Jesus: Our Rock and Our Rod

[Israel] did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.—1 Corinthians 10:4

A verse by verse Bible study in Exodus 17

The Old Testament is replete with types and shadows of the crucifixion of Christ. The most notable, perhaps, are the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham and the raising up of the brazen serpent in the wilderness. However, there are many other pictures illustrating the same event. Two of these are found in the seventeenth chapter of the book of Exodus. In this chapter we find two of the trials the Israelites endured during their wilderness wanderings—the testing at the waters of Meribah and the battle with the Amalekites at Rephidim.

The Setting—Verse 1

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

While the term "wilderness of Sin" seems such a fitting name for this wilderness, considering the sins of Israel during their wanderings, this is not an appropriate use of the word. Here Sin is the name of an Egyptian city and of the surrounding wilderness.

Rephidim has not been positively located, nor is even the derivation of the name agreed upon by scholars. Nelson’s Bible Dictionary defines it as "refreshments," implying an oasis, while Strong’s Concordance gives it as "ballusters," supports, suggesting a location between high cliffs. McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia lists both possibilities.

An oasis would make a logical stopping place for the Israelite camp; if Moses chose the spot, he might not have known that the water supply was dried up. However, Moses was not the one to choose the encampment. They had been led there directly by God through the medium of the "cloudy pillar" (Exod. 13:21, 22). Certainly God would have known that there was no water at the site of the encampment.

One could logically ask why God led them into a location where there was not the necessary supplies for survival. The answer is simple. The needed water supply was there. They just could not see it. He who brought them there was amply able to care for them also. As the familiar adage phrases it, "His grace will not lead us where his power cannot keep us."

The Complaint—Verses 2 and 3

Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

The sin of complaining and murmuring was Israel’s abiding weakness. Their situation in Egypt had been none too comfortable. As slaves they were an oppressed people. Yet they found the conditions of their deliverance more intolerable than the conditions of their bondage.

On five different occasions in the Pentateuch they are spoken of as "murmuring" against Moses. Only once the biblical God accuses them of "murmuring against me" (Num. 14:29). In truth, as Moses says here, "Why chide ye me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?" Moses was only the representative of God. God was the hidden director of their wilderness path. n a similar vein God confronts the "miserable comforters" of Job with the charge "ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right" (Job 42:7).

They "thirsted" for water. The statement seems almost redundant. If there was no water it is only natural that they would "thirst." Matthew Henry, in his Commentary seems to capture the essence of their complaint: "If they had no water to drink, they must needs thirst; but this intimates, not only that they wanted water and felt the inconvenience of that want, but that their passion sharpened their appetites and they were violent and impatient in their desire; their thirst made them outrageous. Natural desires, and those that are most craving, have need to be kept under the check and control of religion and reason."

From complaint sprang demand, "Give us water to drink." They were demanding it, as if it were a debt Moses owed them. They had been supplied manna (16:15), now they must be supplied with water. Both were gifts from God, neither was an obligation owed them. How often we, too, begin regarding God’s graciousness as an inalienable right and, taking it for granted, slack in our continual thanksgiving for the bounties the Lord has provided.

The Solution—Verses 4 to 7

And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?"

The geography of this verse is puzzling. Moses was commanded to go in the company of at least some of the elders of Israel to Horeb where he would find a rock which, once smitten, would issue forth sufficient waters for the people to drink and be refreshed. Horeb is called the "mountain of God" (Exod. 18:5) and was the spot where Moses was first addressed by the Lord at the burning bush (Exod. 3:1). It is usually identified with Mount Sinai where the Law was given. However, Israel does not break up camp at Rephidim to move to Sinai until Exodus 19:2. The two are thought to be about one day’s journey from each other.

The most logical solution to this problem is to assume that Horeb does not refer to a single mountain but to a range of mountains, which separated Rephidim from Mount Sinai. Moses is apparently led to the pass leading through these mountains where he is shown the rock he is to smite to produce the needed water.

In applying the picture we have one sure starting point. The Apostle Paul definitely identifies the rock that produced the water— "and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4). The "smiting" of the rock relates to his life of trials and crucifixion (Isa. 53:4). Jesus refers to himself as the fountain of living water in his discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:10).

