Meditation 238
Exodus 17: 1-7
Yesterday I was part of a two day Zoom meeting for the Life and Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Before the meeting began those of us on the committee were catching up with one another, and remembering meetings in the past. We remembered that a year ago we had been able to meet face to face. Last March there were concerns being raised about coronavirus, we had more hand sanitizer bottles distributed in the meeting room, and those of us who flew to the meeting had noticed some people at the airport were wearing masks. I think if you had asked any of us if we thought we would spend a year living under quarantine like conditions we would have been doubtful. This year has been full of surprises for sure.
If you were able to speak to the Israelites in the story we read in Exodus today they might have said something similar. When they followed Moses out of the land of Egypt, they were thinking that they would be going to something better. They were being taken out of the land of bondage and they were told that they would be taken to a land flowing with milk and honey. Instead, they found themselves in the wilderness with no water. They asked Moses why he had brought them out of the land of Egypt to kill them with thirst, and Moses turned to the Lord for help.
Now, if God was like the people, then God might have told the people to stop whining and go find a water source. God might have said “there have been generations of people who have survived in the desert and they didn’t do it by belly aching! Go find some desert plants and get water from the leaves. Go look for the source of a spring and start digging!” But God does not, because God is gracious and trustworthy. God listens to Moses and tells him where to find water. God is the God of covenant, which means that God has promised to care for the people in a dependable way. In contrast, we see in the Exodus passage today that the people are limited in their ability respond to God. As soon as there is a problem, the problem becomes their focus.
In the stories of God’s dealings with humanity we see over and over that God loves people, and that God can be depended upon to keep the covenant promises that have been made. During Lent we are reminded of the way God made promises to Abraham, Noah, and Moses, and that God was and is always faithful. Not only is God always faithful, but God knows that we will need help over and over to remember that. Just as the Israelites began to panic and lash out when there was no water, so we can question, panic and fret when we are faced with challenge. God does not leave us in this place of fear, instead we are given more messages of grace and hope. We know that the people in the desert were given water, but were they maybe also reminded of the truth Miriam had shared with them a month or two ago when they fled Egypt?
When the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and escaped the Egyptians, Miriam, Moses’ sister who was a prophet led the people in song. She sang” Who is like you, O Lord among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? In steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.” (Exodus 15: 11 & 13) From time to time the Israelites would be shown the strength of God in amazing acts of power. For always they would have the witness of the prophets who shared the truth about God. Regardless of what we face, whether we face the challenge of pandemic or desert, we do so with God who leads the redeemed people.