R. Elazar ben R. Yossi Haglili found a disturbing paradox buried in a single verse from Psalms. The verse reads (Psalms 81:8): "In distress you called and I rescued you. I answered you from the recesses of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Merivah."
Read it carefully. God is speaking to Israel, and He describes three events in rapid succession. First: "In distress you called and I rescued you" — this refers to the moment when Israel cried out in Egypt and God heard their prayer. Second: "I answered you from the recesses of thunder" — this refers to the revelation at Sinai, when God's voice shook the heavens and the entire world trembled at the sound of the divine word.
But then comes the devastating third clause: "I tested you at the waters of Merivah." Merivah was the place where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it, where the people complained bitterly about the lack of water, where faith collapsed under the pressure of thirst.
R. Elazar ben R. Yossi Haglili drew out the heartbreaking implication. At the very time that God answered Israel's prayers, at the very moment He protected them and made the whole world thunder for them in awe — at that very time, it was already revealed before Him what they were destined to do at Merivah. God saved them knowing full well that they would fail Him. He thundered from heaven for a people whose future rebellion He could already see. The rescue and the betrayal existed simultaneously in God's knowledge, and He chose rescue anyway.