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Sweet Living Waters
By Sophia Prinsloo with Barbara Wilmerton Haas

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Text Version | Afrikaans


www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/text/moseswaters.txt

There was great excitement on the farm because the
borehole drilling team had arrived just before
sunset. That night, Juan was so excited that he
struggled to fall asleep. He had been praying
because it would be such a huge benefit to have an
abundance of water on the farm. Dad would be able
to increase his livestock, and Mom could enlarge
her vegetable garden and - maybe, just maybe -
Juan could convince his dad to buy him a couple of
fruit trees. He would water them and they would
produce sweet, juicy peaches, apricots, pears,
apples and maybe even avocados, or oranges or
lemons to make lemonade from.

When Juan eventually fell asleep, he had the most
amazing dream. He dreamed that seven men were
standing around a large, shiny silver bowl of
water. One of the men asked Juan if he wanted to
be filled with the Holy Spirit. He eagerly
replied, "Yes, please!" The man handed him the
bowl of water and he drank and drank and then
suddenly fell to the floor, grabbing his tummy.
Then his hands shot up into the air and he started
praising the Lord aloud with strange sounds coming
from his mouth. He woke up, still praising the
Lord with his hands straight up in the air.

Still baffled by the strange but wonderful dream,
Juan suddenly heard the loud
RRRacataca-rrracataca-rrracataca of the borehole
drilling machine. He jumped out of bed, got
dressed quickly and ran outside to the drilling
site, joining his dad at a safe distance from the
drill. They watched as the drilling machine
drilled deeper and deeper.

Suddenly the drill bit was being pulled up, "Dad!
Did they get water? Why are they pulling up?" Juan
tried to make his voice heard above the loud
noise.

"Not yet, son. They are pulling up to put in some
casings first. Otherwise, the hole may cave in!"
Juan strained his ears to hear what his dad was
saying.

The men put a casing in the hole, and then punched
it down as far as it would go. Then they put on
the drill bit again and continued drilling.

At lunchtime, Mom brought some delicious, chicken
pies and ice cold lemonade to the site for
everyone to enjoy. Refreshed, the men continued
drilling and adding casings in turn. By late
afternoon, suddenly, the soil coming from the
drilling hole was getting wetter and wetter and,
yes, a few minutes later, sweet, clear water
streamed from the borehole. Juan jumped in the air
with joy as broad smiles lit up everyone's faces.
Juan could see his dad had a new spring in his
step because of the prospect of everything
flourishing with life.

That night at dinner, Dad said a prayer of
thanksgiving and took the Children's Bible to read
a story:

* * *

Still full of excitement about the miracle
crossing through the Red Sea on dry land, and then
dancing joyfully with Miriam singing the Lord's
praises because of their deliverance from the
Egyptian armies, three young girls, hopped,
skipped and jumped back to their family's tent.

Moses passed them when he overheard them chatting
to one other while they were still dancing:

"What a great and mighty God we serve! He made a
miracle road for us through the Red Sea!" the
oldest said, dancing with her hands held high up
in the air.

"And He made our enemies drown in the Red Sea with
his mighty hand," the middle one said, dancing in
unison with her older sister.

"I'm sure He will always keep us safe!" the little
one said as she tried to keep up, copying her
older sisters.

Moses smiled with content at the faith of these
little ones and he hoped that the adults would
share their trust in the Lord and believe with all
their hearts that the Lord would protect them and
provide for them, no matter what.

With the road through the Red Sea covered with sea
water again, blocking the way back to Egypt, Moses
led the Israelites into the wilderness of Shur.
The first day in the desert went by as they walked
and walked. Not a river, not a dam, not even a
well was in sight. To quench their thirst, they
drank water from their water bags. The second day
went by as they walked and walked. Again, not a
stream, not a pool, not even a spring was in
sight, and the water levels in their water bags
dropped considerably. After three days of
traveling in the barren wilderness without finding
any water, the water bags of the Israelites were
empty and they were getting anxious for their
animals too. The people were irritated with their
circumstances and made a huge mistake: They did
not pray to the Lord their God and ask for help.

One man did pray: MOSES! He prayed the whole time
and he knew the pillars of cloud and fire, were
leading them on exactly the route God wanted them
to take. He knew sometimes the Lord leads you into
difficult places to teach you to trust Him in
every circumstance.

