«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　Exo. 17:6 I will be standing before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

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

　　Although it is rather easy to grind coriander seed, it is difficult to smite a rock so that it splits open. It is one thing to beat manna with a mortar, but it is quite another thing to cause a huge rock to be cleft. The Lord told Moses to use his rod to”strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink” (Exo. 17:6). We need to pay careful attention to the fact that the rock was smitten by the rod of Moses. In typology, Moses signifies the law, and the rod represents the power and authority of the law. The rock, of course, typifies Christ. The smiting of the rock by the rod signifies that Christ was smitten by the authority of God's law. In the eyes of God, the Lord Jesus was put to death, not by the Jews, but by the law of God. During the first three hours of His crucifixion, Christ suffered under the hand of man. But during the last three hours, Christ suffered because He was smitten by the power of God's law. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 471-472)

　　In many places the Bible tells us that God is our rock. Deuteronomy 32:18 refers to God as the rock who begot us. This indicates that as our rock God is our Father. This rock is a begetting rock, full of life. In 2 Samuel 22:47 and Psalm 95:1 we see that God is the rock of our salvation. Furthermore, this rock is our strength (Psa. 62:7) and our refuge (Psa. 94:22). This rock is our hiding place, protection, covering, and safeguard. Isaiah 32:2 speaks of the Lord as”the shadow of a massive rock in a wasted land.” When we are weary [wasted], we can rest under the shadow cast by this rock and be refreshed. This rock, which was waiting in a dry place for God's people, has been smitten so the people may have living water to drink.

　　The water flowing out of the smitten rock typifies the Spirit. John 7:37 and 38 say,”Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” This word was uttered on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. John 7:39 goes on to say,”But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive.” This indicates clearly that the flowing water signifies the Spirit.

　　Many years ago I read an article which said that in Jerusalem in ancient times, when the Israelites celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, they set up a rock. According to this article, over the rock waters were flowing as a reminder that the forefathers of the Jews had wandered in the wilderness and had drunk of the waters which flowed out of the smitten rock. Near the rock there also may have been tents showing that the forefathers lived in tents and wandered in the wilderness, but had the smitten rock with the living water to quench their thirst. Such a picture may have literally been in the background when the Lord Jesus stood up to call the thirsty ones to come to Him and drink.

　　Another reference to flowing water is in John 19:34. Here we are told that after the Lord had died on the cross,”one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” This was prefigured by the water flowing out of the smitten rock. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 472-473)

　　The blood was for redemption, and the water was for life impartation. Christ as the living rock had to be smitten by the power of the law in order for the living water to flow out from Him. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 2,”The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures,” p. 417)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 40-41