Coromandel Baptist Church

Sunday 21 June 2009 Exodus 17:1-16; Hebrews 3:1-19

God's Grace to Sustain and Save

In Exodus 17 we meet a continuation of the theme of Israel's grumbling, in two settings. Firstly we read the account of the Lord providing water from the rock (Ex. 17:1-7) and secondly we read of the Lord delivering Israel from the hands of external enemies in the form of the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16). The chapter also unveils the heart of Israel's grumbling: ‘Is the Lord among us or not?' (Ex. 17:7). As is clearly evident in Hebrews, this manifests their essential unbelief, and thus may be equated with walking by sight and not by faith (though, don't forget that they had the glory cloud already with them!!). The question is whether we trust the Lord who is present, not simply demand his visible presence as ‘proof' according to our rules of evidence. Not only did the Lord provide water for them from the rock (spiritually speaking, Christ, if we compare this passage with 1 Cor. 10:4), but he also delivered them from their enemies. This passage introduces Joshua to the narrative, a man who will become so important in Israel's later history.

The account gives us a sense of the location, and though the exact places to which the text refers are now not certain, it does seem clear that Rephidim was near to, on the lower slopes of Horeb/Sinai (Ex. 17:6). The vocabulary and grammatical construction both lend emphasis to the severity of the Israelites' angry dissatisfaction, to the point where Moses feared for his life (Ex. 17:4). Also, though most translations use the pronouns in verse 3 as plurals, in fact they are singulars (‘...to kill me and my children'), emphasizing the unity of the action of the whole assembly and perhaps reflecting the utterly self-referential nature of their ‘faith'.

In response, the Lord provides water from the most unexpected source. A rock proves to be a spring, and this in great abundance, enough for the whole community of Israel (cf. Numb. 20:11; Ps. 78:15-16, 20; 105:41; 114:8)! The Lord's command to Moses to pass before (i.e. ahead of) the people to a designated place (one which the Lord himself would indicate, by ‘standing' on a rock i.e. a manifestation of his specific presence), accompanied by the elders (who alone, it seems, witness the actual miracle, but who thereby can testify to its veracity) is a public response of abounding grace. God miraculously provides water from this rock, which spiritually represents his provision of Messiah (so 1 Cor. 10:4). The rock is ‘struck' by the staff of God's presence, and water gushes out, enough for the whole company. Later, in John 7:37ff. Jesus has no hesitation in identifying himself as the One from whom the living fountains of God's Spirit flows. He is struck and blood and water flow from him (Jn. 19:34) for cleansing and eternal life (cf. Jn. 4:14). The place is called Massah (test) and Meribah (quarrel) to indicate that the Israelites' complaints were all against the Lord.

The second test comes by way of an external enemy. The Amalekites had a long history already (see Gen. 14:7) and henceforth are to become one of Israel's most protracted and bitter foes. This early reference would seem to suggest that they are not straight descendants of Esau's grandson Amalek (Gen. 36:12), but some suggest that the descendants of this part of Esau's line amalgamated with them. They are mentioned in alliance with various other nations and people groups throughout the time of the Judges, and into the reigns of Saul and David, some hundreds of years later. From Deuteronomy 25:17-18 it becomes apparent that they were engaged in war of attrition, and some commentators (e.g. Currid, Motyer) suggest that their defeat by Joshua here (Ex. 17:13, ‘weakened') is a deliberate play on the wording of the Deuteronomy passage. They went for the ‘weak' of Israel, and Yahweh ‘weakened' them in defeat.

Joshua (whose name means Yahweh is deliverance) is used here as a military leader, and he becomes increasingly important as the narrative unfolds. Hur is likewise a significant figure (cf. Ex. 24:14) and he may also be the grandfather of Bezalel, the chief artisan of the Tabernacle (cf. Ex. 31:2; 35:30; 38:22). Moses is mentioned in that he was stationed on a hill, with the staff of God in his hand (Ex. 17:9), supported by Aaron and Hur (Ex. 17:10). But these figures are only in place to give the setting of the encounter in which the Lord himself is the combatant, albeit through his people. The rise and fall of the staff (Ex. 17:11f.) emphasizes that it is only through the power of Yahweh's presence that the battle may be won. The rise and fall of nations is in his hand, not in the military efficiency of the Israelites.

This centrality of the Lord's presence reiterates what has been so evident all the way through the narrative. Whether it be in the attending to his covenant promises; the raising up of Moses and his later call; the visitations in Egypt; the Passover and Red Sea deliverances; the response to Israel's grumbling about water at Rephidim and at Marah; or the provision of manna and quail in the face of Israel's most recent discontent; the Lord had never been absent from his people. Thus, the battle here (though involving Israel) was still not Israel's battle. This was a sort of apprenticeship battle, before they entered the land, that they might learn the foundational principle for that conquest too: the Lord will give it into their hands. It is significant that Joshua is mentioned at the outset (Ex. 17:9), not only because of his importance in the later history of Israel, but because his name interprets what is to happen. The battle's victory was delayed so that Israel might see the connection between Yahweh's banner and their triumph.

That the victory is the Lord's is further emphasized by the closing sections of Exodus 17. In verse 15 the altar is called "Yahweh is my banner" indicating that the battle had been fought under his headship and in his name not Moses'. In addition, the rather cryptic statement of verse 16, which may be translated literally ‘because a hand upon the throne of YaH', emphasizes the centrality of the Lord's presence for the event. The meaning may be that the Amalekites had their hand lifted up against the Lord's throne (a suggestion which may have weight if we allow for the possibility that they were attacking Israel after the provision of water from the rock at Rephidim i.e. to steal the Lord's provision for his people for themselves); or it may mean that the Lord has his throne upon the hand of the Amalekites (which would be true any way). In the end, the whole incident turns upon the Lord himself.