Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 17:5-7

5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6 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.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

As with the story of the manna and the quail, the account given in today’s verses are repeated with more detail in Numbers. And, once again, there is a key difference between the account given here and the one in Numbers. Here God tells Moses “thou shalt smite the rock,” whereas in Numbers he is told only to “speak ye unto the rock.” This matters, because many people have read the Numbers account and interpreted Moses’s striking of the rock as the breach of faith for which God prohibited his entry to the Promised Land. Obviously that assumption would be inaccurate if today’s version of the story is the correct one, in which the Lord had actually instructed Moses to strike the rock. In that case, Moses’s failure must have been something else.

Personally, I see an argument from a narrative perspective as to why today’s account might be the correct one. In verse 5 God mentions that this is the rod “wherewith thou smotest the river,” referring to when Moses smote the river in Egypt and turned it to blood. The staff has a history of being used to smite, both literally and figuratively, and also working wonders upon the waters. It would therefore be thematically consistent for it to once again be used to smite the rock and miraculously bring forth water, all according to God’s wishes.

Moving on from the debate of which account is more accurate, though, let us note the clear symbolism in this verse. Moses smote the rock and water came out of it, providing life-sustenance to the people. In later references we will be told that the rock clave in two, causing a breach from which the water would flow. This immediately calls to mind the spear that pierced the side of Christ, creating the opening from which the water flowed out of his body. And this, of course, is symbolic of the spirit Christ is able to plant in all of our hearts through his sacrifice. This spirit is frequently referred to as a life-sustaining wellspring, constantly refreshing us, just as Israel was refreshed by this miracle in the desert.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:26-27

26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Along with the tree that healed the bitter waters, God gave the Israelites a covenant that He would heal them and keep them from the plagues of Egypt, so long as they obeyed His commandments. This making of covenants out in the wilderness brings to mind a similar scene with their namesake, Jacob/Israel, after he had fled the home of his birth and was on his way to a new land. It seems being out in the wild, untethered from all prior patterns and support is an ideal place to establish new commitments with God. When an individual or a people are at their lowest and barest is when God can finally pour a new foundation in their heart.

I also want to draw attention to the different ways that Israel is commanded to follow God. They are to “hearken to the voice of the Lord,” then “do that which is right in his sight.” This is then repeated in another way as, “give ear to his commandments,” and then “keep all his statues.” Twice we are shown that the pattern for obeying is both listening/hearkening, as well as doing/keeping. There is an element of discovering God’s will, and an element of doing it. And make no mistake, it is His will. “Do that which is right in his sight,” was the command, not what is right in our sight, or according to our own biased interpretation of His will. None of us can do any good if it isn’t God’s good.

Then, after offering this covenant to Israel, God then gave them a great gift: twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. A literal oasis in the desert, a flowing refuge from the thirst that had troubled them, a sign that God was more than equipped to care for their every need. If Israel would bring the faithful obedience, God would bring all the healing, life-sustaining waters.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:22-24

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

There was a rich symbolism in the plagues that befell Egypt, each one corresponding to the effects of sin upon mankind, mirroring the natural consequences that we face for our evil deeds. Unsurprisingly, that same rich symbolism is present in the account of Israel’s journey into the wilderness. As we encounter each setback the Israelites faced, hear their reaction to it, and see God’s solution, I will pay close attention to how it is a type for the hardships that we, who are faithful, also face in our journeys.

Indeed, if there is any lesson to be learned from the stories of Israel in the wilderness, it is that hardship is not only for the wicked. Yes, the Egyptians received a singular sort of suffering for their crimes, but the Israelites would be tried by fire as well!

And so, in today’s verses, the Israelites found themselves finally free, out on their own, but there wasn’t any water to be found. They pressed on a little further, and there the water was bitter, so much so that they could not drink of it.

