It is deeply touching to find Moses, again and again, on his face before God. It was a sweet relief to make his escape from a tumultuous host and betake himself to the only One whose resources were adequate to meet such an occasion. “They fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.” They do not appear, on this occasion, to have attempted any reply to the people; “they went from the presence of the assembly” and cast themselves upon the living God. They could not possibly have done better. Who but the God of all grace could meet the ten thousand necessities of wilderness life? Well had Moses said, at the very beginning, “If Thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence.” Assuredly, he was right and wise in so expressing himself. The divine presence was the _only_ answer to the demand of such a congregation; but that presence _was_ an all-sufficient answer. God’s treasury is absolutely inexhaustible. He can never fail a trusting heart. Let us remember this. God delights to be used; He never grows weary of ministering to the need of His people. If this were ever kept in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts, we should hear less of the accents of impatience and discontent, and more of the sweet language of thankfulness and praise; but, as we have had frequent occasion to remark, desert life tests every one. It proves what is in us, and, thanks be to God, it brings out what is in _Him_ for us.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ‘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.’ And Moses took _the_ rod from before the Lord as He commanded him. 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?’ 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.” (Ver. 7-11.)
Two objects in the foregoing quotation demand the reader’s attention, namely, “The rock” and “the rod.” They both present Christ most blessedly to the soul, but in two distinct aspects. In 1 Corinthians x. 4, we read, “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” This is plain and positive. It leaves no room whatever for the exercise of imagination. “That Rock was Christ”—Christ smitten for us.
Then as regards “the rod,” we must remember that it was not the rod of Moses—the rod of authority—the rod of power. This would not suit the occasion before us. It had done its work; it had smitten the rock once, and that was enough. This we learn from Exodus xvii, where we read, “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_ (see Exodus vii. 20.), take in thy 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.”
Here we have a type of Christ smitten for us, by the hand of God, in judgment. The reader will note the expression, “Thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river.” Why the river? why should this particular stroke of the rod be referred to? Exodus vii. 20 furnishes the reply.—“And he [Moses] lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were _turned to blood_.” It was the rod which turned the water into blood that was to smite “that Rock which was Christ,” in order that streams of life and refreshment might flow for us.
Now, this smiting could only take place once; it is never to be repeated. “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin _once_; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.” (Rom. vi. 9, 10.) “But now _once_ in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; ... so Christ was _once_ offered to bear the sins of many.” (Heb. ix. 26, 28.) “For Christ also hath _once_ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” (1 Pet. iii. 18.)