In the Wilderness of Rephidim

 

In the Wilderness of Rephidim

 

Exodus 17:1-7, Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023

 

Even today, there are people living as nomads in various parts of the world such as Mongolia, Siberia, and Africa. Their lives are incredibly uncomfortable to those of us who live in advanced civilizations. We turn on the faucet and use water as much as we want, but they don't even have enough water to drink or wash with. They have to constantly move to find food and water for their livestock. They rely heavily on nature to survive, so the safety net provided by civilized society is severely lacking for them. Some of them use solar power for electricity, but many do not. They don't have a salary or pension, and there are no hospitals, saunas, convenience stores, fancy restaurants, or movie theaters. They spend their entire day solving survival problems. Are their lives unhappy? Even if we cannot confidently say that we, who live like kings compared to them, are ten times happier, we might be twice as happy.

 

In Rephidim,

 

The Old Testament sees the time when the Israelites lived as nomads in the wilderness as a practical symbol of the Jewish faith. The Exodus and the Law are both related to this time in the wilderness. According to today's sermon passage (Exodus 17:1-7), the Israelites arrived at Rephidim, and "there was no water for the people to drink." They had already experienced a water problem before the story told in today's passage. According to Exodus 15:22 and following verses, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and traveled for three days in the wilderness of Shur without finding water. Later on, when they reached Marah, they found an oasis-like spring. However, they couldn't drink the water because it was bitter. The people blamed Moses for not leading them properly. Moses prayed, and according to the word of the Lord, he threw a branch from a tree growing there into the water, and the water became sweet. Perhaps the branch had a purifying effect. It's uncertain how long it had been since this commotion happened, but another water problem occurred in today's passage. The Israelites complained to Moses, saying this in verse 3:

“Why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

This one sentence reveals the ancient Israelites’ problem consciousness. Not only them, but also the thoughts of modern people in the 21st century can be seen there. First of all, they had a problem with “the Exodus.” As we generally know, the Exodus was the event that the ancient Israelites eagerly awaited. It was an event that made them feel the abundance of God's life and love. However, the Israelites questioned why they were dragged out of Egypt, where they were living well, to be put through such suffering. Their argument is not necessarily entirely wrong. The area where they lived as a minority group within the Egyptian empire was Goshen, a region in the Nile Valley. Even though oppressive policies towards minority groups were often implemented in Egypt, they did not suffer greatly in terms of food and living conditions. They went through the Exodus at the persuasion of Moses, carrying the lofty dream of entering Canaan, but now they are in a survival crisis that they could not have imagined in Egypt. Food was greatly scarce in Egypt, and it was difficult to find drinking water. In the previous chapter, Exodus 16, the famous story of manna appears. “The Israelites called it manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” (Exodus 16:31) They turned a plant they didn't usually bother with into their staple food. They may have thought, "Since we can't go back to Egypt, let's eat manna and endure the wilderness period." However, the water problem they experienced at Marah in the Surah wilderness happened again here at Rephidim. They couldn't bear it anymore, especially since they were used to the plentiful water of the Nile. So they came to deny the very event of the Exodus, which was God's command. In the face of these problems of survival, human beings can only be humbled.

The issue of eating and drinking is of course important. Although Jesus did not mention a prayer to make his disciples rich in the Lord's Prayer, he did say to ask for daily bread. He himself lived with people and ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors to the extent that he was accused of being someone who sought to eat and drink with them. The Christian community incorporated the issue of eating and drinking into worship through the sacrament of communion. The Old and New Testaments often symbolized the Kingdom of God as a table community. If you know this biblical tradition, you should strive and struggle to create a world where no one is unable to eat and drink properly. The problem is that such difficulties lead to questioning the essence of life, which is liberation, freedom, peace, and rest that come from the relationship with God.

 

The complaints of the people that our children and our cattle will die of thirst sound desperate. It's not enough to just feel sorry for such situations. It's our homework to worry about and solve this together. Furthermore, we must consider the water that other people, their children, and their cattle will drink. But didn't the Israelites quarrel with Moses and resent him? In life, we sometimes argue, hold each other accountable, and even resent each other. However, this is not the time for the Israelites to do so. Moses is more concerned about the people than they are. The weight of his responsibility as a leader is beyond imagination. For 40 years, Moses constantly heard such complaints from the people. In the end, he could not cross the Jordan River in the Moab wilderness. We don't know if he deliberately did not cross it or if he could not. He said his responsibility was enough for the 40 years, and they should take care of themselves in the land of Canaan.

At the rock of Horeb

In today's passage, Exodus 20:1-13, the story is more explicitly stated in terms of the people's complaints. The people who had run out of water grumbled against Moses, saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this terrible place? There is no place to plant seeds or figs, grapes or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." This was their reality. When Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, water flowed out. The Lord spoke to Moses and his brother Aaron, saying, "Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." The passage explains that because the Israelites had argued with the Lord, the water from the spring was named "Meribah" (Exodus 20:13). A similar explanation is also given in Exodus 7:7.

