Massah (proof or test) and Meribah (contention, strife, quarreling) are names given by Moses to some unknown place in Rephidim in the Desert of Zin over the concern of a lack of water. This location in Rephidim was the last stop prior to going into the Wilderness of Sinai and camping before the mountain (Ex 19:1-2; that is, Mount Sinai, Ex 19:11, 18, 20, 23).
The
names Massah and Meribah1 were during the first ~2.5-year period of the
last 40 years of Moses’ life that included the exodus out of Egypt, and the people
wanting to return to Egypt at Kadesh Barnea and everything in between. After
this initial period came the ~37.5 years of wandering in the wilderness.
The
location of Meribah-2 or Meribah Kadesh or Kadesh Barnea or simply, Kadesh is
unknown. One popular speculation is that Kadesh Barnea is located somewhere along
the border of Edom and Israel, southwest of the Dead Sea.
It
was at Meribah-2 when Moses was approaching or already 120 years of age, the
long years of wandering in the wilderness were coming to a close. This is the place
where Moses sinned against God and forfeited his right to enter the Promised
Land. For argument’s sake, even if one could successfully prove Massah and
Meribah in Rephidim and Meribah Kadesh are one and the same, the events there
are still separated by nearly 4 decades.
Again, the proposed time it took for coming out of Egypt and eventually arriving at Kadesh Barnea where they dispatched the spies was approximately a span of ~2.5 years. The wandering in the wilderness, following disobedience at Kadesh Barnea, was around ~37.5 years. The Israelites left Egypt in ~1446 B.C. and crossed over the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land in ~1406 B.C. These are conservative dates, naturally, give or take a couple of years. The 40 years, including prior to and afterward, are fascinating and of great spiritual value to us (cf. Rom 15:4). Here is a chart to give a historical perspective on the life of Moses.
|
Age of Moses |
Year |
Locality |
Reference |
|
~0-40 |
~1526-1486 B.C. |
Egypt |
Acts 7:23-28 |
|
~40-80 |
~1486-1446 B.C. |
Land of Midian |
Acts 7:29-30 |
|
~80-120 |
~1446-1406 B.C. |
Exodus & Wilderness |
Acts 7:36 |
Let’s head over to Psalm 90 now (finally) and touch upon some things; then off we will go to my backyard talk with Yahweh a few weeks ago and go back and forth with that. I have learned when the Holy Spirit brings something to my attention, I best listen to what He has to say, yes? Are you tracking me?
A
prayer of Moses (Psa 90:1).
“Moses’
petition for God is to have mercy on frail human beings living in a sin-cursed
universe. Moses begins the psalm with a reflection on God’s eternality, then
expresses his somber thoughts about the sorrows and brevity of life in their
relationship to God’s anger, and concludes with a plea that God would enable
His people to live a significant life,” per John MacArthur.
The
man of God (Psa
90:1).
This
phrase is used directly of only eight people in Scripture: Moses (Deut 33:1), Samuel (1 Sam 9:6-10; cf. 1
Sam 9:19), David
(Neh
12:24); Elijah (1 Kgs 17:18), Elisha (2 Kgs 4:7; cf. 2 Kgs
4:2), Shemaiah (2 Chron 11:2); Igdaliah (Jer 35:4), Timothy (1 Tim 6:11; cf. 1 Tim
6:20). This observation is by John Phillips in his work on the Psalms, even
though man
of God occurs
over seventy times in the OT. It is always referring to “one who spoke for God”
(MacArthur, on Psalm 90:1).
Commenting
on man of
God in 2
Tim 3:17, MacArthur describes this phrase as, “A technical term for an official
preacher of divine truth” (The MacArthur Bible Commentary) or “one who
must provide spiritual leadership to others” (Bible Knowledge Commentary).
Compare 1 Tim 6:11; Paul had Timothy specifically in mind. We have often heard
of other believers applying, at least in principle to one degree or another,
this reference to spiritual believers as “a man of God” or “a woman of God.”
This is viewed as highly complimentary of their spiritual testimony. No one
gets upset over such characterizing, if true, yes?
Lord
(Psa 90:1).