As a person who has been a slave of addiction, and associated with many others in the same boat, I have seen the euphoria that befalls a freed soul when he leaves his captor by making a confession of his sins. All at once, that man is out of the place he thought he would never leave, just like the Israelites, and he is sure that the worst is behind him. But now he faces the world without his drug of choice. He still faces difficult relationships, financial pressure, feelings of inadequacy, long spells of boredom, and he has none of his sinful wine to slake his thirst. He is in the bare, open desert, a man alone, and he can see no water.

Then the man might murmur to his mentor, much like Israel did to Moses, “well what am I supposed to do now?” Our slave masters might have been evil, but they also provided a structure that protected us from the harshness of the world. Who will protect and provide for us now?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 14:21-22

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

Here is the last wonder that the Egyptians would see, though not at all the last for the Israelites. Moses stretched out his hand, and a powerful wind blew from the east, the direction of Israel’s Promised Land, parting the sea. Notice that the parting of the Red Sea was not an instantaneous effect, though, but rather that it occurred over “all that night.” This was why the pillar of fire-on-one-side-and-cloud-on-the-other had been necessary. The Egyptians needed to be held in place for hours as the parting was accomplished.

Interestingly, the story becomes all the more incredulous by its the usage of natural phenomenon. When all the Egyptian firstborn were slain there was not any reference to a natural cause, and so we assume that an unseen heavenly figure from another plane of existence must have been responsible. But with the parting of the Red Sea, we are told it was effected by something as basic and familiar as the wind. The wind we are perfectly familiar with, and its behavior in this instance defies our typical experience.

Of course, in our everyday experience wind does move water, but enough to carve a channel through it? That might seem a stretch, though it does occur to me that we are never told the layout of the sea at that point. It seems like the most far-fetched thing would be if the wind was carving a channel through a large, convex shape, like an oval, but what if the sea in that area was bent and twisted, passing in front of the Israelites in a narrow channel? To me it seems like it might be possible that a strong enough wind could create a temporary bubble through that sort of narrow body, with the water pressed down on either side of the sustained air pressure.

Or perhaps there is some other physical phenomenon that can make such a thing possible, or perhaps there actually was a supernatural element to the parting. In either case, the way had been opened for the Israelites’ escape, though it would certainly require a step of faith and courage to take it!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 24:10-14

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

Abraham’s servant takes an impressive show of wealth with him, including ten camels and, as we will find out later, precious gifts and jewelry. He travels to Nahor, which was both the name of Abraham’s brother and his grandfather. So perhaps this city is named after one of these individuals. Perhaps the brother, given that his son Bethuel and grand-daughter Rebekah now live there.

And when the servant arrives at the outskirts of the city he comes up with a test. He petitions God, asking that the first woman to follow a certain procedure will also be the one who is meant to marry Isaac. The procedure is not random, though, it is a way meant to identify a good and worthy woman.

For starters he is looking for a woman who is diligently serving the needs of her household, coming down to the well to draw water. Then he is looking for one who is kind, willing to give water to him when he asks. Finally he is looking for one who is generous and industrious, who goes the extra mile by offering to also draw water for each of his camels. And while I’m not an expert on camels, it said that he brought ten of them, which sounds like an exorbitant amount of large animals to be drawing water for!

A woman who has each of these qualities would make a wonderful companion indeed, but then there would be the matter of whether she was an eligible member of Abraham’s kin. The servant’s prayer is that she would be.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 7:17, 21-23

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

Water is a great dichotomizer. It bears some things up to its surface, and it sinks others down to its bottom. All things that enter into this medium must ultimately be borne to one end or the other. Ascend to life as the ark did, or descend to death as all other forms of earth life did.

Which is, of course, a symbolism of our mortality. Our purpose here is to see whether we will allow ourselves to be borne up by the vessel of Christ’s body, carried above suffocating trials and temptations to where we can truly breathe, or whether we will sink to rock bottom, expiring in our own despair.

We all thrash about in the middle to begin with, but no one stays there forever. The question is whether you insist on making it to the surface by your own power, which strategy will fail once your strength inevitably runs out, or whether you accept the hand reaching to pull you up by His power.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- John 5:19, 1 John 4:19

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

We love him, because he first loved us.

