Let us turn again to God's Word
in the portion that we've just read here in Numbers chapter
20. And directing you now to the
words that we find in verses 11 and 12. Numbers chapter 20,
11 and 12. 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 believe 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." I want
us then to consider this incident the smitten rock as it's spoken
of in these verses and what I have to say I divide into two parts
first of all to say something with regards to the significance
of the rock and then secondly what we're to understand by the
smiting of the rock first of all the significance what we
have here is of course a type We know that in the Old Testament,
Israel, that is the nation, ethnic Israel, those who were the natural
descendants of Jacob who became Israel, that people were atypical
people. And we see how that's established
quite clearly in the New Testament. I think in particular of those
words that we have in the first part of 1 Corinthians chapter
10. where Paul is relating something
of the history of the days of Moses and the deliverance of
the children of Israel out of Egypt and how they're taken through
the Red Sea and into the wilderness and so forth. And he says there
in 1 Corinthians 10.6, now these things were our examples. These things were our examples. The word example is the word
tupos and it's the word that comes into our English language
as the word type. So what the Apostle Paul is saying
there is these things regarding the history of the children of
Israel, and in particular in the days of Moses, which was
really the beginning of the nation. These things were our types. And then he goes on to say, now
all these things happened unto them for ensembles, it's the
same word. These things happened unto them
for types, and they are written for our admonition upon whom
the ends of the world are come." What are we to understand by
the ends of the world? Well, that is the last time.
That is this day in which we live in, the Gospel day. Remember
what the Apostle says when he writes again in 2 Corinthians
6 I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation
have I succored thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation."
What the Apostle is declaring and writing there in those epistles
to the Corinthians then has to do with this Gospel day in which
we're living. and it's interesting how that
he is reminding the believers there in the church at Corinth
that all that we have in the Old Testament is intended for
them, it's intended for the church, it's intended for the church
at Corinth but remember how in the opening verse of that first
epistle he addresses himself to all in every place call upon
the name of the Lord not just the church at Corinth, it's all
in every place calling upon the name of the Lord. Now Corinth
was principally a church made up of Gentile believers, Gentile
Christians. But what does he say as he writes
to them there in that 10th chapter of the first epistle? In the
opening verse, all our fathers, he says, were under the cloud
and all passed through the sea. He's speaking, as I said, of
the experiences of the children of Israel in the days of Moses,
their deliverance from Egypt, but he refers to them as our
fathers. These are the fathers even of
those who were Gentile believers. Israel in the Old Testament,
then, are a typical people, a type of the true Israel, the Church
of God. We know they're not all Israel,
that are of Israel. They might be ethnic Israel,
they might be the physical descendants of Jacob, and the 12 patriarchs,
but they're not all the spiritual Israel of God. He is not a Jew
which is one outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is
outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly,
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not
in the letter. That's what Paul writes there
at the end of the second chapter in the epistle to the Romans.
So, the true Jew is the spiritual Jew. that person who has been
circumcised in his heart, that is the Christian believer, that
one who has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Going
to the Galatians, Paul can say, if ye be Christ, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. And so, at the
very outset, let us recognize the fact that in the Old Testament,
Israel is atypical people. And so when we come to read the
Old Testament scriptures, when we read of an incident such as
this that we have recorded at the beginning of Numbers chapter
20, not simply to come and examine
it as a Bible study. It is that, but it's more than
that. It's God's Word, and it's God's
Word for his spiritual people. Whatever things were written
aforetime, Paul says, were written for our learning, that we, through
faith and patience of the Scriptures, might have hope. Israel is atypical
people. So the event that we have here
is to be understood in that typical sense also in the rock. The rock
that we read of is a type. It's a type of the Lord Jesus.
Now, last Lord's Day evening, of course, we said something
concerning that rock that he's spoken of in Psalm 61. We took
for our text, for our theme, the words there at the end of
Psalm 61 and verse 1, lead me to the rock that is higher than
I. And I said that that rock of
which David is speaking in which he is pleading with God concerning
that rock is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The rock
says David that is higher than I. The Lord Jesus is that one
who is David's son. He comes of the seed of David
according to the flesh. But he is higher than David.
He is before David. He is not only David's son, he
is also David's Lord. And that is the one that David
is speaking of in the psalm. That psalm, as we said last Lord's
Day, is a messianic psalm, like so many of the psalms of David.
