Wrestling Out of Salvation, Not For It
Exodus 17 gives us two very popular stories in the
Bible. We get the infamous water from a
rock passage (second only to other water from a rock passage which brings about
the sin of Moses that keeps him out of the Promised Land). We also get the passage about Moses’ hands
being raised so the Israelites would prevail in battle. I’m going to tackle these passages in reverse
order today. And before I go on much
further, let me say that I understand Moses’ pain. Every Sunday I raise my hands at the altar
from the offertory prayer until the distribution of communion begins. Many Sundays I think of this story (and more
importantly the story of Christ on the cross) as my own arms tire. But it is a good feeling to get even a brief
glimpse of the pain they endured in their faith!
If we look at the story of the Israelites battling before
Moses’ outstretched arms we should discover one very important thing. The Hebrews didn’t have to lift a finger to
receive salvation out of Egypt. But now
that their salvation has been won by God and now that they have figuratively
walked through the waters of baptism at the Red Sea, they are expected to
understand that God will fight through them instead of fight for them.
I find this to be a very powerful analogy to the Christian
walk. Salvation came through the cross
through no act of our own. Baptism is
effective through no act of our own. But
once we have received salvation and our spirit is filled with the Holy Spirit,
God does expect us to rise up and fight against the ways of this world. We need not fight for and earn our
salvation. But we can fight for God in
response to our salvation.
That is precisely what God is saying through the Hebrew
people here in this passage. I think
that is a neat thought to realize that the very pattern of faith we teach as
followers of Jesus Christ was embodied so well even as far back as in Exodus! God is the same in the Old and the New
Testaments.
Spiritual Intercessors
There is another really cool part to this passage. Do you notice the importance of the spiritual
“intercessor” in this passage? When
Moses lifted up his arms, the Hebrews surged forward in victory. When Moses’ arms fell, the Amalekites surged
forward. God is telling us that the
spiritual people in our life are far more significant than we often give them
credit.
God’s Word also confirms that spiritual leaders get tired
and need support as well. Aaron and Hur
supported Moses. What a beautiful
picture of the true Christian community.
The spiritual leader is leading boldly, expected to lead in spiritual
ways. The physical leader, Joshua, is
leading boldly as well. He is expected to
lead in a very physical presence. Both
have support underneath them. Both are
expected to do the job God has called them to do – nothing more and nothing
less. Moses isn’t expected to fight
spiritually and physically – and neither is Joshua. Both do their job and do it well.
Water From the Rock
Okay, now let’s come back to the much more difficult passage
of the water from the rock. Notice that
this passage begins with more grumbling in spite of the fact that God had
already proven Himself capable of dealing with the problem of water. The Hebrew people don’t come and ask Moses to
lead them forth in faith and trust in God’s provision. Rather, the Hebrew people turn on Moses and
grumble against Him.
Sigh. Again.
In turn, Moses takes the complaint before the Lord. Moses does not accuse God; Moses does ask for
help. Moses receives it. God desires us to come to Him when we
genuinely need Him, but He also desires that we come to Him in reverence and
honor His presence rather than lay accusations at His feet. We can question God, certainly. We can inquire of God, absolutely. But we should not think ourselves high enough
to judge God’s actions and accuse Him.
We can learn yet another good lesson of spiritual leadership here in
Exodus.
Now let’s talk about this water. I have often heard people talk about this
story as a representation of Christ. Up
until now I never really got it – although I didn’t doubt it because I knew it
was scriptural. 1 Corinthians 10:4
clearly has Paul interpreting this story as a precursor of Christ. But I never really got it until today.
I think I needed to see how the manna of the prior chapter
spoke to the coming of Christ before I could really see this story as a story
of Christ as well. You see, here Moses
strikes the rock, much like Christ was struck down on the cross. That connection of striking the rock to
Christ’s death on the cross was the needed element for me. Through the act of violence, water came forth
and satisfied the people’s greatest need.
In Christ, after He was struck the Holy Spirit came forth
and satisfies our every true need. Isn’t
it neat how the last chapter set us up to see the coming of Christ so clearly in
the manna and here in this chapter we get another picture of Christ and the coming
of the Holy Spirit? I think this shows
just how incredibly amazing our God is at planning the past, present, and
future and making sure it all makes sense.
May God’s peace be with you.
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