HEADING TO FREEDOM

When Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt the people started to complain about various things. One of those things was water, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to make us, our children and our livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3). This complaint gathered momentum in their minds and they finished by asking the question that all ask when dissolution sets in, “Is the Lord with us, or not?” (17:7), and, of course comes the miracle of water coming from the rock for the people. Moses called this place Massah (meaning temptation) because of their protest against God and Meribah (meaning strife, contention) because they challenged God.

These two places are the great trials in all our deserts. Freedom will bring us to faith for our freedom or into protest and challenge. Only a God of love, mercy and grace, can put up with us and bring us through. Left to our own reasoning we will self-destruct in our freedom attempts. Jesus becomes our cloud and pillar of fire to lead us to the promise. He is also “the spiritual rock we drink from” (1 Corinthians 10:4). We must learn to move when he moves and stop when he stops.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus