Exodus 17:4-7 – Don’t put God on trial

These children of Israel were people full of complaints. Every time they grumbled against Moses, they were really picking a fight with the Lord. Theirs was basically an issue of trust. Their behaviour revealed how far short they were from being the person the Lord desired them to be. Their journey was part of God’s pruning process. He was taking out from them the childish mentality of a slave they had inherited from their life of bondage. In our reflection on Exodus 17:1-3, we saw how they had disparaged God. They treated Him as if He was their servant to be at their deck and call. Then, they accused Him of leading them into the desert to kill them. Here in Exodus 17:7, we see them casting yet another slur against God. They had the audacity to ask, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” Essentially, they were doubting God’s presence among them. The lack of water at Rephidim had caused them to doubt that God was really among them. Couldn’t they see the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that did not leave them through their journey? How could they be so patently blind and insulting to doubt that God’s presence was not with them? Let us learn from them – never to practise selective amnesia, by failing to remember God’s bountiful provision, total protection and ever presence in our life. When we forget what God has done for us, we will entertain the spirit of complaint. To overcome this malady, we must constantly count our blessings one by one. They will amaze us when we consider the things God has done.   

Despite all their complaining, God still attended to their needs. So, in verses 5-6 we read, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” God met their need even though they did not fully trust Him. They were a disappointing people. Notice what Moses said of them when he named this episode Massah and Meribah. He told them that they had put God on a trial which was needless. Bear in mind that God has nothing to prove to us because He is the faithful God. He will always keep His promise to us. But we cannot say the same thing of us. Like the Israelites, we are a vacillating people. We often change with circumstances and with what others think. We hobble over opinions many a times. We need to be more trusting of God. He will never change. We are the one that God needs to test ever so often. Every time we encounter a difficult situation, bear in mind that it is a test of our growth. This is our ongoing spiritual education. And we must not become lethargic and fail to grow in the Lord as He prunes us. Life is not just a stretch of smooth road. The bumpy rides are intended for our spiritual growth. Let us learn to trust God with each tough situation. 

Here’s what Annie Johnson Flint, a poet and hymn writer, so famously wrote for our encouragement. 

·       God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

·       God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

·       God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river, turbid and deep.

·       But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.