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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 17:1 - 17:7
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The Murmuring at Massah and Meribah
v. 1. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, after several days' marching, on each of which they encamped for the night, Num_33:12, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim, on the boundary of the wilderness of Sinai; and there was no water for the people to drink.
v. 2. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. They deliberately challenged Moses for an explanation; they started a quarrel, they wrangled. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? The second question was the explanation of the first, for in attacking Moses the people rebelled against the Lord and provoked Him to anger.
v. 3. And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? So this was the substance of their complaint, of their doubt as to the merciful presence of the Lord.
v. 4. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. They held Moses responsible for the impending ruin, and assumed such an ugly attitude as to cause Moses to fear the worst.
v. 5. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, the shepherd's staff which was his symbol of authority, take in thine hand and go. The solemn departure of Moses and the elders from the camp was to draw the attention of the entire army to their actions.
v. 6. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, whose foot-hills extended down to the neighborhood of the camp; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. God assured Moses of His presence and definitely promised him a miracle. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. They were witnesses to the miracle and could testify before the people as to the manner in which water had been produced.
v. 7. And he called the name of the place Massah (temptation) and Meribah (strife) because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? So that had been their real transgression, the doubts as to the presence of the Lord with their army, the pillar of cloud and of fire apparently not being sufficient any more to uphold their faith. The events here narrated were considered an example of warning throughout the time of the Old Testament as well as in the New, Psa_95:8; Heb_4:9. And as it was Christ who journeyed with His people at that time and strengthened the faith of those who noted His presence in the miracle, so it is He who gives us at all times the true spiritual water to quench the thirst of our souls.