"That rock was Christ"
(Exodus 17:1-7)
It's worth reminding ourselves that this, Christ, is the theme of the entire Bible. “Search the Scriptures” Jesus said to the Jews “for they testify of me", our text testifies to this. Chapter seventeen, as chapter sixteen before it, begins with the word 'and' which of course connects the words you are reading with the previous. (Can I remind you that the chapter divisions are not in the original and are not inspired.) The 'and' here shows that this follows hot on the heels of the previous events of chapter sixteen, the
murmuring, the complaining, the provision of bread from heaven, and these events of course are mostly repeated in
chapter seventeen. It emphasises the enormity of the actions of many of the people of Israel but it also magnifies the grace, patience and long-suffering of the God.
We see here that many of the people of Israel have learnt absolutely nothing following the previous works of the
Lord. You remember they murmured against Moses and Aaron in chapter sixteen and they were told that what they
were doing in reality was complaining and bringing charges against God himself. They were questioning his ability to perform what he had promised to do. In it explicitly tells us this, "and they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness" (Psalm 78:17)? Bring to mind all the might and power that they had already experienced at the hands of God and so so soon afterwards, we find them questioning him. Here was another trial. The purpose of these trials was to wean the people of Israel off the things of the earth and to bring them to that place of complete and utter dependence on God. This was the very point of taking them through the wilderness because there was nothing there, absolutely no human resource to help them. It was to bring them to that place of trusting only in God.
1. The Spirit of the People:
Rephidim is also known as Massah which means temptation and Meribah which means strife. All three
names are found throughout Scripture but they all refer to the same place. Rephidim is termed Massah and Meribah because of the events that took place there. They are about a day's journey from Mount Sinai where the Law was finally issued to them but note in verse one that they are led here deliberately at the Lord's command. It was not Moses nor Aaron but the commandment of God that led Israel to this place. There's no water, none! There's not even bitter water that can be made sweet, none whatever. And what we now see manifested even more among them is this spirit of unbelief and rebellion against God. There's not an ounce of thankfulness, "neither were thankful" (Romans 1:21), but only an attitude of utter ingratitude is expressed here.
Israel are moving forward in the purposes of God for them as a nation. They have been delivered out of slavery, out of the hands of the Egyptians, they have been told that they must undertake this journey through the wilderness and that God will take them to the promised land. He has given them a hope and a future and has promised and prepared a future for them. Are they grateful? Are there expressions of gratitude from them? On the contrary, it seems that the slightest disturbance to their lifestyle, something they don't have or something not going their way, means they start expressing bitter criticism against their leaders Moses and Aaron. There isn't a single hint of thankfulness to Moses recorded. Moses is the man who bears the responsibility for all two million of them. That's a burden to carry is it not? He's in exactly the same position as they are. He doesn't have a secret supply of bread and water. But there's never, never an expression of thankfulness or gratitude towards him. One commentator says that this reveals a very low spirituality and a wrong attitude to God. That is the understatement of all time is it not. It says further on in Scripture, "ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16), and, "and at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to
wrath" (Deuteronomy 9:22).
It's not explicitly said so here but the wrath of God burned towards them because of their unbelief and their attitude of ingratitude and impatience. This is serious and the seriousness of it is highlighted by these incidents being used as illustrations in the New Testament. "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" (1Corinthians 10). You need to read the whole chapter.
Furthermore in Hebrews where they are being tempted to turn from the Lord because they are enduring some mockery, some perhaps were losing their jobs because they worshipped Christ but they hadn't suffered to the extent of their blood being shed yet. In effect the apostle Paul's saying, you get this little bit of persecution and you’re thinking of abandoning God and going back to your
synagogues and to your old dead and powerless Judaism.
He warns them here in chapter three, "wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses" (Hebrews 3). Again you need to read the whole chapter, and see the warnings given there. "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years". Forty years these people witnessed signs and wonders at the hands of God and they went on and on proving and tempting the Lord. "I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest" (Psalm 95:11) That's the seriousness of the situation here. Their impatience, their ingratitude, their unbelief is slander not just against Moses but against God.
They are calling God a liar. They are saying in effect that although God has given them all these promises they don't believe he is able to fulfil them. Where is this Promised Land? We want it and we want it now. Isn't this an attitude we see revealed in the visible church in our own day? It's an attitude of impatience that just point blank refuses to wait on the Lord. We are indeed living in a day of small things and scripture tells us we are not to despise the day of small things as ultimately it is all in the providence of God. If there is an abundance of salvation then that's God's doing and that's wonderful but there are periods in history when the church goes through what she perceives to be a drought. That's what's perceived to be what we are in today. However we are still called to be faithful witnesses to God amidst the darkness of our day. God is yet working, the Christian proclamation may not be having the effect we wish it to have, but it is having an effect, God's work of hardening must also be accomplished. There must be apostasy, falling away and the rising of the Antichrist before the full, final, consummate Kingdom of God's righteousness can be brought in. We mustn't be impatient.
