Chapter Four – Water
From The Rock—Again
By Wade Wright
7And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou
the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock
before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring
forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and
their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD,
as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the
congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye
rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses
lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water
came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD
spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the
eyes of the children of Israel,
therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given
them. 1[1]
In the book of Numbers, chapter20:1-11,
there is the telling of a very similar, and yet very different story concerning
water from the rock. It is similar in that Moses struck a rock with his rod,
producing water, and yet altogether different in its meaning to us. In the
story from the book of Exodus, Moses followed God’s instructions precisely,
striking the rock one time, and all was well. In the account in Numbers, he was
instructed to speak to, rather than strike the rock. Even though God was
displeased, life giving water came out of the rock. Israel had water, but all was not
well this time, for disregarding God’s commandments brings bitter consequences.
Moses died in the wilderness, rather than entering the land of Canaan,
for the simple act of striking this rock with a rod. None the less, there was
water.
In comparing the two stories, the first
difference we find, is that rather than pitching, or setting up camp, in
Rephadim [bed of rest] Israel
now dwells in Kadesh. Not only is this an actual place, but as is often the
case, the name has a meaning which lends a greater depth to the story. Kadesh
means sanctuary, and as a people who are said to dwell in Kadesh, Israel pictures
those who are safe in a place of refuge provided by the Lord himself. They
arrived there by his guidance, under the leadership of Moses, who still
represents God’s law. For us, today, the standard of God’s commandments is a
safe guide to bring the believer to a place of communion with and service to
our creator. Such a place could well be called a sanctuary, and is pictured in
the tabernacle Israel
was instructed to build, where the holy place is also called a sanctuary. It
pictures a people, already covered by the blood of God’s perfect sacrifice, in
the true sanctuary of God’s forgiveness, where the judgment of sin has been
satisfied. There is no need of striking this rock, for the people are no longer
in need of a savior; they dwell in “Kadesh”; but they still require life giving
water from the rock, and even when the best of mans intentions are not quite
what God instructed, water, and spiritual life from above still flows.
God himself stood before the rock that was
struck in the Exodus account, giving his sanction to a symbolic judgment simply
by his presence. But in Numbers, he does not say he will be there, only that
Moses was to take his staff and go, and there speak to the rock. We are here on
this earth, dwelling safely in the love of God, but our savior has returned to
his eternal estate. Even the Hebrew word that is used for rock implies this for
it has a secondary meaning of a fortress, or a stronghold high atop a lofty
mountain crag. Such a place would be hard to reach to strike against it, but
remember Moses was only to speak to the rock this time. Jesus is no longer in a
place where he might be struck with anything, having returned to his home in glory
and nothing in this world can reach him there. One time, he was struck for the
sins of all mankind, but he will be struck twice for no one. When we imagine
that we fall from grace, and must be washed again in the blood of Christ, we
dishonor his sacrifice by deeming it to be inadequate to sustain us. Water
still comes from the rock; God does not cast us away, for this sin is covered
by that same blood that covered all our sins. Hebrews 6:4-6 explains this to us
and also tells why God would be upset with Moses for hitting a rock with a
stick. When Moses disobeyed, he marred two pictures of Christ in the Old
Testament.
Almost the entire book of Hebrews
portrays Christ as our high priest, and Moses was to deal with this rock in such
a way as to demonstrate an established relationship which a believer has with
his savior. In the temple worship of the Old Testament, the high priest went
into the sanctuary daily to intercede with God for the sins of Israel.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has gone into the true sanctuary in heaven,
and there intercedes on our behalf, just as the priests of old pictured in the
rituals of temple worship. We do not come to him with a symbol of judgment, or
with any violent intentions, but we speak to him as Moses was instructed to do.
We can safely share the deepest needs and desires of our heart, bare our soul
in confession, for he already knows us with greater intimacy than we can
understand. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that He can divide the soul and the spirit,
and knows the thoughts and intents of our heart. We can’t even adequately
define the soul and spirit. When we kneel in prayer, the Holy Spirit which
indwells us speaks to this great high priest with groanings which cannot be
uttered [Romans 8:26], communicating to him things we cannot find a voice for.
How wonderful, that we might speak out of the very core of our being and be
heard in God’s presence, and yet our story holds yet a further meaning.
