Who Is Jesus? Chapter 5 "Water from a Rock (That Rock is Christ)"

 

Who Is Jesus? Chapter 5 "Water from a Rock"  (That Rock is Christ)

There is an older hymn that reminds us - - On Christ the Solid Rock, I Stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

King David sang about God being a rock and a fortress in Psalms 71:3  “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

We are reminded that the Old Testament offers types, shadows and pictures of Jesus. Today we will consider from the book of Exodus about bread, water and a rock.

Every morning as the children of Israel traveled in the wilderness toward the promised land, they were fed bread from heaven, and they called it manna. We are reminded in the New Testament that Jesus said, "I am the bread from Heaven, and I am the bread of Life."

Now we turn back to the Israelite people in the desert and their need for water to quench thirst.

As the Children of Israel complained as they traveled to an area where there was no water; Their voices sounded off with loud murmuring to Moses. Both they and their herds of animals were thirsty and they let Moses know it. Moses cried onto God saying, "What shall I do, these people are ready to stone me?" God gave Moses instructions to strike the rock at Horeb with his rod, and when Moses obeyed God, water gushed out like a river.

Exodus 17:6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Later in history, the prophet Nehemiah in chapter 9: verses 15,20 praises God for what He did for His chosen people in the wilderness.

You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, You brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst, And You told them to enter in order to possess The land which You swore to give them. You gave Your Holy Spirit to instruct them, Your Manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst.

We Should consider that this recount of the Children of Israel receiving water from a rock is also a picture of Christ Jesus who promised to give us Living water in our Spirit.

In the book of John, chapter 4:verse 14, Jesus spoke of Himself as being the Living Water to quench our thirsty spirits.

John 4:14 But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

On another occasion Jesus again spoke of the Water of Life that he gives to us in our Spirit as we believe in Jesus. Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit that would be given after His resurrection.

John 7:38-39, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." By this he meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Paul and Peter are reminding us that Jesus is the rock that we can trust to build our life on as a solid foundation.

1 Corinthians 10:4 And all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

1 Peter 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God.

One day as Jesus was teaching the people, he told this story about a wise person and a foolish person.

Matthew 7:24-27 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house ; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock . But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

We might ask; What was Jesus trying to tell us? First he was saying to listen to the words he spoke in Matthew 7 which is the sermon on the mount, about our behavior, our attitudes and loving our neighbor. They he continued by telling us only listening is not good enough, for you must put into practice what I am sharing with you. Jesus was confident that a wise person would do this, but a foolish person would not pay attention and would suffer the sad consequences of his choices.

Today just as the Bible records, Jesus is the solid foundation and it is on Him that we are to build our life. When we invite Jesus to come into our heart, (our life) we are laying the foundation on the solid rock which is Christ. Jesus is please with those who are wise.

Jesus also promises to give us the living Water in our spirit, which is His Holy Spirit. If you have not already done so, today would be a very good time to invite Jesus to enter your life.

Simply tell Jesus, you believe He is the Son of God, and that he died on the cross to save you from your sins, and that he rose from the dead after 3 days.  Then invited Jesus to come into your heart (your life) and tell Him you promise to follow him all the days of your life.  

Jesus is calling today: "Come to me, build your life on me for I am the solid rock, and I will feed you with the bread of life and give YOU living water, which is the Holy Spirit.”