In Num. 20 we see that the people of Israel were thirsty, and Moses was told to speak to the rock so that water may flow; Christ as the spiritual rock follows us to give us living water to drink whenever we’re thirsty.
The smitten rock is a type of Christ, and the water flowing from the rock is a type of the Spirit, who flowed out of Christ in His death and resurrection.
These days we are enjoying and prayerfully considering the major types of Christ in the book of Numbers, many of whom cannot be found in other books of the Bible.
The first type we saw was the budding rod, which is a type of the resurrected Christ who buds, blossoms, and brings forth fruit in resurrection to supply His people with resurrection life and bring to light the God-appointed authority.
The second type we saw was the red heifer in Num. 19, which was the main component of the water for impurity.
In this type of the red heifer we see the processes the Lord went through and the accomplishments He has attained. It is amazing to see that so many items can be a type of Christ, who is the reality of every positive thing in the universe.
Christ came for our redemption (the color red for the heifer), and He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, yet He had no sin in the flesh.
Christ had no defect; though He came in the flesh, He did not have the sin of the flesh or the sinful nature but rather, He was perfect and blameless. Many have tried the Lord and wanted to find fault in Him, but none could find any; Christ was perfect and without blemish.
Christ has never been used by anyone, especially by or for God’s enemy (just as the red heifer had never been under a yoke). No one used the Lord; no one could enslave Him or influence Him, especially Satan.
Like the red heifer, the Lord Jesus was crucified outside the camp, on a small mount outside the city of Jerusalem.
He had a dignified humanity (cedar wood), He was humble in His humanity (hyssop), and He accomplished redemption in its highest significance (hyssop).
Though He was such a One and He accomplished so much, He was reduced to nothing (Mark 9:12) in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of God He was precious and to be treasured.
Now we, the believers in Christ, can apply the blood of Christ and believe into Him, and we are cleansed from our sin and impurity. The Holy Spirit in resurrection applies the efficacy of Christ’s redemption with the washing power of the Spirit of His resurrection. Hallelujah!
Being Identified with Christ in His Death and Speaking to Christ to drink Living Water
In Num. 20 the people of Israel were thirsty, and they murmured against Moses and Jehovah; when Moses went to God about this, God told him to speak to the rock and water will flow.
It seems that both now and the time before there was a rock that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness, and in this case Moses was told by God to speak to the rock so that the water would flow.
The rock in Num. 20:8 typifies the crucified and resurrected Christ, and the water that flowed from the rock typifies the Spirit as the living water that flowed out of the crucified and resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 10:4; John 19:34).
Christ is the spiritual rock that follows us, God’s people, as we journey in the wilderness to arrive into the good land; this Christ as the spiritual rock has already been smitten on the cross, and living water flowed from Him.
In 1 Cor. 10:4 Paul boldly says that the children of Israel were followed by a spiritual rock, and that rock was Christ. That rock was already cleft earlier and water gushed out of the rock for the people of Israel to drink.
This is a type of Christ who, on the cross, was smitten by God, and out of His side flowed blood (for our redemption) and water (for our regeneration and life supply) – see John 19:34.
What we have to do today is not “strike the rock” but speak to the rock, for the rock has already been struck and cleft. The resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit is always with us, the church, to supply us with the water of life.
Since Christ has been crucified and the Spirit has been given, there’s no need for us to strike the rock again. In God’s economy Christ should be crucified only once (see Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28). What we have to do is “take the rod” and “speak to the rock”.
For us to take the rod means that we need to be identified with Christ in His death and apply the death of Christ to ourselves and to our situation. When we call on the name of the Lord, we apply the death of Christ to ourselves and to our situation.
For us to speak to the rock is for us to speak a direct word to Christ as the smitten rock, asking Him to give us the Spirit of life! We need to speak to Him honestly about our situation, telling Him that we are hungry and that we want to drink the living water!
One of the best ways to enjoy the divine dispensing is for us to speak to Christ the rock. We need to bid the waters to flow and drink of Him unto fulness!
We simply need to be with the Lord, talk to Him, and open to Him; even when we’re tired, we should just tell Him, Lord, I’m tired, and I’m thirsty; give me to drink of the living water!
The Spirit has already been given, so we need to ask Him for the Spirit of life as the living water!
