“New Territory”
Exodus 17: 1-7
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. The people quarrelled 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?’ 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?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ 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. 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. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
Meditation
This is the story about a period shortly after Moses had led the Israelites away from being slaves to Egyptians that they had been for many years. As directed by God, they had recently crossed the Red Sea and made their way into a desert. They were no longer being chased by Egyptians in chariots to be killed or taken back as slaves.
They had initially felt very taken care of and blessed by God. But now another difficulty and painful time was before them—they were in the desert and had no water. They demanded Moses somehow get and give them water and they went back to complaining, as they had before, that they would have better off if they had not trusted God and Moses and had stayed in Egypt as slaves. Moses turned to God for direction, God directed him to take his shepherd’s rod and strike it on a particular rock and that when he would do so water would gush forth from it. He did just that and sure enough water poured out of the rock. Plenty of water for everyone and then some. The area where this took place was named by Moses with a Hebrew name term which means test. This was because the Israelites had tested the LORD asking, “Is the LORD really with us or not?”
If you are at all like me then probably you can name a number of times and perhaps then some when you felt abandoned by God. When you had ventured into a “new territory,” were seeking and working at being faithful, yet experienced a difficulty which made you feel like you should not have trusted in God. Or perhaps you assumed the journey would be all fun and lack any challenges or difficulties. If you have had children you certainly know of times when you went out of your way to help them or give them something really nice and they were initially appreciative but then before long were complaining that what they got was not good enough or that they wanted more. And if you refused this request or demand, they went into a tirade. That’s pretty much what the Israelites did in this setting. God had enabled them to escape from slavery and they were now safe from being captured or killed by their previous slave masters. But rather than focusing on that blessing, they had a fit about being thirsty and instead of asking Moses nicely for direction on where they could find water, they went into their own tirade.
There is plenty at the current time that all of us could complain about. We might wonder why we are in such a difficult time that looks like it could last for a long time. And for some people this is a time of more than simple inconveniences but true hardships and losses (see the closing prayer!). When we get desperate enough or our circumstances become very dark, we might feel like lashing out at God asking why we are experiencing such pain and loss! In some ways this is understandable.
Yet if we are truly people of faith, we trust that God will see us through this period, this journey. No matter what happens. So let us have faith and may we be like Moses who responded to God’s call to lead and help others. It wasn’t easy for him and though he was sometimes glorified he was also at times considered a demon. Through all of these times, he offered himself to God to be used to make a difference in the world and to those around him. May we do also.
Closing Prayer
May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their school's close
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
Let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
Amen.
