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THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST In Numbers chapter twenty, the children of Israel gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron over the fact that there was an apparent water shortage. Then God told Moses how to solve the problem: “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.” (Num. 20:8) Now, the plan of getting water from the rock wasn’t a new one, but getting it by SPEAKING to the rock was new. The original method called for Moses to hit the rock with his rod (Exo. 17:6), but that method was not to be repeated. Speaking to the rock was the new plan. However, being upset with the people, Moses didn’t pay close attention to God’s instructions. So, he rushed out in a rage, called the people a bunch of rebels, and then hit the rock with his rod (Num. 20:9-10). This incident so displeased the Lord that Moses was forbidden to enter the promised land: “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. 20:12) At first glance, this whole scene appears a bit foolish. Why is the Almighty Creator of the universe concerned with whether a man hits or speaks to a rock? What difference does it make? As long as Moses gets his water, isn’t that all that matters? To the outside observer, it would appear that God is being foolish by trying to micro-manage the whole thing. However, when observed in light of one interesting little New Testament statement, one sees a much bigger picture. I Corinthians 10:4 informs us that “that Rock was Christ.” Well now, that just explains everything. Moses had to speak to the rock because he had already hit it in the past, which pictured Christ being smitten ONCE at Calvary. Hebrews 9:26-28 emphasizes this one-time suffering of Christ: “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hitting the rock more than once would picture a continuation of the crucifixion of Christ rather than trusting in His completed work. So, when Moses rushed out and smacked the rock with the rod, God had no choice but to ban him from the promised land. The Lord felt so strongly about this type that He “rubs it in” again when Moses is one hundred and twenty years old and ready to die: “And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.” (Deu. 34:3-4)So, as usual, a seemingly-foolish detail wasn’t so foolish after all (I Cor. 1:27-29).