learn to ASK...(? seek, knock)

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, travelling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarrelled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?’  But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’ Then Moses cried out to the Lord , ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’. Exodus 17:1‭-‬4 NIVUK

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Ok, the Israelites meet with God, and they are scared of God. He wants relationship, they primarily know power-play. Before hand they cry out to Pharaoh, almost ignoring the data indicating that he doesn't care for them. Now, they seem to assume that God is like Pharaoh. So they ask for Moses to stand in-between  them and God. God agrees, Moses agrees. Now there are three parties.

But the question is, “Will these people learn? They have lived their lives in servile fear, as slaves, and thus have hardly grown to be free self-determining agents in a wide world where they are to be “in charge”. (Moses on the other hand has grown up as a prince. He is powerful and able to take on the mindset of a ruler. Now he also models for them how to "cry out" to God.) Will they learn from Moses and let a Father God raise them, and be loyal family members. Will they grow up?

Will they recall that the middle party, Moses, is simply there to enable dialogue between the other two, and will they press on to know this scary God and let him know them. Will they see through Moses (like a piece of glass), to God?” Or else live their lives focusing on the glass that is in the room of their existence, admiring it, cleaning it, interacting with IT? Sure it might need some cleaning every now and then, but that is only so they can be looking through it, interacting with a person on the other side of it, revealing yourself to them and carefully learning about them… in short so that the person can one day be eye-balled, and be met! They are “baby gods” in relationship with a Father God, thus they are involved in a process to learn to make request, even to learn to make urgent request, to place their case - in a respectful, honest manner, that still acknowledges the relationship, and thus grows!

Note: you quarrel with someone on the level with you, that you think you can put down or make cower, because of the moral power you hope it will lend to you. You command someone you think you might be able to overcome by your authority, or power to force.

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The whole Israelite community set out ... travelling ... as the Lord commanded them.

One day they camped  ..., but there was no water for the people to drink.

So they ...

quarrelled with Moses

and commanded ,

‘Give us water to drink.’

Moses replied with two questions (to help this situation lead them to greater self-realization and to help them grow to a maturity that they might not reach without it, or another similar process):

‘Why do you quarrel with me?

Why do you put the Lord to the test ?’

The people,

being thirsty for water there,

grumbled further against Moses.

They accused him, under the guise of a question:

‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us (and our children and livestock) die of thirst?’

Then Moses cried out to the Lord ,

‘What am I to do with these people?

They are almost ready to stone me.’

(after Exodus 17:1‭-‬4)

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