NOTES for Exo 17:1-16
Today's reading consists of two parts that at first glance are not directly connected. The first mentions an incident in the wilderness connected with the people's indignation as they demand water and blame Moses for something for which he, of course, was in no way at fault (vv. 1-7). It should be noted that this is not the first such case: something similar happened very soon after the people came out of Egypt into the wilderness, so there was already a precedent for a successful resolution of this kind of situation (Ex 15:22-25). The second part is devoted to a description of the clash that happened to the Jews on the way to Sinai with the tribe of the Amalekites (vv. 8-13).
Here before us is a description of how God continues to educate His people spiritually, preparing them to receive the commandments and enter the Covenant. Of course, the situations with water, or rather with its absence, through which the people had to pass were a kind of lesson in trust in God. And it must be admitted with regret that these lessons were learned poorly. In such cases, two developments are possible. In one case, if there is enough time, the same lessons are repeated again and again until the students learn everything properly. If time is short, however, the program has to be shortened, so to speak, and a final exam arranged, with the risk that careless or slow students will fail it.
And if the situations with water were lessons, then the encounter in the wilderness with the Amalekites became the exam. Still, such an exam in life often itself becomes a lesson, and often an extremely harsh one. This is what happened in the encounter with the Amalekites. There was no longer anything to wait for; it was necessary to act, and to act while fully relying on God and hoping for a miracle. Earlier they could be indignant and demand something from Moses and from God; now there was no room for indignation. They had to gather their will and go into battle.
Was the people ready for such a turn of events? Judging by the story at Rephidim described in this same passage, hardly. But there was no more time left for longer preparation: Sinai lay ahead, where the full responsibility for relationship with God would have to be taken up not by Moses alone, but by each person among the people. The critical situation experienced by each person at the moment of meeting the enemy face to face forced each one to experience responsibility as well. In battle it turns out that, besides God and the opponent you face, there is nothing and no one else in the world. And such an experience prepares one for entering the Covenant better than any other lesson.