Entering God's Rest - Part 1
Prophetic Dream - 4th June, 2024
The road had come to an abrupt end with no warning and all of a sudden, there was a barrier in front of me right in front of the edge of a cliff, giving me insufficient notice to stop or swerve.
I slammed on the brakes and tried to turn the car at a sharp 180 degree angle as I swerved heavily to avoid going over the edge.
But I couldn't stop or turn quickly enough and we went over a steep cliff.
My Mum was in the back, I told her I loved her and prepared to die, and then put on my seatbelt to brace for the impact.
By some miracle, we were saved on a thread and I woke up to the word Rephidim.
Three Parts
This Word is so big and so all-encompassing, that it took me over a week of full-time study, research and writing to complete, and I've had to separate it into 4 parts to make it more digestible, for maximum impact.
There are so many components, all of which are relevant, important and necessary, in order to fully comprehend God's awesome power, majesty and might.
As I did the work to complete this piece, I, like the Israelites, got lost in the wilderness for a time, not knowing how I was going to get out the other side, but God's hand kept picking me up and driving me onwards.
Little by little, things started to fall into place and take shape and God always leads us to green pastures.
May this powerful Word bring nourishment to your soul and light to your eyes.
Part 1 - Getting To Know God
In order to unpick and unpack this Prophetic dream, we begin with the last word I was given, which is Rephidim.
I did not know this word before it appeared in my dream and I had no conscious recollection of ever having read about it in the bible.
From there, I went back a couple of steps to get the context of what was happening a little earlier, and then the Holy Spirit lead the rest of the way.
This first part is about what we can learn from the experience of the Israelites, God's promise, provision and protection, the significance of key things that are easily missed by most people and God's overwhelming and unrivalled power.
As we are taken through the power of God's redeeming word and what he requires from us and why, we will come to understand His heart for us and what the full meaning of God's rest really is.
Rephidim - Place of Rest
The word Rephidim means place of rest.
It was one of the places that the Israelite community camped at in the wilderness when they left Egypt, where Moses split the rock and water came out and where the Amalekites attacked them.
Then, the Israelites left Rephidim and camped at the Desert of Sinai, where God gave them the Ten Commandments and laws.
There is much to be gained from the Israelites' journey from oppression to the Promised Land, as we too have to undertake the same journey in order to reach the place that God has prepared for us.
It is a journey of faith, of testing and of coming into alignment with God's divine will, and the reward for keeping the covenant He set before us, is an unimaginable, incomprehensible and unfathomable relationship that moves mountains, parts seas and ultimately, leads us into His incomparable rest, both here, and in the hereafter.
Learning From Our Ancestors
By understanding the Israelites trials and tribulations, success and failures, God's plan for us becomes clear.
Learning from those who have gone before us, we are able to see God's hand, grace and abundant blessings.
There is a distinct lack of gratitude in the world today and we have become entitled and self-centred.
On the other end of the spectrum lies a feeling of unworthiness, unbelief and a victim mentality.
Like the stiff-necked Israelites, we are in danger of failing to reach or being denied entry into the Promised Land.
Moses Uniquely Positioned To Lead The Israelites
The greatest part of our journey here on earth is to get to know God and answer His call, so we can understand His will and walk in His ways. God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Moses was uniquely positioned, being a Levite (Exodus 2:1-2), who was then brought up in the royal household as the Pharoah's daughter took him as her son, making the pharaoh of Egypt his grandfather, and the next Pharaoh, his uncle (Exodus 2:3-10).
When Moses was in Egypt, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people, and he killed him. When Pharaoh found out, he tried to kill Moses, so he fled to Midian (Exodus 2:11-15).
Moses came to the rescue of the 7 daughters of a priest of Midian (Jethro), whose father invited him to stay with them, and he married his daughter Zipporah (Exodus 2:16-21).
He became a shepherd of sheep, a preparation and foretelling, and God called him at Horeb (Exodus 3:1-4), telling him He was sending him to pharaoh to bring His people out of Egypt, into a land, flowing with milk and honey, and that He would be with him (Exodus 3:7-10).
Famine & Feast, Captivity & Freedom
Throughout the bible, there have been times of famine and feast, freedom and captivity and it is God who decrees these times.
The Israelites experienced both famine and captivity before God brought them up out of Egypt, and they had to endure many trials and tribulations before He delivered them into feast and freedom.
