You would think by now the people would begin to understand that God was a God of might and power who was able to provide all their needs. You would think that they would ask Him to provide water for them. Instead, they had a great confrontation with Moses saying, "Why did you bring us out into the wilderness to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst? Give us water to drink!"

"Why are you quarreling with me?" Moses asked. "Don't you know you are trying God's patience?" Frustrated, he cried out to God, "What am I going to do about these people? They're about to stone me."

It must have been hard for Moses; he knew God only wanted good for the people of Israel and that God had performed great miracles for them, yet, whenever something upset them, they became angry and blamed their physical leader, Moses, for their woes!

But God was with Moses, as He was with the people, too, had they only realized it. "Walk ahead of the people a ways," God instructed Moses, "Take some of the leaders of Israel with you and carry along the staff you used to strike the Nile. When you come to the rock at Horeb, strike it with your staff. I will stand there with you and will make water come out of the rock for everyone to drink."

With the leaders as witnesses Moses did as God commanded and water poured out of the rock. Moses named the place Massah, which means "testing" in Hebrew and Meribah, which means "quarreling." Because the children of Israel quarreled with him and tempted the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Israel's trials and testings were not over. For while they were camped at Rephedim, the army of the Amalekites came to attack them. Moses told a young man named Joshua to select some men and prepare to go out to defend Israel in the morning. "You will prevail, for I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands as you fight," he told Joshua.

In the morning Joshua and the men he had chosen went out to fight the Amalekites while Moses took Aaron and Hur up on the hill overlooking the armies. Moses held the staff up above his head, just as he had done to signal divine power at the time of the plagues. As long as Moses held the staff aloft over the scene below, Joshua and his men prevailed, but whenever his arms grew tired and he lowered his hands, the Amalekites attacked with savage force and the battle swung in the enemy's favor. Realizing that winning the battle depended on Moses holding the rod up and beseeching God for His favor and intervention, Aaron and Hur placed a stone for Moses to sit on and, standing on either side of him, they held up his arms until sunset. God heard Moses and saw Aaron's and Hur's commitment. With God's help, Joshua and his men overcame the Amalekites and Israel won the battle against their enemy.

God told Moses, "Write down everything that has happened and make sure Joshua hears it, for I will erase all memory of the Amalekites from under heaven."

Moses built an altar at Rephedim to honor God for the victory. He said, "Hands were lifted up to the throne of God. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

The Amalekites were finally destroyed completely by Saul and Samuel.

Jethro, whom Moses had worked for forty years in the wilderness and who was the father of Moses' wife Zipporah, heard of all that God had done for Moses and the people of Israel. He came to the camp and brought Moses' wife and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer along.

Moses told him in more detail about what had occurred and Jethro rejoiced and made sacrifices to God. The next day he observed Moses as he sat judging all the disputes that the people brought before him. This took the whole day, from sunrise to sunset.

Jethro told Moses, "This isn't good, you'll wear yourself out and the people will grow weary of waiting for you to judge their cases. Choose honest, upright, God-fearing men to be over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. Let them pass judgment on the small matters. When a matter is too great for them, they can bring it to you. It will be easier for you if you let others bear the burden with you. This way you will only have to take the most difficult problems to God." This sounded wise to Moses so he chose qualified men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people; rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. These men then judged Israel. The hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. Seeing that everything was running smoothly, Jethro returned to his own home.

Moses continued to lead the people of Israel toward Mount Sinai and they camped before the mountain. Then Moses went up to talk to God.

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