Children of Israel being led by the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the cloud. That's who's in the cloud, it's the Lord Jehovah, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are being led by Him in the wilderness and they are brought into another situation to prove what's in their hearts. You know, we don't just come into situations. The Lord brings us into them. He does this. And He brings them into this situation where they are thirsty to prove what's in their heart, and they fell again. They fell again. They murmured against the Lord, against His wise providence. against them being led by His wise providence to a place where there is no water. You know, it really doesn't take much to expose unbelief, does it? It really doesn't take much to expose what the natural heart really is. But I do know this, TRUE FAITH WILL RISE TO THE OCCASION, WHILE UNBELIEF WILL FALL TO ITS LOWEST LEVEL, WHICH IS REBELLION. I was thinking this morning as I was going over these notes that Israel, as I have said, is a picture of the church, that Israel in the wilderness is a picture of God's church, and in God's church there are always tares among the There's actually a remnant in the remnant. There's a remnant, but there's a remnant in that remnant that do believe God. Joshua, Caleb, Moses, Aaron, Miriam. You know, there is a remnant in that remnant. But there were many of them, though they saw so many miracles, they did not believe God. And we see the same thing when our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. How many miracles did they see? They saw the dead raised, the blind to see, the lame to walk, fed 5,000, twice he fed them. And they still said, show us a miracle, show us a sign. How many signs you need? Seeing a miracle has never saved anyone. Salvation is by the grace of God, the power of God in Christ. It's not by seeing a miracle. But they always wanted to see a miracle. And we see here that human nature never changes. Because what we see from these unbelievers in the wilderness, we see the same in Israel when our Lord came into the world. They still murmured and complained and didn't believe Him. And like they wanted to kill Moses, they wanted to stone Moses, they wanted to stone Christ. How many times did they want to kill Him before they actually crucified Him? They was going to throw Him off a mountain one time. They just had such animosity towards Him because He's God, that's why. That's why. And if they cannot get to God, they get to God's servant. That's why they wanted to stone Moses. We can't stone God, but we can stone His servant. That's what they wanted to do. But let's not forget that these things are written for our learning so that we don't fall after the same example of unbelief as the writer in Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 4.11. Let's be careful that we don't fall after the same example of unbelief. These are real spiritual lessons we are being given this morning. Lord, teach us. Be our teacher this morning. Pray the Holy Spirit, open our hearts, our understanding, and let us see Christ in this this morning. Show us Christ. These things are not written for our entertainment, but our learning. We have to be careful that we don't just start seeing this as a history lesson. instead of a spiritual lesson because if we do we would make a great mistake and one of the lessons we have to learn here is what the Lord said earlier back in chapter well it was over in Numbers I believe he said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord man doesn't live by anything alone God must provide everything for us doesn't he That just struck me yesterday as I was working on this. We don't live by anything alone. God has to provide everything. God has to provide the bread, the water, life. He has to provide everything. And that's exactly the way it is in the spiritual realm. God must provide everything for us, for us to live. And He did so in Christ. He's provided everything we need in the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't need any more than what we have in him. Now verse one, God leads his children along. We sing a song with those lyrics in it. God leads his dear children along. And I think as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we realize The Lord's leading, don't we? We realize He's leading. Here they were led by the cloud, but the Lord's presence was in that cloud. The fire and the cloud, they were led by it. No other nation was led by that. No other nation had that. No other nation had the presence of God, but they had it. They had it. For 40 years in the wilderness, they had it. It never left them. For 40 years in the wilderness, they had the manna. FOR 40 YEARS THEY HAD THE WATER THAT CAME OUT OF THIS ROCK. THAT ROCK FOLLOWED THEM, IT SAYS. AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST, BUT THAT ROCK FOLLOWED THEM WHEREVER THEY WENT. AND NOW WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A SMALL CROWD LIKE THIS, THERE'S OVER A MILLION PEOPLE. AND THERE WAS ENOUGH MANNA THAT FELL FROM HEAVEN AND ENOUGH WATER THAT CAME OUT OF THAT ROCK TO SUPPLY THEIR NEED. WE HAVE ALL THAT WE NEED IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. And I know you who believe you're convinced of that, you know that, you know that. But they were led by the cloud, they were not just walking around like they were lost. The wise providence of God was leading them. I know that those among them who believe not, by their questioning, by their questioning, WAS