Let's follow the progress of today's passage again. Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me" (Exodus 17:4). Although Moses' charisma was so great that the people could not look directly at his face, he could not completely overcome the Israelites in the wilderness. In some special cases, there were situations like civil war among the people. The Lord spoke to Moses, who was pouring out his complaints, indicating that he had realized the solution to the problem. Moses took the staff that he had used to strike the Nile River with the elders of Israel and went to the rock at Horeb. The elders were opinion leaders who understood Moses' words and actions better than the ordinary people. However, they had to stand firm so that the Israelites would not be shaken by any difficult situations that might arise. The staff that was used to strike the Nile River is a symbol of what God did in Egypt. Thus, the problem was solved.

Some Christians pay attention to the fact that water gushed out at Massah and Meribah. They pray and praise God to perform such miracles for us, just as He did for the Israelites. That is the essence of faith in signs. The faith of the Israelites and leaders who asked for signs towards Jesus was just like that. Looking at today's passage from that perspective is deviating from the focus. Let me briefly explain the situation. Moses had spent 40 years as a shepherd raising sheep in the wilderness and knew a lot about the geography of the wilderness. He knew where there was a spring and where the grass grew. However, not all springs always had a lot of water. He could have gone and found nothing. After wandering around a few places, Moses finally found a special spring that came out of the cracks in the rocks of Mount Horeb. You could say that it was God's guidance. What does that mean? If the Israelites had waited a little longer, the water problem could have been solved. However, they could not wait and quarreled and complained with each other. And they doubted God. The focus of this story is not the fact that God miraculously poured out water from the rock, but a warning about the neurotic reaction of the Israelites when things did not go according to their plans. Look at the last verse, verse 7:

"So he called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'"

We also mentioned Psalm 95, which we read together during worship. "Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did." (verses 8-9) The Old Testament sees unbelief in God as the root cause of disputes and grudges among people. It is said that such phenomena occur because people cannot be sure that God is with them.

I can understand the attitude of the ancient Israelites towards life. The journey to Canaan is long. There is a risk that the entire nation may perish if an epidemic breaks out. Other nations that block their way are waiting all over the place. On top of that, food and drink are frequently scarce. They may have felt some anxiety about Moses' words that the Lord God would lead them. They may have thought that they were brainwashed or manipulated. It was difficult for them to be sure that God was with them just by the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. They needed those miracles and signs to be repeated beautifully again now. If there were no such miracles and signs, they would be anxious. Because they are anxious, they argue with each other, ask for responsibility, and doubt God.

Miracles and Signs in Daily Life

What was the reason for the Israelites in the wilderness to quarrel, complain, and be tested by God? How can we avoid repeating such mistakes? What is the essence of the story of the wilderness of Ravitim?

Experiencing the signs and miracles of God in everyday life is more important than anything else. As mentioned earlier, the manna event opened their eyes to new food in the wilderness. Water is also available everywhere. Signs and miracles are abundant around us. We often do not see them because we are distracted by other things, but we can see them when we wake up from the sleep of the soul. Matthew Fox called this the original blessing. For example, walking upright is a miracle. People who walk without thinking do not realize how amazing upright walking is. The Homo erectus, who evolved from the hominids, became the ancestors of humans. Among many mammals on Earth, only humans walk upright. This is a miracle among miracles. How do you receive spring rain? This is also a miracle among miracles. A single flower is a miracle and a sign. The fact that we worship together here and now is also a sign and a miracle. A meal is also a miracle and a sign that you will acknowledge. There is nothing in our lives that is not a sign or a miracle. Everything is mysterious. Those who know this do not seek signs or miracles that make them rich overnight. They do not envy others. Moreover, they do not test God.

Those who experience signs and miracles in daily life, that is, those who experience the mystery of life, live with a sense of "inner abundance." This is a symbol of the fact that God is with us. A person with inner abundance does not test God, even in any situation where, like the Israelites in today's passage, there is a great shortage of water. They do not doubt whether God is with us or whether God loves us.

In the 21st century, South Koreans have reached a high level of economic prosperity and gained global recognition for their K-culture, yet they seem to live without any internal fulfillment, given the amount of talk, resentment, and conflict. The nervous attitude of the Israelites during the water shortage in Rephidim overlaps with the attitude of modern-day South Koreans. When I say that internal fulfillment in God is important to them, I receive sarcastic comments like, "You sound like a preacher." In this era, preachers are powerless.

I would like to ask those people very directly: what is the specific difficulty that makes the concept of inner fulfillment sound so empty and precarious for their own lives? Perhaps they have lost half of their wealth, or all their friends have left and they feel lonely. Maybe they work hard and sweat at their job, but still can't afford to buy a home. Maybe they have separated from their spouse, are worried about their health, or feel powerless due to old age. Do they fight and resent others, or even want to argue with God? They may say, "My life is ruined, so just take it away from me." I can empathize with how heavy the burden of life must be for these people. However, empathy does not necessarily mean agreement. It is because there is a completely different life next to that kind of life.

Dear beloved saints, if you are aware of and experience the fact that God is with you, and if you take one step deeper inside, your life will not crumble even when you feel like you are drinking from a well that is running dry. The Holy Spirit provides an incredible strength to endure difficult situations. Is it hard to believe? Maybe because you haven't had the actual experience of hitting rock bottom. There are people who have unjustly fallen to the bottom of life. But God's son, Jesus Christ, is waiting for you even at the bottom, and at the moment of death, so don't worry in advance.