God used a physical rock to teach a spiritual reality

God used physical rocks in the wilderness to reveal the spiritual reality of his Godhead to the children of Israel. If we had walked in their shoes, we would have been just as guilty of craving evil things and worshipping idols as they did. But we have the advantage of being able to look back with 20/20 hindsight with the guidance of the prophets and apostles.

They forgot his doings, his wondrous works that he had shown them. He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap. In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire. He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. (Psalm 78:11-16 WEB)

Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire. Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?” (Psalm 78:17-20 WEB)

Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel, because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation. (Psalm 78:21-22 WEB)

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:1-5)

But Christ, the “Spiritual Rock” (Psalm 78:20, 35; Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 1 Peter 2:4-12), accompanied them (Ex 33:15). “Followed” implies His attending on them to minister to them; thus, though mostly going before them, He, when occasion required it, followed “behind” (Ex 14:19). (JFB) 1 Corinthians 10:4 —Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary

For all this they still sinned, and didn’t believe in his wondrous works. Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror. When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant. But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath. (Psalm 78:32-38 WEB)

• Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb of God sacrificed for the sin of the world
• Jesus Christ is the Redeemer

Water from the smitten rock in the wilderness

Just a few days out of Egypt the people forgot all the provisions the Lord had given them and tempted God with their distrust and unbelief. He could have rightly judged them but he graciously provided water of life from the most unlikely place in the wilderness. God purposely picked out a rock and stood on it in the form of the cloud in the presence of the people. Moses smote the rock just as Jesus Christ was smitten for our transgressions.

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? (Exodus 17:1-7 ERV)

You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah (Psalm 81:7)

He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert. (Psalm 105:41)

They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out. (Isaiah 48:21)

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; John 18:19-24; 1 Peter 2:21-25)

Moses disobeys God’s command to speak to the rock

Thirty-eight years later the people still tempted God. But Moses and Aaron had learned they needed to petition the LORD for mercy. God gave very specific instructions to Moses to speak unto the rock, but Moses in anger and frustration, smote the rock twice. This action of disobedience would cost him his life on this side of the Jordan river before entering the promised land. The rock only needed to have been smitten once, just as Jesus Christ only needed to die once for the sins of all humankind.

And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (Numbers 20:2-7)

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. (Numbers 20:8)

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 20:9-13)

If this seems like a very harsh penalty for a minor offense, we don’t understand the significance of the Rock of Israel. Jesus Christ is the Rock and he is the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. It is very important that we know his one sacrifice was sufficient. It is a damnable heresy to claim anything else is required. When Moses struck the rock twice the second time, it was almost as bad as blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Therefore God was righteous in his judgment.

It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:23-28)

Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine; they shall go after thee; in chains they shall come over: and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed, yea, confounded, all of them: they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; he is God; that formed the earth and made it; he established it, he created it not a waste, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Declare ye, and bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath shewed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Only in the LORD, shall one say unto me, is righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come, and all they that were incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. (Isaiah 45:14-25 ERV)

Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone in Jerusalem

This is why I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the real cornerstone in Jerusalem as revealed in the pages of scripture. Everything in the Old Testament was preparing his way. Everything in the gospels is revealing his person. Everything in the New Testament is revealing his truth.

As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (1 Peter 2:6 NLT)

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. (Isaiah 28:16)

Judah and Israel will be restored by the cornerstone of the house of Judah (Zechariah 10)

The stone that the builders rejected
     has now become the cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing,
     and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day the LORD has made.
     We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, LORD, please save us.
     Please, LORD, please give us success.
Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
     We bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, shining upon us.
     Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you!
     You are my God, and I will exalt you! (Psalm 118:22-28 NLT)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12 NLT)

So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22 WEB)

Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious. You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.” For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,” and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:1-10 WEB; Isaiah 28:14-22; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

Warning against rejecting the Cornerstone

If you are offended at the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be broken. In that last day, even unbelievers will kneel before the God who is judging them. But, if you live your life here and reject the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atoning sacrifice for your sins, then you will be ground to powder (literally winnowed as by fire).

Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.” (Matthew 21:42-44 NLT; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19)

For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, admonishing me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: ‘Say ye not: A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people do say: A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor account it dreadful. The LORD of hosts, Him shall ye sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.’ (Isaiah 8:11-15 JPS Tanakh 1917)

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was surpassing, stood before thee; and the appearance thereof was terrible. As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. (Daniel 2:31-36 JPS Tanakh 1917)

And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.’ (Daniel 2:44-45 JPS Tanakh 1917)

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; even as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.” (Romans 9:30-33 WEB)

Have you tasted the water from the rock?

If you have accepted the free gift of salvation by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ in your place for your sins, then you have a river of life flowing out of you. You never need to be saved again. You just need to confess your sins to God to restore your relationship to him.

• You can know you are saved
• More impossible ways to lose your salvation
• Ministry of restoration (restoring a right relationship with God)

With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, (Isaiah 12:3)

“Come, all of you who thirst, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without cost! (Isaiah 55:1)

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (John 7:38 NLT)

Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)