Bible Study on Acts 11, verses 1 to 18, what was I, that I could withstand God

 

Acts 11:1 ¶  And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2  And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 3  Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 4  But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, 5  I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: 6  Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 7  And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. 8  But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. 9  But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 10  And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11  And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. 12  And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: 13  And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14  Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. 15  And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16  Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? 18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

 

The news would have been a shock. The hated and despised Gentiles, regarded as spiritual inferiors, especially Roman occupiers, could receive the word of God? Peter thought over what had happened a few times (rehearsed the matter) to be able to tell them at Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders, of this new faith. He recalled something they would have remembered, how John the Baptist foretold about this baptism, not with water but being filled with the Holy Ghost recorded in Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; & Luke 3:16. He reinforces the validity of what He did with the Gentiles by pointing out that God did this so how could he have resisted or stood against what God had done. This reminds me of what Gamaliel said;

 

Acts 5:38  And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39  But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

 

When God’s hand is involved it is useless to try to stand against His work. They were smart enough and filled with the Spirit of God so they accepted this work of Peter. So, the Gentiles could be saved, too, like the Jews. Interesting. Shocking, but interesting. Here the Christian church, once thought to be a mere sect of Judaism, takes a momentous turn in history.

 

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 77, I cried unto God with my voice

 

Psalms 77:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.» I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 3  I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 4  Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5  I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6  I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. 7  Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8  Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9  Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. 10  And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

 

The psalmist here cries out to God and understands that God has heard Him. Even though he is waiting for God’s deliverance and it is not done quickly and the psalmist is suffering he remembers that he has been delivered before by God. I am reminded of a time in my life when something horrible was about to happen to me and I cried out to God and was reminded in my spirit that just a few months before I had been delivered from something that could have been much worse. I remembered God’s right hand on my life and was comforted.

 

Psalms 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

 

I think also of this passage in regard to Christ’s emotional torment in His humanity praying in Gethsemane.

 

Matthew 26:36 ¶  Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43  And he came and found them

asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44  And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45  Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46  Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

 

This Psalm, like many other passages, shows us that the writers of the Bible experienced all of the same concerns and anxieties about God’s interaction with them and with their reality that we do. It is a thing to contemplate as we struggle with a crisis in our lives and enemies surround us.

 

Psalm 77:11 ¶  I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12  I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. 13  Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14  Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15  Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16  The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 17  The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 18  The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19  Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 20  Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

This last passage in this Psalm is a recognition of God’s awesome power. How could a person not aware of the information we have gathered about the mechanics of our universe describe something he nor we could barely understand. Well, very admirably I would say.

 

In his desperation the Psalmist remembers what God has done and what He is doing. We must remember that He controls every function of our individual cells, which have been described by scientists and philosophers alike as mini universes all their own but connected to a whole. We must remember as God makes so abundantly clear in the book of Job that not only is He in control of places and events man will never see on earth but also in the furthest reaches of space.

 

Psalm 145:1 ¶  «David’s Psalm of praise.» I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2  Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 5  I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. 6  And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. 7  They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 8  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

 

    10 ¶  All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11  They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; 12  To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13  Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14  The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. 15  The eyes of all wait upon thee; and

thou givest them their meat in due season. 16  Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17  The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18  The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19  He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20  The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. 21  My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

 

There is an implication in this Psalm that there are a great many spiritual, invisible, and incorporeal actions going on behind the scenes, causing things to happen that we see and the Lord God directs them all. Contextually we have a clear reference to God’s power in the Exodus Red Sea Crossing. The Psalmist brings this singular amazing event to mind when considering God’s awesome and unimaginable power and control over all reality.

Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 44 to 48, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word

 

Acts 10:44 ¶  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

 

Notice how these believers receive the Holy Ghost in this instance first and then are baptized? Now, see the baptism that Peter called for with the Jews as they were to repent of the crime against Christ. Baptism first, then receipt of the Holy Ghost.

 

Acts 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

There are commentators who wish to make a clearer distinction between the two baptisms and declare that Acts 2 was a baptism of national repentance. I believe that comes from trying to view the Bible as a set of directions and parsing out minor variations as significant of a different dispensation. A Jewish or a Gentile believer today receives the Holy Ghost when they believe and then they get baptized as a public profession of that invisible act.

 

Luke 23:34a  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

 

Even if Acts 2:38 was an act of national repentance this does not change the need for every Jew or Gentile to receive Christ and believe in Him and to trust in His righteousness and not their own for salvation.

