#212A: Exodus part 14: When Life is Hard, God is STILL There

EXODUS 17:1-7

If you’ve missed our Exodus episodes, I'd highly recommend you go back and listen from # 199 or # 207  b/c the context is important and the stories will build upon themselves.

Today, we hear the Israelites struggling in the desert as they journey to the promised land. The Israelites thought this hardship meant God wasn’t among them but that’s simply not true. We can remember the truth, that though we will have sad, and difficult days… God sees you, is with YOU , and loves you! We hear how God is with the Israelites and provides for them time and time again. 

Thanks for listening and I pray this podcast always helps the kids develop a relationship with Jesus. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello again, and welcome back to kids' Bible stories. Today
is part fourteen in our Exodus series, and this is
called When life is hard, God Is Still there. This
comes from Exodus chapter seventeen, verses one through seven. If

(00:23):
you've missed our Exodus episodes, I'd highly recommend you go
back and listen from episode one hundred and ninety nine
or number two hundred and seven because the context is
important and the stories will build upon themselves. Let's do
a quick recount of some of the key events that
have occurred. Pharaoh treats God's people, the Israelites, horribly. He

(00:50):
uses them as slaves, and they cry out to God
for help. God hear's their cry and sends Moses to
rescue them from cruel Pharaoh. Moses leads them to the
Red Sea, where God miraculously parts it, saving them and
destroying the Egyptians. Now God's people have left Egypt and

(01:15):
are journeying to the promised land he has spoken of.
But it's no short trip. We find ourselves here journeying
in the desert towards that sweet promised land. Always remember
these are not just stories. These things really happened. Now,

(01:43):
let's begin today's episode, the whole Israelite community set out
from the desert of Sin, traveling from place to place
as the Lord commanded. They camped at Refidom, but there

(02:05):
was no water for the people to drink, so they quarreled.
That means argued. They quarreled with Moses and said, oh,
please give us water to drink. I am so so thirsty.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Me too, I'm parched.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
I often wonder if they talked to God first for
help and guidance, or just ran straight to Moses about this,
I wonder well. Moses replied, why.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
Do you quarrel with me? And why do you put
the Lord to the test.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
But the people were thirsty for even just a drop
of water, and they grumbled against Moses.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Oh, they said, why do you bring us out of
Egypt just to make us and our children and our
animals die of thirst?

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Listeners, have we heard them say something just like this before? Yes,
you are correct, it was right before God rained down
manna and meat. Let's continue. Then Moses cried out to

(03:46):
the Lord Lord, what am I to do with these people?

Speaker 2 (03:51):
They're almost ready to stone me.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Poor Moses, he is doing all he can and obeying God.
But still he is the one the people argue with.
Sometimes it can be hard to lead, and sometimes people
will be upset with you, even though you are doing

(04:17):
what is right. The Lord answered, Moses.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Go out in front of the people, take with you
some of the elders of Israel, and take in your
hand the staff with which you struck the nile. Now go,
I will stand there before you buy the rock at Horeb.
Strike the rock, and water will come out of it

(04:49):
for the people to drink.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Moses and some of the elders walked to the large
tan rock. Obeying God's instructions. Moses raised his staff into
the air and brought it down swiftly, striking the rock,
and just as God promised, life sustaining water began to flow.

(05:23):
I wonder what the water looked like as it flowed
out of the rock. Was it a slow trickle that
bubbled up in the rock's crack, creating a gentle stream,
or did water rush out with force? The elders who

(05:45):
were with Moses saw this miracle happen well water. Moses
called the place massa, which means testing, and marabah, which
means quarreling. Because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested
the Lord, saying.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
Is the Lord among us or not?

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Well, that is it for our story today. But before
we go, let's think about what we just heard. Answer
out loud. Did this really happen or is it a
make belief story? It really happened. We must remember these

(06:36):
are real people with real fears and feelings, just like
you and I. Do you think it would be scary
to feel so thirsty and have no water anywhere?

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yes it would be. It's easy for us to read
this and act like we don't understand them because we
know how it ends, but they did not. Did God
provide them with water?

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yep?

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yes, he sure did, and it ended up being okay.
But before this happened, they quarreled with Moses. In fact,
to remember it, Moses named the place after this word.
Moses said they tested the Lord, saying.

Speaker 2 (07:32):
Is the Lord among us or not?

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Listeners? Was the Lord among them with them? Yes? He
absolutely was. Were things hard?

Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yep?

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yes, all of us, moms and dads of wellows, grammys, aunts, kids,
every human on this earth will have times that are difficult, scary,
or uncertain. Share out loud something that has been hard

(08:11):
or scary for you. Maybe you just moved and you
don't know anyone yet. Maybe someone you love is sick,
or learning to read and write is not very easy
for you. Go ahead and share out loud now I'll wait.

(08:37):
Thanks for sharing. Now, during that hard time, do you
think God was still with you?

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (08:50):
He will always be there. Our story today reminds us
that when things were hard, the israel Lights thought that
meant God wasn't among them, but that's simply not true.
We can remember the truth that though we all have

(09:13):
sad and difficult days, God sees you, is with you
and loves you. Well. That is it for our story today.
In today's iTunes review, I want to say thank you
to nine year old Jude Eli who is ten, and

(09:35):
Amari thank you for taking the time to write your view.
We will continue our Exodus stories next week, so make
sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Thanks again,
and as always, bye for now.