The Lord led the Israelites to camp at Rephidim where they discover there is no water. The Lord, of course, knew there was no water there since He created the world and every water source in it. He intends to use this experience to strengthen the people's faith in Him but first they become angry with Moses who is the spokesperson for the Lord. They can't quarrel with God face to face but they can quarrel with Moses. They are so angry with Moses that he will tell the Lord they are almost ready to kill him.
"So they quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water to drink.' Moses replied, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?'" (Exodus 17:2) He asks, "Why do you blame me? I was following the Lord's instructions when I led you here. And why do you blame God? Hasn't He already helped you out of several jams already? Why do you think He won't help you now? Why do you accuse Him of having bad intentions toward you?"
We know they think the Lord has bad intentions toward them because in verse 3 they'll claim they've been led out into the desert to die, just as they claimed they'd been led to the Red Sea to die by the hand of Pharaoh's army and just as they claimed they'd been led out into the wilderness to die of hunger. "But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, 'Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?'" (Exodus 17:3) They grumble against Moses but their real complaint is against God. God is the one telling Moses where the people are to camp, so they take their anger at the Lord out on Moses. In verse 3 they handle their need for water by becoming angry and fearful, claiming they've been brought there to die of thirst. Every time they've encountered a problem the Lord has solved the problem. But in their current distress they aren't thinking clearly. They're letting themselves become overwhelmed with fear.
I can relate to this, can't you? The Lord has solved many a problem for me during my fifty years on this earth, yet the next time an emergency arises I still find myself falling into a sudden panic or obsessively worrying about the problem. I can't judge the Israelites for panicking when they don't find water at Rephidim. I've been guilty too many times of imagining the worst outcome when I'm confronted with a problem.
Moses knows the Lord intends to do something about the lack of water. Dying of thirst isn't what Moses is afraid of right now. Moses is afraid of the people. The situation with their anger is about to get out of control. He thinks they're about to form a mob and attack him. "Then Moses cried out to the Lord, 'What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.'" (Exodus 17:4)
Moses knows exactly where to take his problem: to the Lord. And the Lord comes to his rescue. "The Lord answered Moses, 'Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.' So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel." (Exodus 17:5-6)
The Lord, creator of heaven and earth, is able to provide anything we need. If He can make streams of water gush from solid rock, what can't He do? Nothing! There is nothing He can't do! The Lord reminded Abraham of this fact when promising a son would be born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, saying, "Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." (Genesis 18:14) The prophet Jeremiah believed the Lord's promise to return the people to the land of Judah even though they were currently being conquered and taken captive by Babylon. He bought land in Judah as statement of faith in the Lord's ability to keep His promise (even though to human eyes it looked impossible) and said to the Lord, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." (Jeremiah 32:17) Jeremiah knew that the One who created the heavens and the earth could certainly return the people to the promised land and make a great nation of them once again. To human eyes a lot of things may look impossible, and sometimes they are impossible in human strength, but they aren't impossible for God. Jesus Himself said that what is impossible for man is possible for God. (Luke 18:27) The Lord led the people to a campsite where there was no water to show them that nothing is too hard for Him, to show them that He is always capable of "making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland". (Isaiah 43:19)
I've encountered situations that appeared impossible to resolve. I've even had people counsel me to give up and accept that there will be no resolution. I've doubted and despaired at times. There have been times when I actually have given up, at least temporarily, due to the stress and exhaustion of what I was going through. I've been angry and I've grumbled against the Lord, against my circumstances, and against my fellow man in the cases where another human being was the cause of my distress. But the Lord has made a way in the wilderness time and time again. He's refreshed me in the desert places of life. When He comes through I feel ashamed of my doubts and I can't help wondering whether the Israelites felt ashamed of their doubts when water gushed out of the rock at Horeb. I think perhaps they did because the place where the people doubted was given a couple of new names by Moses to commemorate the grumbling and quarreling and doubt that took place there. "And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'" (Exodus 17:7) "Massah" means "testing" and "Meribah" means "quarreling". It's not too often that anyone wants to commemorate an embarrassing occasion by giving a new name to the place where the bad behavior occurred, but we can see why Moses did it. The new names were intended to be a perpetual reminder that the people questioned whether the Lord was really with them and that the Lord proved He was with them in a mighty way.
When we're going through difficult times we can become so distressed that we can't feel the presence of God. Our anxiety causes all sorts of stress hormones to course through our bloodstreams. That can make it very difficult for us to quiet our panicked thoughts and focus on the Lord who is the source of our help. Anxiety can render us incapable of concentrating on much of anything except our problem. In those times we may be tempted to think to ourselves the same thing the Israelites thought at Rephidim: "Is the Lord with me or not? Does He care? Does He see my struggles? Is He going to do anything about them? Has He forsaken me?" In times like that we can't rely on what we feel. The Bible never tells us to base our faith on feelings but on facts. And what are the facts? That God loves us and will never forsake us. That nothing is impossible for God and He will either change our circumstances or change us. When our anxiety is too strong for us to feel the presence of God, the best thing we can do is remind ourselves who God is by reading the Scriptures to study what He has said about Himself and to study the promises He has made. Those are the facts we can rely on when our panicked thoughts cause us to doubt that He is with us.
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