The Lord told the Samaritan woman in John 4:10 that, if she knew who is it that asks her for a drink, she would have asked Him and He would have given her living water. The first step to get living water is to ask the Lord to give us to drink.
Based on the fact that the Spirit has already been given and Christ has already been crucified, we can apply the death of Christ to ourselves and ask Christ in faith to give us the Spirit, and we will receive the living Spirit as the bountiful supply of life (Phil. 1:19)!
Lord Jesus, we are thirsty – give us the living water to drink! Thank You Lord for being smitten on the cross so that living water may flow. We identify ourselves with You, Lord, so that Your death may be applied to us, and we ask You in faith to give us the Spirit as the bountiful supply of life! Amen, Lord, we open to You and we come to You as we are – we want to drink the living water so that our thirst may be quenched! Keep us speaking with You, opening to You, and telling You everything, so that You as living water may flow into us and quench our thirst!
Lord, may we Represent You rightly in Your Actions, with Your Attitude, according to Your Word!
In the story in Num. 20 we see both a positive aspect and a negative one. In this chapter we see that Moses, instead of speaking to the rock, he told the people of Israel, Listen now, you rebels! and then he struck the rock twice, and water flowed out.
Moses condemned the people as rebels, but actually it was Moses who rebelled against God’s word (see Num. 20: 10-11, 24; 27:14). Sometimes we may be like this; the saints and the young ones may seem to murmur a lot – because they are thirsty, but our spirit and attitude is to tell them that they are rebels.
The children of Israel complained because they were thirsty; many times the saints and the young ones complain because they are short of the Spirit. They don’t complain because they are rebels but because they need more of the Spirit, they are short of the Spirit; what we need to do is dispense Christ as the Spirit in resurrection into the thirsty ones, and this will solve their problems.
But Moses failed to sanctify God, making Him common; to sanctify God is to make Him holy, separate from all the false gods, and to fail to sanctify God is to make Him common.
Moses was not one with God in his attitude toward God’s people; he was angry when God was not angry – thus failing to represent God rightly in His holy nature.
Also, he struck the rock twice, thus not keeping the word of God in His economy. Through his word and attitude, Moses offended both God’s holy nature and His divine economy, and the consequence was that he lost the right to enter the good land, even though he was intimate with God and may be considered a companion of God (Exo. 33:11). Oh Lord Jesus!
In all that we say and do concerning God’s people, our attitude should be according to God’s holy nature, and our actions must be according to His divine economy, so that we may speak God’s word and sanctify Him.
Otherwise, in our words and deeds we will rebel against Him and offend Him. Especially when it comes to God’s people being thirsty – which many times it manifests in their complaining and murmuring, God is not upset or angry with His people, just as a mother is not angry when her child cries when he is thirsty.
Just as a mother who has a crying child who is thirsty, the Lord cherishes us and assumes the responsibility of supplying us with water.
May we learn to represent God rightly in His actions, in our attitude, and according to God’s word! The saints are watching us, and we should not disappoint the faithful saints by misrepresenting God.
Lord, may we represent You rightly in Your actions, with Your attitude, and according to Your word toward God’s people! We want to sanctify You, Lord, and not rebel against You by misrepresenting You toward Your people. May we be those who represent God rightly in His holy nature and keep His word in His economy, having a proper attitude toward God’s people and being one with the Lord to supply them with living water. Amen, Lord, may we drink deeply of You and may we cause the living water to flow for all Your thirsty people to drink and be satisfied!
Read this article / blog post in Romanian – puteți citi acest articol și în limba română la următorul link – Să aplicăm moartea lui Cristos la situația noastră și să Îi vorbim lui Cristos pentru a bea apă vie.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Numbers, msgs. 29-30 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 10, The Major Types and the Prophecy concerning Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Speak to the Rock, / Bid the waters flow, / Doubt not the Spirit, / Given long ago; / Take what He waiteth, / Freely to bestow, / Drink till its fulness / All Thy being know. (Hymns #248)
# Living Rock Thou also art, Lord, / Cleft for us with life to flow; / Drinking of this living water, / Thirst is quenched, Thy life we know. (Hymns #196)
# What I need most deeply / Is the Spirit’s filling, / That the living water / From my heart be welling… / Spring up, well, with water; / Dig Thou, Lord, completely; / Dig away all barriers / That Thy stream flow through me. (Hymns #250)
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