Smiting the Rock

View daily reading plan: Ex 17.1-7; Deut 8.15

The desert is a thirsty place. Not long after crossing the Red Sea they had come to Marah, but there the water was too bitter to drink. The problem was solved when the Lord showed Moses a tree which, cast into the waters, made them sweet (Ex 15.23-25). Even today, the bitter experiences in a believer’s life can be sweetened by the cross, that tree on which our Saviour died.

Not long after Marah, scarcity of water was a problem again, and they murmured loudly and this time threatened mutiny. It became known as Massah (temptation) and Meribah (strife).But God’s grace overcame their sin and hardness, and silenced their angry words. He told Moses to take his rod and smite the nearby rock, and the water flowed out in life-giving streams.

“That Rock was Christ”, says 1 Corinthians 10.4. He is the never failing source of all our blessings, “living water” not to be found in the wells of this world (Jn 4.11-14). But we must never forget that to provide this water for us, He was “smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isa 53 .4). On the cross, He was the smitten Shepherd (Zech 13.7). 

We’ll sing of the Shepherd that died,
That died for the sake of the flock,
His love to the utmost was tried,
But firmly endured as a Rock.
 

Friday, 19 April, 2024