1
|

|
Water from a Rock
|
2
|

|
I will
stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. trike 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 17:6)
|
3
|

|
God's command to move was given to
the Israelites who stayed in the Desert of Sin.
They arrived at a place called Rephidim, according to God's command..
|
4
|

|
They
pitched a tent to live in Rephidim. People went there to find the most
essential water for life.
But they could not find water
anywhere.
|
5
|

|
People
who were angry because they could not find water ran to Moses.
And they confronted Moses and said,
¡°Give us water to drink¡± They acted
like people who had no idea what God was doing.
|
6
|

|
Moses
spoke harshly about their actions.
¡°Why
are you talking to me?¡± Why? You are testing Jehovah God.¡±
But they listened to Moses and did not back down.
|
7
|

|
Their
complaints about not getting water started saying things they shouldn't say.
¡°Why did
you bring us from Egypt?
Have you brought us and our children and livestock to death of thirst?¡±
They
were ready to pick up stones and strike Moses at any moment.
|
8
|

|
Moses
went to Jehovah God and cried out.
¡°What
shall I do with this people? They look like they are going to stone me at any
moment.¡±
Moses prayed to Jehovah God,
believing that he was the only one who could solve this problem.
|
9
|

|
The
Lord told Moses what to do.
¡°Go ahead of the people of Israel.
Take some of the elders of Israel with you, and the staff that you used to
strike the Nile with you.¡±
|
10
|

|
God
kept telling Moses what to do.
¡°I will stand before you on the
rock of Mount Sinai. Strike the rock with your staff, and water will come out
of it for the people to drink.¡±
|
11
|

|
Moses
did what God had told him to do.
He
took the staff that struck the Nile in his hand. He went out before the
people of Israel.
And he took the elders and came to the rock where God had spoken.
|
12
|

|
Moses
believed that Jehovah God was standing before him.
With faith
in the word of God, he lifted up his staff high.
And he relied on the word of God and
struck the rock with his staff.
|
13
|

|
The
moment Moses' staff touched the rock, an amazing scene occurred.
Water spring out of the rock. The water from the rock quickly turned it into
an overflowing place.
|
14
|

|
The water from the rock flowed to
the place where the Israelites were. The Israelites began to drink water from
the rock. It broke Moses' heart to see the people drinking and rejoicing.
|
15
|

|
The
Israelites experienced God who made the Red Sea cross over land.
However, their faith only crumbled in front of the small reason that they had
no water to drink.
They blamed God for leading them and put Him to the test.
|
16
|

|
Moses
named the place Massa.
This means
¡®the people of Israel quarreled and put God to the test.¡¯
The people of Israel did not believe in
God and did a really terrible thing to put God to the test.
It also came to be called Meribah.
|
17
|

|
The
Israelites did not act in faith when they encountered difficulties without
water.
They
showed wickedness in testing and resisting God.
A person
of faith is a person who believes in God's power and prays like Moses when he
encounters something.
When Moses
humbly approached God and prayed even in the midst of a crisis that people
would stone him, an amazing miracle occurred when water came out of the rock.
We who
have been saved through faith in Jesus are special people who can pray to
God.
No matter what difficulties we face, we
should strive to become people who, like Moses,
can accomplish great miracles by first praying to God and obeying God's Word.
|
(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
|