At
the very outset of this prayer of Moses the man of God, Moses addresses God as Lord (Adonai) which
speaks of God’s sovereign authority and recognizing His right to rule over all
of His creation. If he wrote this prayer after the controversial spy report at Kadesh
Barnea, then it dove-tails with the thought of wandering in the wilderness for
the next 37.5 years!
You
have been our dwelling place in all generations (Psa 90:1).
This
is kind of a neat and cozy way of saying this. Dwelling place can be literally translated den or refuge. In other words, “You (Adonai) have been our den or
refuge or dwelling place in all generations.” Might we add, even to this
rebellious generation that wanted to go back to Egypt and back into bondage!
God does not change who He is because of our disobedience. This is the comfort
of His attribute of immutability.
(Psa
90:2) Before
the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the
world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
With
all of the seemingly endless deaths of the older generation surrounding Moses
during the wandering in the wilderness, he speaks of the eternality of Yahweh.
And this is where the Holy Spirit called to my mind the phrase, from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God as I was taking a rest sitting on a large rock
I dubbed, north rock, after laboring in my backyard a few weeks ago.
Due
to a recent storm cell that passed over our area, I had some small trees that
were damaged and severed branches that I needed to haul down the slope behind
my backyard. Our home is situated on top of one of the countless hills of
Tennessee. Our particular mound rises over 1,100 feet above sea level. I say a
mound, or better yet, a bump because after visiting Alaska years ago, all
other lands here seem “flat and insipid!” The only thing that looks close to flat
in our yard is the front; from there, as the proverbial saying goes, “It’s all downhill
from here,” literally.
Beyond
the west end of our property line, the slope quickly picks up speed! One of my
neighbors who lives in the valley below owns about fifty acres; the majority of
his land has a steep gradient. Thankfully, he was gracious enough to allow me
to haul my yard cuttings down onto his higher elevated property since we share
a boundary; actually, it blends in with the existing fallen trees along the slope!
Admittedly,
I was getting out of breath hauling the storm’s handiwork partially down the incline.
On my final leg up the slope for the nth time, I decided to pay a visit to
nearby north rock to rest my weary bones for a while before heading back up to
the house. I often go there to listen to the wind among the trees, hear the
birds, and contemplate on things, mundane as well as spiritual in nature.
North
rock’s location gives me a feeling of being deep in the forest though up above
is our subdivision. There are plenty of trees between north rock and the houses
that provide a degree of privacy during the leafy months. I sat down on the
rock, catching my breath, and thirsty as all get out; I left my water bottle in
the house.
My
arms were resting on my thighs, and sweat was dripping off my forehead like a monsoon
that wouldn’t quit. My head was tilted forward, looking between my legs at the ground.
A thought occurred to me; here I am beaten like a dog, thirsty, sweaty, out of
breath, and feeling the pain in my left leg where I took a tumble, and I chuckled
to myself and spoke audibly to God.
From
north rock, this was what I said to Yahweh,
“Yahweh,
I am getting too old for this! You are everlasting and hadn’t changed a bit in
over the forty-five years since I have known You! And look at me sitting here
in a drenched mess of frailty!”
Naturally,
I am exaggerating some, but you get the point, yes? What a stark contrast in thinking
about my weakness compared to Yahweh who is eternally all-powerful, all-knowing,
infinite, immutable, and living within me, a frail and finite, creature! Selah.
Soaked with sweat and caught up by the thought of it, I audibly spoke out once
again to Him who is forever in me and with me and for me,
“You
know that You are going to outlive me in this body if you don’t come back soon!?”
I chuckled under my breath. Now, I know about being absent of the body and present with the Lord thing (2 Cor 5:8), but I was seeing the irony and humor of it all. My body language looked nothing like Auguste Rodin’s muscular bronze sculpture, “The thinker,” but more like, “The Tuckered,” a vegetable matter sitting on a rock! <><
_______
1. Some scholars use the
designation Meribah - 1 to distinguish the water incident at Rephidim and
Meribah - 2 to identify the second water incident located at Kadesh Barnea.
Similar events but separated by location and time.
