Jacob Chanikuzhy

About marriage failures, Max Lucado, accomplished American author and preacher, has this to say, “One of the things that I discover a lot in marriage counselling is the husband or wife trying to get their spiritual thirst quenched by their partner; I think that’s a real common mistake that we make.” Something similar happened in the life of Israelites too. They were at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1–7). They reached this place through the divine guidance. They were just following the pillar of cloud and fire. However, to their great frustration they realized that the place they reached following God’s lead was an arid land without a drop of water. Their frustration was all the more painful because it appeared to them that their God had no idea where He was leading His people to. Rephidim caused an identity crisis to the Israelites – if they are God’s people how can they be devoid of the most basic necessity of drinking water? Does one need such a God who cannot ensure the basics – food, drink and shelter/security?
When the people of Israel sadly recognized that there was no water sources in Rephidim, they gathered around Moses and asked him for water and even threatened him with stoning. But, how can Moses give them water as he himself was probably thirsting? Nevertheless, he knew at least where to turn to when in need whatever. So he cried to the Lord.
Rephidim is not simply a geographical area, rather it is our own state of life. Rephidim symbolizes not only our unquenchable thirsts but also our shock at the realization of the impossibility of quenching them. It appears to be unquenchable because we look at the wrong directions. Just as the Israelites looked to Moses to satiate their thirst, we look to our marriage partner, friends, power, name and fame, riches, drugs, and science and technology to satisfy us, but they fail us miserably. The story teaches that we will have contentment in life only if we look to God for it.
Rephidim is also a dangerous place that puts our faith in jeopardy. The people of Israel reached this place after faithfully following the divine instructions. But, when they realized that here was no water there, their trust and faith in Yahweh were evaporated and they even doubted God’s presence with them: “Is the Lord among us or not?” When everything goes smoothly many may not have any difficulty in believing in the providence of God and to maintain a healthy relationship with him. When we become helpless and hopeless, and when we find that our prayers remain unanswered, we are tempted to doubt even the existence of God, not to speak about his presence with us. It seems that our faith journey is very often operated on a principle that once one follows God’s will, one will never encounter any difficulties in life. It is this basic assumption that was thwarted by the Rephidim experience. In fact, it was not Rephidim alone that rejected this “prosperity gospel.” The Israelites were encountering problems one after another, after God liberated them from Egypt – they were pursued by the army of Pharaoh, blocked by the Red Sea, frustrated by the bitter water at Marah, disappointed by the lack of bread and meat to eat… All these gave them the important lesson that to follow God does not guarantee an easy road, a life free from problems. As Israelites met with new problems as they proceeded in their journey, every sphere of life has its own problems.
However, another major lesson offered by Rephidim gives us great consolation in our faith journey. When Moses struck the rock with his rode according to the instruction of God, water gushed forth from the rock. One would never expect a stream to originate from a hard rock! The miracle demonstrated the truth that God was really present with His people in their hard times and that God is capable of helping His people even in the most helpless and hopeless situations. Life giving water flowed from apparently lifeless rock. God can give us life even when we go through hard times, and surrounded by hardhearted people. Rephidim calls us to remain faithful to God and trust in God in all challenging and desperate moments of our life, for God only knows the possibilities hidden inside the hard rocks!