I'm So Thirsty!

Sermon on Exodus 17:1–7

Text: The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Is there a more persistent feeling than that of being thirsty? You had a very salty meal and for the rest of the evening, you are thirsty. You work outside in the heat of summer, and you are thirsty. The little child calls out to their parent, “I’m thirsty,” and won’t stop until something is done about it. There are several options for you to take care of your thirst, but the one that seems to quench that thirst best is an ice-cold glass of water. In our text, we are directed to a large group of people who were very thirsty. As we study their reaction and God’s grace, we are reminded of the thought: I’M SO THRISTY! We see that 1. The World Is An Arid Wilderness and that 2. Our Loving God Gives Living Water.

The Israelites were on their journey to the land that God had promised to give to them. They had witnessed God’s power as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. They had seen the compassion of God as he provided food for them in the form of manna and quail in the Desert of Sin. Now, as they continued the journey to Rephidim, the way became more difficult. The hills became higher and the valleys were narrower. To make matters worse, “They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.” (Verse 1) This was no small problem. This wasn’t a small group of people that were on this journey. It is estimated that there might have been over 2 million people there. Add to the number of people the livestock that were with them, and you can see that this was a huge problem. So, it says in verse 2, “They quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Later, they voiced this complaint, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Verse 3) Though the way that they voiced their displeasure in a wrong way, the fact remained that they were thirsty.

The Bible often uses the picture of being thirsty, when it comes to a relationship with God. For example, we read in Psalm 63:1, “I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” We also find Psalm 41:1-2, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” What is it that causes this great thirst? It is the longing to be in a right relationship with God. It comes when the weight of sin comes crashing down.

Just as there are many things that people might use to try and take care of their physical thirst, there are many ways that people try to take care of their spiritual thirst. One thing that might be tried is trying to pretend that the wrong things that have been done aren’t really that bad. Other people have done things far worse than I have. They try to push down the guilt that they are feeling. However, in the back of their minds, there is still that nagging thirst that something isn’t right. Another option that people might try is to numb themselves with alcohol or drugs. They might feel better for the moment, but eventually the feeling comes back. As a result, they feel the need to continue with those things, but now, they have the guilt of having used them, in the first place. Another way to try and get rid of this thirst is the thought that they can do enough to make up for what they have done wrong. This might work for a minute, but the things that they have done wrong haven’t disappeared. It becomes a never-ending cycle of doing bad things and then trying to make up for them. None of these ways will ever take care of that spiritual thirst that they are feeling.

This thirst is also very real for us. When we think of what God has told us in his law, we see how far short of what he demands of us. There are times when we act like the Israelites in our account. They were so angry that they quarreled with Moses and even threatened to stone him. We also read in verse 7, “[Moses] called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’” The word “Massah” means “testing.” “Meribah” means “quarreling.” When the people asked the question, “Is the LORD among us or not?”, they weren’t looking for an answer to the question. They were doubting God’s presence and love. ‘Sure, God took care of us by defeating the Egyptians and providing food for us in the desert, but where is he now? We’re thirsty. What is he going to do about it?’ Do we ever mirror their actions? We find ourselves in a difficult situation in our lives. We get frustrated with our circumstances. Instead of remembering all God’s goodness to us in the past, we, almost angrily, cry out, ‘God, where are you now? You promised to take care of me. I’m not seeing it right now. Are you really with me, or not?’

As we hear those words come out of our mouths or they just run through our minds, we catch ourselves and we feel shame. We think about all the other sins that we have committed in our thoughts, words, and actions. We know that sin puts us out of God’s loving presence. As we contemplate them, there is a longing, a thirst that we have. We well understand those words we read earlier, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

God would have been within his rights to leave the people thirsting in the wilderness. He had only shown love and kindness to them during their journey. Where Moses might well have felt like throwing his hands in the air and saying, ‘Forget it. I’m going back to shepherding the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro,’ God did not give up on these people. Instead, he reached out in love and said to Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Verses 5-6) We note God’s loving concern, not only for Moses, but also the Israelites. God himself was going to come and stand beside Moses. It would not be in judgment, but love for these people. Also, by doing so, God would remind the people of his care and concern for them. God himself was going to come and take care of his people.

God gave Moses the instructions to strike a particular rock with the staff that he had used to strike the Nile. This was the first of the ten plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians. When Moses struck the Nile, the water, not only in the Nile, but also throughout the land of Egypt, turned to blood. This was the same staff that Moses had raised which parted the waters of the Red Sea. This staff was a symbol of God’s power to help his people. When Moses did so, water came forth from the rock. It must have been quite the rush of water, for it was able to give water to the over 2 million Israelites, plus all their livestock. God gave them water to slake their thirst in the middle of the desert.

As miraculous as this flowing water was, there is also this truth about it. The people that drank from the water would eventually become thirsty again. They would have to find another source of water later to again take care of their thirst. This is the same dilemma that the woman in our Gospel reading (John 4:5-26) had. After Jesus spoke about living water, she said, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:15) She wanted to find some water that, once she drank it, she would never have to come to the well again.

However, that wasn’t the type of water that Jesus was talking about. He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) Jesus knew what the woman really needed. She needed forgiveness for her sins. Those sins that gnawed at her could not be satisfied in any other way. She needed what only Jesus could give to her.

This is the same water that our thirsty souls are longing for, as well. When we feel burdened, when we feel the intense heat of our sins, Jesus comes to us and gives us the refreshing message of the gospel. As we read and hear this message, we see that Jesus has come to take that burden of sin from us. He was our perfect substitute. We see his perfection as he humbly submitted to his Father’s will. His life wasn’t an easy one. There were hardships. There was betrayal by his friends and hatred from his foes. Yet, rather than saying “Are you with me, Father, or not?” he followed the path that was laid out in front of him. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38) This will of the Father also included Jesus going to the cross, where he would pay for the sins of the entire world. Through those tortuous hours on the cross, the punishment for sin was taken care of. His resurrection tells us that all has been completed. Now he comes to our thirsty souls with the refreshing words that our sins have been forgiven. This soul refreshing stream completely satisfies. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” (John 7:37) So dear friends, when you feel your soul is dying from thirst, come to Jesus and drink deeply. It is in him that you will find complete refreshment.

Since we have this promise of refreshment, we know that he will refresh us on our journey homeward. The people of Israel had a very real need for that water. They were challenged by the lack of it. But God came to them in their need and provided for them. So also, as you and I go through our journeys, there will be times when we seem to be passing through a burning desert. We are exhausted by what we are going through, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. God will not leave us to dehydrate and die. He is there with the refreshing streams of his love and concern for us. As you read throughout the Bible, you will find instance upon instance of God telling you that he is right there beside you. For example, we find the well-known words of Psalm 23:1-2, “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” God will provide times of refreshment and hope while we journey.

We also get this glimpse of heaven in Revelation 22:1-2, “The angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.” When we get to heaven, we will never thirst again, not from the troubles of this life, not from the burdens of our sins. There will be complete refreshment for all eternity, as we drink deeply from the water of life.

The feeling of being thirsty is actually a gift from our loving God. This need, which affects us on a cellular level, tells our bodies that they need to drink something. This is even more so on a spiritual level. When our sins overwhelm us, when we are going through challenges in our lives, we feel a need for refreshment. How blessed we are that God has taken care of that for us. So, the next time your spirit says, “I’m so thirsty!” remember that, although we are living in an arid wilderness, our loving God has given us the living water that takes care of that great need.