What lies beneath?

So we have discussed the fact that the Hebrew people were thirsty and demanded water, believing that God was not among them. Then we discussed how they complained against Moses because he was in the leadership role. Well tonight let's look deeper, because I believe that if we look deeper we will notice that the peoples issue was not with Moses and not even with the water.

Yes they needed the water to survive, but even more so I believe that the people were afraid of what the future held. Whenever we encounter something new there is always apart of us which would rather hold on to the old, no matter how bad it might have been.
We see this in modern times with our economy, presidential elections,music, and popular fashion trends. Change is strange, and hard.

The Hebrew people were afraid of the desert, and where they would end up. They were afraid of what the future held and how things would be. Despite the promise of the future, and the pain of slavery's past they were seized by the fear of newness and unknowns.

Let's look at the text one more time.

Exodus 17

Water from the Rock

1From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ ³But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ ⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ ⁵The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

Yes the people needed water to drink, that was an immediate need. But they all had deeper and longer lasting Spiritual, mental, and emotional needs to be fulfilled. This evening as you pray and reflect, think about what your surface needs are and what your needs are below the surface. Rejoice in the fact that we serve a God whom can minister to all of our needs at the same time.

Finally use this opportunity to be mindful of who we lash out at, taking note to see if they are really our issue or is it lying below the surface?
Until tomorrow, Love Pastor J.