And the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (17:3)
This again!
So Moses cried to HaShem, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (17:4)
God directed Moses who followed His instructions and water came from a rock so that the people could drink.
It’s easy to point fingers at the ancient Israelites. But are we that different? Does God provide, help us, see us through one situation, but then we’re all anxious again the next time around?
Prayer: Lord, you have always taken care of me. May my faith in You increase, because You are trustworthy! (Do you have a need? Something you are anxious about? Tell it to God, while you remind yourself how great, loving, and faithful He is.)
After this incident, the people of Amalek came and fought with Israel. Moses instructed Joshua to choose men to fight against them while he went up on the top of a hill with the staff of God. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israeli prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword (17:11-14).
In both these examples, we see God’s power, but also that man had to do something. Moses had to strike the rock for water to come out, at least that is what God instructed in this case. God could have simply had water pour from the rock—which was the case in a later occasion—but he wanted Moses to strike it with his staff. Joshua and other men had to fight, and Moses had to hold up his hand with the staff for Israel to prevail against the Amalekites. Moses eventually needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands because he was too weary. Again, God could have simply killed the Amalekites, but he wanted the Israelites’ involvement. Not only that, Moses needed the support of two others. Life with God isn’t passive.
Several years ago, when we were looking for a house to rent, I had confidence that God would provide a house for us. I did my part, looking online, and we visited a few houses, but they weren’t suitable for us. I kept on looking and praying and trusting God to provide. There was a deadline approaching and one of our daughters thought that since I wasn’t anxious about the situation, she felt that I wasn’t doing anything. I told her I was doing my part and that I was confident that God would provide us a home. (I had had a lot of experience of God providing us housing over the decades.) God did provide us a lovely home. I did my part and God did His.
Prayer: Help me to always trust You God to do Your part, be aware of what my part is, and to do that.