Suddenly, in the distance, the Israelites saw the
shimmering of the sun shining on a pool of water.
Was it real, or was nature playing tricks on them
with a mirage? Some of the people ran towards the
pool to get there first and see if it was real or
not. And, YES, it was real water, but as they
tasted it, their faces twisted in horror.

"UGH! OH, NO!" They spit out the water. Now they
knew why the place was called "Marah" - because
the water was bitter.

"MOSES! MOSES!" they loudly voiced their
discontent. "We can't drink this! Must we die of
thirst in this desolate, dry land?"

Moses, feeling responsible for this complaining
people, knew just where to go for help. He pleaded
with the Lord to help them, and the Lord showed
him a tree to throw into the pool. Moses obeyed
and it splashed into the water.

Leading by faith, he bent down, scooped up some
water in a cup and drank it. The people carefully
followed his lead and, yes, the Lord had done a
miracle. The water was sweet as can be. All the
people quenched their thirst and filled their
water bags to the brim before watering their
livestock.

With their thirst quenched, the Lord spoke to the
Israelites there at Marah. He made a commitment to
them and said, "If you listen to my voice, obey Me
and do what is right, I will keep you free from
all the diseases the Egyptians suffered, because I
AM the LORD WHO HEALS YOU!"

It was almost as if He said, "If you disobey the
Lord, your life will be bitter, like the bitter
waters of Marah. But if you obey the voice of the
Lord, like Moses did when he cast a tree into the
water, He will heal you just like He healed the
water of Marah and your life will be sweet."

The Israelites understood and agreed it would be
good for them to obey the Lord, so the Lord led
them to the lovely place of Elim. From a distance
they could see the green branches of tall palm
trees swaying in the wind, beckoning them to come
closer. The kids strained their eyes to count the
trees, and when they arrived, they concluded there
were 70 lush palm trees around 12 springs. How
refreshing the sweet, cool water was after a long
day's walk in the desert! How faithful God was!

The Israelites could not stay at Elim forever,
because they had a desert to cross to reach the
Promised Land, so the pillar of cloud lifted again
and the Lord led them to the wilderness of Sin
where He miraculously provided manna and quail for
them to eat, despite their murmuring and unbelief.

Then the Lord led them to Rephidim but, yet again,
the situation seemed impossible because there was
no water for them to drink. Did they trust the
Lord this time because of all the miracles He had
done before? No, they wondered, "Is it really the
Lord leading us through this barren land without
water? Did He make a mistake? And what about
Moses? HE convinced us to leave Egypt. HE must
take care of us, or did he lead us out to let us
die of thirst in this scorching desert?"

All this unbelief and questioning caused them to
work themselves up into a mad frenzy, picking up
rocks to stone Moses, yelling at him, "Give us
water that we may drink!" Kids hid themselves
wherever they could find a hiding place, fearing
their parents might stone their hero, Moses, to
death.

Moses replied, "Why do you pick a fight with me?
Why do you tempt the Lord by not believing in Him
after all the miracles He did for you, showing his
love for you?"

But the people were angry and wouldn't listen,
saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? To
kill us, our children and our livestock with
thirst in the wilderness?"

Moses didn't get angry with them; neither was he
afraid of them, but he knew where he could find
help, so he petitioned the Lord, "What shall I do
with this people? They are almost ready to stone
me!"

The Lord faithfully replied, "Moses, take your rod
with which you struck the Nile, gather some of the
elders with you and go out before the people to
the rock at Mount Horeb. There I will meet you and
you'll strike the rock and water will gush from it
so that the people can drink."

Moses did exactly as the Lord told him, picking up
his rod and leading the elders to the rock at
Mount Horeb. When he struck the rock right in
front of the eyes of all the elders who came with
him, there was a loud rumble of splitting rock,
followed by a rushing sound and sweet, crystal
clear, refreshing water gushed from the rock,
providing enough for all the thirsty Israelites,
their children and their livestock. Once again the
Lord proved to the Israelites that He cared about
them and would provide all their needs.

The physical thirst of the people was quenched
that day, but not their spiritual thirst, because
they still didn't fully believe that the Lord was
with them, and loved them and would provide all of
their needs.

Moses gave the place two names. The first was
Massah, which means "Tempting the Lord," because
they asked, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The
second was Meriba, which means "argument" and
"strife."

Juan's dad closed the Children's Bible and said,
"You know, the rock in this story is a picture of
Jesus Christ. He was struck and crucified for us,
pouring out his life for us. And now He quenches
our spiritual thirst with his Holy Spirit filling
us when we believe in Jesus and obey Him with all
our hearts and souls, and minds and strength."