Or David speaks of himself, David speaks out of the fullness of
his own experience. But David is also speaking words
that belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not only king in
Israel, he's a prophet. And there in that 61st Psalm,
verse 6, Thou wilt prolong the king's life and his years as
many generations. He shall abide before God forever. And those words speak to us of
the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection from the dead. Yes,
he was crucified. He was slain. He descended into
Hades, into the realm of the dead. But he rose again the third
time. He has ascended on high. He has
entered now into heaven itself, and there he ever lives. And
David is speaking of the Lord Jesus. Thou wilt prolong the
king's life and his years as many generations. He shall abide
before God forever. That's our comfort. Our Lord
Jesus Christ, He ever lives to make intercession for all that
come to God by Him. The Rock, then, I say, is the
Lord Jesus Christ and it's not just what I say, it's what the
Apostle also says there in that 10th chapter of 1 Corinthians. In verse 4 he says, Of Israel
they drank of that spiritual Rock, and that rock was Christ. What a statement is that, 1 Corinthians
10, 4. The spiritual rock, what is the
spiritual rock? That rock was Christ. And isn't that the significance of
the confession that Peter makes at Caesarea Philippi? when he
says to the Lord Jesus, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And what does the Lord say? He speaks of the rock. And the rock is that confession
that Peter has made upon this rock, will I build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Oh, the rock
is that confession, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living
God, the person of the Lord Jesus, the work of the Lord Jesus, of
the foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which
is Christ Jesus." The rock then clearly is seen to be Christ. We have that before us tonight
then that is typical. And as we come to such a passage,
are we those who do desire to discern the Lord Jesus Christ.
We want to see Christ is here before us in all of the Word
of God. And in the rock He is revealed
to us as God. He is revealed to us as God.
Look at what is said concerning this particular incident. The water that is drawn forth
out of the smitten rock." Verse 13, this is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel
strove with the Lord and he was sanctified in them. This is the
water of Meribah. Now, Meribah is the Hebrew word. Elsewhere this word is translated.
How is it translated? Well, it's translated usually
with the English word provocation. That's what it means. This is
the water of provocation. Why they were striving with the
Lord, they were striving, chiding with Moses and Aaron. They were angry. Now, when we
turn to the book of Psalms, we see how this incident is spoken
of. In fact, it's spoken of in a
number of the Psalms, but I think in particular now of Psalm 95.
In Psalm 95 verse 8. We read, Harden not your hearts
as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the
wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my work. 40 long years, 40 years long
was I grieved with this generation. and said it is a people that
do err in their hearts and they have not known my ways." Here we have this word you see,
provocation, Meribah. It's the very incident that we
have in Numbers chapter 20 that is being spoken of. But then
go to the beginning of Psalm 95, O come let us sing unto the
Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
And there we have that parallelism that is so peculiar to the Hebrew
poetry. We have two statements, but they're
parallel statements, they're saying exactly the same thing
in a slightly different fashion. The one statement answers to
the other statement, come let us sing unto the Lord. There's
the first statement. Let us make a joyful noise to
the rock of our salvation. The singing is the joyful noise.
The Lord is the rock of our salvation. This incident then that we're
considering back in Numbers chapter 20, it speaks to us so clearly
of the Lord as the rock In the words of our text, Moses
lifted up his hand with his rod, he smote the rock twice, and
the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and
their beasts also. Oh, it's the Lord who is the
rock. And remember, and we referred to this also on the Lord's Day
concerning the rock, how in the Song of Moses, back in Deuteronomy
chapter 32, we see how he speaks of the Lord in terms of the rock.
