Neville Goddard on Exodus 17:1-4 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Exodus 17 in context

Scripture Focus

1And 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.

2Wherefore 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?

3And 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?

4And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

Exodus 17:1-4

Biblical Context

The Israelites travel to Rephidim where there is no water; they murmur against Moses and fear for themselves and their children; Moses prays to the LORD for guidance.

Neville's Inner Vision

In Neville's voice, the wilderness is the mind and thirst is a state of consciousness craving renewal. The crowd's murmur represents the old state of consciousness clinging to lack; Moses is the inner function—the I AM—speaking to your deeper self, asking how to supply the need. When you face a scene labeled no water, you are at a moment to decide: do you accept the outside condition as permanent, or do you revise it inwardly? The Lord's question to Moses, 'What shall I do?' becomes a directive to shift your assumption. The water that appears in the narrative is not some external source but the life flowing from your own awareness—your inner rock, solid and unmoving, through which consciousness streams. To strike the rock with belief is to persist in your assumption until the stream of life is felt as present. Your leadership is a transformation from fear to trust, from complaint to quiet faith, and the experience of water is the confirmation that you have always been supplied by the I AM within.