"Dad! Dad!" Juan exclaimed. "I had an awesome
dream this morning!" He continued to tell them all
about his dream of drinking from the silver bowl.

His dad replied, "That is a most wonderful dream
the Lord gave you, son! Jesus filled you with the
Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of John, He said that
if we drink the spiritual water, God's Holy
Spirit, it will become like an everlasting spring
within us, giving us joy and quenching our
spiritual longings. But if we drink from earthly
water, like this borehole we drilled or when we
seek to be satisfied by earthly pleasures, we will
become thirsty again. Then we will keep on
searching in other places, like the Israelites
travelled from one place to another to quench
their thirst with water. But true spiritual water
is found only in one place, and that is in Jesus."

Taking a sip of water, Juan's dad continued,
"Remember the casings that were put into the
borehole to prevent it from becoming blocked?
Well, when we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit and
it causes the living waters within us to become
blocked. The Holy Spirit will make you feel guilty
about your sin. But if we ask the Lord Jesus for
forgiveness, He forgives us and unblocks the flow
of his Holy Spirit in us.

Just like water brings life to plants and animals
in different ways, the Holy Spirit makes good
things happen in our lives (fruit and gifts of the
spirit), such as giving us love, joy, and peace,
and we receive power to obey God and to witness to
others, telling them what Jesus did for us on the
cross and what He is still doing in our lives. He
also helps us understand the Bible and aids us
when we pray."

Juan smiled because he knew deep in his heart that
Jesus gave him the Holy Spirit and he'd never have
to be spiritually thirsty again.

* * *

REMEMBER!
Only Jesus Christ can satisfy your spiritual
thirst by filling you with his Holy Spirit

THINK!
1. What was the name of the place of bitter water?
2. What did Moses cast into the water to make it
sweet?
3. How many springs and palm trees were at Elim? 
4. What did Moses strike with his rod to make
water flow out? 
5. What does the rock picture?
6. What does the water picture?
7. Would you like to have the Holy Spirit flow
like a heavenly spring within you?

VERSE TO LEARN:
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall
give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14).

ALTERNATE VERSE TO LEARN:
"In the last day, that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John
7:37,38).

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will come, live in
you if you love and obey Him. Can you think of a
few things the Holy Spirit is doing in your life? 

Here's a clue: Have you heard of the fruit and
gifts of the Spirit? The Word of God says that the
Holy Spirit helps you love others, gives you joy
and peace, and helps you be patient and kind,
teaches you to be good, faithful, humble and
strong so you don't lose control. He also helps
you do what God wants you to do. The Holy Spirit
decides which gifts are best for you, like the
gifts of wisdom and knowledge, or faith, or power
to heal or do miracles, or prophesy and preach.
He's also there to comfort you, to lift you up
when you feel weak or discouraged, to help you
know how to pray, and to give you strength.

Are you in need of the Holy Spirit's help today?
Do you feel lonely, sad or weak? Or are you
struggling with a bad temper? Are you having a
hard time knowing how to pray? Or have you been
impatient with others, finding it difficult to
show them love? Maybe you're struggling to
forgive someone who sinned against you. Or maybe
you want to be mightily used by God. Is there any
other spiritual longing you have?

[After discussion:] It's the work of the Holy
Spirit to help you with all these things. So just
as one would thirst after water in a dry, dusty
desert, do you long to be filled with the Holy
Spirit as God promised? The Word of God says that
He will gladly give you the Holy Spirit if you ask
Him in faith.

Now, take a moment in prayer to tell God all about
your struggles and weaknesses. Tell Him of your
desire to be used by Him as well. Ask Him to fill
you with his Holy Spirit, to help you bear the
fruit of the Spirit, and receive and use the gifts
of the Spirit as He chooses.

LET'S PRAY:
****************************************************
Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus was struck
and crucified for us so that we can receive
forgiveness for our sins and find eternal life.
Please quench our spiritual thirst and fill us
with your Holy Spirit so we can bear fruit and be
mightily used by You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Exodus 15:22-27; 17:1-7

DID YOU KNOW?
You can view this Bible story in full color with
pictures and resources to go along with the story
at www.bit.ly/moseswaters-en

BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
www.childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html 

                                 * * *
Copyright (c) 2021 by Barbara Wilmerton Haas.

You may NOT re-post this Bible story. 
However, you may freely link to it,
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