 

The Jews present responded to Peter’s sermon were baptized and received the Holy Ghost but was this a presentation of a strict order of events making their salvation different from Gentile salvation?

 

See the order presented here in the text. First, with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch there is no mention of receiving the Holy Ghost but it is assumed.

 

Acts 8:26 ¶  And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27  And he arose

and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28  Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40  But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

 

Then, with the Roman centurion and company and Peter where it is implied that they believed what they heard and then they received the Holy Ghost and are then baptized.

 

Now, do you honestly think that each of these situations were different in that in one instance you are baptized then you receive the Holy Ghost after that and yet in another you get baptized because you believe and it is implied that you received the Holy Ghost upon belief and in another instance you believe and receive the Holy Ghost and then are baptized? How many dispensations do you want to create? Christians often don’t have a problem with belief. They have a problem with reading comprehension. This is a lot like those people who believe Noah walked off the Ark with a white son, a black son, and an Asian son when it nowhere says that but they read back into the text what they want to believe.

 

Earlier in Acts 8 you will have people believing and being baptized but not receiving the Holy Ghost until Peter and John lay hands on them. In Acts 16 Lydia believes and is baptized but no mention is made of the Holy Ghost. In the same chapter the jailor believes and is baptized and no mention is made of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 9 it is implied that Paul believed and then he received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. In Acts 22 he relates that he was baptized after that. Again, if you are going to read the Bible like a textbook how many dispensations do you want to create?

 

When you get saved it is because you believed, were given faith, and received the Holy Ghost. At some point, to fulfill all righteousness as Jesus said, you should get baptized as an outward manifestation of your inward change and faith.

 

In any event Jesus Himself puts the focus on your belief, not your baptism.

 

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

 

 

Bible Study on Isaiah 5, verses 5 to 7, nothing but oppression and a cry for justice

 

Isaiah 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

 

Here is a direct threat against Judah and the house of Israel. The metaphor of Israel being a vineyard, God’s vineyard, is confirmed. God also explains why in this passage, because He, God, looked for judgment and only saw oppression and for righteousness but only heard a cry of distress. God’s poor, the common man, commentators attest, were struggling under the yoke of oppression and robbery from above them. Repeatedly in the scriptures the cry of the poor reach God.

 

Now see a similar metaphor of judgment made about Jesus’ second advent by John the Baptist.

 

Matthew 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

 

Also see Jesus talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

 

Luke 19:41 ¶  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

 

Notice, as well, how the Psalms refers to judgment on Israel.

 

Psalm 80:8 ¶  Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. 9  Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 10  The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. 11  She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her  branches unto the river. 12  Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 13  The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. 14  Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 15  And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 16  It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

2Kings, chapter 12, brief comments

 

2Kings 12:1 ¶  In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2  And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3  But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

 

Jehoash’s reign is lined up with Jehu’s in Israel. He was a good king in God’s sight as long as Jehoiada taught and counselled him but faltered in that he did not put an end to the idolatry of the people, probably for political reasons.

 

2Kings 12:4 ¶  And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5  Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. 6  But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7  Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. 8  And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. 9  But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. 10  And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. 11  And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, 12  And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 13  Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: 14  But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. 15  Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. 16  The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.

 

Basically, this boils down to the fact that the first temple was in a disgraceful state of disrepair. Commentators said that the priests pocketed the money that should have gone to the repairs. So here in this passage we see King Jehoash aka Joash commanding that money that was brought in be used to repair the house of God with exceptions of money that was to go to the priests legitimately. They focused on structural repairs rather than items such as snuffers and other vessels of gold. It appears that everyone worked faithfully and honestly on this project so there was no haggling or bickering about the work or the payment for it.

 

2Kings 12:17 ¶  Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18  And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. 19  And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20  And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. 21  For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

 

So Jehoash buys off King Hazael of Syria with the treasures from Solomon’s Temple and the King’s palace. This sell-out may have prompted his servants to assassinate him and place his son on the throne. Notice how the spellings of Joash and Jehoash are together in this passage for the same person. The fact that his mentor, Jehoida, was dead perhaps led to this action that showed no faith in God and led to his downfall.

 

2Chronicles 24:15 ¶  But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.

Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 34 to 43, To him give all the prophets witness

 

Acts 10:34 ¶  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; 41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

 

Before a nation hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and about His death, burial, and resurrection God has provided the basis upon which the New Guinea tribesman or the Swedish businessman could be accepted by Him. The requirement is that they believe and fear an Almighty Creator and that they try to do right as a result. God will send them a messenger from Him to deliver the truth of the gospel as He does here.

 

There is peace with God only through Jesus Christ. Mankind is in His wrath apart from Christ. This is not about religion but about understanding and accepting God’s amnesty in your rebellion and wickedness.

 

Peter declares that he not only walked with Christ before the Cross and Crucifixion, but he ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead making Peter a reliable and authoritative witness. God only revealed Christ after the Resurrection to those witnesses chose by God and these were sent out to be witnesses as the prophets were before them.

 

This explains why Christ did not reveal Himself after the Resurrection in the emperor’s palace or to the Sanhedrin. Paul says there were upwards of five hundred of these witnesses who saw Christ.

 

1Corinthians 15:1 ¶  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the

scriptures; 4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6  After that, he was seen of

above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8  And

last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11  Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

Bible Study on Exodus 17, verses 1 to 7, Is the LORD among us, or not?

 

Exodus 17:1 ¶  And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 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?

Again, the Hebrews complain. The complaint seems legitimate. This mass of people and their animals must have water but again they are doubting God’s provision, even His ability to sustain them or His will to preserve them. Here they are, probably moving through the Sinai Peninsula and very uncertain about their fate, having seen a tremendous miracle of the parting of the Red Sea but now uncertain again of their survival. They are afraid.

The body of the children of Israel are, in type, examples of the individual Christian. In other words, we each are like the children of Israel as a group. I am not talking about following God in how you dress, what you view as entertainment, or whether or not your language is raw or you drink so-called adult beverages. I’m talking about whether or not you actually believe God’s promises as laid out in the Bible. God seems to be underscoring to us, emphasizing that He places a great importance on our trusting Him, and not only trusting Him, but accepting His timing and His judgments even if they are not pleasant experiences to us.

One thing missing from the Christian’s walk with God, one of probably many things missing, is trust. We receive mercy after mercy, blessing after blessing, deliverance after deliverance, and then complain loudly when faced with a problem. We complain so loudly you would think we never knew God’s kindness at all. How many Christians have even doubted the premise of their faith in God, even doubted His very existence, because they are walking through a dry land and are thirsty?

Moses strikes the rock in front of the elders and water came out of the rock.

Psalm 78:15  He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. 16  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers…20  Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

Psalm 105:41  He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

Part of our problem spiritually is that we do not thirst after God’s righteousness but are always thirsty for the wrong thing.

Matthew 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The rock is Christ and in mankind’s first encounter with Him they struck Him.

1Corinthians 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Isaiah 53:1 ¶  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

    4 ¶  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

    10 ¶  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…

This had to be, God ordained it so. There is no other way for us to be delivered from the consequences of our breaking fellowship with God by our sin than for God Himself to pay the ransom He demanded for the sinner’s soul and to be the propitiation to appease His own wrath.

The Bible contains many pithy sayings that stick in your mind. There is I believe; help thou mine unbelief in Mark 9:24 and Be still, and know that I am God in Psalm 46:10 among many others that should ring in our brains in practically every situation. Here also is one of the great ones that may come to mind in many a church meeting where contention and strife are present; Is the LORD among us, or not?

The Sinai Peninsula is about 150 miles wide and contains a million and a half residents today. If this mass of people in Exodus is moving at the rate of only ten miles a day they could traverse the peninsula in half a month, of course. We will get a little more information in the next passage on where they actually are at this point. Do not be confused by traditions or where some Christian group has placed a monastery. It was not uncommon for Christian groups to read back tradition into the Bible and declare a place as the location of a Bible event when the truth is not known for sure. Traditions have placed Mount Sinai in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula or in Arabia based on what Paul said when Arabia covered a huge area, larger than we think of today. Arabia Petraea was a Roman province that encompassed parts of present day Jordan, the northwest Arabian peninsula, and the Sinai peninsula from the second century. It was also bordered by Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix so obviously this area was known as Arabia in Paul’s time.

It is also the same with unbelievers who say that Mount Sinai must have been a volcano and there is no volcano in the Sinai because they don’t believe in the truth of God’s presence and the power He displayed as per the Bible. These same people call Ezekiel’s vision a UFO because of their unbelief.

What comes next suggests the Hebrews traveled more easterly than southerly.