Speak to the Rock
Scripture Reading: Numbers 19-20; Mark 11; Psalm 58
Yesterday I wrote, in part, about how often in the Old Testament bad situations led to opportunities for God to paint a picture of Christ using types and shadows. In Numbers chapter 20 we have just such a thing. What happened was a repeat of a previous event. The people were thirsty. They complained. Moses sought the Lord. The Lord pointed Moses to a Rock out of which water would come and save the people.
Again, this was not the first time this happened. Previously, God told Moses to strike the Rock with his staff. Later, John would write that “this Rock was Christ.” The picture is clear once one gets that piece of the puzzle in the right place. Moses (the lawgiver), strikes the Rock with his staff (an act of judgment), and then water would flow from the Rock saving the people. Thus, the picture is that Christ the Rock would be struck by God for the sins of His people and would thereby become the source of salvation to them.
Now, what is different here is that God told Moses to speak to, not strike, the Rock. But Moses was understandably upset, lost his temper, and struck the Rock. As a consequence, God did not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land.
At first glance, this seems like a hard thing. After all, Moses had done so much and put up with so much in his role as the leader of Israel. We can all read what happened and understand how a man could lose his cool in that situation. While what he did was wrong, why was God so harsh in his punishment?
When you understand that the Rock was a picture of Christ and the first instance was a picture of His crucifixion, you begin to see how serious of an offense this was. Christ was crucified once for all. After His crucifixion, all that is needed is to ask. We don’t kill him again to find what we need for our souls.
This would be akin to someone taking a hammer and chisel and doing going at Michelangelo’s “David.” It isn’t just wrong, it is a high crime to do something like that. God painted a beautiful portrait of Christ and the gospel and Moses threw a bucket of Rustoleum on it.
Nevertheless, in all this mess, we are taught a glorious lesson. Jesus died once for all. There is no need to crucify the Son of God afresh. All that was necessary for our soul’s salvation and satisfaction was met in that one act. Now, all that is necessary for us to do is to speak to the Rock.
