17:1 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. 2 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?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, 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?” 4 So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 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. 6 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. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah1 and Meribah,2 because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 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 the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne3 of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
[1]17:7Massah means testing [2]17:7Meribah means quarreling [3]17:16A slight change would yield upon the banner
17:1 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. 2 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?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, 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?” 4 So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 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. 6 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. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah1 and Meribah,2 because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 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 the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne3 of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
[1]17:7Massah means testing [2]17:7Meribah means quarreling [3]17:16A slight change would yield upon the banner
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:
Our reading tonight comes from Exodus, beginning in chapter 14 verse 31. Israel saw the great power that the lord used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant, Moses. Continuing in chapter 17. All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord encamped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
Speaker 1:
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?
Speaker 1:
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?
Speaker 1:
The word of the Lord.
Joel Brooks:
If you would, pray with me. Our father, I thank you for all the things that we have seen so far in this service For death, burial, resurrection reenacted, and the act of baptism. The life that we know that you have made anew in every person who has placed their faith and trust in you. I thank you for the songs that we have sung that have warmed our hearts and our affections to you. Lord, you're deserving of all praise.
Joel Brooks:
And Lord, now I thank you for your word. For your word through your spirit is what changes us. And so God, I pray that that would happen in this moment, that your word would become alive in us, that it would wreak havoc where it needs to wreak havoc, that it would restore and heal where restoration and healing is needed. Lord, in this moment, may my words fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain and may they change us.
Joel Brooks:
We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. Well, there's been a lot of eggnog, drunk, a lot of traveling, a lot of time with extended family since we last were in Exodus. So it's probably good that we would do, I should do somewhat of a recap. We've been studying Exodus for a number of months now.
Joel Brooks:
The reason we chose to go through Exodus, because it's here that we are introduced to the vocabulary that we as Christians use to describe our experiences, to describe our faith. So, if you want to understand what, Christian buzzwords, words like slavery to sin, deliverance, freedom, redemption, or salvation mean, or phrases like saved by the blood of the lamb or the glory of the Lord. Those phrases mean that you have to go to Exodus first, because that is where those terms are introduced to us in the Bible. It's here we get, really what I would see as the building blocks of our faith. So if you are new to the Christian faith, or if you're just interested in learning more about the Christian faith, Exodus is a great place to go and start and to get those building blocks.
Joel Brooks:
We talked about this a few months ago, but an Israelite, let's say, who lived 34 100 years ago, would describe his or her faith much like we would describe our faith today. You would probably say something like this, Well, I was lost in my sins. I was a slave, but God had compassion on me. I called out to the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and He heard my cry and He saved me. He did not judge me.
Joel Brooks:
He did not punish me. No. He delivered me by the blood of the lamb. And now he has set me free that I might experience him, that I might worship him. And now he takes care of me, and he guides me as we go through life, and he is leading me to the promised land, to a place where there will no longer be tears, there will no longer be sorrow.
Joel Brooks:
That's pretty much how we would describe our faith today. The same way an Israelite would describe his faith 34 100 years ago. And so what we need to see is that their story is our story. And if you wanna understand what God is doing in our life better, we need to take a look at what he is doing here. Now, when we did leave off a month ago, we saw how right after God had parted the Red Sea, and He had delivered Israel, He did not take them straight to the promised land.
Joel Brooks:
Instead, he took them out to the desert. And it's important to understand this, that even though you were saved, even though there was a mighty act of deliverance, you're not immediately taken to the land flowing with milk and honey, but instead you were taken to a time of tempting and a time of trials. They still had hardships. They lived in the desert, and this time in the desert in chapter 16 is described as a time of testing. Now now we all understand what tests are.
Joel Brooks:
We've all had to take many tests over our life. Tests are a way that, they're a way of evaluating you. You know, if you pass a test, well, then you get to move on. You get to you get to graduate. Maybe you get your promotion.
Joel Brooks:
Maybe you get a certificate. If you don't pass your test, then you have to repeat a class. You don't ever get promoted. You're stuck where you are. Tests show whether you qualify for something, and they reveal whether you're ready to move on or not.
Joel Brooks:
We all know that. It's common sense. That's what tests are for. Well, back in chapter 16, the Lord gave the Israelites a pretty simple test. Actually, if you go through the Bible, he's almost always giving tests, and they're usually pretty simple.
Joel Brooks:
I mean, Adam and Eve. Don't eat from the tree. If you don't eat, you'll live. You eat from it, you die. Multiple choice.
