“Complaining 101”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Saturday, January 8, 2022

Exodus 17:1-7 (Forward, p. 71) CEV p. 72

Complaining 101: one would think that this course was on the required curriculum for most people, both past and present, and easily passed as well—because, of course, we are very practiced and proficient at it. Certainly, we see numerous examples of this from the 40-year sojourn of the Hebrew people in the Sinai Wilderness.

At the Lord’s direction, the Israelites moved from place to place, eventually landing up at a place called Rephidim. Its location is uncertain but one thing we do know about it is that it had no water, such that the people complained and complained and complained. And, as so often happens when people are unhappy, disgruntled and angry at God, they lashed out at His human representatives, in this case Moses. Sadly, unfortunately, their angry and displeasure escalated, as they are so prone to do. Starting with ‘mere’ accusations, verbal blaming of Moses, it soon moved on to actually attributing base motives to his actions. “You brought us out of Egypt merely to let us, our families and our animals die of thirst!” But soon, even that was not enough: they began to threaten violence against him, threatening to stone him. This little scenario simply reinforces what we have learned, much to our sadness and regret, in more recent times, namely that words do matter, that words expressed in frustration and anger can incite and lead to actual violence.

Recognizing that, while he himself had been the target of the nasty words and threatened violence, he was not the person responsible, Moses does the only reasonable thing. He goes to the Lord and pours out his soul to him. He asks for the help that only God can give.

God’s direction, His advice, is most interesting. Moses is to take his staff, the one he used when striking the Nile River, and a few selected leaders and head over to the rock of Mount Horeb. There are several aspects of these instructions that are worthy of note:

-Moses’ staff or walking stick already had a certain renown for it was

used not only at the Nile but also at the Red (Reed) Sea. Later on it

would figure prominently in the Israelites defeat of the invading

Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-15). In this latter account, it is described

as having ‘the power of God’ (verse 9).

-Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai) would very shortly be the

place where Moses would meet with God and receive the Ten

Commandments (Exodus 19-20). The odd thing is that the people

are described as having left Rephidim at this point (Exodus 19:1).

So, did Moses take them on a little jaunt, this mini-pilgrimage, in

order to take them to this specific site? This is entirely plausible, for

we are told elsewhere (Exodus 3:1) that Moses had been there

previously.

And, who does Moses take with him? We are never given their

Identities, but I have to wonder whether they were not the ring-

leaders of the dissension, the real vocal ones, the key social media

distributors as it were. If so, what an incredible way of nipping a

rebellion in the bud.

Now, here it gets doubly interesting. Many commentators have remarked on the geology of this area, namely that there are often springs of water hidden within the limestone walls of stone. Limestone is especially prone to erosion, to the hollowing out of chambers within their recesses. Sometimes these are filled with water, with barely a thin layer separating them from the outside. It is conjectured that this could even, on occasion, be evidenced by a wet patch or a bit of green out at the surface. Moses, as someone who had frequently the area, might have been well aware of this natural phenomenon. Such commentators would then suggest that it really isn’t quite the miracle, the miraculous act of God, that it is depicted as being.

Even so, I would not allow this to diminish any sense that God was at work. I happen to believe that God can, and does, work through many, many means. Some of these means may seem like natural phenomenon, some not, but I don’t think that this matters. God acted exactly as needed and at the very time that it was needed, which to me, is a great miracle. And, as far as I am concerned, He does the very same thing today. All it takes is someone to cooperate, as Moses did, in facilitating it and calling attention to it, and people whose openness to it can actually see it at work. I pray that we, you and I, will be part of both groups, in this new year. Amen.

Forward notes: “’I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel” (verse 6).

“The Israelites have been traveling for many years, living off the manna provided by God. In this lesson, they arrive at Rephidim on their way to the wilderness of Sinai. And they are thirsty. Moses cries to the Lord, ‘What shall I do?’ The Lord tells Moses that he will strike a rock and water will come forth.

“This act of making water come out of stone is a symbol of how divine truth can arise from seemingly inanimate objects. God shows Moses that wisdom can be found in the hardest places. God hands this power of wisdom extraction to Moses, who then performs the mighty act before the elders, offering respite to a thirsty people. The truth of God is in the power, made possible through God, to pull life out of stubborn places.

MOVING FORWARD: “What wisdom have you learned from a particular hard time in life? How can you share that experience with others?”