Daily Lesson for Tuesday 12th of August 2025
In the wilderness, you need plenty of water. God took care of this problem, even though the people were quarrelsome, did not trust Him, and even tested His ability and willingness to give them water. In their unbelief, they looked back to Egypt.
Read Exodus 17:1-7. What lesson should the people have learned from this incident?
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Moses called the place Massah, meaning “testing,” and Meribah, which signified “quarreling.” The Lord gave the Israelites water despite their unbelief. These two names should have reminded the Israelites not to test God and not to quarrel with Him (Hebrews 3:7-8,15). They seriously questioned God’s presence among them, although they had already seen much tangible evidence of not only His presence but of His power and His authority.
“Moses smote the rock, but it was the Son of God who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, stood beside Moses, and caused the life-giving water to flow. Not only Moses and the elders, but all the congregation who stood at a distance, beheld the glory of the Lord; but had the cloud been removed, they would have been slain by the terrible brightness of Him who abode therein.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 298.
Water is a symbol of life because without water there is no life. Every cell in our body needs water. We are 60 percent water ourselves. Even our bones are composed partly of water. Thus, providing water in the wilderness for them was a sign for the Israelites that God cared for their needs and that they could trust Him. But, again, they had to obey.
Many centuries later, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:4, reminds believers that the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness was unique. Christ Himself not only guided them but provided them with water (Psalms 78:15-16) and met other spiritual and physical needs. Paul proclaimed: “That Rock was Christ.” For them, Christ was the Source of life and the Giver of eternal life. As a rock is solid, so God firmly led His people. One can count on Him because He does not fail to fulfill His promises.
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What are some things that, right now, you need to trust God with? How can you learn to submit to His will and wait for Him to act in His time? Why is this not always so easy to do? |
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