A Journey Through the Bible: Exodus 17 and 18

Exodus 17:7—“So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "’Is the LORD among us or not?’" There’s not a whole lot of good to say about these people who came out of Egypt. Just a few weeks before they had seen Jehovah perform some of the most awesome miracles in the history of mankind—for their sake—and now they are wondering if He is among them or not. It matters not how much the Lord does for someone; if they do not have the right kind of heart, they will not believe. When the Jews told Jesus that if He would come down from the cross they would believe in Him, they were lying through their teeth. Jesus had given them, for three years, plenty of evidence Who He was; a little bit more wasn’t going to change a thing. The problem wasn’t lack of evidence, it was a lack of an honest, good heart (Luke 8:15). And the same is true today. There is an abundance of evidence for the existence of God, the deity of Christ, and the inspiration of the Bible. But the only one who will see it is he with a pure heart (Mt. 5:8), with no contaminations, preconceived notions, or egotistical narcissism. We must be painfully honest with ourselves; that’s not easy to do, and excuses for rejecting God can easily be found if we wish to find them. But every excuse involves, in some way, wanting to do our will, not His, and that kind of blind selfishness can never be blessed by Jehovah for it will never submit to Him. The evidence that the Lord is among us—as with the Israelites—is overwhelming. Yet how many still ask “is the Lord among us or not?”

Exodus 18:8—“And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.” A great verse if we look at it closely. “All the hardships that had come upon them.” Yes, there were some. The fright at the Red Sea, the lack of food in the Wilderness of Sin, no water at Rephidim—these are only the ones listed. God tests His people; it builds character. But notice—“the Lord…delivered them.” Wouldn’t it be nice if God simply handed us everything we wanted and needed on a silver platter, with no effort required on our part? Nice, yes; but we wouldn’t be much as human beings if He did. Current government welfare systems that encourage sloth and laziness only produce a people of little quality and worth; they are simply being taught to want more without making any effort of their own to obtain it. God provided for Israel when they could not provide for their own; otherwise, He expected them to make some effort, endure hardship, develop character and virtue. Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam was commanded to “dress and keep it,” not lay around and let God or the government do it. Moses had the right idea; hardships do come, and the Lord will deliver us from them. But we just might have to go and pick the manna up off the ground ourselves.

Exodus 18:21—“Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” A number of years ago the “Crossroads” movement used this verse as an example of how to organize evangelistic efforts in the church. Jethro’s advice here has nothing to do with evangelism, or even religion. It’s a judicial structure, designed to settle civil cases, and take a load off Moses’ back. Let’s make sure we do not abuse the Scriptures in an attempt to prove our pet ideas and fads.