God humbles and tests us in order to know what is in our heart, and whether or not we will keep his commands. He causes us to hunger to teach us that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. And as a man disciplines his son, so God disciplines us (Deuteronomy 8:1-4).
It is so easy to fall away from God, as the good times bring abundance, revelry and forgetfulness.
But the hard times bring us closer to God, reminding us that He is the sole provider of everything, that what we receive are blessings and not entitlement, that we must humble ourselves before Him, and offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice in His service, not ours.
God's Promise & Provision
After God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders (Deuteronomy 26:8), Moses lead them from the Red Sea into the Desert of Shur (Exodus 15:22).
The Israelites had seen and experienced God's magnificent power and might for themselves and He had been with them throughout to guide them on their way (Exodus 13:21).
God's plan was to lead them into the Promised Land, in fulfilment of the covenant He had made with Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), but the Israelites neither had faith, nor gave thanks, for they were a stiff-necked people (Exodus 32:9).
Despite this, God continued to provide for them and His hand was still out-stretched.
When God made His promise to Abraham, He wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to Abraham's heirs, so He confirmed it with an oath. God's promise is as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure (Hebrews 6:13-19).
God's Ruling & Instruction
At Marah (meaning bitterness), God issued a ruling and instruction for the Israelites and put them to the test.
God told them to be careful to follow every command He gave them, so that they may live and increase and may enter and possess the land He promised on oath to their ancestors.
He told them that if they listen carefully to Him and do what is right in His eyes, if they pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, He will not bring on them any of the wasting diseases He brought on the Egyptians, for He is the LORD who heals them.
True to His word, their next stop was Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees (Exodus 15:26-27).
God was telling them very clearly that if they listen to Him, He will provide, as He had indeed provided for them many times prior.
The testing part is bitter, but if we listen and obey, God is our shield and very great reward (Genesis 15:1).
Grumbling & Quarelling
The Israelites set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, and the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron, lamenting that it would have been better if they died in Egypt as there they sat around pots of meat and ate all the food they wanted, and accusing Moses of bringing them into the desert to starve them to death.
God heard their grumbling and rained down bread (manna) from heaven for them and quail (Exodus 16:1-31).
Moses told them they were not grumbling against them, but against God (Exodus 16:8).
As the Israelites travelled through the wilderness, they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water to drink, so they quarrelled with Moses demanding water to drink (Exodus 17:1-2).
Instead of trusting God's promise, which was proved credible by everything they had seen and experienced, they continued to grumble against Moses and put God to the test (Exodus 17:2-4).
Water From The Rock
Moses cried out to God, asking Him what to do as the people were almost ready to stone him and God told him to go in front of them, taking some of the elders and the staff with which he struck the Nile.
God told Moses that He will stand there before him by the rock at Horeb and that he was to strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink, which Moses did (Exodus 17:5-7).
And Moses called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested God (Exodus 17:7).
The Israelites made God angry at Massah (Deuteronomy 9:22), they hardened their hearts, though they had seen what He did (Psalm 95:8-9).
We must continually humble ourselves, recognising that God's provision comes not by our might or power, but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
Two Instances of Water From The Rock
There were two instances where God brought water out of a rock through Moses, in different regions at different times.
The first instance in Exodus took place within one year after the Exodus, whilst the Numbers account was at a later period.
In Exodus, this was at Rephidim in the Wilderness of Sin, in Numbers, it was in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
God is able to bless us abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).
We must not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, we must present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6), and He will meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory (Philippians 4:19).
The Significance of the Water
The water that God brought out of the rock was significant on multiple levels, as was the rock itself.
All the Israelites were under the cloud and passed through the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
If they knew the gift of God, they would have asked Him and He would have given them living water (John 4:10), but instead of asking God to provide, they continued to ask Moses.
Whoever drinks the water that Jesus gives them will never thirst. Indeed, the water He gives them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-15) and rivers of living water will flow from within them (John 7:38).
We must look to God for all of our provision, and not to man, for it is God that nourishes and fills us, and never will He leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
God Is The Rock
God is referenced as the Rock throughout scripture and also as the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1) and the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24, 2 Samuel 23:3 & Isaiah 30:29).
God is the Rock who provided water to quench the Israelites thirst and living water to those who believed in Him.