Joel Brooks:
Only 2 right there. That's it. Seems pretty easy option. Don't eat, live, eat, die, and of course we fail the test. And all throughout the Bible you see these simple tests that the Lord brings, and we fail.
Joel Brooks:
And we see that here. The test in chapter 16 was this. The people, they are living in the desert, and God was going to give them manna. He was going to rain down manna every day for them. And he said, but this is what I want you to do.
Joel Brooks:
Here is your test. For 6 days, go out and gather it. And on the 6th day, gather double what you need, because I'm not going to rain it down on the 7th day. That's it. Get your food every day, but on day 6, get twice the amount you need because it won't be there on the Sabbath.
Joel Brooks:
The people failed the test. I mean, there's nothing complicated there. There's there was no huge acts of faith that God was asking for. No no, feats of strength. No, like, bring me the witch's broom, or something like that.
Joel Brooks:
It's just pretty simple stuff. Just gather food, double what you need, day 6. And they failed. So what were the consequences of their failure? Well, nothing.
Joel Brooks:
God just fed them. Every day he just kept giving them manna. There weren't any consequences. I mean, they they just failed the most simple test, yet nothing happens. They wake up the next day, and God provides manna for them again.
Joel Brooks:
As a matter of fact, this is kind of a theme that runs throughout Exodus. Chapter 14. They didn't believe that God would fight on their behalf. They doubted him. What did God do?
Joel Brooks:
He fought on their behalf. Chapter 15. They were thirsty at one point. They didn't think that God would provide water. What did God do?
Joel Brooks:
He provided water. Chapter 16. God, you're not gonna feed us. They failed this test. What does God do?
Joel Brooks:
He feeds them. Over and over again, we have the people of Israel failing the test and there are zero consequences for it. Every time God still provides for them. Now, how can this happen? I mean, in chapter 16, they didn't trust God to even give them food.
Joel Brooks:
They repeatedly failed his test, yet no consequences. Chapter 16 verses 6 and 7. They're they're astonishing verses if you wanna look there. We read this. So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel this is right after God said he's going to rain down bread from heaven.
Joel Brooks:
Says, At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord because Now, just stop right there. What do you think is gonna follow this phrase, because? They're gonna see the glory of the Lord. Now, this is the first time this term has been introduced in all of the Bible, the glory of the Lord. And if you think about it at this point, the Israelites, they've already seen the fire by night.
Joel Brooks:
They've seen the pillar of cloud by day. They have seen the great acts of deliverance. They have seen all the plagues. They have seen all the power of God, and yet none of that was described as the glory of the Lord. This was something unique.
Joel Brooks:
This was something beautiful. What a privilege and honor that is about to be theirs. It says, you are gonna see the glory of the Lord because Now, we would think because you were so obedient, because you showed your devotion to me. Because you gave a whole lot of money to me. Because you gave a whole lot of money to me, because of all of your acts of service.
Joel Brooks:
But that's not what we read. It says, because, verse 7 again, and in the morning, you shall see the glory of the Lord because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. You get this amazing privilege, this amazing honor, because you grumbled against me, because you failed the test, I'm gonna let you see what every man has longed to see, my glory. It it kind of makes you wonder when you're going through this. What's the point of all of these tests?
Joel Brooks:
I mean, really what's the point if there's no consequences, if God's gonna just kind of ignore how we do and act however He wants? Well, you've got to realize a couple of things about the the way that the Lord tests us and His the way he thinks of tests. One, God doesn't test us in order to reveal to him anything new about us. He tests us in order that our own hearts might be revealed to us, not to him. These tests don't reveal anything to God that he does not already know.
Joel Brooks:
What they do reveal to us is our hearts, and they allow God to begin changing them. They reveal to us that although God has freed us from our sin, so often we still live voluntarily in slavery. So often we still live voluntarily in slavery. We're slavery to our self image, slavery to our parents' approval or our neighbor's approval, slavery to materialism, slavery to our own personal freedom. Nobody tells me what to do.
Joel Brooks:
And we can never worship the Lord as long as we are still slaves, and God has to reveal that to us. And that's what these tests in the wilderness show us. If God had just taken the Israelites straight to the promised land, these things that condition of their hearts would have never been revealed. The second thing we need to realize about God's test is that they are not given in order to see if we qualify or not. They're not tests like an exam or the testing of a product off the assembly line.
