Selfless Surrender

The Lord answered Moses, “Walk on ahead 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. 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. Exodus 17:5-6 | NIV84

Do you think these Scriptures are interesting? Why did God have Moses strike a rock for water to come out? Why bring the elders with him? Why not just strike the ground and create a river in front of the entire assembly? I mean, God could have done anything, but He instructed Moses to strike a rock. Why?

Take a look at this Scripture written by Isaiah many years AFTER the event in Exodus.

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

  a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;

  the one who trusts will never be dismayed.”

Isaiah 28:16 | NIV84

Here we see the rock, or stone in this case again, but it’s depicted as a tested precious cornerstone, a solid foundation. What’s going on with all these rocks Scripture is talking about? How exactly does one test a stone anyway? Well, you strike it to see if it’s strong, if it can bear the weight to become the cornerstone of a foundation. The following Scriptures give light to the explanation of what the rock means.

The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,

  he is the one you are to fear,

he is the one you are to dread,

  and he will be a sanctuary;

but for both houses of Israel he will be

  a stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.

  And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.

Isaiah 8:13-14 | NIV84 (underlines mine)

Through Isaiah God reveals what the stone means. You see, everything you need to know about what’s in the Bible, is in the Bible. The Bible answers its own questions. It’s just that you need to ask the Lord to reveal these things to your heart. So, the Scriptures above explains that God Himself somehow becomes the stone Scripture is talking about.

but for both houses of Israel he will be

  a stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.

Isaiah 8:14 | NIV84

How does God do such a thing?

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” Matthew 21:23 | NIV84

Jesus is in the temple courts teaching the people of Israel and the religious leaders of his day come out and begin questioning him. Jesus answers their question, but in the form of a few parables and ends with the following statements.

Jesus said to them,

“Have you never read in the Scriptures:  

‘The stone the builders rejected

  has become the capstone

the Lord has done this,

  and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. Matthew 21:42-46 | NIV84

I find it interesting that the Pharisees not only understood what Jesus was saying, but knew He was talking about the stone as being Himself and they being the ones who’d reject Him. I don’t know how much clearer Jesus needed to be, but without faith inside their heart, they stood condemned that moment… because at that moment they understood the true meaning of the prophecies.

When Moses struck the rock to give water for the Israelites to drink and not die, it was a symbolic gesture, a sign for those that would come after them. A rock is something created, not man-made. God created all of the rocks and He created that rock that Moses struck. God also created the water. But, what does the water coming from the rock mean?

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37-38 | NIV84

You see, although the Hebrews in the desert had no idea of why God had Moses strike a rock to receive water, but God was using this miracle as a way to communicate to the future generations His Plan. His plan of salvation. Jesus is the rock and from Him flows Living Water. Jesus was struck, tested and tried and He came out perfect and victorious giving a way for man to come to God. I find it so incredibly fascinating just how amazingly wonderful and accurate Scripture really is. At times I am dumbfounded at how intricate the details are within Scripture…

Jesus is the Rock and out of Him flows springs of Living Water.