The Exodus – Part 28
Water from a Rock
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
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This document is a Sermon Outline. You may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on Facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church.
SERMON TIMELINE
· The Book of Genesis
· The Book of Exodus
· The First Three Miracles
· The Ten Plagues
o Passover & Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ Instructions for Passover Feast
§ Instructions for Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ The Exodus Begins
o Passover Restrictions
o Consecration of Hebrew Firstborn Sons
o Cross the Red Sea
o The Complaining Begins (continues)
o Manna & Quail
o Water from the Rock
INTRODUCTION
Over the last year or so, looking at the Book of Genesis, verse by verse, as well as more recently breaking down the Book of Exodus, verse by verse, I have mentioned that God's plan of redemption through Christ Jesus, the why, the how, and the results of, are all explained by God in these Books of the Bible.
We will see that God continues teaching the Israelites, but they are reluctant to listen. Even though instructions are clear and precise, they grumble, complain, and are never happy.
This discontentment and dissatisfied complaining attitude are upsetting to both Moses and God. After all that has been done to free them from slavery, they dare to complain about the old days being better when they were enslaved.
We sometimes see this in people today who attend church, or call themselves Christians, but they are missing something.
They are never satisfied with the church, the preachers, the other congregation members, and they complain about how it was better before when they weren't attending.
Their heats have not been changed.
Sometimes this is simply because the work of the Holy Spirit takes time, sometimes longer in some. Sometimes it is because they are quenching God's Holy Spirit and preventing change in their lives. However, sometimes, it is because a conversion has never indeed taken place.
God's Holy Spirit creates change in us as long as we do not fight and resist Him.
Without true conversion though, we do not have God's Holy Spirit, and we, like the Israelites in Exodus, will never be satisfied, content, nor pleased with the Works of our God for the Salvation and freeing us from the bondage of slavery to sin.
The Hebrews do not have
the benefit of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, though God freed them from the
bondage of Egypt, they still struggle with the bondage of sin in their flesh.
We can only overcome the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today we look at the Continuing Complaining of the Israelites
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 17:1-7
"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?" 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
5 The Lord answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
TODAY'S MESSAGE
I. STRIKE THE ROCK EXODUS 17:1-7
a. The Israelites continue to complain
i. We know they cried out before Moses arrived
1. Exodus 3:6-8a "Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…"
ii. They complained when Moses arrived
1. Exodus 5:19-21 "The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, "May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
iii. They complained before crossing the Red Sea
1. Exodus 14:11-12 "They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
iv. They complained after crossing the Red Sea
1. Exodus 15:24 "So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
v. They complained on the way to Sinai
1. Exodus 16:2-3 "In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
vi. And now they are complaining again about no water
1. Exodus 17:1-2a "The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
b. Moses strikes the rock as the Lord instructed
i. Exodus 17:5-6a "The Lord answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink."
c. The place was then named
i. Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
It is at this point some may ask, "Wasn’t Moses supposed to speak to the rock, not strike it?”
Moses was, as we read, instructed to strike the rock in Exodus 17.
What sticks out in most of our remembrances about the rock and Moses, is the second time Moses went to the rock for water, which takes place in Numbers 20.
II. SPEAK TO THE ROCK NUMBERS 20:8-13
a. The Israelites continue to complain
i. Approximately 40 years passed between the Israelites complaining in Exodus and complaining continuing in Numbers 20.
ii. We read in Numbers 20 that they are once again in need of water
iii. Continuing to complain all the while.
iv. Numbers 20:3-5 “They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
b. The Lord instructs Moses to speak to the rock
i. Numbers 20:8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
ii. Numbers 20:10-11 “He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.”
c. The event in Numbers 20 is NOT the event of Exodus 17
i. There are some who claim this is a contradiction in the bible, however, these two events took place nearly 40 years apart.
ii. How do we know?
iii. In Numbers 20:6 after the complaints, we read, “Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.”
iv. The first time Moses was instructed to “strike the rock” was in Exodus 17, the Tabernacle had not yet been built. However, in Numbers 20:6 Moses and Aaron enter the “Tent of Meeting”, which was not built until Exodus 33.
v. These are clearly two separate events taking place nearly 40 years apart from each other.
vi. So, Moses was instructed by the Lord to “strike” the rock in Exodus 17 for the first time and instructed by the Lord to “speak” to the rock the second time in Numbers 20.
vii. Everything the Lord does, and records in scripture is for a reason. His instructions both served a purpose as well, though Moses did not see it.
III. THE MESSAGE OF THE ROCK
a. The allegorical meaning of the rock and water
i. This literal event has an allegorical meaning to teach us, just as everything else in scripture. The rock and the water are no different.
ii. We do not have to “guess” or “assume” what the rock represents allegorically in Exodus or Numbers because we are told in the New Testament what it represents.
iii. I Corinthians 10:1-13 “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
So that rock was Christ! And what is made available through Christ?
Luke 24:49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised.”
John 20:22 “Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit””
John 15:26-27 “I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me. Then you will also tell others about me…”
The “water” coming from the rock represents the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37-38 “On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him.”
b. Why strike (obedient) the first time, speak (was disobedient) the second?
i. When the Lord instructed Moses to strike the rock in Exodus 17, He intended to establish a picture of Christ as our Redeemer.
ii. The Bible says repeatedly in Psalms and Isaiah that Christ is our Rock and Cornerstone struck (i.e., killed) for our sake, and He will bring forth streams of living water (i.e., salvation...see John 4:10).
iii. Moreover, Hebrews says Christ died once for all and no further sacrifice for sins is required.
iv. So, the Lord intended Moses strike the rock in the desert only once in the scene from Exodus 17, thus picturing Jesus sacrificed once to bring us salvation.
v. Later in Numbers 20, the Lord instructed Moses to only speak to the rock to preserve the picture created in Exodus 17.
vi. When Moses chose to strike the rock a second time instead, he disrupted the picture created in Exodus 17.
vii. Had God allowed Moses' mistake to go unchallenged, we would likely be confused by the distorted picture, concluding it was necessary for Christ (i.e., the rock) to be sacrificed (i.e., struck) repeatedly for our salvation.
c. Nothing has changed today!
i. Therefore, God rebuked Moses to assure our proper understanding of the picture of the rock barring him from entering the Promised Land.
ii. In the process, the Lord formed a new picture to support a proper understanding of salvation.
iii. By barring Moses from the Promised Land, the Lord illustrated that we cannot enter into salvation (i.e., the Promised Land) by works of Law (i.e., by Moses) but only by the work of Jesus
CONCLUSION
Christ died Once for All
Hebrews 10 explains Christ’s Sacrifice once for all. Read it!
Because the Lord Jesus was struck at the cross, once for all, we no longer need any other sacrifice but His alone!
We only need to call on His name! Speak to Him! And we will receive the water, and drink, and be thirsty no more!
NEXT WEEK
We will look at Moses’ Father-in-law giving him sound advice on leadership
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