Speak To Your Rock

Exodus 17:5-6
"And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the "ELDERS OF ISRAEL" Also take in your hand "YOUR ROD" with which you struck the river {the Nile}, and go.
6 Behold, I (Jesus) WILL STAND BEFORE YOU THERE ON THE ROCK in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, {strike Jesus} and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so "IN THE SIGHT OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL."

(Moses strikes the rock.)

During their 38 years of wandering in the wilderness, the Children of Israel had two very different "Rock" encounters.  The first is documented here in Exodus 17.

"38 years?  I thought they wandered for 40 years," you say.  Well technically, yes.  They were IN the wilderness for 40 years but, actually, their wandering was only 38 years.  The first two years were not a judgment against them.  The last 38 were.    

In this account of their wilderness wanderings, details of one of Jesus' miracles in the New Testament are hidden.  For more on that topic, follow the link below:  

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-pool-of-bethesda.html

In 1 Cor.10 the Apostle Paul calls these rocks "types."  They are pictures of Jesus.  The first of these two encounters reveals Him in His suffering and death.  The other unveils Him as our risen, glorified, triumphant, exalted, Great High Priest!

Just prior to the first incident which occurred during their first year in the wilderness, camp had been set up at Rephidim.  There was no water to drink so was what did they do? What they always did:  Murmured and complained.

(The bitter waters of Marah.)

Incredibly, just three days prior, God had sweetened the waters of Marah for them.  "Marah" means "bitter," in Hebrew.  God had instructed Moses to throw a tree into the waters making them "sweet" and fit to drink.  Trees in the Bible are a typology of the cross and to God, the Cross always the answer!

If you don't remember anything else when seeking to understand scripture, remember this:  GOD IS ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT HIS BELOVED SON.  Everything written from Genesis to Revelation tells us something about Him.  EVERYTHING revolves around Jesus.  So let's go and see Him in these two rock encounters.

We'll pick up the story in verse 5 of Exodus 17.
5 "And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the "ELDERS OF ISRAEL" Also take in your hand "YOUR ROD" with which you struck the river {Nile}, and go.
6 Behold, I (Jesus) WILL STAND BEFORE YOU THERE ON THE ROCK in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, {strike Jesus} and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so "IN THE SIGHT OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL."
7 So he called the name of the place Massah {temptation} and Meribah {strife} because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

"Is the LORD among us or not?"  What a terrible thing to say!  Pretty tough crowd, huh?  How'd you like to pastor a church like that, full of nagging, murmuring, angry, whining people?  They actually came close to stoning Moses!  Count your blessings if your Church isn't like that!

Murmuring notwithstanding, Moses does the right thing.  He consulted the Lord, took the rod that he used on the Nile, (a depiction of God’s judgement), then in front of the elders of Israel he struck the rock and it yielded water for the people.  God, {Jesus}, told Moses that He would be standing "in front of the Rock" when it was struck. Jesus, in this typology, is taking the blow from Moses' rod.

The Holy Spirit is painting a picture of Jesus here taking all of God's judgement, the full weight of it, IN OUR PLACE when He died on the cross.  You see, in order to bless us, God must have a righteous foundation.  Jesus' provided that when He fulfilled the law and nailed that handwriting of requirements to the cross.  

This was all done out of sight of the congregation of Israel in general, notice. The elders were the only witnesses to this first occurrence because they are a picture of the religious leaders who, at Jesus "trial" and crucifixion, consented to His death.  

The Holy Spirit uses the Hebrew word "BASSUR," for this first Rock.  It means "a very large bolder," typifying Jesus when He came down to earth. 

The silence of scripture at this point is very telling.  Now, we know that the people must have had some water to drink.  After all, they were thirsty, but the Holy Spirit does not record them drinking. Why?  Because Israel at Jesus' first coming, for the most part, was unreceptive to Him.  Very few partook or of the free gift of righteousness.  Jesus was rejected as their Messiah through their leadership who were the hands-on architects of His crucifixion.  Truthfully, we are all guilty.  It was all our sins that put Him there.  Many have called the Jewish people "Christ killers."  That is not true. Physically He was put on the cross by Romans.  Oh yeah, we are all responsible for His death.  

Remember what He said to the woman at the well?  "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the WATER THAT I SHALL GIVE HIM will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'"John 4:13-14 

JESUS IS THE WATER THAT BRINGS LIFE.

(The Pharisees hated and resented Jesus.)

The second Rock encounter is recorded in Numbers 20, 38 VERY lo-o-o-ong years after the first one.  It occurred in the last year of their wandering. These 3-million or so frustrating, murmering, complaining, whining people were like a drippy faucet.  As you can well imagine, Moses had just about had it with the lot of them.  Let's follow the story in Numbers 20.

