Êxodo 17

Êxodo 17

Morgan - There are two things to be specially noted here. The first is the nature of the suggestion made by the people; and the second is the effect which is produced upon God. As to the first. Under stress of an immediate lack, these people doubted the one fact of which they had overwhelming evidence. The whole of the experiences through which they had passed, and which had brought them where they were, were directly due to the presence and power of God. Had He not been with them, they had yet been in slavery. Yet, lack of water made them either question that fact, or imagine that God had abandoned them. To us it seems utterly unreasonable, and yet it is of constant recurrence. The question persists. In hours of lack, of stress, of difficulty, we are constantly prone to imagine that God has left us, or even to imagine that we have been wrong for believing that He has ever been with us. It is not only unworthy, it is wicked. This is shown by the language used to describe ,the effect produced upon God—"they tempted Jehovah"; that is, they gave Him cause to abandon them, as they suggested that perchance He had done so. Necessarily the statement is an attempt to express a Divine truth through human analogy. He provided for them, but that was wholly of His mercy and grace. Such questioning of God merits punishment. They tempted God, even though He was not moved to such response as they deserved. We should ever strive against the suggestion that He can act in any way which contradicts our past experiences of His presence and power. Question: "What does it mean to test God?" Answer: In the Bible, there are examples of both an acceptable and unacceptable kind of testing God. It’s acceptable to “test” God in regard to tithes and offerings, for example, but unacceptable when the test is rooted in doubt. Malachi 3:10+ says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test (a command) me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” This is the only situation given in the Bible in which God tells His people to “test” Him. Interestingly, the Hebrew word used for “test” in this verse is bachan/bahan, which means “to examine, scrutinize, or prove (as in gold, persons, or the heart - e.g., Job 23:10+).” Just as gold is “tested” with fire to prove its quality, God invites Israel to test Him in tithes and offerings and see that He proves His faithfulness in response. There is another Hebrew word for “test” used elsewhere in the Bible. Nacah/nasah means “to put to the test, try, or tempt.” It is used in Deuteronomy 6:16, where God commands Israel to not test Him: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.” This second, unacceptable kind of testing is when doubt leads us to demand something of God to prove Himself to us. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 (“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.") in the wilderness, in response to one of Satan’s temptations. “The devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”’” (Matthew 4:7–10+). Essentially, the devil was telling Jesus to “prove” God’s Word was true by forcing God’s hand—if Jesus was in peril, God would have to save Him. Jesus refused to test God in such a way. We are to accept God’s Word by faith, without requiring a sign (see Luke 11:29+). God’s promises are there for us when we need them, BUT to manipulate situations in an attempt to coerce God into fulfilling His promises is evil. The occasion where the Israelites tested God at Massah is found in Exodus 17. As God was leading Moses and His people toward the Promised Land, they camped at a place where there was no water (ED: "A TEST" FROM THE LORD!). The Israelites’ immediate reaction was to grumble against God and quarrel with Moses (Exodus 17:1–3). Their lack of trust in God to take care of them is evident in their accusations toward 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). The Israelites were obviously in a situation where they needed God to intervene. The point at which they tested God, though, is when doubt and fear overtook them and they came to the conclusion that God had abandoned them (see Exodus 17:7). They questioned God’s reliability because He was not meeting their expectations. The difference between these two kinds of testing God is faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1+). The Israelites at Massah tested God because they lacked faith in Him. The Israelites in Malachi’s day were invited to test God because they had faith in Him. Faith, by definition, takes risk. When true faith is present, obedience follows. It is that faith-inspired action of obedience that God loves. As seen in the example of Israel’s tithes and offerings, when we give out of our faith in who God is, He proves Himself to be faithful. By contrast, when we view God through our doubt and demand something of Him as a way of determining whether or not He can be trusted, we’re in danger of testing God (see Mark 8:11–12). (Source - Gotquestions.org) Exodus 17:8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. Amplified: Then came Amalek [descendants of Esau] and fought with Israel at Rephidim. NET Exodus 17:8 Amalek came and attacked Israel in Rephidim. NLT Exodus 17:8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. KJV Exodus 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ESV Exodus 17:8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. NIV Exodus 17:8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Ge 36:12,16; Numbers 24:20; Deut 25:17; 1 Sa 15:2; 30:1; Ps 83:7 Exodus 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries EMANCIPATED ISRAEL'S FIRST BATTLE J