REALLY SAYING THIS, DOES GOD KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING? DOES HE KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING? ABSOLUTELY! ABSOLUTELY! GOD KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE'S DOING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING ALL THE TIME, BUT HE SURE DOES! And I trust Him, that's what I trust. I trust Him who knows all things. I trust Him who knows with perfect knowledge what He's doing. I don't have to know. I just know the one who's doing it. That's what I know. And I know this, whatever situation we find ourselves in, the Lord has brought us into it. HE'S EITHER PERMITTED US TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S BROUGHT US INTO IT OR HE HAS BY HIS POWER BROUGHT US INTO IT BY HIS WILL AND POWER BUT HE'S BROUGHT US INTO IT! WE'RE HIS CHILDREN! HE KNOWS EVERY HAIR ON YOUR HEAD! HE KNOWS EVERY HAIR ON OUR HEAD! THEY'RE NUMBERED HE SAID! THEY'RE NUMBERED! THAT'S HOW That's how intimately and minutely that God knows every one of His children and watches over them. He does this. And what we are taught in these trials is to trust the Lord. Just trust Him. Just trust me. Just trust me. It says here that they pitched in Rephidim. and there was no water for the people to drink. Did God not know that? He who sends the rain from heaven, does He not know that? Absolutely. Absolutely. Listen to Micah 6 9. The LORD'S VOICE CRIES UNTO THE CITY, AND THE MAN OF WISDOM SHALL SEE THY NAME. HEAR YE THE ROD And who hath appointed it? He's appointed all our trials. Job said, many such things are appointed for me. Many such things. One by one, here they come. And they come by appointment. And you know what the last appointment is? It's appointed unto men which to die. That's the last appointment. That's the last trial appointed for me and you. And He's got that taken care of. His grace is sufficient to take us through every one of them. Every one of them. It's written over in Job chapter 5 verse 6 that trouble does not spring out of the ground. He doesn't spring out of the ground. Not for any of God's children. God's hand is in it. He's leading them through the wilderness. Let's learn this. He's leading them through the wilderness just as He's leading us through this world. He's leading us. And I'm glad He is. I'm so glad He's leading me. We learn more about ourselves in trouble than at ease. And that's what we have to learn. WE LEARN MORE ABOUT GOD AND WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OURSELVES. AND WE LEARN THIS, OUR ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE ON HIM FOR EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. WHEREFORE, IN VERSE 2, WHEREFORE THE PEOPLE DID CHIDE WITH MOSES. THEY WERE ANGRY WITH HIM, THEY SAID SOME HARD THINGS TO HIM. I'M SURE THEY SAID SOME HARD THINGS, IT'S NOT WRITTEN HERE TO HIM. And they said, give us water that we may drink. And it's interesting, they said to Moses, give us water. They didn't say Moses, ask the Lord to give us water. But most of them believed Moses gave him the manna. Because over in the gospel, they said he gave us manna, bread from heaven. What are you going to give us, speaking to the Lord? And he said, Moses didn't give you that bread. And Moses is not going to give you that water either. The bread and the water is going to come from God. That's who it's going to come from. But they said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Why are you complaining to me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? And let me read it like this. Wherefore, why do you tempt the Lord Jesus Christ? Jehovah, Jehovah Jesus. That's who they're tempting. The testing, that word is testing. Why do you test the Lord? Why are you putting God to the test? Again, Israel always wanted that sign, show us the sign. And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us? And our children and our cattle with thirst? Is that why you did this? Why not say what's really in the heart? Why not say it like you really mean it? Why not say, God, why did you bring me into this situation? That's what you really mean. That's what you really mean. It's because Moses, they knew Moses was just an instrument in God's hands. He was a means. But in their heart, they're saying, God, why did you bring us into this situation that we're gonna thirst and we're gonna die? We're gonna die, our children are gonna die, our cattle's gonna die. Here's one of the problems. They left Egypt, but Egypt never left them. like Lot's wife. She left Sodom, but Sodom never left her. What's that old saying, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy? That's them, that's them. And Moses cried unto the Lord saying, what shall I do unto this people? Moses was driven to prayer again. We don't read Moses combating back and forth with them, going back and forth and arguing. And he goes to the Lord. The only thing he says to him, he says, why are you arguing with me? I can't give you water. I can't give you water. I'm just doing what the Lord said to do. I'm doing what he said to do because the Lord, if you go back to, I think it's verse one, let me look in verse one. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journey, according to the commandment of the Lord said to bring you to this place. I'm doing what the Lord said is what I'm doing. And so Moses cried unto the Lord and saying, what shall I do with these people? They're about to kill me. They're going to stone me. or the sin that still lies in the heart. You know this is one of the reasons the Lord puts us through some difficult situations to prove what's in the heart or what's not in the heart to strengthen our faith in Christ to look to him and depend on him and to bring out and let us see what's still really there. Just you see it You see, and to those who believe, it hurts, doesn't it? When you see that that's still in you, that's still there. You say, Lord, forgive me. Lord, don't let this have dominion over me. David says, save me, keep me from presumptuous sins. Keep me from secret sins. KEEP ME FROM MY SINS! KEEP ME FROM THAT SINFUL NATURE THAT'S IN ME! LORD, DON'T LET IT HAVE DOMINION AND POWER! We realize our need of God's mercy and grace and power to walk in this world. And the Lord said to Moses, It's just astounding that here's the Lord's response. Here's His response to their complaining, their chatting, after all that they have witnessed. And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people. Go lead the people. Lead the people. I had a partner one time, he was a very wealthy man. He told me, though, in business, and talked to me about leadership, and he said, if you're gonna be a leader, you gotta have skin, he said, thick as a rhino. If you're gonna be a leader. You better not be touchy if you're gonna be a leader. Or you're gonna have a problem. You're gonna have sleepless nights. You're gonna have to have skin thick as a rhino. And he says, and suppose you go on and lead the people. Don't worry about it, don't be overly concerned about what they think about you, LEAD THEM! Get out there and lead them. And take with thee of the elders of Israel, these are to be a witness. God always has a witness. You take with the elders of Israel, and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and you go, you go. And behold, give attention to this. I'm about to say something. God said, I'm about to say something that is marvelous. 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. water out of a rock that the people may drink that murmuring complaining sinful people may quench their thirst from the water i will give them and moses did so in the sight of the elders of israel how merciful god is TO A SINFUL, REBELLIOUS PEOPLE. You know everyone whom God has saved here, He has saved out of rebellion? He has saved every one of us whom He has saved out of rebellion. We were born in rebellion. We were born with a rebellious heart. We were born with enmity. That means hostility towards God. And yet God's been so merciful to us. We know this, just reading this, anybody reading this would know this, they did not deserve to have bread and water because of all their complaining and murmuring and all that God did for them. They didn't deserve that bread and water that God gave them. But God gave it to them and He gave it to them out of abundant mercy. Mercy, that's something you don't deserve. When I pray, I always ask for mercy because I know what I'm about to ask for. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. Not at all. No one deserves to be saved. Is that the truth? No one deserves to be saved. It is by the abundant grace and mercy of God that we are saved and still saved and still saved and still saved until He takes us home. I realize today more than ever how I need the Lord to save me. I need Him to save me day by day. I have been saved, I'm being saved, and by the grace of God I shall be saved. That's how it works. You know, you notice in chapter 16 and 17 that the Lord shows us what we must have in order to live, bread and water. That's what He shows us, what we have to have to live. We've got to have bread and water. Even so, it is spiritually. We need Christ, the bread of life, the water of life, and rest also. in order to live, and God has provided all of it in one person, Jesus Christ, all of it. Now here we have a great lesson, a great gospel lesson. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul is writing to them and he says, And they all did drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, And that rock was Christ, that rock in type and in picture was the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want you to notice here, God said, and this is so important, God said, and here's the mystery of it all, God said, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb. What a mystery! God's standing on that rock. He says, I will stand on the rock and here's what I want you to do, Moses, while I'm standing on the rock, I want you to strike it. Now, I would naturally think, well, I don't want to strike the rock if you're standing on it. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you think that way? God says, I'll stand on the rock. I have written in my Bible here by that verse, Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock. God is spirit. You can't see him standing on that rock. You can't see God. God is spirit. You can't see with these eyes, but he's there. They couldn't see God in Christ. They could not see God in Christ, but He's in Christ. