Among Us

Are you with me? If you are talking to a bunch of strangers, this may not be a significant question. I mean it may still be important. Say, if you are trying to rally the town’s people, in which you are the outsider,  to help you stand against those bad guys. But it still cannot hold as much weight if the question is posed to the person you desperately long to be with you. You know, the person who means the very world to you. “Are you with me?” holds the weight of the world then. And how do you know? Even if they answer in the affirmative, how can you be sure that they are truly with you? Does evidence exist; evidence that would assuage your doubting heart? And what if we are talking about God?

Again, one of the themes of Exodus is the Presence of Yahweh. One source calls chapters 7-17 the Proof of Presence section. And when Yahweh proves his presence it is usually a miraculous, cannot even begin to doubt the source, way. So, in Exodus 17:1-7, the people once again are filled with fear and doubt. Traveling by the mouth of Yahweh, which most likely refers to his instructions, the Israelites travel from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim. We don’t know where this is. We do know that they are not far away from Sinai. And in Rephidim, they discover that they are thirsty sans water. And what do the Israelites do when they face difficulties? They complain to Moses. Only this time, they have stepped it up a notch. The words used imply a court trial. Some have suggested a pre-trial accusation. Either way, this is more than grumbling, though we know grumbling was involved. They were basically telling Moses that they had a case against him; he had failed as their leader. Moses rightly points out that in accusing him, they are, in reality, testing Yahweh. Probably not wise.

Okay, before we jump all over those silly Israelites, we may need to admit that we do not know the level of severity. I have also never been in fear of thirsting to death. This is their accusation against Moses – you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, our children and our animals with thirst. And they are angry little bees swarming at Moses. Moses cries out to Yahweh and asked what he is to do and then expresses his fear that the people are on the verge of stoning him. Again, notice the difference between Moses and the people. They accuse the man who Yahweh put in charge, but did not bring them out of Egypt. In the book of Exodus there can be no mistake about who is responsible. Yahweh! Moses cries out to the One who is in charge. It is by the mouth of Yahweh that they came to this dry desolate place. We often lash out at the wrong people don’t we? You know, that representative on the phone, who doesn’t make the rules about your insurance or warranty or whatever.

Yahweh tells Moses to pass by the face of the people. This may be an encouragement for Moses to face his problems; to stand before his accusers. He is then told to round up the respected old guys and to take them and his staff and to go for a walk. When he comes to the place where Yahweh is standing before him on the rock of Horeb, he is to strike the rock and water will come out of it; enough water to hydrate the whole congregation of Israelites. Some have tried to explain this away by saying that there was a thin layer of shale over an underground spring. This, again, misses the point of the passage. Once again, Yahweh has given proof of his Presence in a way that cannot be misunderstood or relegated to any other source. They are given water from the most unlikely source; a rock. Next time you are in the wilderness, go around striking the rocks and see if a torrent of water comes out. Nah, this is Yahweh’s Presence showing up in an undeniable way. Moses gives the place two names: Massah, which means “test” and Meribah, which means “place of contending”. And then we are told the real concern of Israel. They had cried out with “Is Yahweh among us, or not?”

In the midst of trials, in the middle of a dry, desolate, dying of thirst wilderness, it is easy to forget that Yahweh has already proven his Presence. Okay, he was present in the ten mighty acts that secured their freedom from Egypt. But where is he now; as their children’s lips crack and their bodies yearns for moisture? And how many times have we cried out “Are you there Lord?” When our child lies helpless in the hospital we shout it. When we’ve lost our job and we are not at all sure how we will buy food for our families, we weep it. But Yahweh has already proven his presence in the most miraculous and amazing way; God emptied himself into the form of a man, lived and died, so that we might have life! Peace.