7 "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take THE rod {Aaron's} you and your brother Aaron, gather the CONGREGATION together, SPEAK TO THE ROCK before their eyes and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him."

As in the first encounter, Moses starts out ok.  He consulted the LORD and brought out Aaron's rod.  Why Aaron's?  Because it is a picture of Jesus.  It had been a dead almond stick that sprouted  OVERNIGHT, a picture of life out of death:  RESURRECTION!  

Why an almond branch?  Because the almond tree is a picture of RESURRECTION.  Of all the trees in Israel, it is the first to awake from it’s winter sleep.

You remember why his rod budded I'm sure.  Back in Numbers 16, Korah and his sons were complaining that Moses and Aaron had taken up leadership over the people presumptuously when, actually, God had appointed them.  The LORD was going to destroy the whole lot of them when Moses intervened.  

Per God's command, in Numbers 17, he took the rods from all the elders and set them before the Ark of the covenant.  All 12 rods had the leader's name inscribed on it.  In the morning, only Aaron's rod had put forth bud, blossom and fully mature almond fruit.  He was shown to be God's appointed high priest.

(Aaron's rod that budded.)

At the time of this second encounter the people, for the ump-teenth time, were mumuring and complaining.  Again, they had no water but still had not learned to trust the LORD to provide.

The word that the Holy Spirit uses for "Rock" this time is not "bassur" but the word "sela," which means a very high, exalted cliff.  It's a picture of Jesus as our resurrected, glorious, highly exalted, Great High Priest, seated at the right hand of the Father. Our Savior!

Aaron is present because he is a typology of our risen, glorified Lord.  The congregation is present because they are a depiction of the Church.

So, we have Moses and Aaron standing before this great cliff in front of all the people; and what happens?

"...10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock;
and he said to them,...."

Uh, oh.......NOT what he was told.

(Moses struck the rock twice which angered God.)

“Hear now, you rebels! Must WE BRING water for you out of this rock?”  11 Then Moses lifted his hand and STRUCK THE ROCK.......... TWICE {uh oh!} with HIS ROD {the rod  of judgement}, and water came out abundantly, and THE CONGREGATION and their animals drank.

Wait, what?  Why did he say must "We" bring water out of the rock?  It wasn't Moses who brought out water from the rock;  it was God.  Oh boy...here it comes.  

"...12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe Me, TO HALLOW ME (set Him apart) IN THE EYES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, {a typology of the church} therefore YOU SHALL NOT BRING THIS ASSEMBLY INTO THE LAND which I have given them.'"

God was very angry at Moses!  First of all, he was supposed to hold up AARON'S ROD, not his.  Aaron's represents grace; his represented the law and judgment.  While he was holding up Aaron's rod he was supposed to "SPEAK" to the Rock not strike it. 

Why was that so wrong, besides the fact that he didn't do what God told him to do?  Here's the thing:  Because Moses did not set Him apart as gracious and loving, he misrepresented God to the people.  He portrayed Him as angry and judgmental when, in truth, He was neither. He loved the people!  He had wanted to appear tender, loving, gracious and patient with them. He heard their complaining and saw it as thirst for Jesus.  What Moses did was destroy that by hitting Jesus in the "TYPE" of the Rock.

You bet God was angry but not at the people;  He was angry at their leader just as He is angry with leaders today who portray Him as angry and judgmental toward their people.  They are beating, not feeding, the sheep of His flock. 

Church, I'm here to tell you today:  GOD ISN'T ANGRY AT YOU.  Once you come to faith in Christ THERE IS NO MORE JUDGMENT, no more punishment, NO MORE ANGER. Christ took it ALL upon Himself when He died on that cross.  It would be UNJUST TO JESUS to punish you and I for sins that Jesus already paid for IN FULL.  In fact, HE WAS AN OVERPAYMENT.  

Instead of “speaking" to the ROCK, Moses HIT IT.  Not once, but TWICE!!  What he was really doing was HITTING JESUS in the "type" of the rock.  
 

Notice that even though God was angry with Moses, He was still gracious toward the people.  Water didn't just flow out of the rock, it FLOWED OUT ABUNDANTLY!  He's the God of MORE THAN ENOUGH!  They AND their animals drank.
The second rock encounter typifies Israel today.  This time the Holy Spirit records that THEY AND THEIR ANIMALS DRANK.  In other words, more Jewish people are coming to faith in Christ in our day and age than ever before in history!  As I said earlier, very few were open to Jesus as their Messiah when He came the first time.  That is why the Holy Spirit chose not to record that they drank of the water in their first encounter even though they obviously did.  The silence of scripture speaks volumes.  

