Bible Pathway - Feb. 21, 2012

Highlights:

Your heart will break as disobedience by two men of God results in a terrible judgment. Note the difference between the Law and grace which comes through Christ. You will find two deaths recorded here, as well as a nation sealing its own fate by refusing to help the people of God. How gloriously Christ is typified twice in today's reading.

And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly (Num. 20:11).

In the first year of the nation's wanderings in the wilderness, God commanded Moses to smite the rock, and an abundance of water came forth (Ex. 17:1-6). The rock was a symbol of Christ. They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ (I Cor. 10:4). Just as there could be no water until the rock was smitten, there could be no indwelling of the Holy Spirit until Christ died.

The water from the smitten rock is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, which was made available through Christ's death. The Lord announced this when He said: If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. . . . (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified) (John 7:37,39).

This first smiting of the rock was in obedience to the Word of God. But on this occasion forty years later (Num. 20:8), God told Moses to speak to the rock. Striking the rock the second time was a very great sin because the first smiting of the rock (Exodus 17) was a picture of the judgment of God upon sin and a type of the death of Christ — once for all. The spoken Word would have been sufficient thereafter, just as whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). Striking the rock twice on this occasion, even though it was 40 years later, implied that the one sacrifice was not enough, thereby contradicting the Word of God that says: He died unto sin once (6:10).

Though Moses could not comprehend the magnitude of his disobedience when he smote the rock twice (Num. 20:11), it emphasizes the importance of recognizing that even in seemingly insignificant situations, the Word of God must always be obeyed.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).

Thought for Today:

The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation (II Sam. 22:47).

Christ Revealed:

Through the rock that Moses struck (Num. 20:8-11; also Ex. 17:6). Christ, our Rock, who was struck once through His death on the cross, does not need to be struck again. That spiritual Rock that followed (accompanied) them . . . was Christ (I Cor. 10:4).

Word Studies:

19:2 spot, defect; 19:6 hyssop, husky plant designated for purging and cleansing; 19:10 stranger, foreigner; 20:3 chode, expressed anger; 20:10 fetch, bring; 20:11 smote, struck; 20:12 sanctify Me, hold Me in reverential honor; 20:13 strove, contended; 20:14 travail, hardship, affliction; 20:15 vexed, mistreated; 20:24 gathered unto his people, buried; 20:29 house, family.

Prayer Needs:

Pray for International Broadcasts: Sponsored by Ruben Thuillard • Staff: Gina Lesnefsky • Government Officials: Rep. Charles Boustany (LA), Rep. Steven McCarty Palazzo (MS), Rep. John Lewis (GA), Rep. John M. Shimkus (IL), Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME), and Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN) • Country: South Africa (42.6 million) on the southern tip of the African continent • Major languages: Afrikaans and English • Religious freedom • 76% Christian; 1% Muslim; 1% Hindu; 15% Traditional; .5% Jewish; 6.5% None/Other (Baha'i, Jain, Sikh, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Confucian) • Prayer Suggestion: Pray that God will enable you to be a generous, cheerful giver to Him (II Cor. 9:6-7).

Optional Reading: Luke 8:1

Memory Verse for the Week: Ephesians 3:19