The Law · Chapter 17 of 40
Exodus 17
At Rephidim the people find no water and quarrel with Moses, tempting the LORD by asking whether He is among them. God tells Moses to strike the rock at Horeb, and water flows out for the people to drink. Then Amalek attacks, and while Joshua fights, Moses holds up the rod of God; whenever his hands are raised Israel prevails, so Aaron and Hur support his arms until sunset. Moses builds an altar called Jehovahnissi.
What happens in Exodus 17
Journeying from the wilderness of Sin, Israel camps at Rephidim and finds no water, so the people quarrel with Moses, nearly ready to stone him. Moses cries to the LORD, who tells him to take the elders and his rod and strike the rock in Horeb; water gushes out for the people to drink. Moses names the place Massah and Meribah because Israel tested the LORD, asking whether He was among them or not. Then Amalek comes and attacks Israel.
Moses sends Joshua to fight while he stands atop the hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses holds up his hand, Israel prevails, but when he lowers it, Amalek gains. When his arms grow heavy, Aaron and Hur seat him on a stone and hold up his hands on either side until sunset, and Joshua defeats Amalek. God vows perpetual war against Amalek, and Moses builds an altar named Jehovahnissi.
Exodus 17 in context
Exodus 17 pairs two wilderness trials: thirst and battle. Rephidim lies near Horeb, the mountain of God. The people's demand for water tips into testing whether God is truly present, a charge Scripture later recalls as a warning against unbelief.
The attack of Amalek, a nomadic people descended from Esau who struck Israel's stragglers, becomes emblematic of persistent opposition to God's purposes, remembered and answered across the generations.
Main themes of Exodus 17
Exodus 17 (KJV)
1And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? 8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: 16For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Verses to carry from Exodus 17
“Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”Exodus 17:6
“But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”Exodus 17:12
“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:”Exodus 17:15
New Testament quotation
How Exodus 17 points to Jesus
Paul looks back on this chapter and says of the rock that followed Israel, that Rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). The rock was struck so that water might pour out for the undeserving, just as Christ was struck on the cross so that living water might flow to the guilty; from His pierced side came blood and water. Jesus stood in the temple and cried that whoever thirsts should come to Him and drink.
The uplifted rod that won the battle while faithful arms held Moses up foreshadows a victory secured beyond the visible fight, won through intercession and dependence. Where Israel asked if God was among them, Christ is Immanuel, God with us, the ever present Rock who never fails His people.
Questions about Exodus 17
What was wrong with asking for water?
The need for water was real, but the people's demand curdled into accusation, charging Moses with murder and testing whether God was even present. They had just seen the sea parted and the bitter water sweetened, yet they doubted His care at the first new hardship. The sin was not thirst but unbelief, treating each fresh trial as evidence that God had abandoned them despite abundant proof of His faithfulness.
Why did the battle turn on Moses' raised hands?
The lifted rod of God signified that victory came from the LORD, not merely from Joshua's skill. When Moses' hands dropped, Amalek prevailed, showing Israel that their strength was borrowed and dependent. That Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms taught that even the leader cannot sustain the work alone. God binds victory to prayerful dependence and to a people who bear one another's burdens.
Reflection
When the water runs out, do you ask whether God is really among you? Israel forgot yesterday's sea at today's thirst. And like Moses, you were never meant to hold up your hands alone. Let Christ the Rock quench your thirst, and let faithful friends bear up your arms until the sun goes down.
A prayer from Exodus 17
Read the whole Bible with the family
Open it in the app, study it live with someone, and let it lead you to Christ.
Open the BibleRead it togetherSee what God is doing