Biblical Logos Blog

In Exodus 17:3-7, God told Moses to strike the Rock at Horeb. Water would flow out to give the Israelites and their cattle water to drink in the desert. This event happened just after the crossing of the Red Sea. Already, the people are complaining to Moses. They are upset that he brought them out here to die.

In the Old Testament, the “Rock” was the Messiah / Jesus. This typology doesn’t need much defense, because the Apostle Paul says it was so:

1Co 10:1-6  For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.  Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.  Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 

The “Rock” in the Old Testament is a reoccurring theme pointing to Christ. He is the Rock of our Salvation (Psalm 95:1, 2 Sam 22:47. etc..)! Commentaries follow these passages and note that by striking the Rock as God commanded, Jesus death was being symbolized. His death brought the Holy Spirit, the Living Waters:

Joh 7:38-39  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”  Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

So far, the typology is that the “Rock” represents Jesus. The “Living Waters” is a reference to the Holy Spirit (John 4:10, 13-14 also). You can now easily see how commentaries describe this Old Testament event. Moses was told to strike the rock. This action pictured Jesus being struck. Then living waters came to humanity during the Church age. The Holy Spirit indwells believers.

One last typology from this set of verses. Moses also represents “The Law”. Several times in the New Testament, Moses is identified with the Old Testament Law that he was given. As an example:

2Co 3:7-9  Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end,  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?  For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 

Mat 17:3  And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 

Moses signifies “The Law” and Elijah stands for the “Prophets” on the Mt. of transfiguration in Matthew 17:3 above.

Here are the symbols / types from the Old Testament account of Moses striking the Rock at Horeb:

Jesus = “The Rock”, the Holy Spirit = “Living Waters”, Moses = “The Law”

The story in Exodus 17 shows God’s supernatural orchestration. He somehow allows for free will, but yet orchestrated the Old Testament events to pre-figure future events. As the Apostle Paul said in our 1 Corinthians 10 passages above, “…Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.”.

There is a second Rock striking event by Moses. However, this time he disobeyed what God had told him to do. This event is found in Numbers 20. It is 40 years later after the Wilderness Wandering, that God is leading the Israelites back toward the Promised Land. Again, they are in desert, arid conditions and the people where again complaining to Moses. I can just imagine Moses thinking, “here we go again!”. Moses likely felt uncertain about this second attempt to enter the Promised Land. He saw that the Israelites were not trusting that the Lord would take care of them. The Israelites just spent 40 years wandering for disobedience. During that time, God provided them with water, food, and protection. Let’s look at the passages about this second rock striking event:

Num 20:8-13  “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”  And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him. Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”  And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.  And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”  These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy. 

In this second event, God said to Moses and Aaron to “tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water”. Some translations say “speak to the rock…”. Moses instead struck the rock twice with his staff. Moses appeared to be so frustrated with the Israelites. He started this scene by telling off the Israelites gathered before him, “Hear now, you rebels..”. Moses took things into his own hands out of frustration. He struck the rock instead of speaking to it. Moses and Aaron’s rebellion at Meribah led to divine judgment. Both Aaron and Moses perish before entering the Promised Land.

These commentaries note this second rock striking. They show how rebellion against the Lord’s command can bring serious consequences. Often commentaries on this second rock striking event will say that Moses broke the typology God was trying to orchestrate. He did this by striking the rock and not speaking to it. Let’s see a sample of commentary from the late Chuck Smith on this event:

Now, Christ was smitten in order that the water of life might flow from Him to all of us. The shepherd was smitten but out of the smiting there came forth that water, life giving water, salvation to all of us. But once smitten, He never needed to be smitten again. So Moses is breaking now the whole analogy. In the second time around, smiting the rock twice is breaking the analogy because now once Christ was smitten all that is necessary is just to speak. All I have to do is come.

Did Moses actually break the typology? Is not God outside of time and knew what Moses would do? What if God allowed the second rock striking and actually used it to continue the analogy and typology? Let’s consider how this has actually been the plan all along.

In the Book of Hebrews, the refusal by the Israelites to go into the Promise Land frames the book. Their disobedience is portrayed as the same situation. Hebrews is challenging the Jewish people at the time just after Jesus’ resurrection. They should not fall back into Temple worship. They should also avoid following the Old Testament law again. The Jewish people in the first century who believed in Jesus faced significant pressure from the Jewish non-believers. They were urged to return to Temple worship. There was also pressure to trust in the Old Testament Law. By accepting Jesus, they were barred from Temple worship and often shunned by the Law following Jewish community. The Book of Hebrews warns the first century believers. If they return to Temple worship, it will be the same disobedient mistake. It resembles what led to the Wilderness Wanderings when Israelites refused to enter the Promise Land.

Heb 3:9-19  where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’  As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”  Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.  As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?  And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. 

This context involves pending divine judgment for disobedience. Turning from belief in Jesus back to Temple worship isn’t a salvation issue. It is a warning of divine judgment. Dr. Andy Woods makes the full argument here. Just as Moses and Aaron received divine judgment for striking the rock twice. The Israelites who refused to enter the Promised Land because of the giants faced divine judgment. They experienced the Wilderness Wanderings leading to their death in the Wilderness. Similarly, the first century Jews are being warned to not leave their trust in Jesus at this pivotal moment of the early Church.

How then could it be that Moses and Aaron’s second rock striking did not actually break the typology? This was established the first time Moses struck the rock at Horeb. Consider this passages also from Hebrews:

Heb 6:4-6  For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 

Hebrews 6:4-6 represent some of the most debated verses in the Bible. Many see these verses as a warning of a loss of salvation. This loss was to happen to the first century Jewish people. They were leaving their trust in Jesus and returning to Temple worship. As Dr. Wood’s teaching mentioned above points out, these Hebrews 6 passages are a warning of divine judgment for disobedience instead. The last verse is a key verse for our post today:

Heb 6:6  and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

They are “crucifying once again the Son of God..”. Using the words of our analogy and types, they are “striking the Rock a second time”! Could God have knowingly allowed Moses’ disobedience as a warning of divine judgment? This is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:6. It also continues the analogy and types of the first rock strike event.

Consider that God told Moses in the second Rock striking event to actually speak to the Rock. If the Rock is Jesus, then the command was to have relationship with Jesus. To trust Jesus and not to fall back to the Law and experience consequences like Moses and Aaron.

The first century Jewish people being spoken to in the Book of Hebrews understood Jesus as the Rock in the first analogy. This portended his death on the cross. They may now see the second analogy of divine judgment in Moses’ second striking of the rock from Numbers 20. I’m arguing, the analogy and types are not “broken” by Moses’ second rock strike as so many commentaries refer. The second rock strike maintains the pattern. It serves as a typology and warns of divine judgment for the first century Jewish people.