That Rock Was Christ

2017-11-19

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 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? 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. 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. This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them. (Numbers 20:7-13)

Did you ever wonder what Moses’ sin was in this matter? If you read it a few times, you will see that the LORD told Moses, “speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water” (Numbers 20:8), but Moses actually “smote the rock twice” (Numbers 20:11). For this reason, God told him that “ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Numbers 20:12). It is enough for Moses to not do exactly what God told him to do, but it seems a little harsh. For years before, Moses was at this same place, Meribah (Numbers 20:13; cf. Exodus 17:7), and God told him to “smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it” (Exodus 17:6). Maybe he was confused, because that was God’s old instruction, and in the pressure of the moment, he made a mistake?

I believe there is a little more here than this. Listen to Moses’ speech before he struck the rock the second time at Meribah: “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10). Was Moses really fetching water from the rock, or was God providing the water? Moses overstepped his bound by saying this, and took credit for God’s work. Nonetheless, we see that God provided the necessary water for His people despite his sin.

This prefigures Christ in some way, as God later tells us that “that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Moses was supposed to speak, and receive, but rather smote the rock. Likewise, in the first century, the people were to speak and receive the living water Christ provided (John 4:10; 7:37-38), yet they smote Him with the death of the cross. Despite the rejection of Christ, God still provided the living water “springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14) to those who believed in Him.

He still is saving lives today by providing that living water. We are still just as rebellious as ancient Israel in the wilderness, but He still pardons our sins when we trust in the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and gives us eternal life.