It's this impatience that is manifested when people say that they will turn to other things. We'll turn away from
the true worship of God and we'll do things our way. We'll produce the results ourselves, and so they take on board these gimmicks. We'll drink in some of the world, make ourselves more acceptable to it and bring them in by any and all means. They call themselves Reformed but they are not they're Arminian at heart. They show it clearly by their practices, their refusal to continue faithfully preaching the word of God as he has told us to do and to wait on Him for any increase.
God the Father has promised his Son a certain number of people for his own kingdom,"ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (Psalm 2.) He has
promised us that "his word shall not return void, it shall accomplish the purpose for which He sends it forth" (Isaiah 55). Our place is to carry on faithfully and patiently ministering the word of God and waiting on him with none of this attitude, I want it and I want it now. There's another manifestation of this attitude and it's been demonstrated through the explosion the charismatic and Pentecostal movements of the last one hundred years. You could call it, perhaps, an over-reached eschatology, triumphalism. You've heard it doubtless, no Christian should be sick, or be wanting for anything. You should have it all and you
should have it all now. But God has not promised that to anyone in his word, he has not promised us perfect health and wealth, or freedom from trials and suffering. In fact we are told quite plainly the very opposite in Scripture. We are in fact like Israel travelling through the wilderness, a place of trial and difficulty, quite severe trial and difficulty at times. There are scorpions, there are briars, there are thorns, there are all kinds of dangers to be faced and to be overcome. The freedom from sickness, sin, trial, trouble and affliction is reserved for heaven and for heaven alone.
So this attitude of we want it and we want it now is wickedness. They may want to travel through this wilderness without cost and without discipline but such a lifestyle would simply make you flabby morally and spiritually. Remember that all through the history of redemption and even today through the ministry of God's word, God has a double purpose being worked out. That is both the hardening of the reprobate and the salvation of the elect. God is working in the remnant according to election by grace so that they will not be morally or
spiritually flabby. He is weaning them from the things of the earth and causing them to rely more and more upon Him.
2. The Sin of the People:
There is an attitude of independence here too. There is no thought of prayer. No one suggests to Moses that they for prayer. It's a crisis isn't it? You can gather for prayer anytime, if you're faced with a crisis. Isn't that the thing to do instead of complaining about why God isn't doing doing this or is doing that? But there seems to be no thought of that here, no demand for Moses to lead them to the throne of grace. They're not actually dying of thirst, it's just that the water's run out. Let's pray Moses and see what God will do in this crisis, no there's none of that. They leave all to Moses. Leave it to Moses, he’s the minister, isn’t that what we pay him for? Such people manifest an attitude of independence from God and part of the reason they are in the state they are in is because they have no personal prayer life. If people don't attend prayer meetings and don't pray in prayer meetings it's normally because there is no personal prayer life. They're not inclined to disciplined service and their attitude is that they can do it alone, independent of God. We can get to the Promised Land on our own. Then they wonder why there is so little of the power of God in their lives, why they have so little assurance. It's because they are never before the throne of grace perhaps. How people can come to a prayer meeting and keep their mouths shut is beyond my comprehension. Wild horses shouldn't be able to hold you back. Without it there's no fellowship. Fellowship isn't us talking about the
things we did during the week. Fellowship is partnership in faith, the prayer life of the church. It's something that Christians do together. But these people, they are on their own with an attitude of independence, impatience and ingratitude.
Notice in verse two the insolence of these words towards Moses, they chided with him, give us water that we may
drink. What they are really asking is why if God is so powerful does he not deliver them to the promised land
now? Why do they have to go through all this stuff?
