GPiper
November 3rd 2003, 07:29 AM
You cannot get blood from a stone but with God’s help you can get water from it!
The whole community of Israelites left the desert of Sin, traveling by stages as Yahweh ordered. They pitched camp at Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink. The people took issue with Moses for this and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why take issue with me? Why do you put Yahweh to the test?" But tormented by thirst, the people complained to Moses. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt," they said, "only to make us, our children and our livestock, die of thirst?" Moses appealed to Yahweh for help. "How am I to deal with this people?" he said. "Any moment now they will stone me!" Yahweh then said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, taking some of the elders of Israel with you; in your hand take the staff with which you struck the River, and go. I shall be waiting for you there on the rock (at Horeb). Strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink." This was what Moses did, with the elders of Israel looking on. He gave the place the names Massah and Meribah because of the Israelites' contentiousness and because they put Yahweh to the test by saying, "Is Yahweh with us, or not?"
{Exodus 17:1 - 17:7 NJB}
You may not realize this but you and I have something in common with those poor people walking through the desert thousands of years ago dying of thirst. While we do not travel in a rugged hot desert we do thirst because the hectic life we live dehydrates our spirits and hardens our hearts.
“God, it’s rough out here as you know life isn’t a pleasant walk through green pastures, each day we are confronted with circumstances that deplete our energy causing us to thirst and become weak. In our weakened state Lord we sometimes blame you. We pray Lord that the Good Shepherd will touch the rocks that lie on the road of life thereby releasing the Living Water of your Spirit thus quenching our thirsty souls. We’ll wait on you because we know all things must be done at your pace not ours. Amen”
Jesus is... ... ...The Good Shepherd
Gary
The whole community of Israelites left the desert of Sin, traveling by stages as Yahweh ordered. They pitched camp at Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink. The people took issue with Moses for this and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why take issue with me? Why do you put Yahweh to the test?" But tormented by thirst, the people complained to Moses. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt," they said, "only to make us, our children and our livestock, die of thirst?" Moses appealed to Yahweh for help. "How am I to deal with this people?" he said. "Any moment now they will stone me!" Yahweh then said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, taking some of the elders of Israel with you; in your hand take the staff with which you struck the River, and go. I shall be waiting for you there on the rock (at Horeb). Strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink." This was what Moses did, with the elders of Israel looking on. He gave the place the names Massah and Meribah because of the Israelites' contentiousness and because they put Yahweh to the test by saying, "Is Yahweh with us, or not?"
{Exodus 17:1 - 17:7 NJB}
You may not realize this but you and I have something in common with those poor people walking through the desert thousands of years ago dying of thirst. While we do not travel in a rugged hot desert we do thirst because the hectic life we live dehydrates our spirits and hardens our hearts.
“God, it’s rough out here as you know life isn’t a pleasant walk through green pastures, each day we are confronted with circumstances that deplete our energy causing us to thirst and become weak. In our weakened state Lord we sometimes blame you. We pray Lord that the Good Shepherd will touch the rocks that lie on the road of life thereby releasing the Living Water of your Spirit thus quenching our thirsty souls. We’ll wait on you because we know all things must be done at your pace not ours. Amen”
Jesus is... ... ...The Good Shepherd
Gary