Tuesday: Water From the Rock
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 12th of August 2025
In the wilderness, you need plenty of water. God took care of this problem, even though the people were quarrelsome, did not trust Him, and even tested His ability and willingness to give them water. In their unbelief, they looked back to Egypt.
Read Exodus 17:1-7. What lesson should the people have learned from this incident?
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
Moses called the place Massah, meaning “testing,” and Meribah, which signified “quarreling.” The Lord gave the Israelites water despite their unbelief. These two names should have reminded the Israelites not to test God and not to quarrel with Him (Hebrews 3:7-8,15). They seriously questioned God’s presence among them, although they had already seen much tangible evidence of not only His presence but of His power and His authority.
“Moses smote the rock, but it was the Son of God who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, stood beside Moses, and caused the life-giving water to flow. Not only Moses and the elders, but all the congregation who stood at a distance, beheld the glory of the Lord; but had the cloud been removed, they would have been slain by the terrible brightness of Him who abode therein.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 298.
Water is a symbol of life because without water there is no life. Every cell in our body needs water. We are 60 percent water ourselves. Even our bones are composed partly of water. Thus, providing water in the wilderness for them was a sign for the Israelites that God cared for their needs and that they could trust Him. But, again, they had to obey.
Many centuries later, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:4, reminds believers that the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness was unique. Christ Himself not only guided them but provided them with water (Psalms 78:15-16) and met other spiritual and physical needs. Paul proclaimed: “That Rock was Christ.” For them, Christ was the Source of life and the Giver of eternal life. As a rock is solid, so God firmly led His people. One can count on Him because He does not fail to fulfill His promises.
|
What are some things that, right now, you need to trust God with? How can you learn to submit to His will and wait for Him to act in His time? Why is this not always so easy to do? |
(2)
“So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded (Exodus 17:1, NLT).
Habitual complaining displeased God, and the wrath of God destroyed them. As we know, this generation of chronic complainers was not allowed to enter the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb.
“Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused” (Numbers 11:1).
Persistent grumbling and complaining did not make God provide them with water. The moment God purposed to bring them into the Promised Land, He had already created provisions for water and food along the way (Exodus 3:8; Exodus 16:4). Habitual grumbling and complaining make us shift our focus from God to the problem.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6-7, NLT).
“Is the Lord among us or not?” is a question the children of Israel could ask after a series of miracles and wonders God had performed—the 10 plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea, bitter water turned sweet, quails and manna. But still, they grumbled, they "tested God," they contended against God.
It is no wonder that Moses would ask God, “What shall I do with this people?” And, hmm! How quickly we also forget that God loves us, and we quickly abandon His ways for something sweeter or more pleasing—our way! How it used to be done! Our traditions!
I sometimes feel that today's Christians, instead of learning from God, are more focused on teaching God. This was the case for Israel, but we could blame the extended exposure to captivity in Egypt, which conditioned them to comparisons with the past. But what is our excuse today? Why do we test God? Why do we contend God?