March 12, 2023 Text: Exodus 17:1-7
Dear Friends in Christ,
Marriage changes things. “Wow, Pastor you really went out on a limb with that statement.” Remember the euphoria of dating? Being on your best boyfriend/girlfriend behavior. Looking your best. When I was at the seminary and dating Toni, in the summer I would hire a classmate to cool my car. He would drive the air-conditioned vehicle to the dorm, and I would get in. I didn’t want to show up for a date sweaty. I wanted to smell the way Calvin Klein intended on a date with my girl! But then we say “I do” and promise for “better or worse” and our carefree lifestyle diminishes. When my car sits out in the summer, I am not hiring anyone to cool it down before I go home to Toni. Marriage is never the smooth sailing, continuous high we all imagined.
This is what happened to the Israelites. When they left on their exodus they came to a place called Elim. Elim had twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. Elim was a bit of paradise. But they couldn’t stay there. They had to move on. In our text they are camped at Rephidim. But there is a problem – no water. This doesn’t sit well with the people. Grumbling and quarrelling are the elixir of the day.
“I’M THIRSTY – CAN I GET A DRINK?”
The people are accusing God of abandoning them, even though He promised them sustenance in their journey. They are testing the Lord. The people wanted to strike the messenger by going after Moses. The people were concerned about their families and just as concerned with their livestock. Look at the words Moses’ used when he cried to the Lord. “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (v. 4). Moses did not call them “my people” or “your people.” I hope no one does this but sometimes parents can say “that son of yours” or “your daughter” when they do something wrong. It creeps into estrangement. It really should always be “our son, our daughter, our children.” We don’t leave them just because they grumbled about something.
The Lord understands this. He didn’t leave “His people” just because they got a little “salty.” He sends Moses and the elders of Israel to the rock at Horeb. Moses strikes it with a staff and the water gushes out. There is plenty to drink. Their thirst is quenched. Liquid gold flows down the throat. “I’m thirsty – can I get a drink?” They got one and many more. God upheld His promise.
“I’m thirsty- can I get a drink?” When we are stricken, do we ever thirst for His deliverance? We can be stricken by things we didn’t bring on ourselves. Violent weather. Trouble at work. Our own sickness. Suffering as we watch loved ones battle health problems. We also are stricken with our own sinful nature. We go against God’s Word. We create more problems for ourselves by our behavior. We quarrel and grumble and complain and test the Lord. We thirst for deliverance from our afflictions.
God’s Son is stricken to be our deliverance. Christ the Rock was with God’s people at Horeb. Christ is stricken and water is supplied. Isaiah and Zechariah both prophesy that Jesus will be stricken. Jesus Himself announces that He will stricken. “The Son of Man will be…mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him.” (Luke 18:31-33). When all of this happens, He does not complain.
He is doing all of this for your benefit. His pierced side yields water and blood. This water and blood still flow. The waters flow in Baptism. His blood flows in the Lord’s Supper. The blood and water from the side of the stricken Christ quench your thirst for deliverance from your afflictions.
The last verse of our text asks a question that has been around as long as man and woman, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Well, how do you answer? Like the Israelites, we are in the desert, and we still have some wandering to do. We should not be surprised to have some hot, thirsty days. And maybe…just maybe…we might grumble a bit. Bring your grumbling and complaints to the Lord because He hears your pleas and answers your prayers. Not always the way we like or as quickly as we expect, but the Lord is among us. The answer is a definitive “yes, yes, yes” when we wonder if He is here with us. He will never leave us even when we ask, “I’m thirsty- Can I get a drink?” Step right up to the water fountain of Christ’s grace, drink and be satisfied.
Amen.