Speak to the Rock
In Hebrews six we find a somewhat curious passage that has led to some confusion over the years.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (KJV) “4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
It’s important not to build doctrine around a single passage of Scripture. This passage has led many to conclude that God’s gracious gift of eternal life might not actually be permanent—that it might somehow be withdrawn. I lived many years of my life believing exactly that. I can tell you from experience that the fruit of that wrong belief is not love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control. Paul warns us to be careful to ensure that what we believe is the one true Gospel.
Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) “6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
And what is that Gospel? In the beginning of Chapter 3, Paul clarifies it for the Galatians.
Galatians 3:1-3 (KJV 1900)
1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
It’s the Gospel of Grace, that eternal life is a gift by the grace of God received through faith. It’s the Gospel that teaches that eternal life is in, by, and through Christ Jesus from first to last. Not by works or behavior of any kind. That’s moralism and it is anathema to the Gospel. The Gospel is that salvation and ongoing life that is acceptable to God is by faith from first to last.
The Gospel of the grace of God through Jesus, the Anointed One (or Messiah, or Christ) is presented throughout Scripture using stone as a picture of the trustworthiness and the holiness of God. It shows us His ability and desire to provide life out of lifelessness, righteousness that cannot be contaminated, and it shows us His boundless love for us.
John 2:3 & 6 (KJV) recounts the first miraculous sign of Jesus’ ministry. At Cana there was a wedding that had run out of wine.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins (20-30 gallons) apiece.
TDNT: “Because stone vessels (as distinct from earthen) were not susceptible to Levitical impurity, they were used for water employed for ritual purposes.” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament – TDNT, or Kittle)
The rock is not susceptible to impurity.
From the rock comes living water—the wine of eternal life.
Now, beginning in Exodus as the nation of Israel is being led out of slavery in Egypt, let’s look in the Old Testament to see how this concept is presented. Egypt is a picture of our state of being before we accept the gift of God’s grace. At that time, just as the Hebrew people were slaves to the Egyptians, we are slaves to sin and destined only for death.
Exodus 17:1-7 (KJV) “1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, (a city, not an activity) after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 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? 3 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? 4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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 word translated rock here is the Hebrew word tsur (6697), which means simply, “rock”, or “boulder.” Keep this definition in mind because later we will learn about another kind of rock.
Moses is told to strike the rock. God provides water, or life, from the rock that was struck.
Here’s how Paul related it:
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (KJV) “1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
The translators of the NET Bible have this to say:
“The presence of Yahweh at this rock (Exodus 17) enabled Paul to develop a Midrashic lesson, an analogical application: Christ was present with Israel to provide water for them in the wilderness. So, this was a Christophany. But Paul takes it a step further to equate the rock with Christ, for just as it was struck to produce water, so Christ would be struck to produce rivers of living water. The provision of bread to eat and water to drink provided for Paul a ready analogy to the provisions of Christ in the gospel.” (NET Bible notes)
This picture of life-giving water flowing from the rock happens a second time. Let’s flip over to Numbers chapter 20. This is a little lengthy, but bear with me as the details require context.
Numbers 20:2-13 (KJV) “2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them. 7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. 13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.”
Moses is prevented from entering the promised land because of this event. I always thought God was being awfully strict with Moses on this. Notice what God tells him. “Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me (or to treat me as holy) in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”
There are several things going on here. Belief, works, and a ruined picture are perhaps the most obvious. God says that Moses did not believe Him to treat Him as holy. God told Moses to take the rod with him, but He also told him to speak to the rock.
Moses failed to treat God as holy by failing to believe Him. This is important. It is a basic principle of our relationship with God, and we will get back to it in just a moment when we again look at our passage in Hebrews.
In his anger, Moses struck the rock; not once, but twice.
Moses acted as if water would be provided by something he did, rather than by God.
Speaking to the rock was important to the image God was painting, however. Since water had come from the rock that was struck earlier and that rock is a shadow of Jesus, it was important that the rock not be struck a second time. This might remind you of the passage we read at the beginning. Let me read it for you again.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (KJV) 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
By reverting to attempts at works-based righteousness these people crucify Jesus again—they strike the Rock again—when what they should be doing is speaking to Him, just like Moses was told to do. If people cannot get past the idea that rules rites and rituals make them holy, they are saying that the cross was insufficient, and they must add something for the work of Jesus to be efficacious. They are saying that Jesus must die over and over like the animals that were sacrificed in the Old Testament.
This passage in Hebrews is not about we who are in Christ somehow losing our salvation. Rather, it is a warning to those who have heard the Gospel, not to reject the grace of God and instead work to attain salvation by good moral living.
Interestingly, the word translated rock here in Numbers is not the same as the word translated rock in our passage from Exodus. There it meant boulder or stone. Here the word is Sela (5553) meaning to be lofty; a fortress or strong hold.
That imagery brings to mind Proverbs 18:10 (KJV) “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.”
So, the rock that was struck has become a lofty fortress and a stronghold and life no longer comes by striking it, but instead it comes by simply speaking to the rock. This is like our relationship to God now. We have no need of sacrifices, rules, rites, or rituals. Rather we relate to God by speaking to Him as our Father and our friend.
We might say this is a “striking” presentation of the Gospel.
Isaiah 8:14 (KJV) talks more about this. “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
Then in Isaiah 28:16 (KJV) we find, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Incidentally, “make haste” is hard for us to understand. This passage is quoted in Romans 9:30-33 and 10:11 and there it is rendered “shall not be ashamed, or put to shame.”)
Peter, preaching the Gospel in Acts was confronted by the religious leaders and responded with a picture of Jesus as the rock as well.
Acts 4:11-12 (KJV) “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Jesus Himself said the same thing to those who thought they were righteous because of what they did.
Matthew 21:42 (KJV) “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”
The stone still makes people stumble today. The scandalous idea that we are made acceptable to God, blameless, and righteous as a gift rather than because of our good behavior seems foolish and too good to be true.
Paul makes this concept clear in Romans 9:30-33 (KJV) “30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Peter elaborates even further in 1 Peter 2:4-10 (KJV) “4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
We can be clear and confident about our salvation. We are forgiven and fully accepted by God. There is no further need to crucify Jesus again by reverting to our former way of thinking that we need to make ourselves righteous.
Jesus has made us righteous.