COMMENTARY

The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do
Each one of us has seen others doing good, and even been the recipients of that good. And having experienced this, naturally we desire to do good things to others, and we try to follow the pattern of those that showed us the example.
But those that did the good things to us were themselves only following the example of others who previously did good to them, and so on and so on. Each of these paths of goodness ultimately leads to the same singular source. As Jesus taught, even he only followed the example of his father. His proclamation is total: the son can do nothing of himself. He does not say that the Father taught one virtue and that then he, Jesus, riffed his own new ones off of it, he claims that any good act done on earth first had its template written in heaven.

We love him, because he first loved us
I have seen the truth of that in my own life. For many years I was fully capable of fearing God, but I couldn’t sincerely love Him until I felt His own love bursting into my soul. I had wanted to love Him, but I had to have Him teach me how. As Graham Cooke so eloquently put it: God loves us first, and then He allows us to love Him back with that love.

Graham Cooke’s message starts at 1:15, quote comes from 4:35
Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- 2 Timothy 2:21, 1 Corinthians 3:16

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

COMMENTARY

If a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, meet for the master’s use
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
As we have examined, we are the vessel only, and God is the goodness that pours forth. But this does not remove all responsibility from us. For if God is going to use us in His work, then He needs us to be clean. When we do try to do good while living in sin, it is like pouring water out of a pot whose inside is lined with rotting meat.
I have tried to live a double life in my past, making a great fuss about helping others while also nursing addictions on the side. It just didn’t work. My heart couldn’t be in it, and none of my efforts ever brought the Spirit of God into the moment. I would do polite things, and the recipient would politely thank me, but all we felt was a spiritual vacuum.
Bad habits need to be changed, lingering addictions need to be fought, harm to others need to have restitution made. We need to scrub off what we can, and let Him scrub off what we can’t. Obviously God is not expecting you to achieve perfection before He starts using you as His vessel, but He is waiting for you to take the steps of repentance. Then, even if you are still not perfect in all things you can still be perfectly clean, washed by the atonement of His son.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- John 2:3, 4, 6-10

And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

COMMENTARY

Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim
The ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine
I have mentioned previously that God is able to use us in ways that exceed our capabilities, we do not have to wait until we are perfect before we can serve a role in His kingdom. But…we do need to provide Him something to work with.
Jesus did not make wine out of thin air, he ordered that the empty pots be filled with water first. He did not make enough food to feed 5,000 out of nothing either, he gathered what fish and bread was available, and then made do with it. Elisha did not bless sheer emptiness to produce the ceaseless oil, he expanded the output of one pot that already held some. Moses couldn’t speak eloquently…but he could speak. Peter did not know how to fish for men…but he did know how to fish.
God is similarly not going to wield you out of nothing either. Meaning that while you do not have to be perfect, you do need to be trying. He expects you to put forth what little you can, even if it is only a pot of water or a few little fishes. He can work with that and expand it to meet the need.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Resurrecting and Enabling Power of Jesus- John 11:39-41, 43-44; Matthew 14:25, 27-31

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

COMMENTARY

And he that was dead came forth.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water.
Jesus is empowered to do the impossible and the improbable. As I mentioned yesterday, no matter what your own individual situation is, you are not so removed that his power cannot reach you.
Lazarus was dead. He was not sick, he was not wounded, he was not mostly gone but still holding onto a shred of life still. He was dead. Maybe you feel like parts of you have died as well. Not just parts that have been hurt, or parts are weak, but ones that are actually dead. No light and no life in them. Jesus can work with that, after all he is the life and the light.
Peter had never walked on water before. This wasn’t some skill that he had been struggling with and wanted to do better at. Maybe you feel at times like you are asked to do something you simply cannot do. It isn’t something that you are just weak or unskilled at, it is literally something you have never done before because for you it is impossible. Jesus can work with that, too. So long as you have the faith, he will empower you to do the things that couldn’t be done.