April 12

Today's Reading: Numbers 20:1-29

I'm going to focus on the account of Moses striking the rock in verses 10-13. This is the second time that the people have complained to Moses about a lack of water. The first was back in Exodus 17. That first time God instructed Moses to strike the rock and and Moses obeyed and water flowed from the rock.

This time God instructs Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses, likely out of his frustration with the people of Israel, strikes the rock again. And because of his disobedience, God prevents Moses from entering the Promised Land.

To us that judgment seems harsh. But in 1 Corinthians 10, we see that the rock was a picture of Jesus:

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.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (ESV)

Since Jesus was only to be struck once for our sins, when Moses struck the rock a second time, he ruined the symbolism that was intended to point ahead to Jesus.

We are reminded here that our sin often has consequences that go far beyond what we can see with our own eyes.