Church, even if there are signs, wonders and people getting saved in a particular church or ministry, it doesn't necessarily mean that the pastor is preaching the real gospel.  If he or she could actually be beating the sheep by telling them God is angry at them when, in fact, HE IS NOT.  Because of His goodness, God blesses the people anyway because He loves them.  Eventually, the sheep of that pasture will relocate to a better one and the ministry will shut down.  God will remove their candlestick.  He will not allow this beating of His sheep forever.

Getting back to Moses, his mistake cost him dearly.  Because of it, God did not allow him to enter His Rest: the Promised Land.  You see, Jesus suffered enough when He died on the cross.  He was beaten and brutalized beyond all comprehension for our sakes!  HE IS NEVER TO BE STRUCK AGAIN......EVER!!!!!   Moses misrepresented God to the people.  Now you understand why God was so angry.  This was no small thing to Him.

We do much the same thing when we beg and plead with God over and over and over again for blessings already ours by promise, like health and provision.  In effect, we are "hitting" Jesus.
The Bible tells us point blank, "How will He not, with His Beloved Son, freely give us all things?"  We are God's beloved, too, you know.  We are THE REASON He sent His Son to die on the cross in the first place.  The Holy Spirit says "make your REQUESTS be made known." No need to beg. Simply ask and keep on asking, thanking Him in advance.  Ask, and keep on asking, resting in the sure knowledge of His provision.  By this action you're demonstrating that you really do trust Him.

(Moses is allowed to see the Promised Land but cannot enter in.)

So, what happened to Moses?  

When he died, the Bible says that God buried him on the plains of Moab, but no one to this day knows where his grave is located.  Do you know why nobody can find it?  

HE ISN'T IN IT.

WHAT??!  

Yep, you read that right; and I can prove it.  

Check out the scriptures and see if you come to the same conclusion.  The Holy Spirit has left us some intriguing nuggets and clues and, after all, the Bible is it's own best commentary.  Read these ordinances in Deuteronomy and Leviticus which will come into play later on.  They speak of practices strictly forbidden by God. 

#1.  "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer."  Deuteronomy 8:10

#2.  '‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice DIVINATION or **SOOTHSAYING." Leviticus 19:26

**Webster's dictionary defines "soothsaying" as:

1) the act of foretelling events by supernatural means. (Like contacting the dead.)
2) prediction, prophecy."

It's pretty clear:  Talking to the dead was forbidden to Jewish people...PERIOD!  As 100% Man, Jesus would not have talked to the dead. 

 

(Mount of Transfiguration.)

Come with me now up on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before the wondering eyes of His inner circle:  Peter, James and John.

Here's the scene:  Jesus was there and talking with two others:  Moses and Elijah.  Why these two in particular?  Because they represent the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah).  

Jesus had brought with Him Peter, James and John, the beloved disciple.  

There is a wonderful message in the meaning of their names.  Peter's name means "stone," James means "usurp or supplant" and John means "grace."  Put their names together and God is telling us that the "the stone (the law) has been supplanted (replaced) by Grace!"  This is a very significant detail.  The Holy Spirit is drawing pictures for us again!

Our very impetuous Peter, the disciple who speaks before he thinks, who had heretofore been sleeping, woke up.  He saw the scene and blurted out that he thought they should erect three tabernacles, one for each of them.  The instant those words were out of his mouth, the Father descended in a bright cloud and said, "This is my Beloved Son. HEAR HIM."  

You see, Moses and Elijah had their day.  The law is being replaced.  ALL glory, honor and power belongs to His beloved Son.  All must now bow and listen ONLY to Jesus! AMEN!

Obviously, the Father had Elijah with Him, whom He had swept off to heaven in a chariot of fire BODILY.  But look who also was there:  Moses who, at last report, DIED ON MT. NEBO and was buried somewhere on the plains of Moab, location unknown.  Yet.....It is very clear that JESUS SPOKE TO ALL THREE.  
So it begs the question "How could Jesus be talking to Moses IF HE'S DEAD?  Remember, COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEAD IS NOT LAWFUL for Jewish people.

Now, it would be perfectly legal for Jesus to talk to someone like Elijah who never died, right?  It would also be lawful to talk to someone who was resurrected, like Lazarus for instance.  Jesus most certainly would not do anything which would legally disqualify Him from being our perfect sacrifice.  Therefore....MOSES COULD NOT HAVE BEEN DEAD. 

Why Moses and not Enoch?  Because Moses represents The Law.  Enoch is actually a typology of the rapture generation:  US!  But there is another compelling reason why Moses was present and not Enoch which we'll discover shortly.  

Let's look at a couple more clues to this intriguing mystery and allow scripture to clarify itself.