Deuteronomy 32, 4, he is the rock, his work is perfect, for
all his ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity,
just and right is he. And then he goes on, verse 15,
concerning Israel, he forsook God which made him, and lightly
esteemed the rock of his salvation. And there we have those parallels
again. He forsook God which made him
is the one statement, and then he lightly esteemed the rock
of his salvation. The God who made him is the same
as the rock of his salvation. Again, there in Deuteronomy 32.18,
of the rock, that begat thee thou art unmindful,
and hast forgotten God that formed thee." Parallel statements. God
is equivalent to the rock. I labor the point because it's
important that we understand this basic principle of interpretation
when it comes to the way in which we're reading the Word of God,
reading the Old Testament Scriptures. It is not history. It is history. It's all historic. These are
events that did actually occur. But there's mystery here also
because the Bible is not just an historic account of a people
descended from a man called Jacob. It's the account of the way in
which the Lord is pleased to deal with his people in the ways
of providence and in the ways of grace. And so in another psalm
we also have reference to these things. Think of the 78th psalm and the
things that are written there concerning the history of the children of
Israel. They're at verse 3 in Psalm 78. It's a Maskel of Asaph. He says, which we have heard
and known and our fathers have told us. The Psalm speaks so
much of the history of the children of Israel and God's doings and
God's dealings with them. And we have a reference then
to what we're considering in Numbers chapter 20 verse 15 of
the psalm. He clathed the rocks in the wilderness,
it says, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. God clathed the rocks. Now, observe
what it says here. It's not just the singular. It
doesn't say he clathed the rock. But it's the plural, he claimed
the rocks in the wilderness. What does that indicate? Well,
there's not just this one incident that we're considering here in
Numbers chapter 20, but there's another incident, isn't there?
You may recall it, it's said that we have some years previously
spoken of in the book of Exodus, and it's there in Exodus chapter
17. Let me just remind you of that particular
incident, so similar to what we have later in Numbers 20. We're told there, all the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched
in Raphidim. And there was no water for the
people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide
with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And
Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt
the Lord? And the people thirsted, therefore
water. And the people murmured against
Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us
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 these people? They be almost
ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go 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 that place Massah and Meribah, because of
the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted
the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? It's so very
similar to what we have later, but it's a It's a different incident
that's being spoken of. It's geographically in a different
place. And so there are these two incidents,
these two rocks spoken of there in Psalm 78 verse 15. And what happens here is that
the rock is split. As it says there in the psalm,
78, 15, that is, God clathed the rocks. God split the rocks. But I want us, in the second
place, to think more particularly what Moses does here when he
smites the rocks, and the significance of that smiting of the rocks. Now, Israel, both times, are the ones
who are worthy to be smitten. They deserve to be struck down
for their sins. Maybe sometimes we wonder at
the Lord's great patience with us and we feel sometimes, why
doesn't the Lord just strike us down, wipe us off the face
of the earth? Why does the Lord spare us? He's a merciful, He's
a gracious God. Thank God for that. But surely
these people of Israel they were the ones deserving to be smitten. But that's not what happens.
In spite of all their provocation, we have it there in that portion
that we've just read in Exodus 17, and here we're some 40 years
later, and there seems to be such a, well, no change at all
in them. They're still behaving in this
perverse fashion, But are we told, verse 2, there was no water
for the congregation. 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! Why have you brought us, why
have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness
when our cattle should die there? Oh, they are so aroused, they
are so angry. But they're not struck down,
they're not smitten. The rock was smitten. Or the rock was smitten instead
of them. The rock, in a sense we might
say, was smitten in their place. And it's interesting what we're
told in that previous passage, chapter 17 of Exodus. God says
at verse 6, Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock
in Horeb. This is the rock in Horeb. And
Moses is told, Thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come
waters out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in
the sight of the elders of Israel. It's Horeb. Now, what is the
significance of that? Well, Horeb, of course, is the
very place where God gave to Israel the Ten Commandments and
Sinai is one of those mountains in that range referred to as
Horeb and in Deuteronomy 5.2 we read the Lord our God made
a covenant with us in Horeb and the covenant is expressed in
terms of the Ten Commandments And the very place now you see
where the rock is being smitten. Does He not again direct us so
clearly to the Lord Jesus Christ as He comes into this world?
He comes as that One who will be in the very lower place of
His people. He will live His life as their
surety. He will die His death as their
substitute. Oh, we're told so clearly in
Galatians 4, verse 4, When the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, He's the seed of
the woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that
were under the law. Oh, He pays the ransom price
that the law demands, that law that is holy and just and good. He redeems them from the curse
of that law. This is the purpose of His coming. As many as are of the works of
the law, we're told, are under the curse. Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law.
