Exodus 17:1-7 God Provides Water at Horeb

"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.

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?'

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?'

Then Moses cried out to the LORD,

'What am I to do with these people?

They are almost ready to stone me.'

The LORD answered Moses,

'Walk on ahead 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.

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.

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?'

Exodus 17:1-7 (NIV)

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  In the book of Numbers (chapter 33, verses 12-14), there is a  more complete listing of the places that the Israelite community stayed in their journey back to the Promised Land.  If we just went by the Exodus account, we would think that they went in this order:  Rameses to Succoth to Etham, then turning back to Pi Hahiroth (which is between Migdol and the sea) and camping opposite Baal Zephon.  Then they crossed the Red Sea and went into the Desert of Shur.  When they came to Marah, the LORD told Moses to throw a certain piece of wood into the bitter waters and God caused the waters to become drinkable.  Then they went to Elim, an oasis.  Afterwards they came to the Desert of Sin (which seems to be a point midway between Elim and Sinai).  There the LORD gave them quail and manna.  Then they came to Rephidim, where this chapter's story takes place.

However, Numbers 33:12-14 adds in a few more details about the length of their stays at certain sites, and also calls the Desert of Shur 'the Desert of Etham'.  Perhaps it had several names.  I will check into that.  It also notes that after Elim, the Israelites camped by the Red Sea, then camped in the Desert of Sin, then camped at Dophkah and also at Alush before camping at Rephidim.  This is not some type of error in the Bible.  It just means that the Numbers account is more detailed, while the Exodus account was just noting the more significant stopping points along the journey.

The above listings may seem unnecessary to you, but it was a good reminder to me that the LORD had already shown the Israelites that He could miraculously provide them with water and food in the desert.  Therefore, they don't have much excuse for grumbling against Moses (or God) at this point.  Yet they did grumble, bringing back the familiar complaints that Moses should not have brought them out of Egypt and that God seemed to have abandoned them.  Moses' frustration is evident as well, and he sees that the people are ready to stone him.

God's patience and mercy are remarkable.  He instructs Moses to walk on ahead of the people with some of the nations's elders.  At the rock at Horeb, Moses was to strike the rock with his staff.  Perhaps the use of this staff is a good reminder to the people of how the LORD had previously delivered them at the Red Sea.  Now this same staff was used to strike the rock at Horeb, and water came out for the people to drink.   I think that verse 6 is particularly interesting in that it reminds us that these miracles are taking place because the LORD is indeed right with them.

Moses obeys, and water was provided, just as the LORD had promised.  Moses calls the place Massah ('testing') and Meribah ('quarreling' or, as Hebrews 3:7-8,15 translates it: 'rebellion').  The Hebrews account also notes that the Israelites were guilty of hardening their hearts despite the many evidences of God's provision for them.  Also, mention is made of the sinful, unbelieving hearts of some of them.  In a way, these rebellious ones were not much different from the Egyptian Pharaoh, who had seen many examples of God's power and yet refused to humble his heart.  Of course, that Pharaoh was now deceased.

Sadly, some of these unbelieving ones would also perish before the desert journey was over.  This is a good lesson for us.  God is abundantly merciful, providing evidences of His existence and His provision for us.  He understands our weakness and sinfulness.  However, at some point known only to Him, enough is enough, and judgment falls upon those who deliberately reject Him.  Even His covenant people are not exempt from that.  How much better it would be for them (and us) to instead pursue the light which He gives us from His Word, and to continue to follow Him from strength to strength until we see His face.

That reminds me of the passage in Jeremiah 29:11-14, where it says this:

"For I know the plans I have for you,'' declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future.

Then you will call upon me

and come and pray to me,

and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and you will find me

when you seek me with all your heart.

I will be found by you," declares the LORD,..."

