August 21, 2023

God provided The Israelites with plenty of food each day. However, they had no water supply and began to chide Moses and question whether God was still with them. Remember, they still had a cloud by day and fire by night; how could they question whether God was with them? Here is the simple answer, they didn’t have the Holy Spirit, so it was easy for them to forget the goodness of God. By this, we can see that a visual is not necessarily better than the spiritual. We don’t have the cloud and fire, yet we still believe in Jesus and the power of God. With all the miracles they saw and still didn’t believe God was with them, it causes me to judge them harshly; however, we must remember they were incomplete without the Holy Spirit. 

Moses cried out to God because they were so angry over their thirst that they were about to stone him. So God told him to take some of the elders of Israel and the rod and stand before the people, hit the rock, and water would flow out. He followed God’s instructions, and the water came out of the rock just as he said. 

It’s important to remember that we have the Holy Spirit, that precious gift given to us by Jesus, but the people we are trying to bear witness to, do not have him, nor do most people we are surrounded by; they don’t even have the visual as Israel had. We must be patient and pray that they become thirsty for the water of life; maybe you will be their Moses and smite their rock so the Holy Spirit flows and they drink and are satisfied. 

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:6