For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. Deuteronomy 32: 3, 4, NKJV.
Great God and Eternal Father, how thankful we are to have You in our lives! We worship and adore You, and our only desire is to see You face to face one day and cast our crowns at Your feet. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” Amen.
I am not sure how many people see something special in a rock. I love to observe huge rocks with unusual formations. I think of strength, steadfastness and endurance when observing them. It is of special interest to me that God would use a rock to bring forth water for His people during their wilderness journey. Is there a lesson of faith that we could learn from this incident, or perhaps several lessons of faith? Let us see how many we can learn today.
One outstanding characteristic of a rock that is visible at a glance is its texture, usually rough, and hard to the touch. Isaiah 53 informs us that “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (2b). Christ’s genealogy and His social status did not make Him attractive to those who were expecting a certain kind of Messiah. Nathanael questioned: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth”? (John 1: 46). Others wanted to know: “Will the Christ come out of Galilee” (7: 31, 41)? He was too much of a rough looking Rock for those who were expecting a Messiah from among the elite of Israel. Let us be careful not to reject Christ because He does not meet our expectations. He is the only Rock that can save and satisfy all our needs!
Yet as hard as rocks are, some are also porous; they allow the entrance of water, or other liquids. There is a saying that you can’t get blood from a rock, but when our Rock hung upon the cross, both blood and water came from His side! Whether it be cleansing or saving we need, or both; in Christ we have it all!
Moses and Aaron got into problems for the way they treated the rock in the wilderness. That rock represented Jesus Christ, that was to be “smitten” only once for the sins of the world. He was the Perfect Sacrifice. His vicarious death would atone for the sins of the whole world and He only had to be offered once. The blood of earthly lambs as innocent as those lambs were could not save the sinner. They were only a type of the Lamb of God who would come to pay the ultimate price by offering His life in place of our own.
I praise God for the “Rock of my salvation” (Deuteronomy 32: 15:d. Emphasis provided)! I am so grateful for the “Rock who begot [me] (18a. Emphasis provided)! I am privileged to be able to say, that “the Lord is my Rock and that “Rock [is] Christ” (1 Corinthians 10: 4)!
NOTE: For those who may not be aware I have a new email address: pastormabelpd@gmail.com.