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. It's what the Scriptures teach us. Over in Acts 20, 28, it says this, Take heed therefore unto yourselves, Paul writing to the elders before he leaves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. TO FEED THE CHURCH OF GOD. This verse has a lot of weight with me. God's made me an overseer here. TO FEED THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH HE HATH PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. By whose blood were you purchased? It says here the blood of God. God said I'll stand on that rock and you smite that rock. You smite that rock. That one hanging on Calvary's tree is God incarnate. He did not, Jesus Christ did not quit being God when they nailed Him to the tree. God said, I'll stand on that rock and you smite that rock. And I wrote this down this morning. God's standing on that rock for me. God in all his greatness and glory the incomprehensible God came into this world took upon him flesh and was smitten by his own justice nailed to a tree cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree God hanging on that tree cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree taking my curse The law curse is a real curse. It's a real curse. It's just as real as if you broke the law this morning and they were looking for you. But we broke God's law. And that law is going to be satisfied. And God satisfied His own law on our behalf. On behalf of a multitude of sinners, no man can number. What we see here is a need THEY WERE THIRSTY! THEY WERE THIRSTY! THEY WERE DYING! IF GOD DOESN'T PROVIDE THIS WATER THEY WILL DIE! THEY WILL DIE! IN THAT SANDY DESERT WHERE THEY WERE LED THEY WILL DIE WHERE NO WATER IS! THE PEOPLE ARE THIRSTY THEY WILL DIE UNLESS GOD PROVIDES THEM WATER! AND GOD SO MERCIFULLY PROVIDED THE WATER JUST LIKE HE DID THE MANNA for a sinful, rebellious people. And that describes every one of God's people before He saves them, doesn't it? It describes every one of us. And here's something interesting that came to my mind, I don't want to say I thought of it, but it came to my mind and it was just a blessing to me as I thought about it. But it's interesting that God does not send rain from heaven like He did manna. Wouldn't that be obvious? He can just send rain, all you gotta do is give us the manna in the morning and it can rain during the day or sometimes during the day or it can rain at night or whenever, but He doesn't do that. He gives the manna from heaven and water out of a smitten rock. The bread from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ has to come into this world and be crucified, and be crucified. And you know when that soldier stuck that spear into his side, you know what came out? Blood and water. Blood and water. The bread from heaven had to be given first before the smiting of the rock and water coming forth. Our Lord had to come in the flesh first and then go to Calvary and be smitten that you and I might drink of the water of life. And here's the question we have to ask. You know, that question is asked over in the Old Testament. How can God be just and justify the ungodly? Everybody that's born of God, when God gives you an understanding of yourself and who He is, you're interested in that question. The answer to it, you're interested in it. Why, listen, why was the rock smitten? Why was this rock here in the wilderness, why was it smitten? Well, it was smitten because of SIN! They're murmuring, they're complaining. It was smitten because of the sin of Israel and to supply their need of water. You see, we have a real need because of sin. We have a real need because of sin. We need Christ. We need the water of life and we need him to be smitten. We need him to be crucified that we might be able to drink of the water of life freely, freely. If that rock is not smitten, they die. If Jesus Christ is not crucified, we die. We die. Our Lord said in the garden, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. He meant it, but it was also for our instruction. Did that cup pass from Him? If it were possible for God to save me and you any other way, that cup would have passed. But it didn't. It didn't. And it tells us there is no other way to be saved except by Jesus Christ and Him crucified in our place as our substitute. Now notice here Notice what Moses used to smite the rock with. Notice what he used. This is interesting. You know, there's no fillers, as I've said many times in the word of God. It's just so much meaning. We were talking about this yesterday, me and Doug. There's so much meaning and depth in the scriptures. It's so deep. We can't even begin to, we're just, we're just surface swimmers. We're not deep divers. TAKE WITH THEE OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, AND THY ROD WHEREWITH THOU SMOTEST THE NILE RIVER." You know what happened when he did that? It turned to blood. It was an act of judgment. It was an act of judgment. That rod that Moses used to strike the river and it turned to blood was a symbol of God's law and God's justice. And he says, you take that rod that you smoked the river with, that fell on the Egyptians, all those plagues, that same rod, you take and you strike the rock, you smite the rock. And I tell you why, because you and I are just as guilty as anybody on this earth. We're just as guilty. But here's the difference. Here's the difference. God's law and God's justice fell on that rock. It fell on that rock. Moses did not tap the rock. I don't believe that. I was thinking about this this morning. He didn't go over there and tap the rock. I think Moses drew back and I mean he hit that rock. He hit it, and you know what happened when he did that? Water gushed out. I mean a river gushed out of that rock, and it wasn't a pebble that he struck, it was a rock! It was a rock, and water gushed out of that rock. God's justice struck the rock Christ Jesus And justice was satisfied, and the mercy and the grace of God just gushed out of him to us sinners. Oh, if you have tasted that, the Lord is