Joel Brooks:
You know, where where you test to see if this is a good product or not, if it if it meets the manufacturer requirements and it could go on to be used. That's that's not how the testing here works. Because you see, God has committed himself to these Israelites. He has made a covenant will with them, and he will be their God no matter what. No matter how they perform, he is going to take care of them.
Joel Brooks:
And so even if they have the most blatant failures, the most blatant disobedience, he is not going to forsake them. So he's he's testing them like I would test one of my daughters. You know, if, you know, if I tell my youngest, Georgia, which I often do is like, you know, will you pick up the mess that you just made, and we put it up. Now, it's hit or miss there. I mean, we're batting at about 500.
Joel Brooks:
But if she doesn't do that, I don't discard her. I'm gonna be like, when you had your chance. I mean, you you had it. I mean, come on. It was either, you know, you you you pick it up, you have my love and affection, you don't pick it up, and now I'm going to abandon you.
Joel Brooks:
That is not how it works. She is my daughter, and I love her no matter whether she obeys me or she disobeys me. My my love for her is never in question. Now, what I will do when she disobeys me is I will come alongside her and discipline her in order that she might obey my voice, but I'm not gonna abandon her. And God does not abandon us when we sin.
Joel Brooks:
When we fail his test, when we're in the wilderness and we fall. Because we are his children, he has committed himself to us. And I hope you realize just how freeing that is. Every day you fail his test, but God still loves you and God still takes care of you. Do not think for a moment that how you perform in life in any way affects God's love for you.
Joel Brooks:
That if you have your quiet time in the morning, God loves you more. If you put a little bit more in the offering box, God loves you more. That is not how it works. It does not at all change his affection for you. Now we're going to see this much clearer here in Exodus 17.
Joel Brooks:
Here's here's a much more difficult test. In chapter 16 or 17, sorry, we see the Israelites once again complaining. Common theme. They quarrel with Moses. They accuse him of bringing them out into the desert to kill them.
Joel Brooks:
Once again, common theme. Once again, this is completely delusional. God has taken care of them every step of the way. What makes them think that he is not going to take care of them now? I mean, verse 1 says that they are at this place because God has led them there.
Joel Brooks:
So they know they're right where they need to be. This is not a surprise to God, yet they doubt him. Now every one of us here share in the same delusion that they are in. I've thought about this a lot this week about ways that I share in this delusion and, I'll give you an illustration. I have not gone without a meal, ever, because I just couldn't buy food.
Joel Brooks:
At least, some form of food. Lauren likes to remind me, we dated when I was 16. She was 15. We were dating, and one time I took her to Applebee's, and I realized when I was there I didn't have much money, and so, so I didn't eat. It was so awkward.
Joel Brooks:
I I I paid for her meal, and and and I just sat there and looked at her. It made her feel really really guilty. Other than that one time. Alright. Now we shared fries.
Joel Brooks:
So I have never gone in my entire life a meal because I couldn't buy food. Now, I'm I'm 41 years old, and that means 365 days a year times 3 meals, times about 41.6. That means God has provided for me 45,607 meals consecutively. 45,607 times in a row, God has met my need for food. And I've thanked him for most of those.
Joel Brooks:
I said, God, thank you. I recognize that you are the one who has provided these things for me. He has an amazing track record. So why is it that there are times that Lauren and I doubt him? And as we look into the future, we can have fear and we think, God, you're you're not gonna provide.
Joel Brooks:
Similarly, God has provided clothes for me. I've I've never had to stand before you without clothes. Okay? It's, I have always been clothed, for every day of my life. Now, I've lived approximately, I didn't take into account leap years and stuff, but, 15,202 days.
Joel Brooks:
And I have never spent a day without clothes, or at least a diaper, have been swaddled. Alright? I have always been clothed. Once again, that is an amazing track record. So why do I doubt him?
Joel Brooks:
He has proven himself to me over and over. Actually, I don't think most of us in here, I don't think most of us in here doubt his provision for us. What we doubt is that God is gonna provide for us the way we want him to provide for us. And there's a pretty big difference there. We we don't doubt that he's going to provide for us things like clothes or or enough food to eat.
Joel Brooks:
The fact that every one of you are in here, and you're clothed, and you've likely had something to eat today shows that he has taken care of you. We don't we don't doubt his provision in that means. But what we doubt is that he's going to provide for us the way we want. We don't want clothes from Walmart. We don't want clothes from a dollar store.
Joel Brooks:
God, we have certain standards. We we don't want to have to wear the same thing 2 days in a row. And so we're not doubting his provision, but we have to realize we're not asking God to provide. A lot of times when we think we're asking him to provide, we're not asking him to provide for a need. We're asking him to provide for a comfort, which is way different than a need.