(Michael argues with the devil over the body of Moses.)

Jude 9
 "9 Yet Michael the Archangel, in contending with the devil, when he DISPUTED ABOUT THE BODY OF MOSES, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation,  but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Why was Michael arguing with the devil over the body of Moses?  What were they arguing about?  Hmmm....indeed.
AND.....
Malachi 4:5&6
"5 Behold, I will send you ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD:  6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

It clearly says that ELIJAH WILL RETURN IN THE FLESH, not in spirit as in the case of John the Baptist.  John, Jesus' cousin, came in "THE SPIRIT of Elijah."  Remember that? 

Go ask any of your Jewish friends what happens at the end of every Pesach (Passover) celebration and they'll tell you a child is sent to the door to see if a certain someone is there.  Who are they expecting?  Elijah!  They are expecting his BODILY RETURN!

What has all this have to do with Moses?  Let's look at the final clue.

(Moses and Elijah, the two witnesses.)

Revelation 11:3-6
"3 And I will give power to my TWO WITNESSES, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days {3 1/2 years} clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies.  And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner."

6 THESE HAVE POWER to:
*#1:  Shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy {3 1/2 years}.  Sounds like Elijah, doesn't it?
And...............
*#2 They have power over waters to TURN THEM TO BLOOD, and to STRIKE THE EARTH WITH ALL PLAGUES, as often as they desire.,
Sounds like Moses, doesn't it?

After these two prophesy and come against the followers of the Anti-Chirst with everything in their arsenal, the Anti-Christ will kill them.  Notice he is not called "anti-god, but anti-Christ?  The Bible says whole world will see this, no doubt via satellite broadcast by every international news channel--BBC, CNN, all the major networks. They will watch in amazement as these two are resurrected after three days.  Now doesn't that sound like SomeONE else we know?  Afterward, they, like their Master, will ascend bodily into heaven.

For decades skeptics ridiculed Christians who believed this Bible prophecy.  How could the whole world see events happening hundreds and thousands  of miles away in the Middle East?  Impossible, right?!  Well no one is laughing now.  Science has come a long way since the days of those skeptics who, by the way, are long dead.  Today we have TV signals beaming all over the globe via satellite, the world-wide web, telephones, tablets, iPads, computers and smart phones connected to it.  Oh yeah:  Every eye will most definitely see.  

 

Isn't God cool!  Nothing takes Him by surprise. I guess our He knew a "few" things these other so-called "experts" of yester-year did not.  Who's laughing now?

Tell me, Church:  Which two icons are closer to the hearts of Jewish people than Moses and Elijah who represent "all the law and the prophets?"  Suppose, just suppose, that the two witnesses talked about in Revelation are the REAL MOSES AND ELIJAH.....IN THE FLESH....being sent back to modern Israel to turn the hearts of the children to the Father!?  It could very well be.

Look what it says at the very end of the book of Malachi:

"Behold, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord . And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Malachi 4:5-6 

It says that God would send Elijah, NOT THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH.  What if the other was the real Moses?  He clearly had to have been bodily resurrected to be talking with Jesus on the mount.  Now, if he were in a new incorruptible body, like Jesus, he would not be able to die again, of course.  Also, THAT resurrection--where we get our new bodies--will happen when Jesus calls for us at the "harpadzó:  the Rapture!"  But, if he were PHYSICALLY resurrected like Lazarus, he could die PHYSICALLY again......and Jesus could have legally spoken to a resurrected Moses.

Much of the Church today doesn't understand that Revelation doesn't have anything much to do with the Church.  It is all about JESUS CHRIST BEING REVEALED TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit if God actually does send these two back to turn the hearts of the Jewish people to Him and reveal to them their Messiah: JESUS!

Isn't it also wonderful to know that Moses made it to the Promised Land!!?  But he didn’t have to go in with those murmuring, whining and complaining people. He got in with Jesus!  

Church, God is head-over-heels in love with you.  He isn't angry at you.  He's not even mildly disappointed.  You are hid with Christ in God.  You stand in the perfection of His Son.  That's all He sees when He looks at you: Jesus.  You are always, AT ALL TIMES,  THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST:   ALWAYS.  You are His BELOVED! 

Let's stop misrepresenting our loving Daddy as hard a harsh, angry, vengeful God, full of judgment.  His heart is perfectly at peace because His Beloved Son completely exhausted all of His wrath and punishment on the cross.  There is no judgement left for those who are in Christ Jesus!!!

...and you don't need to beg and plead with Daddy for things He has already given you through Christ.

It's ok.  Trust His word.  Trust His love.  Trust His goodness.  Rest in Him.  All you need to do is "SPEAK" TO YOU ROCK:  JESUS!