It's the parable of the sower revisited. Jesus said that people come and profess faith and seem to be filled with
joy and happiness. But along comes some sort of trial and where are they? They're straight out of the door, gone in sixty seconds. They expected God to deliver them to the promised land straight away. They didn't expect to have to
face mockery or persecution, to have to wait or keep asking for things, they wanted it and they wanted it now. It's that same attitude again isn't it? If your God is so powerful Moses why doesn’t he deliver us into the promised land now, with no unpleasantness and no trials, why? We come to this later on but it's the same temptation that the Son of God faced when he was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert, "and the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God (there's no argument about that, we know that,
everyone has just heard God his Father speaking and saying this is My beloved Son" (Luke 4). It's not if but since, that's the better translation, since you are the Son of God) command this stone that it be made bread. It's back to the wilderness again. If God is so great and God is so powerful why have you been starving these forty days and nights? Why doesn't God provide you with bread? And Jesus answered him and saying that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God. Then the devil tries another ploy and taking him up into an high mountain, shows unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it" (Luke 4). But Jesus is going to rule all the nations, of that there is no doubt at all, and Satan already knows it. So what is the temptation? Well it's this attitude again isn't it? You can have it all now without having to go through the trials and tribulations. You don’t have to go to the cross, you don’t have to endure that suffering and shame. Bow down and worship me and you can have it all NOW. What does Jesus answer, "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
Then Satan takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple “and said unto him, since thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee". The devil wants him to tempt God again by suggesting that it would be a magnificent display of power for Jesus
to jump and not be hurt. You can almost hear him, jump Jesus! go on jump! Look at all the people in the temple
courtyard below. What a miracle this will be, they’ll all want to follow you Jesus, JUMP! Answer, "thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God". You see Jesus succeeded where Israel failed in the wilderness. Through faith in God‟s word he overcame the temptations and succeeded in the midst of the trials. He simply and plainly trusted himself to what God had spoken. If God never worked another miracle in the universe for as long as history and eternity lasts, he will still be God and his word will still be truth. The highest reach of faith is simply to rest in his word and his word
alone.
It's a heart condition we see here amongst these people and they, in their sin, completely turned in on themselves. In this nation of some two million people there is only a remnant whose hearts have been truly changed. The truth of the matter is that the hearts of most of them are still in Egypt. Even though they are on the way to the
promised land, they simply don't want to be in the wilderness. It's the flesh pots of Egypt that they want to be
enjoying. They can't even think ahead to the promised land, they don't really believe it exists. And that is what worries me in the visible church today. I see Christians living for this world with no thought of heaven and, it appears, no desire for heaven. Nobody should want to die, that's a psychological aberration. But there is a sense in which Christians should be focusing and meditating on heaven and its glory. So that when it is our turn to depart this world, the things of this world should be nothing to us and we can let go the anchor and sail heavenward with some ease because our belief is that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and that to die is gain. When I see a church that is married to this world I do wonder if this is not just the same heart condition that we are talking about here. And these people will never be satisfied in the desert because they are always lusting after something else. They want the wine, they want the pizzas, they want the spice of Egypt, they want the rock and roll music. How can they ever be satisfied travelling with God‟s people through
this wilderness? The heart condition of the Israelites is the same unregenerate heart condition that you see in the world today. Circumcised in the flesh they look like believers, talk like believers and dress like believers but they have uncircumcised hearts, they've never been reborn of the Spirit.
The language of the murmuring against Moses is fearful, "wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst", it's wicked and threatening. Do remember that although the majority murmured there were a few who did pray. Read Psalm 105:40; Hebrews 3:16; 1Corinthians 10:5.
The rebellion that is in their hearts means that there is no true faith there. It's a refusal to trust God and his
word. Do you see the question in verse seven, "is the LORD among us, or not"? What wickedness to ask such a
question as that. The belief that prosperity is a sign that God is with you is prevalent in the church today. Prosperity is never a sign that the Lord is with us, new car, job's going well, healthy bank balance, the Lord is with us. Then if the job or the bank balance goes south, we wonder if the Lord is really with us? Does what we do possess or don‟t have have any bearing on the promises of God, does it fulfil or negate any of them? Are they not of gratis, grace? These Israelites have been the same all through their history, they were the same in Jesus' day. They demanded signs, signs and more signs. Show us a sign and we’ll believe. Their generation had seen more signs and wonders than any and still they didn't believe. So when someone comes to you and tells you that what we need today is more miracles then you can tell them with some assurance that miracles will not cause people to believe, only sovereign grace will do that. We've looked at their heart condition and their heart rebellion and now we come to their heart hatred, for God!
It was expressed towards Moses but the sum of the commandments Jesus tells us is love for God and love
for thy neighbour as thyself. We love our neighbour for God's sake and the majority of these people hated Moses for God's sake. The presence of God to these people was unavoidable, the glory, the cloud, they were in no need of
further proof or evidence. What they wanted was for there to be no God and just as our nation (UK) today they went
into denial. Their ingrained hatred and pride made them want a god, but one who would be a lackey to them. They wanted a genii in a bottle who popped out when they decided they needed him and disappeared when they wanted to carry on with their sinful living. If you read Romans chapter three, verse ten and following you will see that this is the natural state of all men who are born into this world. Try "because the carnal mind is enmity against God" (Romans 8:7). Sovereign grace alone can change the human heart nothing else.
3. The Sign of the Rock:
I wonder if any of them ever gave a thought to what would happen if Moses cracked under this pressure. You can see real fear here in verse four, "they be almost ready to stone me". There will be young ministers ministering in pulpits in these days who will be doing so in fear of their people. That is a real wickedness. For most young ministers with families, it is their living. They know full well that if they upset certain people in the congregation then they are out of a job. There are some congregations that put their ministers under so much pressure. I once sat down to lunch at a conference I attended next to another gentleman who I hope that I was able to minister to in some way. I‟ve never seen the like in my life, his mind was broken. And it was his own congregation that had done that to him. His mind was broken and it was obvious he would never be the same again but do you know what, wonder of wonders; he
expressed nothing but love for them. Jesus of course was attacked by Satan through his friend Peter when seeking to turn him away from God's appointed and costly obedience said, "Lord: this shall not be unto thee". He was told, "get thee behind me, Satan" (Matthew 16:22). Moses despaired of the people and in fact he did crack later on didn't he? But the important thing here is that God, as so often he does, shows extreme, amazing long-suffering. See God's patience here, "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", his patience even when they are stupid, rebellious and disaffected.
God knows the privations they suffered in Egypt, the humiliations they had to endure and it left many of them
scarred and with warped attitudes. Moses on the other hand grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He grew up in an evangelical home and was taught evangelical theology at his mother's knee. Then he was sent to an Egyptian
university which was the best education that the world could afford in those days. So of course more was expected
of Moses. Patience, it's never been easy, but God understood. There had to be witnesses. This wasn't to be put down to a natural occurrence. Moses was to take the rod that God gave back to him at the burning bush because the people were to understand that Moses stood in God's
authority and in God's place. He's God's minister, remember that when you are dealing with God's officers.
The rock is an Old Testament type of Jesus (1Corinthians 10:3 again makes that clear), that rock was Christ. It's a testimony too to the deity of the Jesus Christ. In Deuteronomy we have reference there to the rock, to Jehovah (Deuteronomy 32:15). Jesus was the rock as we have just seen and in in the Book of Psalms, Jehovah is the rock (Psalm 95:1). So Jesus is the rock, Jehovah is the rock, Jesus is the LORD, he is Jehovah-Jesus. He is God. It speaks too of a spiritual rock. Christ followed them all through the wilderness making the rocks a source of
water for them. The sign of the rock, like all the other signs, all pointed to Jesus, the spiritual rock, the spiritual
bread, the spiritual water. But only in faith could you see that. Only those with the reality of faith were built up
and brought to a stronger faith and assurance. The rock that was smitten is Christ just as Christ was smitten by
God's justice on the cross in order that life might be poured down upon us.
This was God's provision, a multitude of signs showing the enormity of their unbelief. But to faith it was of spiritual significance, another revelation from heaven, another shaft of light. It was another pointer towards Messiah, the Saviour who would come. The whole two million of Israel drank. Some drank to their commendation but others to their condemnation because in their denial, their unbelief, their rebellion and their hatred, their uncircumcised hearts could see nothing but physical water. Oh God gave them their request, he gave them water but that could not cure their unbelief. They continued to hate the Lord. They continued not to believe. So I hope I have made my point about revelation, the signs, the wonders, the miracles, it is so important. We have the miracle-mongers in force among us today. Refer to them as signs not miracles as they were all signs and all pointing to Christ. They were given under the Old Testament dispensation and they were necessary then. In our Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter seven it is put quite clearly in section five, "this covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, (that's under the old dispensation) and in the time of the gospel: (law – gospel – two different) under the law, it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances (may I add even signs) delivered to the people of the Jews, all (signs that is) fore-signifying Christ to come: which were, for that time, sufficient (there was enough in all these signs, these types and shadows) and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called, the Old Testament". Now we speak of two covenants but there aren't two covenants really, there is only one covenant, of grace. If you read
Hebrews you get the recurring word 'better', a better covenant. It's a better covenant in that it's administered
in a different way, it's fulfilled, we have the fulness, but there is still only one covenant of grace. Continuing into section six of the Confession of faith, "under the gospel, when Christ, the substance, was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper: which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity, and less outward glory; yet, in them, it is held forth in more fulness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament". There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations. The point being here that under the new dispensation that we are now in, we have a better covenant, fuller, clearer, greater evidence and spiritual efficacy than all these signs performed for Israel. We have a more sure and certain testimony so how much more responsibility and culpability does that put on us and especially on those who do not believe? Amen.
