Dear Family,
Today is Tuesday, May 16, 2023. It is Day 38; Day 3 of Week 6 as we Count to Pentecost.
According to Numbers 33:12-15, Israel had camped at Dophkah and Alush just before Rephidim. Exodus 17 does not mention those two camping sites. Perhaps not much of great significance occurred at those sites. However, at Rephidim, the Israelites had several very important experiences. The word Rephidim means support. And, because of the actions and attitudes of the Israelites, Moses called the place by two other names: Massah which means testing and Meribah which means quarrelling or contention.
Exodus 17:7 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?
Later, when Moses wrote of this place, he continued to use the names Massah and Meribah.
Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah.
Deuteronomy 9:22 And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.
Deuteronomy 33:8 And of Levi he said; Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
What is it about the Israelites that they continued to reject their own historical experiences where God demonstrated His awesome wonders for their benefit? Why is it that humans test God, strive with Him, contend with Him, and provoke Him?
All true Believers will come to the same general conclusion. Sin is the answer, because it blinds us to what is really going on. In sin, people see only present problems and distress, not the truth regarding the wonders God has wrought for them and Who He really is!
2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
This quirk of human nature is another of the reasons we need the total fulfillment of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit that will grow in us and provide us with God’s divine nature and the power to make us sons of God. May God grant us His own powerful love of the truth!
Ben Faulkner, Pastor
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