Richard Davenport
March 8, 2026 – 3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 17:1-7
This first generation of Israelites to leave Egypt had seen some of the most amazing and important events in the whole Old Testament. There are a lot of major events in the Old Testament, creation, the flood, the exile, the building of the temple, and a number of others. But these guys had several happen in their lifetime, things that defined the whole relationship of God to his people in the Old Testament and things that set the stage for the work of Christ.
You start with them in slavery in Egypt. Things look pretty bad. They make bricks for building, day in and day out. They are a growing population and the Egyptians are out to grind them into the dirt, so they keep making the job more difficult and piling on the penalties when the quota isn’t met. The people are understandably upset and cry out for deliverance. In come Moses and Aaron. Moses speaks on behalf of God and demands the release of his people. This begins the ongoing conversation between Moses and Pharaoh that brings all of the plagues into play. God demonstrates his power and authority over false gods by sending disasters that could only come from the one who rules all creation. Frogs, flies, darkness, blood, fiery hail, and death. The Israelites saw all of this, but were saved from it, further evidence of God’s hand in things.
At the end of this is the Passover, God establishing his relationship to his people, as well as teaching them something about the future messiah, the lamb whose blood saves from death. We also see the foundation of Holy Communion, which Jesus begins as he celebrates the Passover with his disciples. This leads to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, foreshadowing baptism. So in a short time the Israelites have gotten a glimpse of both baptism and communion, and how God’s grace works through both.
After making it to the Sinai peninsula, they make their trek to Mt. Sinai. Here they receive the 10 Commandments and all of the laws they will follow when they make it to the Promised Land. They also receive the directions for building the tabernacle and everything in it. With the building of the tabernacle, the worship of God formally begins. The ark of the covenant is fashioned and God’s presence can be visibly seen in the midst of his people, a constant reminder that he is with them and guiding them.
All of these things are foundational to our understanding of who God is and what lengths he goes to to save his people and provide for them. Without any one of these events, the whole Old Testament would be very different and the Israelites would not be as ready to receive Christ or understand the purpose of his life and ministry.
Sadly, the problems that crop up in today’s text are not unusual, even in this generation. The people always seem to be thinking they are on death’s door. It isn’t really a problem of provisions, whether they have enough to eat or drink. It isn’t a problem of direction, knowing where to go and what the goal is. It’s a trust problem. At every step of the way they seem to be convinced that God has led them out to die. Everything he has done for them really means nothing at all. They really have no concept of the lengths God has gone to save them and how all of it is an expression of his love and mercy. All they have to do is look at any one of these things and see the evidence presented right in front of them of how special they are, how much God loves them. He has great plans for them and isn’t about to flush all of this work down the drain on a whim. God always works with a purpose. He is never random or disorganized. Everything he does fits into his overarching plan, no matter how big or how small the detail.
Our in-laws have a dog. I’m not much of a dog person, but by all accounts he’s a good dog. He’s friendly and playful and has been with them for a few years now, since he was a little puppy. But, they’ve also moved around a lot. My brother-in-law was early at seminary when they got him. They went away for vicarage and then came back and then went off to one parish and now to another. Periodically in all of that time they’d come to visit us and they’d bring the dog along.
He’d always be able to tell something was up when they’d start to pack up the car. Everything would get put together in piles for organized loading. The dog always went in his portable carrier when they travelled, but they wouldn’t put him in until it really was time to go. In the meantime he’d run around and whimper and whine. Everyone is leaving, but he’s not in his kennel, so it seems he’s going to be left behind and forgotten. He does it every time. This is the time he’s finally going to be abandoned by his family. They’re going to drive away and he’ll never see them again. And every time, they finally have everything loaded and then they pack him up too and they all drive away together.
