The Importance of Water

As I continue reading through the book of Numbers I come to Chapter 20 where the children of those who rebelled earlier are complaining against God and Moses. And just like their parents, they are sorry they left Egypt because there was no water to drink. Here God tells Moses that He would provide water for them. All Moses had to do was take his rod and go and speak to the rock and water would come out of it. But instead, out of his frustration Moses struck the rock twice and disobeyed God.

Now I can related to his frustrations. He has spent over 40 years leading a group of complaining people. And now the children of the original complainers have seemed to learned the art of complaining from their parents. Ultimately, what Moses' disobedience did was show his lack of trust in God and did not show proper deference to God's presences thus offending God's holiness (Num. 20:12). Because of the one act Moses and Aaron were not allowed to enter the promised land and Aaron died shortly thereafter.

I'm reminded about how important water is from this passage. Our bodies need it to survive. In fact, our bodies are made up of water: lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water; blood 83%; body fat 25% and bone 22%. I love what Psalm 42:1-2 says about water, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" Water not only satisfies our physical needs but also our spiritual needs. The Israelites yearned for water that satisfied their thirst and God provided it. Like us, a deer pants for water because it depends on it. It especially depends on it when it's being pursued by hunters.

But spiritual water is different because it satisfies us forever. Physical water only satisfies us for the moment and we need to drink it again when we become thirsty. Jesus is our living water and He has given it to us freely, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14). When we drink of the living water we will never thirst again. "They will not hunger or thirst. Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them. And will guide them to springs of water." Isaiah 49:13

I pray that we will find our satisfaction from the water of life that Jesus offers. That we'll pant for it like the deer pants for water. We need that deep yearning for the Lord like the Psalmist says in Psalm 63:1, "O God, You are my God; I shall seek you earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for you."

Krista Jones
2.19.08