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Exodus 17 Bible study: Is the LORD among us?
At Massah, for the first time in the Hebrew Bible, people test the LORD: "Is the LORD among us, or not?" (17:7). He answers with a promise to stand before Moses on the rock that gives them water (17:6), and Paul says, "the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). And "Write this for a memorial" (17:14) is the first "write" in the Bible, in the WEB and in the Hebrew.
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“Moses built an altar, and called its name “The LORD our Banner”.”
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“At Rephidim, the LORD told Moses to strike the rock.”
Is that in Exodus 17, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"Is the LORD among us, or not?"
This is the third time since the sea that the people have lacked water or food. At Marah they asked, "What shall we drink?" (15:24). In the wilderness of Sin they said Moses had brought them out "to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (16:3). Now, at Rephidim, "there was no water for the people to drink" (17:1), and they say, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?" (17:3). Moses names the place for what they did: "Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?'" (17:7). The LORD's reply to Moses is a set of instructions and a promise: "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb" (17:6).
Where it leads to Jesus
The rock was Christ
Exodus 17:6leads to1 Corinthians 10:4
The LORD says, "You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink" (17:6). Writing about "our fathers" in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:1), Paul says they "all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Paul doesn't name this chapter, and Israel drinks from a rock again in Numbers 20; he speaks of the rock they drank from in the wilderness. Christians read his words in more than one way (see the honest question).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 17
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 17 is waiting in Favor
- The rod that struck the Nile
- Held up until sunset
- Written down so it won't be forgotten
- Massah and Meribah, remembered
- Joshua's first steps
- A hard verse to read
- 8 questions as you read
- 9 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Exodus 17 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
נָסָהnasahsay na-SAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs gives "test, try, prove, tempt [but not in the modern sense of the word]"; Strong's, "to test; by implication, to attempt". Its earlier uses in the Hebrew Bible all have people as the ones tested: "God tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1), at Marah "there he tested them" (15:25), and with the manna, "that I may test them" (16:4). Here, for the first time, people test the LORD: "Why do you test the LORD?" (17:2), "they tested the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?'" (17:7). The place name Massah (17:7) is tied to this verb: Strong's derives the noun massah from it, "a testing, of men (judicial) or of God (querulous)" (H4531). Deuteronomy uses the verb twice with the place: "You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16).
For your group
Exodus 17 Bible study questions
- 1When Moses' hands grew heavy, Aaron and Hur held them up. Who has held up your hands when you were worn out, and whose hands could you hold up this week?
- 2"Is the LORD among us, or not?" When have you found yourself asking that, and what helped you see that he was there?
- 3The LORD told Moses to write the day down "for a memorial" so it wouldn't be forgotten. What has God done for you that is worth writing down and remembering?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 17 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Exodus 17 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Exodus 17 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home