Water for Our Thirst

Perhaps you know the great children's literature book,

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good.

Very bad day.

Yes?

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth,

and now there's gum in my hair.

And when I got out of bed this morning,

I tripped on the skateboard,

and by mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink

while the water was running,

and I could tell it was going to be

a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

We all have days like this, don't we?

You lock yourself out of your dorm room.

You lose your cell phone.

You leave your groceries on top of the car and drive away.

You sneeze in your lab experiment and ruin six weeks of research.

Or a host of other things that go wrong in our everyday life.

They're inconvenient.

They're troublesome.

Sometimes they're relatively costly.

But sometimes, of course,

our days really do begin to get terrible, horrible,

very bad, and no good.

Sometimes,

the things that go wrong start to cut deep in our lives.

They begin to cut to the very core of how we live.

We don't have food.

We don't have water.

We don't have a place to live.

There are times when we are pushed by our circumstances,

and they seem harder than we can bear,

and our very life is being threatened.

The Bible describes this as a wilderness.

Think about what a wilderness is,

particularly in the ancient Near East.

To go out into the wilderness in Palestine

is to be a place where there is no water.

There is no food.

It is very hot during the day.

It is very cold during the night.

The animals that are there are threatening,

not helpful.

It is a place where your life is in danger

if you stay there.

Now, look, the Bible doesn't say

that going out into the wilderness

is always a bad thing.

Once, there was a garden,

and the garden was a beautiful place,

and everyone lived there,

and it provided everything we needed.

But for most of the time in the Bible,

when it talks about a wilderness,

it's going into a place

where you are facing circumstances

that threaten your very life.

They are truly hard.

How does God want us to face the wilderness?

This brings us to our text this morning.

We're continuing in a series

in the book of Exodus.

If you want to turn in the pew Bibles

in front of you, page 57,

if you're following along,

we're going to actually look at

two sections of Exodus.

We're going to look at the end of chapter 15,

and then we're going to look

at the beginning of chapter 17.

If you remember where we are in the story,

God has brought the people of Israel

out of Egypt,

delivering them from slavery,

and he is now in these chapters

from 13 to 18,

or 13 to 19,

God is bringing them

from the deliverance of Egypt

to the foot of Mount Sinai,

where God will reveal himself

in the giving of the Ten Commandments

and the law.

In the meantime,

in this travel through the wilderness,

God is using this time

to teach his people about who he is.

He has brought them into the wilderness

so that they will see

what kind of God he is.

If you were here last week,

Pastor Greg preached on chapter 16

and the giving of the manna,

how God gave them food

that they did not know of

so that they would know

that man does not live alone,

but by every word

that proceeds from the mouth of God.

And next week,

Pastor Nick will preach

on the internal and external threats

to the people of God

in the wilderness

and how God meets them in that.

But today,

these two stories are about water

and about thirsty people

in the wilderness

and how God meets them there.

So we're going to read.

We're going to start in chapter 15

with verse 22.

We'll read to the end

and then we'll skip

to the beginning of chapter 17.

So if you would want

to read along with me,

this is God's word.

Then Moses made Israel

set out from the Red Sea

and they went into

the wilderness of Shur.

They went three days

in the wilderness

and found no water.

And when they came to Marah,

they could not drink

the water of Marah

because it was bitter

and therefore it was named Marah.

And the people grumbled

against Moses saying,

what should we drink?

And he cried to the Lord

and the Lord showed him a log

and he threw it into the water

and the water became sweet.

And there the Lord made for them

a statute and a rule.

And there he tested them

saying,

if you will diligently listen

to the voice of the Lord your God

and do that which is right

in his eyes

and give ear to his commandments

and keep all his statutes,

I will put none of the diseases

on you

that I put on the Egyptians

for I am the Lord

your healer.

Then they came to Elam

where there were

12 springs of water

and 70 palm trees

and they encamped there

by the water.

And then chapter 17,

verse 1.

All the congregation

of the people of Israel

moved on from the wilderness

of sin by stages

according to the commandment

of the Lord

and camped at Rephidim

but there was no water

for the people to drink.

Therefore the people

quarreled with Moses

and said,

give us water to drink.

And Moses said to them,

why do you quarrel with me?

Why do you test the Lord?

But the people thirsted there

for water

and the people grumbled

against Moses

and said,

why did you bring us

out of Egypt

to kill us

and our children

and our livestock

with thirst?

So Moses cried to the Lord,

what shall I do

with this people?

They are almost ready

to stone me.

And the Lord said to Moses,

pass on before the people

taking with you

some of the elders

of Israel

and take in your hand

the staff

with which you struck

the Nile

and go.

Behold,

I will stand before you

there on the rock

at Horeb

and you shall strike

the rock

and water

shall come out of it

and the people

will drink.