Romans 12:5 tells us that we are the
members of the body of Christ, and it is plain to us that we remain here in
this world. If any hand be raised against Jesus in this world, it must be
raised against his church. Persecution is a reality that we here in the United States
are largely insulated from. As I observe the state of our nation, I wonder how
long God will permit our comfortable circumstances to continue. But for those
for whom persecution is a reality, the story of Moses and the rock reveal how
Gods unwavering love can allow this to happen. Remember that Moses and his rod,
even though he disobeyed God, still represent God’s law and authority. When
Moses struck the rock the first time, the rod was an instrument in the hand of
the law-giver, and the type is true in the second story. Whenever persecution
comes, it only comes as far as God allows, and not a step further, for the
persecution is an instrument in the hand of God, just as the rod was in the
hand of Moses. There is a picture of this in action in the first chapter of
Job, where Satan comes before God, having been watching Job.
God allows him to take everything from
Job except his very life, and yet we see that Job has in no way fallen from
God’s favor. The key to understanding the story is to realize that Satan could
do only what God allowed. Perhaps it would have been small comfort to Job to
have this whispered in his ear while he sat upon the ash heap scraping his
boils with a shard of broken pottery, and remembering his family, but his faith
is a wonderful record to us now. God accomplishes his purposes with eternity in
view, and our eternal good in mind and those things are not always the same as
what appears to us in our daily walk. Whatever comes to a Christian comes from
the Hand of a loving God who will not harm him. Persecution brings the activity
of the Holy Spirit (water from the rock) in a way that prosperity never can,
for even the persecution comes at God’s own hand.
Moses acted as a sinful man in raising
his hand against the rock, and he pictures all men who raise their hands
against God’s church. It is a presumptuous act, for in doing so man places
himself in a place reserved for God alone. No one has the right sit in judgment
over the body of Christ, but God himself, and in doing so men trespass against
God, by standing in a position that belongs exclusively to God. Moses sin is
prophetic of many people and institutions, who through the course of history dare
to lift their hands against the Church as though they had authority to judge
that which belongs to God. He also ruined the picture of Christ being crucified
once for all men, but twice for no one. Can a man sin a great sin and lose the
salvation which is by grace through faith? And if so, just how great a sin
would it require?
If there was a second chance at
salvation, Moses striking the rock again would have been a true and accurate
picture for our understanding. However there cannot be a provision for a
second, unless there is a need for it. Look again at Hebrews 6:4-6, and see if it
doesn’t dash any hope of twice being saved. There is no provision for it
because there is no need. Look at the story of Jesus washing the feet of his
disciples found in John 13:2-11. It is a wonderful picture of the humility of
Jesus, and like much of scripture there is a great deal more there that we can
learn. Notice what Jesus said when Peter was indignant at the thought of having
the Lord Jesus kneeling before him to wash his feet. He pointed out that there
was a difference between a bath and washing the dust from your feet. Peter was
clean, that is washed in the blood, but the sins of his day’s journey had
soiled his feet. If the things that caused Peter to need a foot washing had
caused him to be as he had been before salvation, he would have needed another
bath to make the picture accurate. Jesus pointed this out when he said “he that
is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit”. If this
is hard for you to understand, skip ahead to the chapter on the brass alter and
the laver of cleansing, or just consider it and ask for God’s assurance of
salvation. The born again child of God need not stand in jeopardy or fear for
his soul lest he fall from grace, for his standing is by grace and not the
works of his hands.
The Bible tells that Jesus is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Two separate concepts, or the work of grace and mercy. Mercy in the forgiveness
of sin, and grace for the new life we now live in Christ Jesus. Bathed in the
cleansing blood of Calvary’s Lamb (the rock once struck), and cleansing from
all unrighteousness through prayers and supplications (speak to the rock). This
is beautifully portrayed in the temple worship, where an Israelite brought a
sacrifice to the alter and was assisted in making his sacrifice by the priest.
From here the Israelite turned back, and the priest went on to the laver of
cleansing, where he washed his hands and feet before entering the Holy Place.
Mercy portrayed at the alter in the offering of the sacrifice, and cleansing at
the laver. Even the priest is symbolic, in that he goes into the place of
communion and service where the natural man could not. He is a picture of us,
forgiven of our sins, and kept clean in our walk, all by the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was once offered, and only once. The Lord Jesus Christ, who
now intercedes for us at the throne of grace as our great high priest, and
tells the groanings which man cannot find voice for to the Father in heaven.
[1]The
Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Nu 20:7-13). Logos Research Systems,
Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA
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