Exodus 17 – Water from the Rock and Victory over Amalek
Exodus 17 continues Israel’s wilderness journey with two major events: miraculous provision and military victory. As the people thirst, Moses strikes the rock and water flows. Later, when Amalek attacks, Moses’ raised hands ensure Israel’s victory. These stories reveal both the power of divine provision and the necessity of spiritual perseverance.
Two Crises, One Faithful God
Israel faces thirst and war—two distinct crises, both met by God. The rock becomes a fountain. The staff becomes a banner. This chapter shows us that God meets needs not only in quiet provision, but also in public battle.
✔ Water comes from the rock.
✔ The people test the Lord at Massah and Meribah.
✔ Amalek attacks—but is defeated through intercession.
✔ Moses builds an altar: Jehovah-Nissi – The Lord is My Banner.
📖 Key Verse: “Is the Lord among us, or not?” – Exodus 17:7
🔎 God’s presence is constant—even when the people doubt.
Exodus Chapter 17 Overview
Exodus 17:1–7 – Water from the Rock
📖 Exodus 17:1–3 – “There was no water for the people to drink… Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt…?”
🔎 Familiar setting—new test:
🔹 God leads them to Rephidim, yet the water is gone.
🔹 The people again murmur, accusing Moses and doubting God’s intentions.
🔹 Their question reflects deeper spiritual fear: “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
➡️ Faith Reminder: Lack of comfort is not lack of presence. God often leads us to droughts to reveal dependence.
📖 Exodus 17:4 – “And Moses cried unto the Lord… What shall I do unto this people?”
🔎 Leadership pressure mounts:
🔹 Moses feels the weight of their anger and fear.
🔹 Rather than rebuke them directly, he brings it to God in prayer.
🔹 His honesty shows that spiritual leaders must learn to cry out instead of burn out.
➡️ Leadership Insight: Effective intercession is forged in frustration. Go to God first.
📖 Exodus 17:5–6 – “Behold, I will stand before thee… and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it.”
🔎 A miracle foreshadowing the Messiah:
🔹 God gives a precise command: take the rod and strike the rock at Horeb.
🔹 The Lord stands before Moses—He aligns Himself with the solution.
🔹 Water flows from the rock—life in the wilderness.
➡️ Gospel Pattern: Paul confirms this rock represents Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). Struck once, He provides eternal life.
➡️ Prophetic Warning: Later in Numbers 20, Moses disobeys by striking the rock a second time in anger instead of speaking to it, and it costs him entry into the Promised Land. The rock was meant to be struck once—just as Christ was sacrificed once for all (Hebrews 10:10).
📖 Exodus 17:7 – “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah… because they tempted the Lord.”
🔎 Two names tell the story:
🔹 Massah = Testing. Meribah = Quarreling.
🔹 Israel put God to the test—doubting His presence despite His history of provision.
🔹 The question “Is the Lord among us or not?” becomes a defining failure of trust.
➡️ Spiritual Reflection: How often do we ask the same in trials? God’s faithfulness must be remembered even when water runs dry.
Exodus 17:8–16 – Hands Raised and Amalek Defeated
📖 Exodus 17:8–10 – “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim… Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.”
🔎 Israel faces its first war after deliverance:
🔹 Amalek attacks without warning—targeting the weak and weary (Deuteronomy 25:18).
🔹 This isn’t just a military battle—it’s a spiritual one.
🔹 Joshua is introduced here for the first time, leading the army. Moses chooses to fight from a position of intercession.
➡️ Spiritual Parallel: The flesh (Amalek) rises when we are tired, and must be defeated through faith and prayer, not just force.
📖 Exodus 17:11–12 – “When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed… but Moses’ hands were heavy…”
🔎 Victory depends on intercession:
🔹 As long as Moses’ hands are lifted, Israel advances.
🔹 When they drop, Amalek prevails—prayer is visibly linked to power.
🔹 Aaron and Hur step in to support Moses—community becomes the key to breakthrough.
➡️ Kingdom Lesson: Great victories often rest on unseen hands raised in prayer, and faithful friends who hold them up.
📖 Exodus 17:13–14 – “And Joshua discomfited Amalek… Write this for a memorial…”
🔎 The battle is won—but not forgotten:
🔹 God commands that this be recorded—remembered and retold.
🔹 Amalek is not just a tribe—it represents the spiritual war against the people of God.
🔹 The Lord vows to have war with Amalek from generation to generation (a prophetic theme that resurfaces in 1 Samuel 15 and Esther).
➡️ Prophetic Thread: Amalek symbolizes persistent opposition to God’s people, much like Satan or the flesh in the life of a believer.
📖 Exodus 17:15–16 – “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi… The Lord is my Banner.”
🔎 The name reveals the source of victory:
🔹 Banners in ancient times were symbols of identity and leadership.
🔹 Moses declares that God Himself is their banner—the One under whom they march and fight.
🔹 This altar becomes a memorial of God’s faithfulness on the battlefield.
➡️ Final Insight: When the Lord is your banner, your victory is not about strength—but about alignment and faith.
Exodus Chapter 17 - Deeper Study
Overview: Providence and Power in the Wilderness
🔹 Timeframe: During the journey through the wilderness of Sin.
🔹 Setting: Rephidim—a place of both testing and triumph.
🔹 Theme: God provides, God protects, and God prevails.
Key Takeaways
🔑 God’s provision can come from unexpected places.
🔑 Doubt often follows closely behind deliverance.
🔑 Intercession plays a powerful role in victory.
🔑 Unity in leadership brings breakthrough.
🔑 Victory is both physical and spiritual.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Water from the rock – A symbol of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
🔮 Amalek’s attack – Represents the flesh warring against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17).
🔮 Raised hands and victory – A type of Christ’s intercession (Hebrews 7:25).
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Nomadic life in the desert – Water was survival. A dry camp was a crisis.
📜 Striking the rock – Seen in ancient cultures as invoking divine response.
📜 Amalekites – A fierce nomadic tribe, often attacking the weak from behind (Deuteronomy 25:18).
💡 Final Reflection: Will You Trust Him in the Fight and the Thirst?
God’s people faced physical thirst and violent attack—but in both, He showed Himself mighty. Are you crying out for provision or battling unseen enemies?
📌 Are you striking rocks in anger—or seeking God in faith?
📌 Are your hands lifted in prayer—or weary from the fight?
📌 Have you made the Lord your Banner?
🚀 Victory flows where intercession and trust rise. Let your faith stand—even in dry places.
Water from the Rock
Exo 17:1 And 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.
Exo 17:2 Wherefore 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?
Exo 17:3 And 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?
Exo 17:4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
Exo 17:5 And 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.
Exo 17:6 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.
Exo 17:7 And 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?
Israel Defeats Amalek
Exo 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Exo 17:9 And 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.
Exo 17:10 So 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.
Exo 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Exo 17:12 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.
Exo 17:13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exo 17:14 And 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.
Exo 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
Exo 17:16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Date Written
1446-1406 BC
Written By
Moses
Language
Hebrew
Verses
16