Read Exodus 17
Water From the Rock
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled 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?”
4 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. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Amalekites Defeated
8 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. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Go Deeper
We should realize by now that the story of the Israelites in Exodus is really just a study on our own human condition. The only difference between us and them is that their actions were actually written down! This chapter begins with the people of God complaining about their thirst and doubting God’s goodness…again.
These are the people that God miraculously freed from Egypt, and yet Satan is able to attack their faith by making them a little thirsty. How could they so quickly give up on the One who has done so much for them? It’s because their faith is defined by their feelings. Their situation is the number one driver of their attitude in their walk with God. The Israelites have a “What have you done for me lately?” type of relationship both with Moses and with their Savior.
When we read this chapter, it’s hard not to see them as an entitled and fragile bunch. Rather than trusting God in the hard times, they just give up immediately! And yet, if someone was writing the story of your life, how similar would it look to Exodus 17? How often do you fall into temptation because you’re in a bad mood? How often do you distance yourself from God as soon as your situation isn’t to your liking?
We probably look like the Israelites more than we’d like to admit. But we don’t have to let Exodus 17 be our story. We can choose to remember God’s faithfulness when we feel thirsty in the desert. We can know that God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). So today, don’t let your feelings define your faith. Instead, let’s choose to praise God before we see His provision, not just after He has provided it.
Questions
Why do you think these two stories are paired together in the same chapter? How do the two stories differ when people become tired?
When have you recently sounded like the Israelites from the first half of this chapter?
Why do you think the Israelites had such fragile faith, while Moses’ faith was much more resilient? What can you do to create a more resilient faith?
Did You Know?
The Amalekites, with whom the Israelites went to battle, were descendants of one of Esau’s grandsons (Genesis 36:12). This is yet another example of tension between Jacob’s and Esau’s descendants.
15 thoughts on “Exodus 17”
Verses 11-12 have had a profound impact on my family. Reading it today was a powerful reminder of God’s blessings.
While my son battled cancer it was a hardship. Thankfully our faith in Jesus was water in our ballon (see John Elmore’s sermon from 11/17) and kept us from breaking.
While people asked what they could do, we simply asked for prayers. I would reference V 11-12 as we needed the prayer support of others to lift our arms during the battle as they grew tired. Those prayers enabled a blessing of great strength. Praise God!!
So, when you don’t know what to say or do for someone who is in a valley, reference these verses and let them know you are there in prayer to lift up their tired arms during the battle.
To God be the glory!!
Beautiful example!
Do I see grumbling as testing the Lord? Do I complain before I pray? Is my life characterized by arguing and negativity? Especially this side of the cross, whatever I do not surrender to God is proof that I do not acknowledge the blood Jesus shed is enough. As was mentioned in the comments, John Elmore shared an amazing message of how to navigate the hard places in our lives titled “Peace When Life is Hard.” It resonates with what we are reading in Exodus.
Wow…thanks for the encouragement John…very real…very powerful.
14 “and make sure that Joshua hears it,”
Interesting that the Lord wanted to ensure that His compliments were passed along to Joshua! This chapter is our first introduction to Joshua . . . already showing himself to be strong and courageous!
God directs our steps and defeats our enemies. God was still directing them with the pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night and they still had unbelief. Building our faith and character from all of life’s journeys is pointless unless we are growing in faith, knowledge of God and in godly character. We can’t all be a Moses or Joshua but we can be Aaron and Hur by holding up our fellow believers. We can share the battle, with a victory, because we can continue in steadfast prayer. Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” James 1:2 says “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great Joy” As John,yesterday, told the peanut butter sandwich story, we know God is working even when we can’t see it. BUT GOD gives us oppurtunities to share with one another the burdens by holding up their arms until the answer or sandwich is ready, by prayer and serving one another.
God thank You for working even when I do not see it. Thank You for being in motion at all times. God thank you for others around me, helping hold up my arms. God thank You that You have given me the ability to serve with gladness and lift up others in prayer and action. God thank You for me being joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. God thank You for Your love goggles to see others through Your Love lenses. God thank You for only Your words of comfort and exhortation coming from my mouth. God thank You for a heart that loves to serve and hands to be able to do so. God today in these minutes help me to serve with gladness. God in the midst of waiting, thank You for the reminder of how You are working, for me and others,in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is such a good reminder for me to “remember” all that the Lord has done in my life! I am entering His gate with Thanksgiving and praise and it is amazing how, even when it’s tough , my faith is built just in the thankfulness of remembering! Praise God!
