Reading… and Thinking

So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. … Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

— Exodus 17:4-8 (NKJV)

What’s your mental picture of this scene? Obviously anger and tension, the thirsty people ready to stone Moses, complaining they were better off in Egypt. At the Lord’s command, Moses climbs up one of the many rocky outcroppings, strikes the rock, and before their eyes a spring gushes out of the rock. The critics are silenced, and the people line up to get water for their families and livestock.

That was my own mental picture. Well, everything after the first sentence isn’t quite right. The people were indeed angry and ready to kill, but the provision of the water wasn’t quite like the scene described above, which is the scene normally portrayed by artists. Careful reading gives us a better understanding. Look at the verses again, and note two key facts:

1. It was in the sight of the elders, not all the people, that Moses struck the rock.
2. The people were encamped at Rephidim. The rock that was struck, which produced the water, was at Horeb.

We don’t know precisely where either Rephidim or Horeb (Sinai) was. But we do know from 19:2 that there was some travel time between them.

This changes the picture quite a bit, doesn’t it? And, I believe that the attack from Amalek is seen to be a related event, not just something that happened to occur at this time. Why, after all, would the Amalekites travel such a long way just to pick a fight? Here’s a picture that I think fits the record better:

The people are about to riot. The Lord appears to Moses, and in response he calls the elders to him. And then, with them trailing behind, he walks off! Right out of the camp. That would have been a stunner. Who can they complain to now? What’s going to happen? Are the leaders going to come back?

Moses and the elders walk on and on. How far we can’t tell, but it was at least hours, much more likely it was days. Finally they arrive at Horeb—a place that Moses knows. It was here that the Lord appeared to him in the bush (see chapter 3). And here, with just a few other men around, Moses strikes the rock in the name of the Lord. And water pours out. But not a trickle, not a spring. There is a rushing torrent of water coming out. Flowing down the slope of Horeb, collecting into a wadi, and flowing away to the north. Moses and the elders head back to the camp — but the water gets there before they do.

There’s no way that two million thirsty people (and who knows how many animals) are going to wait patiently in line for a drink from a small spring. God knew that. Remember too that this event is symbolic, and not a chance happening. Why did the Lord let them thirst? He needed to demonstrate that He alone is the provider. He does not provide in small measure! He didn’t give them a trickle—He gave them a river. By the time Moses gets back, there is a river flowing beside the camp, and man and beast are satisfied.

But beyond the encampment of Israel, the river keeps flowing. On northward to the Negeb region, where Amalek lives. The Amalekites notice, of course. It would not be unusual for the wadi to flow with water if there was rain in the mountains in the distance, but eventually the wadi would dry up again. This time, it does not! Water is the most precious resource in the world to these people. Naturally, they follow the stream back to see what the source is. And there they find Israel, sitting in control of this wonderful new water source. And they attack!

God delivers Amalek to Israel under Joshua’s leadership (and there’s much more that could be said about that.) Israel is victorious, and moves onward, following the stream now, all the way to Horeb. When they arrive, springing from the rocky side of the mountain, they see a waterfall. This water source will keep them alive for all the time they are at the mountain. Possibly longer — in what sense did the “rock follow them”? (1 Cor 10:4) Possibly, the stream continued to provide for them through much of their wilderness experience, possibly changing its course now and then, as rivers do.

We’ve speculated some details here. But they surely are a much better fit for the facts recorded, compared with the usual picture that is painted of this incident. We know that this event was also loaded with symbolism. (Paul tells us so in 1 Corinthians 10.) And I think the more accurate picture improves the symbolism as well.

Read carefully! Think about what you read! Always ask yourself, “What did this look like, sound like, smell like? How did it work?” If you don’t, you’ve liable to miss most of what’s there!