Joel Brooks:
I'm a lot like the Israelites who in chapter 16 complain that, God, you're not giving me anything to eat, and yet they're completely surrounded by sheep and cattle. Well, I mean, I don't want to go through my savings here. I don't want to have to use this. I'm talking about outside of these. God, I want to have a comfortable lifestyle.
Joel Brooks:
So provide for me some more food. I don't want to have to sacrifice anything in my following you to the promised land. That's me. Yet God is so gracious. He is so gracious to me just like he was to them.
Joel Brooks:
Have you ever wondered how it's possible? Like how is it that God can be so kind to us? I know you you you've heard, you know, there's there's people lay lay awake late at night thinking, how can a good God, you know, allow so much evil in this world? The much better question is this, how could a holy righteous God ever do anything good for sinners? When's the last time that's kept you awake at night pondering that?
Joel Brooks:
Yet the fact that we're all here and we have been fed and we've been clothed speaks to His benefits to us. The fact is, you know, if if God was a judge, we wouldn't reelect Him Because a a a righteous judge, a holy judge just imagine if, if there was a person who killed somebody, who committed murder, and stood before this judge and says, judge, I'm really sorry. Judge goes, well, hey. This is your first time. You could go.
Joel Brooks:
I mean, why not? You look like a kind guy. Let's him go. When that judge comes up for reelection, would you vote for him or her? No.
Joel Brooks:
Because it's an unrighteous judge who does not value life, yet that is for many of us how we want our God to be. God, can't we just disobey you? Can't we fail every test? Can't we spit on your face when you shower affections to us? And yet, can't you won't you just keep being kind to us?
Joel Brooks:
Ponder that. How can a holy righteous god be so kind On chapter 17 he tells us how. There is judgment. There is judgment. He is a just God.
Joel Brooks:
Well, let's go back to 17. The story here is pretty intense. Verse verse 2 says that they quarreled with Moses. Now 2 great Jewish scholars, Sarna Nahum and Robert Alter, They both point out that this word quarreled is a much more serious word than the word grumbled that we have been hearing so far. And they said it's actually a word that's used in a judicial context, which is crucial for us in understanding what's going on in this passage.
Joel Brooks:
Because what we're seeing here is the people aren't just grumbling, they are bringing an official accusation against Moses and God. They quarrel with him. And in verse 3 they say, Moses, our accusation is this. You and your God, you have brought us out here to kill us. Moses tells God, it's like, they're about to stone me.
Joel Brooks:
Meaning, they've already found him guilty, and they are about to execute him. So God commands Moses to do something that is absolutely astounding. I've I've been chewing on this for months now, and it it it still moves me every time I read this. Look at verse 5. 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.
Joel Brooks:
Alright. Moses, now he's going to have to walk by this angry mob who wants to execute him. And as he's walking by them, he is he's getting some of the elders of the community, and he is getting his staff. And what's happening is Moses is setting up an official trial here. He gathers the elders.
Joel Brooks:
The elders of the community are going to act as the witnesses against him, and then he gets his staff. Now now we all know what Moses' staff is. Alright? He's only got one staff. It's not like a net tide that he could change every day.
Joel Brooks:
There's there's Moses and his staff, and yet God provides us extra little detail here. He says, get your staff. You know stat. You know which one I'm talking about Moses. The one that brought judgment.
Joel Brooks:
The one that you struck the Nile with to bring judgment on the Egyptians and to start the plagues. Bring that staff. This is the rod of judgment that Moses is bringing. Now, if you're one of the people there, at this point you're terrified. You're absolutely terrified.
Joel Brooks:
I mean, as it's dawning on them, oh my goodness. This is actually happening. We have just made an official accusation against Moses, and now he's gathering us all together and he's got the staff and he's angry. So they think it's the end. Verse 6 heightens the drama.
Joel Brooks:
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. Now, I know at first reading this really doesn't seem like there is that much going on here, but you need to understand this. This is the only time in all of scripture that the Lord ever stands before anyone. He never stands before anyone. I spent an entire day going through every reference of stand, standing before, stood, stood before, and this is the only time that the Lord stands before anyone.
Joel Brooks:
The reason is this, only inferiors stand before people. So one stands before a king, but a king never stands before the people. Alright? Every other time in scripture you see the phrase, stand before in the Lord. It's usually angels standing before him, people standing before him, or more often and not, they lack the ability to stand before him.