And we don't continue in all things written in the book. And
we're told if a man offends in one point, he's guilty of all. I'm sure we would all acknowledge
and confess we're transgressors, we offend in many points. And the Lord is that that condemns
the sinner. But Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. Being made a curse for us, for
it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a trough. Oh, this rock, this smitten rock,
is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And think of how Christ
was smitten. Or think of what we are told
concerning His crucifixion and all that He experienced when
He made His soul an offering for sin. He suffers at the hands
of men. He suffers at the hand of God. We're told how one of the soldiers
with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out
blood and water. All the blood and water that
flows from that ribbon side of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes
sing that little couplet in the hymn, the soldier pierced his
side, tis true, but we have pierced him through, and through he's
the substitute. He is that one who is smitten
and slain in the place of his people. He dies then as their
substitute. What a wonder it is when we think
of that water that flows from his side, that water, that blood.
Oh, what provision God has made for those guilty sinners, for
those poor, barren, dry, dead sinners, the water and the blood
that flows from the side of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, another
psalm speaks of this same incident, Psalm 105, verse 41. It says, He opened the rock and
waters gushed out. They ran in the dry place like
a river. Oh, that water that comes from
the riven side of the Lord Jesus, it runs into our dry, barren
hearts. How reviving, how refreshing
it is. Do we ever consider that? What
are we told concerning the children of Israel there in that 10th
chapter of 1 Corinthians? They drank of that spiritual
rock, it says. They drank of that spiritual
rock, and that rock was Christ. Do we ever drink of the spiritual
rock? Or do we feed our souls upon
the Lord Jesus Christ? We have Him set before us here
in Scripture. It's for us to come, to read
these things, to meditate in these things, to search into
this great mystery of godliness that God was manifest in the
flesh. to think upon the wonder of the person of Christ, or that
gift that God has granted to sinners, he did not withhold
his Son, even his only begotten Son. No, in the fullness of the
time God sends him, and God sends him to accomplish a glorious
work. John says, we beheld his glory.
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and
truth. Here is something to behold.
What is the glory of Christ? He is the only begotten of the
Father and He's full of grace and He's full of truth and yet
so often our poor souls are so starved because we will not apply
ourselves to meditate in these things, to think upon the wonder
of His person, the mystery of that great work that he accomplished. He said before, as you see, in
Scripture, wherever we read in the Word of God, are we those
who are seeking and searching? We want to see the Lord Jesus.
We think of those Grecians who came to the disciples and what
did they say? Sirs, we would see Jesus. It is Christ who comes
to refresh us in the wells of salvation. the waters that flow
out from the rock." Now, we have to observe, of course, that the
sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ made was once and for
all. He made one sacrifice for sins
forever, never to be repeated. Hebrews 9.28, Christ once suffered to bear the sins of many. That
one sacrifice, no repetition. And this is the sin, really,
of Moses here in Numbers chapter 20. Forty years before, there, near Mount Sinai, in Horeb,
he smote the rock. And now they're at Kadesh, as
we see here in Numbers 20 verse 1, the people abode in Kadesh. They're on the very borders now
of the promised land. And what is he told to do? He
is simply to go and he is to speak to the rock. Take the rods,
gather thou the assembly together, thou and her and thy brother,
and speak 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 their beast
drink." It says in verse 8. Speak unto the rock before their
eyes, but he does something more than that. He's disobedient. Verse 11, 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 beast also. But the rock had already been
smitten. This is the sin, you see. The Lord spoke unto Moses
and Aaron, Because ye believe 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. He's
in his own spirit. Oh God, preserve us from our
own spirits. And the folly of our own false
zeal. That's what we see in Moses.
The Lord Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments. And how simple it was. He was
commanded simply to speak unto the rock. We come now, well what
do we come for? We come to speak unto the rock. Or we come to
pray. unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh,
the Lord help us then to come in all that simplicity of faith,
to come believing that our prayers, poor as we so often feel them
to be, that our poor prayers will be heard, and they'll all
be answered. And why? For the sake of Him
who is the rock of our salvation. Well, the Lord help us then as
we turn from His Word and turn now to begin to seek His face. The Lord bless His Word to us.
Let us, before we pray, sing our second hymn, number 684. The
tune is, well, 201. I'll read the first verse, we'll
sing from verse 2. Of cistern waters art thou sick,
And loath the mire they bring, Then hither stretch thy thirsty
neck, And taste a living spring. 684 from verse 2.