gracious. And another thing about this water out of the rock, out of the smitten rock. First of all, the rock, it said, followed them. They had the manna every morning. They had water out of the rock every day. No matter where they went, that rock showed up. That rock was there. I don't think it showed up. I think it was already there. Wherever they was being led to, there's that rock and there's water coming out of it. It's not, it's not coming up out of the ground. That's the curse. THIS EARTH IS CURSED! THE WATER AIN'T COMING OUT OF THIS GROUND! YOUR THIRST IS NEVER GOING TO BE SATISFIED IF YOU DRINK OF THIS WELL! HE THAT DRINKS OF THIS WATER THAT I'LL GIVE HIM, HE SHALL NEVER THIRST AGAIN! That rock followed them, and the water never dried up. The water never dried up. You know, the Lord said, the water that I'll give you will be a spring of water welling up into everlasting life. How many times have you left here, like tomorrow, you'll go to work, you'll go do it, and then your thought comes to your mind. A scripture comes to your mind. Christ comes to your mind. That's that water springing up. That's that well of water in you. It's IN YOU! Now, water is in you. It never dried up, and it followed them all through the wilderness until they came to the promised land. It was sufficient for all who were thirsty. Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the water. Are you thirsty? He says, Come. Revelation 21.6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Are you thirsty? The rock has been smitten, the water's coming out. Are you thirsty? And there's so much we can say about this rock, I can't even begin to touch it. We sing the song Solid Rock. He is a solid rock. No crack in this rock. He's a solid rock. He's immovable. He's unchanging, immutable. He's unchanging. This rock doesn't change. Stable. Stability. And Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's that rock. HE'S A SHELTER IN THE TIME OF STORM, A REFUGE FOR SINNERS FROM THE WRATH OF GOD. Over in Matthew, it says, WHOEVER FALLS ON THIS STONE SHALL BE BROKEN, BUT WHOEVER THIS STONE FALLS ON SHALL BE CRUSHED. Oh God, help me to fall on that stone this morning, because I don't want that stone to fall on me. And He called the name of the place, and Meribah because of the chatting of the children of Israel and because they tested the Lord tempted the Lord saying boy is this wicked to the core or what is the Lord among us or not what a wicked question the cloud was still with them by day the fire by night they saw it they saw it The manna never failed, and yet they questioned whether the Lord was among them. Let us never have such a question, and let us never ask such a question, because we go through a hardship, we go through a trial, a very difficult trial. Let us be careful not to say, Well, God's not here, I must not be a child of God, I'm going through this. Jacob said to Pharaoh, my days have been few and full of evil. Esau didn't say that. Esau was wealthy, had a big army. If you looked at Jacob and Esau, you would think God loved Esau instead of Jacob. That's exactly how you and I would judge it by sight because we naturally judge by appearance instead of a right judgment. You would have thought Esau was loved of God, but no, no. He kept stripping Jacob, stripping Jacob, stripping Jacob that he might clothe him with the righteousness of Christ and conform him to the image of Christ and bring him to glory when it's finally over. Now, which one do you want to be, Jacob or Esau? Lord, make me a Jacob, one of your elect. when you're elect I am the Lord I change not that that that's why you sons of Jacob are not consumed it's not because you've become good boys and girls it's because I don't change my mercy to you my grace to you my love to you my dying for you does not change that's why you're not consumed THAT'S WHY WHEN WE WALK OUT THIS DOOR, FIRE DOESN'T FALL FROM HEAVEN ON US! THAT'S THE TRUTH! THAT'S THE TRUTH! Now the two names here, Massa and Meribah. Massa means TEMPTATION! And these places are spoken of like three or four different times, and I think it's in Deuteronomy. They are reminded of their treatment of the Lord in these places. But anyway, Massa means TEMPTATION and Meribah means CONTENTION. CONTENTION. Well, I was going to end with numbers, but the time is not going to be, it would take too much time. But Numbers 20 and 1 through 13, do you know what that story is? That's where God told Moses, the people were thirsty. And he told Moses, speak to the rock, speak to the talk to a rock. Yeah. Speak to the rock and water is going to come out of it because they're thirsty. You see here, here, this is another gospel example. Christ crucified is crucified one time, not two times, three times, one time. Because one time is sufficient. One time. Once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and that's sufficient. We speak to Him now. We pray to Him. We call upon Him. But you know what Moses did? He got angry and out of anger. He struck that rock again. And this is the mercy of God. Water still came out. But Moses did not go into the promised land. And God let this happen for us to have a gospel lesson and to show us, first of all, what Christ did is sufficient. Secondly, the law cannot deliver you into the promised land. Moses represents the law, and the law cannot deliver you into the promised land. Only Joshua, Jesus, the Lord Jesus could do that. I could just keep right on going with this, and I will next week, so until then, we'll pick it up there. All right.