Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for web/projection

• A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

From the artist:

On a recent search to remedy dull kitchen knives, I found myself learning about wet stones. Sharpening a knife used to be called "whetting," so to sharpen a blade was to "whet" it. Stones used for sharpening were called “whetstones,” or a “wet rock." Natural whetstones are typically formed of quartz, but today can be formed into pumice stones from all kinds of materials. This interesting play on the words “wet” and “stone” led me to ask of this Exodus narrative, “In focusing on their perceived lack, how had the Hebrew’s trust in God begun to dull?”

In Exodus 17 we find the first encounter involving the Hebrews where a perceived lack of water, a necessary resource for survival, is in question. When collective despair and the threat of abandoning the journey to God’s promised land is aroused, God aids Moses in providing water from rocks along the way. This fear of scarcity dulled the once sharpened faith of the community to the extent that they longed for their former life in Egypt where water was abundant but sipped under the oppression of slavery. How is it that seeking freedom could cost so much?

Like the Hebrews in the wilderness, our fear of scarcity may cause us to struggle in our confidence in God’s provision as we seek our own promises along our life’s journey. In seeking to quench our thirst, like the figures in this image, perhaps we may find the provision of God in the grace of relief and from unexpected places that sharpen our faith.
—Carmelle Beaugelin