공동체와 양육

Rock of Age (Ex 17:1-7)

2009.05.10Julius Kim

God stood in the place of His guilty people at Massah and Meribah, taking the judgment they deserved, so that the rock struck for them points to Christ, the Rock of Ages, who bore our sin and gives living water to all who come to Him.

Israel brings a lawsuit against God in the desert (vv. 2-3)

The people of Israel quarreled with Moses, and the Hebrew word used here is a legal term meaning to bring a lawsuit. Behind their cry for water was a real charge: they accused God of abandoning them to die in the wilderness and asked whether He was among them. The preacher observes that their doubt was not only theirs. In dark seasons of loss and suffering, our own hearts can likewise question God's care. Such feelings are sinful, yet they are real, and the Word of God gives us the strength to face them.

The guilty party is Israel, not God (vv. 5)

Moses was told to take the staff that had struck the Nile and to bring the elders of Israel as witnesses, a setting that marked the trial as serious. The Israelites had just seen God part the Red Sea, provide quail and manna, and make bitter water sweet. Yet at the first sign of trouble they doubted Him. The irony of the courtroom is that they, not God, were on trial, because they had broken their promise to trust Him no matter what. The verdict was guilty.

God takes the sentence on Himself at the rock (vv. 6)

The punishment for breaking a covenant was death by stoning, so Israel's guilt seemed to demand their destruction. Yet God declared, "I will stand before you by the rock." Scripture calls God the Rock who fathers, saves, and redeems, and here He places Himself in the position of the accused and receives the blows. Israel rebelled, but God willingly bore the judgment so that His people could be spared. Water then poured out from the rock for them to drink.

Christ is the Rock who was struck for us

The Apostle Paul later says that the spiritual rock that followed Israel was Christ, and the story points forward to Him. God became man, lived without sin, and went before us to receive our blows, as the innocent Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. The water that flowed from His pierced side is a sign of life. Because He died our death, we are now given His resurrection power through faith, if we ask for it.

Come and drink deeply from the Rock

Jesus invites those who are tired and thirsty to come and drink from the abundant springs of His grace, and He promises that those who drink will thirst no more. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, His perfect love casts out fear. If God gave His own Son for us, He will surely give us all things. Death itself has been conquered, and in Christ we are more than conquerors through the amazing grace of God. Therefore we can sing with a heart of faith that He never lets go, in the calm and in the storm.

Apply to Life

  • Let us bring our doubts and complaints about God's care to Him in prayer rather than turning away from Him.
  • Let us remember God's past faithfulness in our lives so that we do not forget His care when times are hard.
  • Let us come back again and again to Christ, the Rock of Ages, and drink deeply from His grace.
  • Let us trust that the Lord who bore our judgment will carry us through every valley and storm.
  • Let us sing the praise of the Lord who never lets go, with our whole hearts and not only with our lips.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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