VISION CARE
As someone who’s spent an awful lot of time at the eye doctor, I’m struck by how much I struggle with “spiritual myopathy.” Life is so distorted when viewed through my feeble human vision — I cannot see my own Egypt or wilderness clearly.
Focusing on circumstance, where the present appears unnerving and the future so uncertain, I turn longingly back to my romanticized version of the past. I concentrate on what I USED to have … used to do … used to BE.
Such perspective locks me in adulterous infatuation with the false, man-made love of What Was. I am blinded to all God does … and separated from who God IS.
When I can’t see God clearly, how can I follow Him fully?
So I pray, in the words of one of my very favorite hymns:
“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that Thou art:
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.”
Pam,
Thank you for sharing this.
As I have received my own vision diagnosis recently, I am doing my best to come to terms with what God may have in store for me.
I certainly pray that it won’t be blindness yet I pray all the more, if it is, that it won’t be bitterness.
He is so good to me, I pray that I honor Him with whatever I have, or I do not.
First enslavement to Pharoah, now enslavement to sin. How similar are we to the Israelites? As Amy has shared, “Building our faith and character from all of life’s journeys is pointless unless we are growing in faith, knowledge of God and in godly character.”
I fall down prostrate in surrender to almighty God and confess my wobbly faith in times of difficulty. My hope is that I stand firm in Your Word and seek You daily for direction. To God be the glory.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading along with you all out of the St. Louis area. I was just telling my wife, before I read the, “Go Deeper” section, that I’m far more like the Israelites than I ever previously imagined. So easy to sit back and see this from the sideline and say, “Oh, come on!” Looking back, though, I can clearly see in the story of my own life where I ignored what God was providing for me simply because I wanted it “my way.”
Thanks for reading along, Rodney!
REFLECTIONS (Part II) – THE HANDS THAT HOLD US
This chapter is both convicting and encouraging. Today I find again such inexpressible comfort in the following passage:
“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset” (Ex 17:11-12).
What a difference it makes to have fellow believers hold up our tired arms!
If you were at Harris Creek yesterday (11/17/24), you got to witness this practice in person. Pastor John Elmore invited anyone present going through hard suffering to stand … so the body of Christ could lay hands on them and lift them up in prayer.
What you may not know … is that I was one of those standing. At first it was not easy to rise up and publicly acknowledge my need. And for a brief, heart-stopping moment, I stood there alone.
Then one by one, my brothers and sisters gathered around to hold me tight and lift me up. The comfort and strength I received as I listened to those whispered prayers, tears streaming down my face … is indescribable.
But my story doesn’t begin or end here.
Such a sacred moment — in a congregation where we don’t routinely lay hands on each other in corporate worship — takes place in God’s miraculous, perfect timing.
You see, only two days before I had shared another sacred moment of corporate prayer (BRP – Exodus 14, https://www.biblereadingplan.org/exodus-14-2/).
“Before I left for China to go get [our daughter], our entire family stood before the Harris Creek congregation for ‘sending out’ prayer. (This was back when HCBC was still on Church Road.)
The power of those prayers was so palpable I felt them holding up the plane as we flew home. Literally.”
I am forever thankful for this precious congregation and its faithfulness to lift up me and my family.
I’m even more thankful for this security:
God knows when our arms get too tired to lift any longer. And God will meet us in our need — if we ask and receive.
“Lord, whenever I grow weary of the fight, may I rely on you to send faithful prayer warriors to lift up my tired arms. Thank you for providing the body of believers so that none of us have to stand alone.”
Love this. And that was such a powerful moment yesterday morning!
I love how verses 11-13 highlight the fact that it IS okay to ask for help. We are not meant to hold the staff up on our own, we will grow weary, and we need the help of others to take the weight off. It is okay to grow weary, it is okay to ask for help.