The rock itself was in Rephidim (the place of rest), at Horeb (dry place), which is the Mountain of God (Exodus 3:1).
God is a rock like no other (1 Samuel 2:2), He is unrivalled in power and unstoppable in force.
We must be wise and build our house on Him. The rain comes down, the streams rise, and the winds blow and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25).
The Israelites Attacked By The Amalekites
The Amalekites were the first people to attack the Israelites when they left Egypt, at Rephidim.
Moses told Joshua to choose some men and fight them and that the next day, he will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hands.
So Joshua fought the Amalekites and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they put a stone under him and he sat on it and Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady till sunset (Exodus 17:9-12).
God was with them, exactly as He had said, and if God is for us, who can stand against us? (Romans 8:31).
The Amalekites Defeated & God's Vow To Blot Them Out
Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Then God told Moses to write it on a scroll as something to be remembered and to make sure that Joshua heard it, because He will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.
Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation (Exodus 17:8-16).
The Amalekites had no fear of God (Deuteronomy 25:18), but God's decrees are final and resistance is futile, enemies of God will be brought to shame.
If we listen carefully to what God says and do all that He says, God will be an enemy to our enemies and will oppose those who oppose us (Exodus 23:22), for it is God who goes with us to fight for us against our enemies to give us victory (Deuteronomy 20:4).
The First Judges
Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses' father-in-law, heard of everything God had done, and, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness (Exodus 18:16).
Moses took his seat to serve as a judge for the people, who stood around him from morning until evening, to seek God's will, but Jethro told him that the work was too heavy to handle alone (Exodus 18:13-18).
He told him to teach them God's decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave (Exodus 18:19-20).
Jethro told Moses to select capable men who fear God, who are trustworthy and who hate dishonest gain, and to appoint them to serve as judges, bringing every difficult case to Moses and deciding the simple cases themselves.
Jethro said that if Moses does this and God so commands, he will be able to stand the strain through sharing the load, and the people will go home satisfied, and Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said (Exodus 19:21-24).
God's Treasured Possession
After they set out from Rephidim, the Israelites entered the Desert of Sinai, and camped there in front of the mountain.
Then Moses went up to God and God called to him from the mountain and told him to tell the Israelites that they themselves had seen what He did to Egypt, and how He carried them on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself.
Now if they obey Him fully and keep His covenant, then out of all nations they will be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:2-6).
God wanted the Israelites to know why He brought them out of Egypt, which was not so that they would die of starvation and thirst in the desert!
God brought them to Himself, so they would be His treasured possession. God loves us, He treasures us, and He wants to take us as His own people (Exodus 6:7).
The Israelites Consecrated
Moses went back and summoned the elders and told them all the words God had commanded, and they said they would do everything the LORD had said (Exodus 19:7-8).
So Moses brought their answer back to God and God told him that He is going to come to him in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear Him speaking with him and will always put their trust in him.
God wanted the Israelites to hear Him. Previously, God had only spoken to Moses, and Moses communicated God's desires to the people, but now, God wanted everyone to hear Him speak.
God told Moses to consecrate the people that day and the next, have them wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, when He will come down on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:9-11).
Consecration is a necessary part of being able to hear God and stand in His Presence, as God is holy and sin cannot live in the presence of pure righteousness.
Limits Put Around The Mountain
God told Moses to put limits around the mountain and tell people not to approach or touch it.
Moses consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes, then he told them to prepare themselves for the third day and to abstain from sexual relations.
An unholy people were about to encounter a holy God, so God gave instructions for them to follow that would enable them to survive the encounter.
Only when the ram’s horn sounded a long blast, may they approach.
Once they were cleansed, God invited them to draw closer to Him (Exodus 19:12-15).
The Meeting With God
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.
Everyone in the camp trembled.
Then Moses lead the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
God had prepared them to meet Him, so He could bring His people to Himself.
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke that billowed up like a furnace, because the LORD descended on it in fire; the whole mountain trembled violently and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder, Moses spoke and God answered him (Exodus 19:16-19).
Part 2 - God's Laws, Decrees & Glory
God is not a fictional character, He is alive and His Presence can be felt by all those who draw close.
His ways are clear and they are for us not against us.
God wants to guide us, He wants us to have all the riches that He has stored up for us.
Most believers don't truly know God, their faith is small and their understanding is limited.
This next part takes us through God's laws, decrees and glory, and will leave us breathless.
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