Exodus17:1-7
17:1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the
Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped
at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
17:2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to
drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you
test the LORD?"
17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people
complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of
Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?"
17:4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this
people? They are almost ready to stone me."
17:5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take
some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff
with which you struck the Nile, and go.
17:6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at
Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the
people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of
Israel.
17:7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the
Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among
us or not?"
Last week, food was the issue. This week, it's water. In each
deliverance scenario, there are people who are sure that they're
going to die. Then God comes through. Then the next crisis hits, and
suddenly the cyclical nature of these narratives becomes evident.
What is the real issue at the Sea, when Pharoah's army is bearing
down? What is the real issue when the Israelites are hungry? When
they are thirsty? I think each of these stories brings us to the
same question: "Can I trust God?" Can I? -Dale in Chattanooga
I think you are right about the trust in God, but also I think in
all of this is a message about trying to get it right. God's
abundant love does quit on us, when we fail to put our trust in God.
Nancy-Wi.
There is a nice story about a penny circulating that might work as
an illustration. Tomorrow I will try to find it and post it. Nancy-Wi
To answer you question, Dale, yes, you can trust in God. In every
instance that the Isrealites were sure of their deaths, God always
came through. They should stop worrying and realize that God will
always provide. -E. in Wisconsin
Subject: A Penny! I really like this message. I think I will do the
same! > >> > >Subject: GOD'S PENNY >Several years ago, a friend of
mine and her husband were invited to spend the>weekend at the
husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was> nervous >about
the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on
the>water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day
and> evening >went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare
glimpse into>how the>very wealthy live. The husband's employer was
quite generous as a> host,> and>took them to the finest restaurants.
Arlene knew she would never have> the>opportunity to indulge in this
kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying>herself immensely. As
the three of them were about to enter an exclusive>restaurant that
evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of>Arlene and>her
husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a>
long,>silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass
him. There> was>nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny
that someone had>dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent,
the man reached and>picked>up the penny. He held it up and smiled,
then put it in his pocket as if> he>had found a great treasure. How
absurd! What need did this man have for a>single penny? Why would he
even take the time to stop and pick it up? >Throughout dinner, the
entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could> stand >it no longer.
She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a >coin
>collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some
valuable.>A>smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his
pocket for the>penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen
many pennys before! What was>the point of this? "Look at it." He
said. "Read what it says." She> read>the>words "United States of
America." > >> > >"No, not that; read further." > >> > >"One cent?"
> >> > >"No, keep reading." > >> > >"In God we Trust?" > >> >
>"Yes!" > >> > >"And?" >"And if I trust in God, the name of God is
holy, even on a coin.> Whenever I>find a coin I see that
inscription. It is written on every single> United>States coin, but
we never seem to notice it! God drops a message >right > in>front of
me telling me to trust Him! Who am I to pass it by? When I> see
a>coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment.
I> pick>the>coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him..
For a short> time, at>least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I > >>
> >think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me lucky
for>me,God>is>patient and pennies are plentiful!" When I was out
shopping today, I found>a>penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and
picked it up, and realized that>I had>been worrying and fretting in
my mind about things I can not change.>I> read>the words, "In God We
Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the>message.>It seems that
I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in> the>last>few
months, but then, pennies are plentiful...And God is patient...
Nancy-Wi
An idea I had on how to relate the image of water flowing from a
rock in the desert came to me yesterday: A program called workology
on CBC Radio on Monday morning had a piece about water coolers.You
know those places in offices where you go for a drink and a chat.
Watercoolers date back to the late 1800's, it was said, and they
fulfill a very important function in an office. All people drink and
need water (unlike coffee), and so the water cooler is the best
place for conversation with co-workers. It's at the water cooler
that people will talk about things that really matter to them, or
worry them, or they feel good about. It's a break, in the sense of
breaking the routine of a monotenous job at a desk. An opportunity
to perhaps complain about that very job, about the supervisor or the
company owner. A chance to share problems you're having with
software. A chance to complain about the weather, or discuss plans
for the weekend. A place also to talk to your colleague about the
death of a family member, or problems with friends.... In short, the
water coolers of the nation fulfill a very important sociological/workological/pastoral
funcion. We all need water. We all need to talk and be listend to.
Perhaps we all need to complain at times...We all need someone to
share our problems with.... Funny isn't it, because that's what
church can and should be. A place to cry out our Kyrie, Lord have
mercy; a Sabbath break from the work week. A place to share our
problems, our joys and sorrows. A place to find a listening ear, but
also a place to listen ourselves. Church is the place and the time
where we gather around the one who said: "Let anyone who is thirsty
come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink" (Jn. 7:37-38).
Church is the place where we enter through water, where the water of
Baptism makes you a member of the company and where the font is a
constant reminder of God's grace. It's the water cooler where God
will listen, and where God will speak. It's where our conversation
focusses on what really matters, on life and death, on grief and
relief, on praise and lament, on bitterness and forgiveness, on God
and us. The Israelites in the desert quarreled and tested the LORD,
saying: "Is the LORD among us or not?" In the church we confess:
"Yes the LORD is among us. Christ Jesus is here. The Spirit blows in
the wilderness." The rock is Christ, as Paul said (1. Cor.10:4). He
gives the water that will truly satisfy, gushing up into eternal
life (John 4). Notice that in John 4 it is a water well that
occasions a deeply personal discussion and pastoral care by Jesus
with the Samaritan woman. That's the kind of place the church can
be, should be, and is, if it proclaims Christ. A "water cooler". No
better yet, a spring of living water in the desert.
Another idea: last week and this week we've heard about the
Israelites complaining to Moses, and, as Moses and Aaron argue and
God agrees, complaining to God. For a congregation that's open to
some creative sermonizing one might use the "customer complaint
line" scenario: Have a telephone in the pulpit (a cell phone?) and
have it ring. The preacher plays the part of God answering the
complaint line. He picks up the phone: "The Lord's complaint line.
How may I help you?" or something similar. Moses is on the other
end. The congregation would only have to hear God's part, if played
well. You'd have to really think yourself into the "mind of God"
thus giving God's perspective. The technique would illustrate that
God really listens when people cry out for water or anything else.
That seems to me an important point of the Ex. story. You could then
have the LORD phone the Son and explain to him the mission you are
going to send him on: to go down, pour himself out, empty himself in
human form to quench the desperate thirst of humanity.(Phil. 2) Be
creative...Anyway, just a thought... Markus in Canada.
