Again, as at Horeb, there was no
water and the people thirsted. As before, God would provide water from a Rock.
This time however, instead of smiting the Rock, Moses was told to just speak to
the Rock. Remember that in type “that
Rock was Christ” 1 Corinthians 10:4
Moses, angry at the murmuring of
the people, struck the Rock twice and said,
Hear now, you rebels!
Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Numbers 20:10 [emphasis added]
Psalm 106:33 says that he spoke
rashly with his lips. Moses was boasting of his own ability.
Redemption is never of man’s works,
“lest anyone should boast. ” Ephesians
2:9
The Rock yielded water, but Moses
disqualified himself from entering the Land. It is commonly taught that it was
disobedience that kept him out, but primarily it was unbelief.
God said:-
“Because you did not believe
Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel
Numbers 20:12
emphasis added
Disobedience follows unbelief. If
we believe then we obey. Moses typical of the Law, couldn’t believe that a bit
of human effort wasn’t necessary. It was all up to him. He had to bring
water out of the Rock.
Probably we have all thought that
Moses punishment was a bit harsh, after all the years of faithful commitment,
but remember that God was laying down a principle here. He was leaving a vital
clue for us “upon whom the end of the age have come” [Read 1 Corinthians 10:11]
That Rock was Christ. One smiting
of the Rock is sufficient. It was all that was necessary to give access to all
the provision of God. We need only to speak to the Rock. What is speaking to
the Rock? It is prayer and our faith confession of the Word. It’s not our works
which make the fountain flow; it’s faith in His work.
Moses was indeed a great man of
God. He came a long way by faith but couldn’t enter in to the Land because he
lapsed into works. Did he make it into Heaven? Certainly! In Matthew 17 we see
him on the Mount of Transfiguration with Elijah talking to Jesus. Entering the
land isn’t about going to Heaven as we have stated. It’s about fulfilling the
mission of the Church here in the Earth.
To conquer the Land we need to see
that one smiting of the Rock is enough. i.e. the Cross is all-sufficient. In many and subtle ways we keep smiting the
Rock. When we say that Jesus has yet more to do before the Kingdom is
established; we are smiting the Rock. We are saying that the Cross wasn’t
enough. The Scriptures say that Jesus is now seated at the Father’s right hand,
waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. Jesus will come again when we have completed
our assignment to make disciples of all the nations, and we have put His
enemies under His feet.
When we say that we have to “die to
self” then we are smiting the Rock. It
sounds very pious and commendable, but plainly it is works. Jesus has already done the job:-
“I was crucified
with Christ” Galatians 2:20 emphasis added
“For you died and
your life is hidden with Christ in God” Colossians 3:3 emphasis
added
“If One died for all,
then all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14 e.a.
“knowing this, that our
old man was crucified with [Him] that the body of sin might be done away
with..” Romans 6:6 e.a.
“And those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Galatians 5:24 e.a
We need to stop smiting the Rock
and learn to rest in His completed work on our behalf. As Paul says in Romans 6:11 “Consider it done.” By ONE offering He has perfected us
forever. [Hebrews 10:14] But doesn’t
Paul say “I die daily?” [1 Corinthians 15:31]. In the context he is talking
about the perils he faces daily for the sake of the Gospel. The Accuser will
keep us busy wrestling the flesh, smiting the Rock. It’s a red herring, a delaying tactic, to
keep us from doing what we’re supposed to be doing – wrestling against powers
and principalities and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies and liberating
the Earth from satan’s grip. We do not
need to wrestle with flesh and blood, including our own; that battle has been
won.
The battle against the enemy will
be won only on the basis of what Jesus has done; not on the basis of what we
can do. We do however need to consecrate ourselves and be totally available to
God. That shouldn’t be difficult when we see what’s at stake and the glorious
victory ahead.
How then are we changed into
Christ’s image if not by battling the flesh?
2 Corinthians 3:18
gives the answer.
“But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding, as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
We are changed through revelation. Every time the Spirit shows us more of Him a
change is effected in us because it is a spiritual principle that no man can
see God and live. [Exodus 33:20] At each
glimpse of His glory, something of the old nature in us dies as the hush of
holiness settles in our soul and silences Self.
Jacob saw God face to face at Peniel and thereafter he walked with a
limp. No longer did he have confidence
in himself, only in God. As Paul was to say centuries later “Our
sufficiency[ is] from God”. [ 2 Corinthians 3:5]
You can tell when people have seen
God; it shows. Moses saw God and his face shone with glory. Isaiah saw
God in the Temple
anymore. Seeing God was enough. He
said;-
“I have heard of You by the
hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor
[myself],
And repent in dust and
ashes.” Job 42:5,6
It is seeing the goodness of God
that leads us to repentance. [Romans 2:4] When Moses asked to see God, He said
“I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name
of the LORD before you.” [Exodus
33:19] Moses received a revelation of a
merciful, gracious, longsuffering God, abounding in goodness and truth and his
face reflected His glory. Supremely, God is revealed in His Son Jesus:-
“God………has shone in our
hearts to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
It is a humbling, purifying
experience to see God. If we want to be like Jesus all we need to do is to seek
His face, and we will be changed from glory to glory. Legally, our old nature
died at the Cross, it was crucified with Christ: Experientially, day by day, we are changed by
revelation. We are responsible, of course, to walk in the light of what we have
seen.
“For everyone to whom
much is given, from him much will be required…..” Luke 12:48
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