Key Verses: Exodus 17:6, 17:7, 17:15
At Rephidim the people find no water and quarrel with Moses, demanding water and testing the LORD by asking, “Is the LORD among us or not?” Moses cries out, fearing the people are ready to stone him, and the LORD instructs him to take his staff and strike the rock at Horeb, promising, “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock.” Moses strikes the rock, and water flows out for the people to drink; he names the place Massah and Meribah, “testing” and “quarreling,” because of their unbelief. Then Amalek comes and attacks Israel, and Moses sends Joshua to choose men and fight, while he stands atop the hill with the staff of God in his hand. As long as Moses holds up his hands, Israel prevails, but when he lowers them, Amalek prevails; so Aaron and Hur support his hands, one on each side, until sunset, and Joshua defeats Amalek. The LORD declares He will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek, and Moses builds an altar and names it “The LORD Is My Banner.”
The water from the struck rock is one of Scripture’s clearest types of Christ, for Paul writes that “the Rock was Christ,” and that all Israel drank from Him. That the rock had to be struck before life-giving water could flow pictures Christ smitten on the cross, from whom flow the living waters of the Spirit; strikingly, later at Meribah Moses was told only to speak to the rock, for the smitten One need not be struck again. The battle with Amalek reveals that God’s people, though redeemed, still face spiritual warfare, and that victory comes through the appointed leader’s uplifted, mediating hands, a picture of Christ our intercessor whose hands were lifted up on the cross. The supporting of Moses’ arms by Aaron and Hur models the necessity of bearing one another’s burdens within the body of Christ. And the altar “The LORD Is My Banner” declares that God Himself is the rallying point and victory of His people.
Key Terms & Words:
- צוּר (tsur) - Exodus 17:6 - “Rock”; the struck rock giving life-giving water, which Paul says was Christ
- מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה (Massah u-Meribah) - Exodus 17:7 - “Testing and quarreling”; the place-names memorializing Israel’s unbelief
- × Öµ×ˇ (nes) - Exodus 17:15 - “Banner”; Jehovah-Nissi, the LORD as the standard around whom His people rally
Cross-References:
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 - They drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ
- John 7:37-39 - Rivers of living water flow from Christ to those who believe
- Numbers 20:8-12 - Moses told to speak to the rock, contrasting with the striking here
- Hebrews 3:7-11 - Warning not to harden hearts as at Massah and Meribah
- Ephesians 6:12 - Our struggle is against spiritual forces, requiring dependence on God
Discussion Questions:
- Why was the demand “Is the LORD among us or not?” such a serious failure of faith after all Israel had seen?
- How does the support Aaron and Hur gave Moses model the way believers should uphold one another?
- In what ways does the struck rock giving living water point to Christ and the gift of the Spirit?