Exodus 13:1-16 Observe the Passover, Consecrate the Firstborn

This is another one of those chapters which needs to be considered as a unit, for to split it up otherwise would negate some of the elements which tie it together.  For example, in this chapter, I see several smaller sections:

Verses 1-2 speak of how the firstborn belongs to the LORD.
Verses 3-10 speaks of the importance of  continuing to observe the Passover.
Verses 11-15 return to the theme of the firstborn and then...
Verse 16 seems to sum up that both of these actions (observing the Passover and consecrating the firstborn) will be perpetual reminders of how the LORD delivered the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

Let's see what we can discover within these sections.


Verses 1-2

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Consecrate to me every firstborn male.

The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me,

whether man or animal.' "

Exodus 13:1-2 (NIV)

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Exodus 13:1-2 is fairly straightforward:  Because the LORD had brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he wanted them to consecrate to Him all the firstborn males of Israel.  The comment on Ex. 13:2 from the NIV Study Bible is instructive on this point:  "God had adopted Israel as his firstborn (see 4:22 and note) and had delivered every firstborn among the Israelites, whether man or animal, from the tenth plague (see 12:12-13).  All the firstborn of Israel were therefore his."

Verses 3-10

"Then Moses said to the people,

'Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,

out of the land of slavery,

because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand.

Eat nothing containing yeast.

Today in the month of Abib, you are leaving.

When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites

-- the land he swore to your forefathers to give you,

a land flowing with milk and honey --

you are to observe this ceremony in this month:

For seven days eat bread made without yeast
and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD.
Eat unleavened bread during those seven days;
nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you,
nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.

On that day tell your son,
'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.
This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand
and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips.
For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.

Exodus 13:3-10 (NIV)
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Some observations:

• Passover was to be celebrated in order to commemorate the day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand.  Note that this focuses on the might of the One who brought them out as well as the fact of their deliverance.
• Five times (in five verses -- v.3-7) the prohibition against eating yeast during the Passover week is emphasized.
• The Exodus took place in the month of Abib.  The Israelites were to celebrate the Passover in that month as well.
• The observance of Passover would also be a reminder to the Israelites "that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips." (v.9)  The Israelites had obeyed the LORD regarding the Passover lamb, and the sprinkling of its blood upon the door-frames of their houses.  They had eaten the Passover dinner according to the LORD's directions and in a manner which symbolized their readiness to move out at the LORD's command.  Observance of the Passover would continue to be a reminder that they should practice continued obedience to the word of the LORD.  However, the emphasis is not on what they did, but on what the LORD did for them in delivering them out of Egypt.
• The Passover was to be observed "...at the appointed time year after year".

Verses 11-15

"After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you,

as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers,

you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb.

All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,

but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.

Redeem every firstborn among your sons.

In days to come, when your son asks you,

'What does this mean?' say to him,

'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go,

the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal.

The is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb

and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' "

Exodus 13:11-15 (NIV)

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Observations:

• The LORD would certainly bring them into the land He had promised on oath to them and their forefathers.
• The firstborn male of every womb, man or animal, belonged to the LORD.  The animals were to be sacrificed to the LORD, while the humans were to be redeemed.  The NIV Study Bible (pg.107) comment on v.13 notes: "Redeem...The verb means 'obtain release, often (as here) by means of payment."  It also notes that the donkeys were to be redeemed rather than sacrificed because they were considered an 'unclean' animal.  The sons of the Israelites were to be redeemed because, as the same NIV Study Bible indicates, "Humans were to be consecrated to the LORD by their life, not by their death." (Genesis 22:12, Numbers 3:39-51, Romans 12:1)
• The Passover observance would provide the opportunity for the Israelites to tell the history of the Exodus to their children.

 Verse 16

"And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead

that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

Exodus 13:16 (NIV)

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Finally, verse 16 repeats the fact that the observation of the Passover and the sacrifice/redemption of the firstborn males of Israel would be a reminder of the way that the LORD had brought them out of Egypt with his mighty hand.