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.
We may walk in the way of duty and still meet troubles; God brings us into straits to test our faith and be glorified in our relief. Their violent thirst made them outrageous, and they demanded water from Moses as a debt, forgetting that former favors ought to humble the unbelieving rather than embolden them to insist on more.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 17:1-7
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb,.... Or "upon that rock" (k), a particular rock which was pointed unto, where the Lord in the pillar of cloud would stand; not as a mere spectator of this affair, but as a director of Moses where to smite the rock; and to exert his power in producing water from it, and by...
I will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb - The rock, הצור hatstsur. It seems as if God had directed the attention of Moses to a particular rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount and its vicinity must have been well known to Moses during the time he kept Jethro's flocks in those quarters. Dr.