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Fact About Christ from page 12: Christ is the rock who followed Israel in the wilderness
And the rock was Christ!
– 1 Corinthians 10:4
Today’s picture of Jesus Christ comes from Exodus 17, the chapter after God gives the children of Israel manna, bread from heaven, in response to their complaints. Despite seeing the provision of God, we quickly find them grumbling against Moses once again. This time, it concerns not their hunger, but their thirst.
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
– Exodus 17:1-7
Try to get into the feeling of the Israelites here. How would they say it to Moses? “You are killing me! You are killing my livestock! You are killing my children!” They are so mad Moses is even afraid for his life. That isn’t to say that their quarrel is justified. They might be saying “Give us water to drink!” or “Is the Lord among us or not?” or “Have you brought us up to kill us?” even as they eat the manna. What unbelief! But what is the Lord’s response to this testing? “You shall strike the rock that the water may come out.”
This is the scene: A crowd of people, grumbling and quarrelling. Moses and the elders of Israel before them. God looking on. A particular rock at Horeb. Moses takes his staff, the same one he used to strike the Nile, and strikes the rock. Who should have been struck? God could have struck the people because of His righteous anger for their disbelief and hard-hearted actions. Yet Moses hits the rock instead, and water comes out for the people to drink. Thus, Moses calls this place Massah and Meribah, testing and strife. Remember this! These names are often referenced later in the Bible, in the Psalms and in Hebrews, for example.
What does the New Testament say about it?
And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
– 1 Corinthians 10:4
Paul says that this rock that Moses strikes is Christ. Consider this picture and the crucifixion of Jesus together. The Israelites quarrelled around the rock, like those around the cross who mock Christ, but are saved by Him. Moses, standing for the law, and the elders of the people are present. God is looking on. The rock is struck, like Christ on the cross smitten by God. The staff, which could signify God’s authority or perhaps “the curse of the law,” fell not on the unbelieving people, but on Christ (Gal 3:13). When hit, the rock pours forth water for the people to drink, just as Christ is pierced in his side by the Roman soldier, letting blood and water pour out. This is the Rock that followed the Israelites throughout their sojourn in the wilderness.
So what does this picture say about Christ?
Actually, in this picture we have a double type. Christ as the “Rock of ages, cleft for us” and the Holy Spirit as the water pouring forth from His side. In response to unbelief of the children of Israel and to quench our thirst, we and all generations afterward, God strikes Christ that living water may flow out. Mackintosh, in his Notes on the Pentateuch, says:
But who could drink till the Rock was smitten? Israel might have gazed on that rock and died of thirst while gazing; but, until smitten by the rod of God, it could yield no refreshment. This is plain enough. The Lord Jesus Christ was the centre and foundation of all God’s counsels of love and mercy. Through Him all blessing was to flow to man. The streams of grace were designed to gush forth from “the Lamb of God;” but then it was needful that the Lamb should be slain — that the work of the cross should be an accomplished fact, ere any of these things could be actualised. It was when the Rock of ages was cleft by the hand of Jehovah, that the flood-gates of eternal love were thrown wide open, and perishing sinners invited by the testimony of the Holy Ghost to “drink abundantly,” drink deeply, drink freely. “The gift of the Holy Ghost” is the result of the Son’s accomplished work upon the cross.
– C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch
Only knowing Jesus as the Passover lamb, giving redemption by His blood, and as manna, coming out of heaven to give life to the world, still gives an incomplete picture of the fullness of God’s plan accomplished through Christ. But with this rock, we see how through the cross God opens the way for us to receive the Holy Spirit, to drink of His living waters, to even become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
What does this mean for me as a Christian?
Could we open up water from a rock? Or could our righteousness be enough to bring forth the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? No, but it is only through the cross of Christ. On one hand, the work is done―Christ cried “It is finished!” on the cross, and we as believers can enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit forevermore. On the other hand, when we put ourselves in the service of the Lord, when we desire to give living water, when we desire to furnish ground for the Holy Spirit, this principle still applies. Could our actions, words, or feelings bring the blessing of the Lord forth? No! Not without going through the cross! Our self-life must be dealt with by the Lord before He can use us as a vessel to flow His water of life through.
This water that flows from Christ is also uniquely satisfying. When people quarrel, as the Israelites did, what can preserve unity? You could try to have unity around many different things, whether doctrine, or a common identity, or a great leader, but when faced with the quarreling people, God’s solution is water flowing from a stricken rock. Only by the Holy Spirit flowing from Christ, the Rock that follows us, and by extension, only by our experience of the cross can we expect all of our quarreling to be quenched. Oh, what a blessing to have this Rock! May we never leave this stricken Rock and the water that flows from it!
Have any inspirations or questions about the content of the article? Or do you just want to say hello and introduce yourself? We’d love to hear from all our readers! Leave a comment or send an email to editors@asweetsavor.org with the title of this post in the subject line. If you are burning to engage with us, but don’t know what to say, here are some questions that could be a help:
- The Israelites quarreled with Moses while eating the manna. We are still like them today. Have you ever tried to pick a fight with God while already living in the light of his blessing? How can our faith be strengthened to avoid such disbelief?
- On God’s command, Moses brings forth water out of a rock. The Holy Spirit is only given after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. What situation in your life has God used to show that He can cause life to come from death?
- “Rock of Ages” by Augustus Toplady is a famous hymn that draws from this picture. What other psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs inspired by this thought have been influential in your life?