And Moses did so

in the sight

of the elders

of Israel

and he called

the name of the place

Massah

and Meribah

because of the quarreling

of the people

of Israel

and because

they tested the Lord

by saying,

is the Lord

among us

or not?

Let's pray.

Lord,

we come to you

this morning.

Thank you

for this word.

Thanking you

for the way

that you have

recorded throughout

history

your actions

so that we might know

what kind of God

you are.

Lord,

I pray you would

give us,

Lord,

attentive minds

and soft hearts.

Lord,

help us to hear

from your word

from you

this morning

by your spirit.

Help me,

Lord,

to speak your word

or that we may know

what kind of God

you are.

We pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

How does God

want us

to face the wilderness?

I think there are

two major things

in these passages,

these accounts

that I want to focus

on this morning

and then we'll talk

a little bit

about the implications

for us.

The two things

are the heart

of God

and the heart

of the people.

We want to see

what is it

that we see

in these stories

about the heart

of people

and then we want

to see what it is

about how God's heart

meets those people

in the wilderness.

So first,

let's look at the heart

of the people.

Obviously,

in both of these stories,

the very clear situation

is they were thirsty.

But they were not

only thirsty,

they were afraid.

We need to recognize

and be sympathetic

to them.

It's easy for us

sometimes to read

the Old Testament stories

and to think,

gosh,

Israel just didn't

get it very well.

They just didn't.

How could they forget

so quickly?

Right?

How could they forget

so quickly?

Because think about

what had happened

right before

both of these stories.

In chapter 15,

what had come

right before?

God had parted

the Red Sea

to deliver his people

through them

and then brought

a triumph over

the Egyptian army

that was trying

to chase after them.

So God had delivered

his people powerfully.

And then before the story

in chapter 17,

in chapter 16,

what did we see?

God gave manna

to his people,

food in the desert

that they didn't

know anything about.

And it's very easy

for us to sit back

and think,

golly,

these Israelites,

they really didn't

get it,

did they?

How could they

be so obtuse?

But friends,

recognize what it

means to be

truly thirsty.

Have you ever

been truly thirsty

and not had access

to water?

Maybe for an hour

or two,

maybe for a half

a day,

rarely for longer

than that

in this modern world.

Thankfully,

that's true

in many places.

However,

real thirst

is a scary thing.

It is frightening

to face

no water

as your body

cries out for it

more and more.

Look,

the Israelites

were not asking

for a new iPod.

They weren't asking

for a BMW.

They weren't asking

for a new wardrobe.

They weren't asking

for luxuries

and accessories.

They longed

for something

that was real

and necessary

for them.

And think about

what happens

in the story

in chapter 15,

too.

They're traveling,

they're thirsty,

there's no water,

and then they get

to Mara,

and there's water,

there's a pool,

and suddenly they think,

finally,

we're delivered.

And then they go

and taste it.

And instead,

it's bitterness,

not sweetness.

bitterness.

Probably it was

full of minerals.

If you've ever had

mineral-filled water,

it's really undrinkable.

It's like being

a thirsty man

in the middle

of the ocean

where you can't

drink the water.

And so,

their thirst,

augmented by fear,

is now tainted

by disappointment.

False hope

was dashed.

Like climbing a mountain.

If you've ever been

hiking and you

come around the corner

and you think,

hey, there it is,

there's the top.

And you go a little

bit further.

No, it's not.

It's a false summit.

There's another one

yet to come.

How disappointing

that is.

Friends recognize

living in the wilderness

is hard.

When you face

a need like thirst

and you don't know

how to solve it

and you don't know

where to go

and there's no,

you begin to feel trapped

and you begin

to feel desperate.

It's very easy

for us

in that time

to then

see what our heart

is really made of.

And so,

we see

that in these stories,

God gives names.

It's always fascinating

that whenever God

gives something a name,

you want to pay attention

to it in the Old Testament.

And God gives names

to these places

because they reflect

the heart of the people.

The first name

is bitter.

The people become

bitter towards God.

We thought

there was a pool there

but then we couldn't

drink it.

The second one

is called masa

which means testing.

They doubted

God's presence

with them.

They demanded,

God,

give us water now.

And they asked,

God,

is your plan

really good for us?

Because it seems like

you've just let us

out here in the wilderness

to die.

It's not the first time

they thought that.

They thought that back

in chapter 16

but again in chapter 17

they say it.

Why did you lead us

out here just to die?

What's the point?

They doubted that God

was good

and that God had a plan

and that God was with them

and that God would care

for them.

They wondered,

has God abandoned us

and has He left us?

We are going to die.

Not only were their

hearts bitter,

not only did they

doubt God's presence

but also meribah.

Quarreling is the way

our Bible translates it.