Speaking poetically in his "Song of Deliverance," Moses likens this water to "honey and oil" (Deut. 32:13). Honey is generally recognized as a picture of the high calling of the church, while the oil is the fruit of the olive tree. Paul likens the olive tree to the Abrahamic covenant in Romans 11, into which all men, both Jew and gentile, will eventually be grafted. For Israel this water was life producing for both the firstborn and the entire nation. Likewise Christ’s death is effectual in producing both those who will receive the heavenly and the earthly salvation—the "sand and the stars" of the Abrahamic promise.

The next stop of Israel was at Mount Sinai where they received the law. The location of the rock at Horeb suggests that it was at the boundary between Rephidim, the site of their trials, and Sinai, the "mount of God;" this implies an experience at the crossroads between the present permission of evil and the new law covenant of the future. This is the location of the cross of Christ. It forms the legal bridge from the death sentence to the resurrection of the dead.

This miracle was to be specifically performed in the sight of the elders of Israel so that there would be witnesses. Any suspicion of Moses finding a hidden well and faking the miracle was thus precluded.

The renaming of the site to Massah and Meribah was as a testimonial against the murmuring of the people. These names are derived from the words of Moses’ question in verse two, "Why chide ye with me? Why tempt ye the Lord?" Massah is a Hebrew word based on the root word translated "tempt" in this verse while Meribah is a name from the root translated "chide." Men chide or quarrel with fellow men, but it is God whom they are putting to the test, or proving. God seeks to be taken by faith and believed and not put to the test. Israel was demonstrating a lack of faith in the care given by their God and for this they were chastised.

Battle with Amalek—Verses 8 to 10

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

The Amalekites were a branch of the family of Esau and related to Eliphaz, one of the comforters of Job. They dwelt in the southern Sinai and apparently were a marauding tribe seeking to pillage and loot the Israelites. According to Deuteronomy 25:16, 17, they followed behind the migrating nation and attacked the feeble and poor in the rear of the procession. This battle was undoubtedly to stamp out this annoying threat. The battle evidently occurs in a lowland, for Moses is to be clearly visible on the heights above where he goes with Aaron and Hur.

The choice of lieutenants for Moses is an interesting one. Aaron is readily identifiable as Moses’ brother and, at this time, the high priest designate. Hur is not so easy to identify. He was obviously prominent, for he and Aaron were put in charge of the camp when Moses went up into the mount (Exod. 24:14). He was the cousin of Elisheba, wife of Aaron (Exod. 6:23; Num. 2:3), and Nashon, father-in-law of Rahab and ancestor of David. Tradition has him as the brother-in-law of Moses and husband of Miriam. He was also the grandfather of Bezaleel, the chief craftsman of the tabernacle. Thus in Aaron and Hur we see the uniting of the priestly and kingly functions of Israel.

The Banner—Verses 11 to 13

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Joshua led the battle, but Moses was the real hero. As long as that great leader held his rod stretched out in his hand the Israelites were winning, but when his arms drooped the battle went against them. The setting is vivid. While the battle rages below, the silhouette of Moses with the outstretched rod, supported by the leaders of the priestly and kingly houses, became the banner under which victory would be wrought.

The presence of two to strengthen him suggests that the rod was stretched out between his hands, with one man supporting each side. To the soldiers below the silhouetted form of Moses, sitting on the rock with the rod going from side to side, formed the shape of a cross. Is not the cross of Christ the banner under which we, especially the poor and feeble, gain the victory. They are the ones with whom Christ identified: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28); "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3); ". . . they that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick" (Luke 5:31). All our victories are in him: "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).

Memorials—Verses 14 to 16

And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi. For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Victories are not to be forgotten. In this case there were two memorials. An account of the battle was written in a book and an altar was built nd given the name Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah our banner. This is also true for the Christian. Lives may be full of conflucts and struggles. Some end in defeat; more will result in victory as the banner of Christ crucified is kept before the mental vision. These successes are not to be forgotten, but to be commemorated in appropriate ways to remind us of the power that is in our Savior.

Our memorials may take the form of a testimony, or a letter to a friend, or an entry in a diary, or a poem. All of these will be incentives to greater endurance next time. This was one of the great weaknesses of Israel in the wilderness. As David so aptly puts it, "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel" (Psa. 106:13).

In contrast, may our attitude be that "This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?" (Psa. 77:10-13).