The Water Rock
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Numbers 20 :
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.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
I think you can see the answer in verse 13. Also interesting to note that God said to Moses to "speak" to the rock and it shall yield water but instead he smote it twice. Additionally, God told him because you believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel. I can conclude that he allowed the water to flow to be sanctified. Confirmed in verse 13.
In ESV translation it says, "and through them he showed himself holy."
the people were thirsty, and God gave them to drink.
if Moses sinned, it is God's kindness that He did not cause all the people to suffer for it.
the same thing happens today -- i believe that there are true children of God within the Catholic church for example, though that church institutionally has false teaching in it. while Paul was in prison, he said that there were people preaching the gospel out of envy, but he rejoiced anyway that the truth was going out, regardless of the motive (Philippians 1:15).
so water is symbolic of the grace of God; as the Israelites drank from it even though Moses sinned in the way he struck the rock, people were refreshed by the gospel of Christ while Paul sat in jail, even though some men sinned in the way they preached it for rivalry's sake.
this idea reminds me too of how Balak hired Balaam to curse the Hebrews, but what transpired instead was that Balaam blessed them, because he could never curse what God had not cursed. Balak sinned, and Balaam should have blessed Israel from his own home instead of going to Balak and taking his pay, but the net result was still that Israel was blessed.
if Moses sinned, it is God's kindness that He did not cause all the people to suffer for it.
the same thing happens today -- i believe that there are true children of God within the Catholic church for example, though that church institutionally has false teaching in it. while Paul was in prison, he said that there were people preaching the gospel out of envy, but he rejoiced anyway that the truth was going out, regardless of the motive (Philippians 1:15).
so water is symbolic of the grace of God; as the Israelites drank from it even though Moses sinned in the way he struck the rock, people were refreshed by the gospel of Christ while Paul sat in jail, even though some men sinned in the way they preached it for rivalry's sake.
this idea reminds me too of how Balak hired Balaam to curse the Hebrews, but what transpired instead was that Balaam blessed them, because he could never curse what God had not cursed. Balak sinned, and Balaam should have blessed Israel from his own home instead of going to Balak and taking his pay, but the net result was still that Israel was blessed.
E
elf3
Guest
Very cool little Bible study for me this morning. Thank you mystic7 for the question and thank the others for the Biblical explanations.
No doubt and Balaam also makes the list of three in Jude as a false teacher motivated by greed!.....Cain being the first (offering his own works of the ground which he labored over) instead of a lamb that God would birth and sustain....just a thought or two.......
T
The_highwayman
Guest
This is event is a foreshadow of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
God also called himself the fountain of living water in Jeremiah 2.13
[SUP]13 [/SUP]For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
God also called himself the fountain of living water in Jeremiah 2.13
[SUP]13 [/SUP]For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
God being full of mercy and longsuffering......not to mention that Moses paid the price for his sin under the law...He was allowed to see the promise land, but was not allowed to enter.......Interesting to note that even at 120 he had NO DIMNESS of EYE and had the vitality of a young mature adult male.......!
God had/has a plan for Israel and He would bring it to fruition even in light of Moses' sin............!
God had/has a plan for Israel and He would bring it to fruition even in light of Moses' sin............!
Well, the people needed water, Just because one had made a mistake, doesn't means the rest had to suffered for that mistake.
This is representative of what church leaders do today. The rock which represents Christ was struck earlier upon the command of God. It symbolized Jesus' death. He was to now speak to the rock as no other action of man was needed. Thus the punishment was to only see the land promised from afar and not to enter it alive as it remains with religious leaders today. Christ has died. There's no reason to strike Him again if sins are forgiven. Simply speak and let God be glorified!