I'm not sure that's

a good thing

because if I had a fight

with Greg,

we'd be going at it.

A quarrel would be

going back and forth.

Thankfully Greg and I

don't fight.

But I think that

the word here is not,

there's not like

there's a back and forth

between Moses and the people

or between the people

and God.

In fact,

it's more probably

of a protest.

God,

you've got to be kidding me.

God,

this is too much.

God,

you have to change this.

God,

you couldn't really

want this for me,

could you?

That's the cry

that comes out

of the people.

God,

deliver us.

It's the same cry

that you heard back

in chapter 3

when they were crying out

to be freed from slavery.

God,

deliver us.

Help us.

It's not very hopeful though.

It's more accusatory.

How could you do this?

That's what quarreling means.

Friends,

when we're in the wilderness

and we face these times

where we become desperate,

where we feel like

something we absolutely need

is beyond our control

and unattainable,

let me ask you this question.

What name would God

give to that place

in your heart

and in your life?

Would he call it bitter?

Would he call it doubtful?

Would he call it protest?

How much we need

to see the heart of God

in those moments.

And that's what this passage does.

It shows us the heart of God

towards his people.

What we see fundamentally

in this passage

is that as God's people

are facing the wilderness

and these things

are coming out of their hearts

as they come out of our hearts,

God comes

and God comes with grace.

In chapter 15,

that grace looks like healing.

God instructs Moses,

take a log,

probably better translated

a tree,

take this thing

and throw it in the water.

Doesn't make any sense to us,

but God used that symbol

and that action

to turn

the bitter water

into sweet water.

The people drank

and they were satisfied.

God met them

in their need

and in meeting them

he provided for them

exactly what they longed for.

And do you see

that he didn't just do it

in that way

but then he sort of,

he went over the top.

Look with me

in chapter 15,

verse 27.

Then they came to Elam.

Now that God

gave them

the water

that was bitter

made sweet

and then he said,

oh and now I'm going to take you

to Oasis Resort.

Welcome to Hyatt Oasis Resort

at Elam

where you have

not only 12 pools of water

with all that you could drink

but you have shade

which is really nice

in the desert.

70 palm trees

for you to encamp.

Everything you long for

are needed.

God graciously

gave it to them.

Then in chapter 17,

they're in the wilderness again

facing the same thing,

having seen God provide

just before

in the same ways

and yet they still grumble

and doubt.

God, are you really with us?

They ask.

And friends,

don't forget

they're asking that question

when before them

there is a pillar

of cloud and fire

that has gone before them

during the day

and during the night.

There is a visible manifestation

of God's presence

with them

and in the middle of that

their hunger and thirst

was so great.

Their desire

and their need for water

so filled their screens.

They could not see

the very physical manifestation

that God was with them

and so they questioned.

And God meets them

and says,

I am with you.

He tells Moses,

take your staff,

the same staff

that I used

down in Egypt.

Take that staff

and take the elders

so that there will be witnesses

to what you will do

and go

and I will stand before you

and you will strike a rock

and from that rock

will flow water.

The same staff

that made the Nile River

undrinkable

in judgment upon

the Egyptians

will come to you

and that staff

will bring water

out of a rock.

I don't know

if any of you

are geologists

but there is not much

water in rocks.

God miraculously

brings water

to provide for them.

And friends,

I want you to see

something important here.

God meets them

in their complaining,

doubting,

questioning hearts

and in that

what he does

is he shows them grace.

He doesn't rebuke them

for unbelief.

He doesn't berate them.

He doesn't punish them.

He will do that

at one point, right?

Go ahead and read

the book of Numbers.

As they've seen God more

and as they continue

in their unbelief,

there will be a point

where God will bring

a corrective response

but not here.

Here,

what they show,

what this passage shows

is God's grace

to his people.

You don't deserve this.

Anyone who's a parent

knows this.

Your kids having

a whiny day.

Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah.

Disobedient,

slow,

complaining

over and over again.

And there are times

when we as parents

have the joy

of just showing them grace.

And it's a beautiful thing.

You've experienced it

from your parents,

most likely.

And this is what God

does with his people.

These places are named

Mas and Meribah

to remind them

of their heart condition,

to warn them

in the future,

do not harden your heart

in the same way.

But here,

the first time,

God responds

is that of grace.

To give them something

that they didn't need

or didn't deserve

and to meet

their deepest need.

He wants them to know

that grace

is the shape

of his heart.

He wants them to know

that he will not leave them

but he will be with them.

He wants them to know

that he will provide

what they really need.

and he wants them

to know

that they will be satisfied

as they trust in him

and wait for him.

He will satisfy their hearts.

The heart of God

meets the heart

of his people

in the wilderness.

Friend,

what might happen to us

if we saw God's heart clearly,

if God met us?

