday, but I believe the principle of ‘sabbath’ holds good. The structure of six days of work and one of rest is built into the order of creation. It is good to realise that the universe goes on without our busy involvement. God was running it before we were born, and He will continue to run it after we have gone!

Here is an honest confession from an article written by Dru Johnson: ‘Christians should be marked by a sense of stillness, practices of stillness. If I am honest about it, I am terrified of being still because it quietly affirms that I am not in charge.’

But…

‘For best results, follow the Maker’s instructions!’

‘There are more important things to do than hurry.’ Robert Farrar Capon.