Enter in

Today, if only you would hear his voice, “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. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Psalm 95:8-11 NIV)

Three times in the wilderness, the people couldn’t find water.  Moses found water for them all three times, but the last way was the very best way, and I think there is some symbolism in this story for us as well.

The first time it happened was in Exodus:

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And 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?”  (Exodus 17:1-7 NIV)

Here, the people ran out of water, they responded by quarreling, Moses hit a rock, and water came out.

The second time it happened was in Numbers 20:

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in 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.”

These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.  (Numbers 20:2-13 NIV)

This time, Moses hit the rock again, and again water came out, but God was not pleased. He hadn’t told Moses to hit the rock this time but to simply speak to it.  And because of this, Moses would not be able to step foot into the Promised Land.  He would only be able to look at it, but Joshua would be the one to lead the people in.

Finally, Moses discovered a better way to find the water:

From there they traveled to Beer; that is the well of which Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” Then Israel sang this song:  "Spring up, well!  Sing to it, the well... (Numbers 21:16-18 WEB)

The secret to finding that lifegiving Water is to simply come to the Rock of our Salvation, the Well that never runs dry, the Fountain of Living water, and sing to Him.

You will never thirst again, and Rivers of Living Water will spring up and flow from within you.

And most importantly, by singing to the Well, we enter that Promised Land, the Kingdom of God, that Supernatural place of abundant blessing and rest. 

Sing to Jesus, Worship Him, and enter in.

 

Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  (John 7:37 NIV)

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  (John 4:10 NIV)

 

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.