We would find ourselves

satisfied.

We would find ourselves

knowing that God

will meet the deepest needs

of our heart.

We would find contentment.

We would find freedom

from being controlled

by our appetites.

We would know

that he will slake our thirst

and feed our hunger

and he will meet our soul

with love.

What might happen to us,

we would become

more trusting.

Having seen God

be faithful

over and over

and over again,

the next time

there was uncertainty,

the next time

we felt desperate,

we could turn to him

and trust him.

Say,

God,

I don't know

how you're going to do this.

This looks impossible to me

but I trust you.

And the third thing

is that

I think we become

more obedient.

This is really interesting.

Look with me in chapter 15.

It struck me

as a very odd part

of the passage

and it took me a while

to see this

but chapter 15,

verse 25,

God brings this

miraculous provision

of making the bitter water sweet.

And then he turns around

and he starts talking about

if you will obey me

and my commands

and my statutes

and my laws.

And I think what he's

describing here is

when God's grace

meets us

and frees us

from our desperate desire

to provide for ourselves,

our desperate drivenness

that comes from appetites

within us

that we think

it is up to us

to solve,

God meets us in that

and he frees us

from those things

so that we can instead

submit to God

to believe that God's ways

are good for us,

to trust him

when we don't understand

why he would say,

don't do this,

this is a path

that leads to death,

not life,

that we would trust him

in those things.

Grace doesn't actually provide,

give us license

to do what we want.

what grace does

is it rescues us

from our desperate hearts

so that we can actually

trust and obey

God.

This is what 1 Corinthians 10

reminds us of,

reminds us that

having experienced

this grace of God

in our lives,

we can pursue then

lives that please him

and are good for us,

that we are never

beyond help

no matter how hard

it gets.

But of course,

the 1 Corinthians passage

also reminds us

of the most important thing

and that is that

how God meets us

in our wilderness

when we are desperate

for our need

is he reminds us

of the greatest need

that every human being

has

for he says

that the rock

that was struck

is the Christ,

Jesus Christ

and that what God

has given us

in Christ

is the thing

that we most need

for water

and manna

are simply signposts

looking at our

physical desires

and meeting those

physical desires

to remind us

that the greatest need

for humanity

is actually

a knowledge of God

and a relationship

with him.

What we were made for

is not food

and water

and sex

and success

and career

and companionship

or all the things

that we tend to think of

are necessary

for being human

and being alive.

What we were made for

first and foremost

is to know God

and to be rightly

related to him.

and yet we know

how often

our hearts

are like the hearts

of the Israelites.

How we grumble

and complain.

How we doubt.

How we question.

How we are bitter

towards him.

How we don't believe

in his goodness.

How we refuse

to submit to his ways.

And Christ comes

as God's greatest

expression of grace

to us.

While we were still sinners

Christ died

for us.

Christ uses

these Old Testament

stories to prepare

or God uses

these Old Testament

stories to prepare us

for the coming

of Christ.

That Jesus

is the rock

that is struck

and from which

streams

of living water

flow.

At the cross

Jesus tasted

the bitter water

for us

so that we might

by faith

receive from him

not bitterness

and judgment

but sweetness

and the life

giving power

of the Holy Spirit

that will well up

to eternal life

in our hearts

and from us

to those around us.

Jesus Christ

is the rock

who is broken

from his broken

body

that died

that died for us

would flow

life-giving power

forgiveness

and eternal life.

This is the greatest

gift of God

that he has given

to us.

Grace

because we don't

deserve it.

Grace

because we don't

think we need it.

Grace

because we

don't believe

that God

is the one

that we were

made for.

and he comes

and he meets

us

and he says

come

come ye

sinners

poor and

needy

bruised and

broken by the

fall

come

to him

believe

and trust

in him

and find

in him

in the midst

of your wilderness

grace

grace that is

greater

than all of our

sin

grace that meets

us in the worst

of your wilderness

grace that speaks

words

of assurance

of provision

of presence

and of hope.

At the end of the day

that's what this passage

invites us to

is to come to the rock

that is Christ.

Let's pray.

Lord thank you

for this word.

We do pray

that you would

Lord bring us

lead us

Lord show us

how great your grace

is to us

in Christ.

Lord help us

to come

knowing that we

have nothing

to bring

except our need

and yet that is

enough for us.

Lord we pray

this morning

that you would

remind us

of your satisfying

grace

for us.

We pray this

in Jesus name.

Amen.

Well friends

as we

continue

in our service

we have a baptism.

that we

ourvi

church

has been

bearing us

and the

we have a

presence.

Father

make us

see you

we have a

well find

as we

acknowledge

this country

and

that we

we have a

photograph

of

the

stage

and

as we

can

you

see you

know