Water from Di Rock

Water bags wey empty. Lips wey don crack. Children dey cry for water. And one crowd dey close in round one old man, with stones wey dey near their hand.

Di people of Israel dey move through di desert stage by stage, dem dey move anytime di Lord tell dem. Dem don chop manna every morning. Dem don see how di Lord lead dem with cloud. Now dem camp for one place wey dem dey call Rephidim. Nobody today know exactly where e dey, but everybody for di camp quickly know one thing about am. Water no dey. No spring, no well, not even small pool. And for desert, dat one no be small matter. Na life or death.

Di people go straight meet Moses. Give us water make we drink! Moses answer, Why una dey quarrel with me? Why una dey test di Lord? But thirst no dey hear reason. Di vex grow. Why you bring us comot from Egypt? To use thirst kill us, and our children, and our animals? Think how quick dis thing happen. Na di same people wey waka pass inside sea on top dry ground. Wey dey chop bread from heaven every single morning. And still, one dry camp, and dem don ready to believe say God don abandon dem.

Moses do di only thing wey e know to do. E cry out to di Lord. Wetin I go do with dis people? Small remain make dem stone me. See wetin Moses no do. E no run. E no fight back. E no pretend say everything dey fine. E carry im fear, and di people vex, go straight to God. And God answer am sharp sharp. No be with lecture. With plan.

Go before di people, di Lord talk. Take some of di elders of Israel with you. And carry for your hand di stick wey you use strike di Nile. I go stand there before you on top di rock for Horeb. Strike di rock, and water go comot from am, and di people go drink. So Moses waka go front, and di elders dey watch. E find di rock. E raise di stick, di same stick wey once turn river to blood, and e bring am down. And from inside di dry stone, water comot. Enough for di whole camp. Enough for di children and di animals. Di people drink.

But Moses no want make anybody forget wetin happen for here. So e give di place two names. Massah, wey mean testing, and Meribah, wey mean quarrel. Because di people quarrel, and because dem test di Lord as dem ask one question. Di Lord dey among us, or e no dey? Na di question wey dey under all di shouting. No be really, where di water dey, but, God still dey with us? And di answer dey flow comot from one rock for di middle of di desert.

Israel never forget Massah and Meribah. Centuries after, Moses warn di next generation, no test di Lord your God, as una test am for Massah. Psalm 95, wey churches and synagogues still dey sing, talk say, no harden una heart as una fathers do dat day for wilderness. And di apostle Paul, as e dey write to di church for Corinth, look back to dis time and talk say di rock wey follow dem na Christ. One afternoon for desert become lesson for one whole people.

Water from di Rock. You go find am for Exodus chapter seventeen, verse one to seven. When things dry, di people ask whether God still dey with dem. E answer by giving dem exactly wetin dem need. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. When life dry for you, you dey quarrel, or you dey cry out to God?