* Name the Place

And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Exodus 17:7 NIV

For so many different reasons, I really like reading the book of Exodus. Every time I read through it, I catch something else I didn't actually see before. I love how God's Word is alive and always so relevant. 

In our text for today, it's the part of the story regarding the provision of manna and water from the rock. One would think in a desert, the Israelites would have been thrilled to have provision, but they'd already been complaining about literally everything since they began their exodus from Egypt. (However, if you remember, they complained about everything while they were in Egypt, too.)  

It was the custom to name a place or landmark by the major events that occurred there. As in today's text, Massah means testing and Meribah means quarreling. They demanded of Moses, "Is the Lord among us or not?" because they weren't seeing results they thought they should be seeing. Ouch...

Don't we do the very same thing?  We petition the Lord and then expect it to be accomplished the way we think it should be done. Well, perhaps I shouldn't answer for you, but I know I do exactly that. And when it's not done on my preconceived schedule or in the way I would do it, I even have the nerve to ask God where He is... Oh, Father, forgive me.

What will be the name of the places where we have met with God? Think about that for a moment. If you don't like what you think it might be called, ask God to change it. With our proper response to HIS calling, God has no problem giving us a new Name.

Prayer:

Father,
          Forgive us for testing You and quarreling and complaining when things don't go as we have planned. In our hearts, Lord, we want to follow Your plan. Help us, O God, to learn Your ways and to trust them. Give us wisdom and understanding, in Jesus' Name we pray.  Amen