Week 77: Seeing Jesus In OT- The Smitten Rock

This week, in continuing our discussion to find Jesus in OT, we want to examine the "Rock", a type of Christ mentioned  in two very similar episodes that both occur at a place named Meribah., 

The first instance occurred at "Horeb" (i.e., Mt. Sinai) near the beginning of Israel's wandering in the wilderness, while the second occurred forty years apart at Kadesh, near the beginning of Israel's entrance into the Land of Promise. Let's look at the passage of the first occurrence:


Exodus 17:1-7

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”

3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

In first instance, the Israelites journeyed on and came to Rephidim. There was no water for the people to drink. They grumbled against Moses about the lack of water, and Moses rebuked the Israelites for testing God.

In verse 7, the text states that it was on this account that the place gained the name Massah,meaning "tempted", and the name Meribah, meaning "contention or strife or quarrel."

Moses said to the Lord, "What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me."God told Moses to take his staff, take the elders with him and go to the rock in Horeb. He was to strike the rock with his staff and water would come out of it. Moses did as the Lord had commanded and abundant water flowed out of the rock. This first occurrence speak of Christ's chastisement and suffering when He came 2000 years ago. Isaiah 53 stated clearly what our Lord did at the cross:

Isaiah 53

4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

Hallelujah! Praise be to our wonderful Savior! He came and took our sins upon Himself. He took the judgement of sins upon Himself, He was wounded; bruised so that in exchange for His peace, well-being, health and wholeness! Hallelujah!

As a result of Christ's death, the Holy Spirit, "the water of life," was poured out for us.The rock is a type of Christ, who was "struck" on the cross for us. He was "struck" so that we can be whole, complete, healthy and in peace with God today. As a result of Christ's death, the Holy Spirit, "the water of life" was poured out for us! Amen!

Let's now examine the second occurrence which happened forty years later. By that time, the children of Israel were still wandering in the wilderness. This is recorded in Numbers chapter 20. Let's look at the passage:

Numbers 20

20 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

13 This was the water of Meribah,because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.

Notice in this account, the Lord told Moses to "speak to the rock," He was NOT told to strike the rock. Moses and Aaron were angry with the people because of their murmuring. In verse 10, Moses said, "Hear now, you rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?"

Moses then struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came forth abundantly. There was water for all the people and their cattle. But God was displeased with Moses and Aaron.

Why was God displeased with them? Because they had disobeyed His word. God told them to speak to the rock, NOT to strike it. Moses misrepresented God and made God looked angry among His people. Moses failed to glorify God with his behavior. Because of their disobedience, Moses and Aaron were not permitted to enter the promised land.

By striking the rock, Moses and Aaron "destroyed" a type of Christ. Christ, as typified by the rock, was "struck" once only when He died on the cross. Christ second coming is no longer about dying on the cross again. His once and only death on the cross was the perfect and complete sacrifice for our sins, and it need never be repeated. Amen!

In contrast, speaking to the Rock is a picture of the access believers now enjoy to all the wonders of the grace of God in our lives. The water in this instance representing the entire truth of the Bible whereby we are refreshed and nourished after salvation. When Jesus was at the well with the woman of Samaria, He said to her this:

John 4

13 .... “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Jesus came to give us life and more abundantly. And when we "drink" of Him, we will never thirst again and in us will spring forth everlasting life! Amen!

Today, we are all one body in Christ and we are grounded in this "Rock". Christ is this "Rock."This is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 4 "... For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. " But, the critical thing is this, today we do not approach this "Rock" by "striking". anymore. By doing so, we are dishonouring His finished work at the cross. Instead, we should come to Him by "speaking" to this "Rock." Amen!

Interestingly, the words used for "Rock" in each case are significantly different. In Exodus 17, the word "rock" in Hebrew is "tsur", while Numbers 20, the word "rock" in Hebrew is "sela". According to Hebrew lexicon, the two words are synonyms, but that notwithstanding there is a critical difference in meaning. The first word "tsur" indicates quite simply a rock, while the second "sela" has more the idea of an exalted rock, that is, a huge cliff face (stronghold of Yahweh). This explains Psalm 78:15-16, a passage which recalls both instances together:

Psalms 78

15 He split the rocks (tsur) in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock (sela),
And caused waters to run down like rivers.

(15) He split the rocks (tsur = Ex.17) in the desert and gave them drink abundantly like the great deeps. (16) He brought forth flowing streams from the [exalted] rock (sela' = Num.20), and He brought [from on high] water like rivers.

In this passage we do have definite evidence that the "sela" of Numbers 20 towers above Moses and the people (a clear picture of Christ exalted in resurrection and glory), for the waters stream out (indicating a dropping down from on high) and are "brought down from above". In contrast, the splitting of the "tsur" upon which the Lord stands in the first instance (Ex.17) and out of whose "wound" the water flows is a clear picture of Christ being judged in our place for the provision of the water of eternal life. Amen!

Now that the cross is a reality, now that Christ has died for our sins, all we need do is "speak to Him"; that is true for us today in honouring His perfect work on the cross, in appropriating the salvation He came to give, and in accessing to the abundance of grace and mercy that are ours "in Christ". Amen!

This symbol of confidence in the security we have through Jesus' sacrifice (i.e, merely needing to address God rather than wait for Him to provide another substitute for our sin) was so critically important that God had to make an example of Moses' failure to carry through in the proper way with the result that this offense cost him entrance into the Promise Land!

Given the greatness of Moses in all other respects, this is something all believers should remember. Anytime we start to doubt the mercy, grace, provision, or forgiveness of God and become despondent or try to repair our relationship with Him by our works or self-effort (self-focus), this is equivalent to striking the Rock a second time! This is not God want to see from us. Instead, let's "speak" to Him and honour His finished work at the cross. He who has gone through the trouble, the pain and the suffering is not about to bring just water for us, but to bring streams out of the rock. And in that streams, we will no longer thirst. But, in us, it will spring up into everlasting life, a life of abundance blessings and joy! Amen! Hallelujah!

Grace and peace be with you.