Lenten devotions 2008

Mon, 18 Feb 2008

FEB. 19 - THE WATER WILL BE PROVIDED
By Tina Peters, a junior physics major from Yellow Springs, Ohio

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.

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DEVOTIONAL:
In today's passage, an absence of water on the road from Egypt caused the people of Israel to doubt Moses and God. Israel had trusted God to lead them out of Egypt into the Promised Land, but things had become difficult.

Water is essential for life. People can only survive a couple of days without it. The Israelites were afraid and doubted God's presence; they tested God and complained to Moses. But God was still present among the people in this hard time and provided water for them in answer to Moses' prayer.

Like the Israelites, the Apostles thought they had been abandoned. After Jesus had been crucified, they mourned for their teacher and friend. They fled into hiding, legitimately afraid of being harmed themselves. They began to doubt Jesus' teachings and God's presence. Their world had been turned upside down and they didn't know where to turn next. They lost faith in God's plan.

Like the Israelites, thirsty in the desert, and the Apostles, mourning after the crucifixion, God asks us to trust. Winter will come to an end. Spring is going to be here very soon. Be patient. There will be water. Easter morning will arrive. Jesus will rise. Just as God led the Israelites into the land of milk and honey, and as Jesus rose and sent the Apostles with the Holy Spirit to teach the Good News, God will provide for all we need, even in the hard times. All we have to do is trust and have faith.

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SCRIPTURE: Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV)
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, 'Give us water to drink.' Moses said to them, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?' But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, 'Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?' So Moses cried out to the Lord, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.' The Lord said to Moses, 'Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.' Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'
Posted at 14:31 #



Disclaimer:
The views and beliefs expressed in the devotional piece prepared by each individual reflect their own spiritual growth journey and thoughts, and while created in a campus environment that encourages thoughtful questions and reflection on biblical Scripture and contemporary Christian themes, do not necessarily represent the official institutional positions of Goshen College or Mennonite Church USA.