“Is Satisfaction Possible?” – Exodus 17:1-7 – February 24, 2008

Last Tuesday morning I was getting a cup of coffee when I glanced at the outdoor thermometer. It read eleven degrees. I said, “Isn’t winter ever going to end?” There was also two inches of snow on the ground and the forecast called for a dusting. “Can’t those weather people get it right?”

If it’s not the weather that frustrates us, it could be something else. Perhaps you aren’t able to afford the things you would like to have. Perhaps you have never-ending health problems. Maybe you can’t get that promotion you think you deserve. The question is this, “Is satisfaction possible?”

The Israelites were not satisfied. They had no water to drink and so they complained to Moses. Out of their frustration came the words, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Their complaint to Moses was really a complaint toward God.

This was not the first time they had complained. First, the water they had to drink was bitter. Then, they had no food to eat. In both situations their complaint was heard by God and God responded. God sweetened the bitter water and God provided manna for them in the wilderness. Here, God comes through again. God told Moses to strike the rock with his staff and water was provided.

God had provided for the Israelites in the past but that didn’t keep them from complaining. They were fine, as long as they had what they needed. But, when it appeared that they lacked the necessary resources to survive, they became anxious. They quarreled with Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” They were angry at Moses and blamed him for taking them from Egypt where they had what they needed.

They had forgotten the fact that they were slaves. Before they were living in bondage and now they were liberated. Their freedom however did not guarantee they would always have everything they needed. Rather than be grateful for their freedom they complained when they encountered some hardship.

The bitter cold caused me to complain. Like the Israelites I had forgotten that God gives us what we need. The previous week I was in Florida, enjoying the warm weather. I had been free of winter for an entire week, but returning to winter changed everything. I thought to myself, “Have faith, spring is not far away.”

When Victor Frankl was arrested by the Nazis in World War II he was stripped of everything he owned. He arrived at Auschwitz with only his manuscript, a book he had been researching and writing for years. It was sewn into the lining of his coat. But upon arrival even that was taken from him. A few days later the Nazis made the prisoners give up their clothes. In return Frankl was given rags of an inmate who had been sent to the gas chamber. In the pocket of the garment he found a torn piece of paper. To his surprise it was a page from the Hebrew prayer book. On the page was the foremost Jewish prayer, “Shema Yisrael.” The prayer begins, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one God.” Frankl said that he could only interpret his good fortune as a challenge to live his thoughts rather than merely putting them on paper. He later wrote in his famous classic, Man’s search for Meaning, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

The Israelites had a “why” to live for. They had been promised by God that their journey would take them to the promise land. They had also been given Moses to lead them.

It’s not easy to be thankful when we are deprived of the basic essentials of life. Like the Israelites, we’d complain too if we were thirsty or hungry. In fact, anytime things don’t go our way we wonder where God is. The story of the Israelites reminds us that God always provides, just as God provided for Victor Frankl.

The story of the Israelites in the wilderness also reminds us that God is always listening. God may not always give us what we want, but God does respond. When the Israelites were hungry God gave them manna, a foreign and unfamiliar substance. And yet, the Israelites ate manna for forty years. And when Moses cried out to God for help, God led him to the water.

We say our prayers and God delivers. That being said, we have to listen to God and take responsibility for our predicament. Moses did as God instructed. He went to Mt. Horeb and then struck the rock with his staff. His act of faith demonstrated to the Israelites that God would provide.

The story also reminds us that the Israelites were free but their fear imprisoned them. All they could think about was food and water and that prevented them from staying focused on the promise land which was where Moses was taking them.

One time a new prison was being built in British Columbia to replace an old prison that had been used to house prisoners for hundreds of years. After the prisoners were moved into their new quarters, they became part of a work crew to strip the old prison of lumber, electrical appliances and plumbing fixtures. Under the supervision of the guards the prisoners began tearing down the old prison walls. As they did, they were shocked at what they found. Although steel bars were on the windows and massive locks and heavy metal doors had blocked the entrance ways they discovered the walls of the prison were made out of paper and clay. But, they had been painted to resemble iron. All a prisoner had to do was kick hard at the walls to escape. But all those years they huddled in their locked cells, believing escape was impossible. They were imprisoned by fear.

Many people today are prisoners of fear. They can’t pursue their dreams because they are afraid or too dependent on their current circumstances to even try.

Sometimes it is easier for us to remain in a crisis rather than be free. For example, a woman who is abused by her husband will remain in that abusive relationship for fear of having nothing or no one to care for her. Sadly, many women die from domestic violence since they are afraid to leave. The Israelites were ready to give up the wilderness and return to the oppressive Egyptians. This however is not what God wanted for them. God wanted them to be free and live in faith.

God also wants us to be free and live in faith as well. We will undoubtedly face times when we run out of the things we need. Nevertheless, God will provide. We may be at our wits end and all seems hopeless. Nevertheless, God is listening. We may want to turn back, because it is easier to be a slave rather than be free. Nevertheless, following a caring God sets us free.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio