Speak to the Rock

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not (1 John 2:1) Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34) And Jesus saidGo and sin no more (John 8:11) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4) Sin is no light matter in the Bible. We are told very clearly: dont do it. If you wish to love God and to do well, you must forsake sin. But what is sin? We are told sin is a transgression of the law (I Jn 3:4). What does that mean? We know the law is Gods Word the Bible. Transgression is to step over the Law, to go beyond and not keep it. Thus sin is failure to keep Gods commandments. This is a matter of Great importance, because Jesus said, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. John 14:23). If we are to love Christ and be united with Him, we must not sin, but keep His commandments. But what is it to keep His commandments? To sin is not just to do the opposite of the commandment. I am commanded to love God but I dont have to hate Him to fail this. I just simply have to not love Him. To disobey honor they father and thy mother I dont have to kill them or curse them 24 hrs a day, I just have to fail in honoring them in a given situation. A father once asked his daughter, then in kindergarten, what is sin? She answered, well Daddy, Moses hit the rock twice. Whether she realized it or not, it was an answer of great insight. What was she talking about? In Exodus 17, when Israel was in the wilderness and the people complained of lack of water, God told Moses to smite a rock, and water would come out to provide for the people. This he did, and thirst was quenched. Numbers 20 records a time much later, when again the people murmered and complained. They had seen God work so many times, but still were not satisfied, still did not have faith. 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. (Num 20:35) So again Moses went to God. This time, however, God gave different instructions. Moses was to take the same rod (symbol of the power of God) but instead of striking was to speak to the rock. 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. (Num 20:10-12)

Why did God lay this punishment on Moses? He got the water for the people. Why was he not allowed to enter the promised land? Because Moses hit the rock twice he sinned. When God tells us what to do, it is not enough to do most of it. Just because Moses did everything but speak to the rock does not mean he gets some credit. He disobeyed, he sinned. The congregation was not punished for Moses sin God gave them water. But Moses had lost something precious forever. Why was it such a big deal? Because God is holy, and can have no part of sin. It does not matter what kind of sin. We must not sin. There is always a consequence for sin. But in this story there is another message that we must apply to ourselves. This rock represents something. And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4) This rock is a type of Jesus Christ in so many ways. We know that He was smitten for us (Isa 53), and that out of Him flowed rivers of life (Jn 7:38-39). We know that God brought us out of the horrible pit and set our feet upon this Rock (Psa 40:2; 1Co 3:11). There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2) So if Christ is this Rock, what is to be our view of this Rock? We cant do just whatever we want with Him. In the wilderness of life we see a need, and the Rock rises up before us, and God commands, SPEAK TO THE ROCK. The New Testament puts it a little differently: Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16) But do you know what? Almost no one will do this. Even among Christians, very few will choose to speak to the Rock when they have a need. Oh yes, if there are bills to be paid, or if the car begins to slide on an icy road, we cry out to God. But what about when we are in a situation like Moses? When it is hot. When we are thirsty. When all the people around us that we sacrificed so much to help are complaining and blaming their problems on us, who do we speak to? Usually we do as Moses, and we speak to the people. We dont speak to our Rock in prayer, or if we attempt to it is just a bitter complaint, not true prayer. What exactly is this, then? It is smiting the Rock. Yes, if you fail to turn to God in trouble and instead turn inward, you are sinning, and every sin is smiting Christ: for the transgression of my people was He stricken (Isa 53:8). All our sins were laid on Him, and if you sin, that is upon Christ. What happens if we continue to smite Christ, instead of speaking to Him when we need help? It is a serious thing to sin against Christ. Even the backslidden priest Eli knew enough to tell his wicked sons, If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? These sons had sinned in not properly offering the sacrifices of the Lrod, and for it God would kill them (I Sam 2:25). Likewise, we who have been washed by the blood of Jesus are given a sobering warning: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and

fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:26-29 It is true that we can find forgiveness in Christ for every sin that we commit if we repent (I Jn 1:72:1). But if we sin willfully we are cutting ourselves off from the Christ who is the only one who can forgive us. Grace is there, but not so we can serve ourselves with it. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2 Jesus talked about Himself as a stone, and in this analogy He gave us two options: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Lk 20:17-18) Christ is the Foundational Stone of everything. We all will come to face Him someday. If we choose to come to Him now and fall upon Him, speaking to the Rock and crying out for mercy, He will break our hard hearts and remake us into something precious. But if we continue to smite the Rock in stubbornness of heart, one day He will fall upon us and grind us to powder, and there will be no possibility of recovery.