The Rock That Was Struck ­– By Eliezer Gonzalez

The Rock That Was Struck – by Eliezer Gonzalez

Jun 18, 2015 10117

The Children of Israel needed water in the wilderness, and seeing that it was not immediately available, they complained against God. They said, “Is God with us or not?” The people sinned against God in their rebellion; so much so that they were about to stone Moses (v.4). So Moses cried out to the Lord and asked him what to do.

As a result, God said to Moses to take his staff and go to the rock at Horeb, and (in God’s words),

I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. – Exodus 17:6

This was an astonishing thing for God to say. In effect, God was saying that he would stand there by the rock in front of Moses, so that when Moses struck the rock, Moses would be striking God. The apostle Paul explains that “the Rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4). Christ was struck for the sins of the people (Isa 53:5), and as a result an abundant stream of water (salvation) poured out from the rock. In this way God showed Moses the gospel of the coming Christ.

And the question of the people was comprehensively answered: Yes, God was with his people. The Rock prefigured Immanuel, one of the most beautiful names of Jesus which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

That is also the reason why Moses’s sin was so great when years afterward the people wanted water, and God told him to only merely speak to the rock, but instead Moses struck it twice in his anger (Numbers 12).

The Rock was only to be struck once, just as the sacrifice of Christ was to be once for all. And so now whoever wants salvation need only ask. When you are in need of the water of salvation in you life, you need ask. The Rock has been struck already. There is nothing more that you need to do; simply accept the gift of heavenly water that will flow out abundantly for you.

Some of these stories in the Old Testament seem quite strange, until we start to see Christ and the Cross at their very heart. And when we do, what beautiful gospel lessons we find!

– Eliezer Gonzalez

Eliezer Gonzalez

Apr 15, 2018

You are correct. Grace and peace, Eliezer Gonzalez

Richard Mafuta

Apr 14, 2018

The whole Bible testifies about the Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 24:27, 44, John 5:39, Acts 26:22-23. The scriptures are many. All scriptures, KJV.

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