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23. Moses (Musa) – Water in the Desert
· Read in The Qur’an - 2:60
· Read in the Tanakh and the Bible - Exodus 17:1–7, Exodus 15:27, Numbers 33:9, Numbers 20:2–13, Exodus 15:22–25, Exodus 23:25, Isaiah 48:21, Psalm 105:41, Jeremiah 2:13, Nehemiah 9:17–21, John 4:10–14, John 7:37–39, 1 Corinthians 10:1–13, Revelation 7:17
Readings from The Qur’an:
· The Qur'an 2:60 “And (remember) when Musa (Moses) asked for water for his people, We said: "Strike the stone with your stick." Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. Each (group of) people knew its own place for water. "Eat and drink of that which Allah has provided and do not act corruptly, making mischief on the earth."
· How does this compare with the Biblical account? Why the differences?
· Who does the Bible describe as being the source of “living water”? Why?
· Why is this story not described more specifically like the Tanakh and Bible tells? Why is the follow-on story not shared when Moses strikes the rock for water instead of speaking to it? (Numbers 20:2–13)
· Are the twelve springs in the Biblical account? Or is that confused with the story of the waters at Elim in the Tanakh and Bible? (Exodus 15:27 and Numbers 33:9)
Readings from The Tanakh and The Bible:
· Exodus 17:1–7 “All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. [2] Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” [3] But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” [4] So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” [5] And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. [6] Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. [7] And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
· Exodus 15:27 “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.”
· Numbers 33:9 “And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.”
· Numbers 20:2–13 “Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. [3] And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD! [4] Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? [5] And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” [6] Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them, [7] and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [8] “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” [9] And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him. [10] Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” [11] And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. [12] And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” [13] These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.”
· Exodus 15:22–25 “Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. [23] When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. [24] And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” [25] And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.”
· Exodus 23:25 “You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
· Isaiah 48:21 “They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out.”
· Psalm 105:41 “He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.”
· Jeremiah 2:13 “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
· Nehemiah 9:17–21 “They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. [18] Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, [19] you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. [20] You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. [21] Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.”
· John 4:10–14 “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” [11] The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? [12] Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” [13] Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””
· John 7:37–39 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
· 1 Corinthians 10:1–13 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] and all ate the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. [5] Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. [6] Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. [7] Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” [8] We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. [9] We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, [10] nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. [11] Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. [12] Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. [13] No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
· Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
See also:
· “What Does the Bible say about Moses and the Exodus?” www.trustworthyword.com/moses-exodus
· “What Does the Bible say about God’s People?” www.trustworthyword.com/gods-people
· “What Does the Bible say in Leviticus?” www.trustworthyword.com/leviticus
· “What Does the Bible say in Numbers?” www.trustworthyword.com/numbers
· “What Does the Bible say in Deuteronomy?” www.trustworthyword.com/deuteronomy
· “What does the Bible say about the Lord’s Supper?” www.trustworthyword.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-the-lords-supper