Joel Brooks:
1 Samuel 6 says, who is able to stand before the Lord? No one. Yet here, God is standing before the people. He is acting as the inferior. So we have a trial.
Joel Brooks:
We have the witnesses gathered. We have Moses acting as the judge. The people are the plaintiff. God is the defendant, And the accusation is this, God, you don't care about us. You have brought us pointless suffering and you brought us out here to just kill us.
Joel Brooks:
Moses summarizes the heart of their argument in verse 7. Verse 7, we read, and he called the name of the place Massah in 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? Is the Lord among us or not? That that's the real question behind the accusation of the people here. Is the Lord among us or not?
Joel Brooks:
God, if you're real, then where are you? God, if you're real and you care, then then then why why do I feel nothing? Why don't I see you taking care of me? Why is my life falling apart in this moment? If you are real and you are care, and you say you are with me, you you really have a terrible time of demonstrating that.
Joel Brooks:
Lord, are you really here? That's the question behind our accusation. It's our question that we have before the Lord so many times. Well, let's look what happens next. What happens next is is shocking.
Joel Brooks:
With God standing on the rock, and Moses with the staff, and the grumbling people out there, Strike the rock. And so Moses takes this staff of judgment and he strikes where the Lord is. And in God's grace, water, life giving water flows out. The people are not struck down. It's astonishing, but the people are not struck down.
Joel Brooks:
But the Lord is struck. The Lord is struck. The people receive grace. The Lord receives judgment. Now these these people deserve judgment, but what we see here, and we're just getting a hint of it here, is is the Lord is offering himself up as a substitute for them.
Joel Brooks:
He's being treated how they deserve, and he is treating them how he deserves to be treated. So so what does this mean? I mean, what does this mean for us? It means for us that for starters, we have a gracious God who even when we fall into temptation, even when we sin and we do over and over and over again, that he still is gracious to us. But he loves us.
Joel Brooks:
He is committed Even when we accuse him of abandoning us and not caring, he still loves us. That's what this means. But the question is, how is that possible? How is this possible? Because really, here, God wasn't actually judged.
Joel Brooks:
Alright? The Lord actually wasn't struck dead here, and he wasn't really their substitute. But he is pointing us forward to one who is. And I I have to confess something. As a pastor, I shouldn't do this, but I somewhat misled you earlier when I said that nowhere else in the Bible will you ever see the Lord standing before anyone because there is one other time.
Joel Brooks:
One other place, and it takes place in a very similar scene to what we have just read. Once again, there is an angry mob. They're making all sorts of accusations against a man. They drag this man before the governor, and they set up this mock trial. This man claimed to be God and they wanted to kill him for it because God certainly couldn't be walking in their midst among them.
Joel Brooks:
And so in Matthew 27 we read that Jesus stood before Pilate. Jesus stood before man and acted as the inferior. And just like the rock, Jesus was struck. Isaiah says that he was smitten of God. Jesus received received the blows of divine judgment in order that we might have life.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus is the one to whom the smitten rock points. And if you think this is a stretch, you think, man, you're you're stretched. You're just seeing things. I want you to hear Paul's words to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 10, he says this.
Joel Brooks:
I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and they all passed through the sea, and they all were baptized into Moses, and into the cloud, and in the sea, and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. And that rock was Christ. Jesus is the one who proves once and for all receives judgment in our place. Jesus is the one who gives us life when we deserve wrath.
Joel Brooks:
The gospel of John so beautifully illustrates this, when Jesus hung from the cross, and after he died and he was pierced, it says, and blood and water flowed forth. Water flowing forth from our rock. Emmanuel, God with us. If if you believe that if you believe that, then you should live a liberated life. I hope you see how freeing it is if you really believe this because you can fail time and time again, but you know God is still with you.
Joel Brooks:
He is still with you. And as you go through the deserts, as you go through hard times, your heart could be warned because you know warmed because you know God is with you and he has proved that. All you have to do is look at the cross. I do not care what desert you were in. I do not care what trial you were going through.
Joel Brooks:
All you have to do is look at Jesus and know that he cares. Pray with me. Lord, I thank you that you are not a God that says we must pass every test, and then you shower affection on us. But you're a God who takes failures like us and he love us. Lord, when we understand that and when we understand the new life you've given us, that results in a freedom that overflows into obedience and we begin to live the life that you have called us to live.
Joel Brooks:
I pray that the gospel would be the rock on which we stand. That Jesus, you would be the rock from which we drink. Thank you, Jesus. We pray this in your name. Amen.