Verses 1-2 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
The name “Rephidim” means “rest or stays or resting places”. The LORD chose the places where He wanted the people to stop and rest. Traveling in the wilderness in the heat with children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and all kinds of livestock was difficult. Rest was essential. Here was a people who had clamored for food in the wilderness and who had experienced the miraculous provision of God now complaining and striving with Moses over water. One has to ask, “Why did they not ask the LORD for water and trust Him to provide for them?” Logic would conclude that if the Almighty God was going to feed this huge multitude of people, He was also going to make sure they stayed hydrated.
Verse 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
Notice that the argument presented to Moses by the people was the same one they presented to him when they were hungry. They were blaming Moses for their situation and accusing him of wanting to kill them. In accusing Moses, the LORD’s servant, they were accusing the LORD also. Notice that there does not appear to be any effort by the people to help themselves. Was anyone searching for water or checking the plant life for moisture or trying to collect any condensation that might ocurr at night? Perhaps all the years of slavery to the Egyptian government, a situation in which they were told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and provided with the materials they would need and provided with food to sustain them, had made them totally dependent on others so that they were not self sufficient like their ancestors had been. In other words, perhaps they were like so many people today that claim victim status and rely of government programs for survival instead of trying to help themselves out of the condition or life situation they are in. Just a thought.
Verse 4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
The situation was serious. There were over a million people in this camp and apparently most of them were angry and feeling rebellious. Moses and Aaron were definitely at risk in a dangerous situation.
Verses 5-6 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The name “Horeb” means “desert”. It is also another name for Mount Sinai. It is here that another miracle occurred in that water came out of a rock. Now there are many places where water seeps out of the cracks of a rock wall so that it looks like the rock is weeping, but these places are in damp, wet climates and the water is from rain or runoff above the rocks. Any pictures of Mount Sinai and the surrounding region will show that the place is dry and barren with very little vegetation. Water just does not flow in this desert place. Here God stood upon this rock. This is the first place in the Bible that the word “rock” appears. It is the Hebrew word “tswur”. This word is not in the book of Genesis. So why does it appear in this passage? Well this word references the character of God. His personality and character has been revealed in His dealings with the Hebrews and the Egyptians. Moses records in Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” So God is “the Rock”. Altars that were built to sacrifice to the LORD had to be made of uncut rocks that no tools had touched. Throughout Scripture, God is referred to as the Rock. Think about the characteristic of a rock and how they apply to the LORD. Paul records in 1Corinthians 10:4 in speaking about the miracle with Moses in Mount Sinai, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The rock produced real water to quench the thirst of the people and their animals, but the spiritual ramifications was that it was the LORD Jesus Christ that was standing on the rock and that was guiding His people through the desert to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Application: It will be written many times over in this study as appropriate verses bring up the subject that there is only one God of the Christians. There are not three Gods or persons. A person has to have a body. Jesus was the only person because he had a body of flesh and bone. The Father or the Holy Ghost/Spirit does not and did not have a body. So there cannot be “three persons in one” in what is called today the Trinity. There is no trinity. The word is not in the Bible. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is ONE Lord.” Is this verse not clear and self-explanatory? No where will the reader of the Bible find a reference to more than one God. If a religion has many gods, it is pagan and of the Devil. So all the twisting of Scripture to fit the false doctrine of a trinity will not change the Word of God to reflect the lie being taught in most churches today. Before you, the reader, get angry at this writer’s words, research it for yourself and stop digesting every piece of information received from pastors, teachers and televangelists as truth. God’s Word is truth and if the doctrines of various church denominations do not line up with His written Word, then they are wrong and false. So because Father God is a Spirit and can be in all places at the same time, He can be in His people and be called the Holy Spirit and He can manifest Himself to His people in a body known to His followers as Jesus and He can do this all at the same time. There is one God manifesting in three ways. “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:6
Verse 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
The name “Massah” means “temptation” and the name “Meribah” means “strife” or “contention”.
Verses 8-10 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Just a reminder of who Amalek was. He was the son of Eliphaz and Timnah and a grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob. He was the father of the Amalekites that lived in southern Canaan.
This is the first Biblical reference to the man, Hur. He was a chief assistant to Moses and possibly (not known for sure) the grandfather of Bezaleel who was the chief artificer of the tabernacle.
Verses 11-13 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
There is no natural reason for the battle to be determined by the raising of Moses’ hands, but it was. Perhaps lifting his hands Heavenward towards the throne of God was a visual principle of the lifting of Holy hands to God that is practiced today. Not really sure. What do you think? What is clear, however, is that we all need friends that will stand by us and help lift our burdens in times of trouble, and this was what Aaron and Hur did for Moses and Joshua and all the warriors fighting the battle.
Verses 14-16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: 16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
God declared in the book of Genesis that He hated Esau. Amalek was a descendant of Esau. Because of their unprovoked attack on the children of Israel, God promised to judge and punish them by annihilating them. Remember this as we go through the Old Testament books.
Jehovah-nissi means “Jehovah is my banner”. It is another name of God. Remember that names are important in the Scripture and the names of God demonstrate His character.