The Israelites display the same attitude. God is teasing them with a little freedom, a little grace, all right before he drops them into the pit. He might even cackle when he does it. It’s worth noting that God never tempts the people to sin. He never encourages them to go against his commands. He never dangles some enticing something or other in front of them the way Satan might. However, he has no qualms about testing them. Here at Rephidim the people find no ready source of water. It’s certain God had some sort of plan to deal with this issue in order to make sure his people survived. The test was simple: would they wait patiently for the Lord to act, knowing he already had the problem well in hand? Would they pray to him and ask him to provide for their needs? Or would they grumble, complain, and generally throw a tantrum because they think, after all this time, they have just been callously abandoned?
Our in-law’s dog has some excuse for acting the way he does. He isn’t really able to communicate, so there’s no real way to explain what you’re doing or ask for his patience. The Israelites have no such excuse. They’ve seen both God’s power and his grace first hand. Having seen what they have seen and been a part of the things God has done for them, there should never be any doubt.
It all sounds pretty silly until we start thinking through how many times we fall victim to the same mentality. How many times have you cast your eyes toward heaven and said, “This is the end. It’s all over now. God might claim he loves me and cares for me, but here I am and there’s nothing more to be done.” God has forgotten about you and left you to your fate. What else is there to do but sit around and with for the end?
That’s pretty dramatic, though it doesn’t stop us from coming to that conclusion from time to time. It’s not too likely you’ll be off wandering in the wilderness without water, like the Israelites, but we run into plenty of other disasters that aren’t so life threatening. Maybe you totaled your car and now are sure life over the next year or so is going to be miserable with higher insurance rates and car payments. Maybe you got moved to a new position in your job with a boss you don’t like and different hours that throw your whole schedule out of whack, again making life miserable. Maybe some distance has grown in a relationship, maybe with your spouse, maybe your parents or kids. Now that distance regularly haunts you and you don’t know how to bridge the gap. You worry that distance is going to grow until you just don’t connect at all anymore.
There are all kinds of disasters that might befall us, each leading us to believe God just doesn’t care anymore. He has left you to go off and deal with more important matters, or worse, he has intentionally brought you here to languish in your fate. The dog has a penchant for melodrama when it comes time to leave, but he isn’t alone. We all do it. We all see that dark cloud on the horizon and determine that life from now on, what little of it there may be, is going to be miserable and bleak.
We let sin cloud our hearts and minds all too easily. Looking at the big picture in the Old Testament, the idea that God had led the Israelites out to die is laughable. He does so much to provide for them and ease their suffering, he takes a personal, even direct interest in what they do and specifically tells them how he is caring for them and what more they have to look forward to.
But these Israelites aren’t looking at the big picture. They are stuck in the moment and that’s all they see. They see doom and gloom everywhere and it consumes them, just as it does us. They feared as individuals and as people and that fear became who they were. It shook their faith and even caused some of them to fall away completely. The fear was contagious and often a large portion of the Israelites would fall victim to it. They don’t look back at what God has done and don’t look forward to what God will do. They are stuck in their sin.
Their fear cripples and paralyzes them. They have many ways they could show their faith in the face of this fear. Instead they just give in to it and show off their lack of trust before God and the world. Instead of being a beacon of light, displaying the grace and providence of God, they sit around and grumble. Whether it’s one individual or a whole group they give no evidence of trusting God to support them and tend to their needs. Their actions suggest God doesn’t care about them or anyone else.
Stepping back for a minute and taking it all in, it seems silly again. God has never abandoned me, so why am I getting so worked up? The life of Christ should be the ultimate reminder that God is always with us. The fact that the Father gives the life of his Son in exchange for ours tells us how much God will do to save us. And it is because Christ gave his life that we are forgiven for our various lapses in trust as he directs us again to his word, to see what he has done for us, but also what he will do. If God is going to make good on his promises to us, then he will have to get us to that point and he has never failed to do so.
He also reminds us of why he brought us to the baptismal font. He marks as his own children and gives us a sign that our whole life is covered by his grace. He also invites us back to his house to share his table. He has no intention of leaving us in despair, but wants us to be with him always and to share every part of our lives with him. So take heart and do not despair, remember what the Lord has done for you, remember what he has in store for you, and remember that he will never leave you nor forsake you, no matter what.