Water From A Rock Exodus 17

 

Exodus 17 -Water from A Rock

 

The children of Israel were always complaining.  They have a need and start to complain.  God graciously meets their needs.   Then something else comes up and they begin to cry out, complain, and find fault.

This is the first mention of the “rock” and the “water” that came out of the rock. The rock is a beautiful portrait of Jesus Christ. One upon whom we rest and the One upon whom the church is built – a rock is the last place we go for a drink of water.  You can fall on the rock, Jesus Christ, for salvation, but no human effort is able to get water from this Rock.  Only when the rock was smitten did it bring forth life-giving waters.  Jesus was crucified, and nothing short of believing that He died in your place and bore your sins on that Cross will save you.  The smitten rock is a picture of the death of Jesus Christ.

Are you satisfied with the work Christ did for you on the Cross?  He died to save you.  All that God is asking is that you believe in His Son.

During their wilderness march the Israelites ran into the Amalekites.  These are descendants of Esau and had never ceased to be Israel’s enemies.  It is a war between Jacob and Esau. For the first time on this journey, the children of Israel engage in warfare. Esau was a picture of the flesh.  As Israel could not overcome Amalek by their own efforts, neither can we overcome the flesh by our own efforts. This battle was not won by Israel’s fighting ability because they were not experienced soldiers nor adept at warfare.  This battle was fought and won by Moses.  The moment Moses was no longer able to hold his hands up, the children of Israel began to lose the fight.  If it had not been for Moses, Israel would have lost the battle.

Now we meet Joshua, God is preparing him for the task that is ahead of him. Little does he know that he will become Moses’ predecessor.

Every difficulty you meet is an opportunity for testing yourself and trusting your Lord, for going forward or going backward.  The flesh and the spirit will always war against each other.  Only the Holy Spirit of God can give us victory.

 

 

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard@blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.