by Davin Dahlgren
Hidden behind the narrative of
Numbers 20:2-12 is a beautiful picture of God's ideal for interaction
between Himself and man. It is the way that God would always work if only
man would cooperate. Sadly we, like Moses, too often mess up this
interaction by doing things our own way. Let us examine God's method and
apply it to our spiritual lives.
The Israelites feared that they were about to die from lack of water. They had
no faith in God's willingness to provide for them, for they blamed Moses for
leading them astray.
(vs. 4) They felt this was God's punishment on them and
they would have preferred to just die when the others had died earlier.
(vs. 3)
Dying of thirst in the desert was worse. They did not see the Promised Land, so
they began to think Moses had sold them a bill of goods.
Moses sought God's guidance. God expressed His will to Moses: "Speak to the
rock." The word of the Lord came to Moses, and Moses was to speak that word in
turn to the rock. The rock would then pour forth water.
If only Moses had done as the Lord commanded, the image would have been
complete. A word, ordered by God, uttered before the rock, to cause water to
pour forth and satisfy men's needs.
Let us now turn to the components of this image -- the word, the rock, and the
water.Colossians 2:9
- The Word:
- Jesus is the Word. The spiritual truths revealed by God in the Scriptures became flesh as Jesus lived them out in His life. God's message to man is one of love, of God living in and among us, of power and wisdom, of rest from our labours in Him. Jesus is the bodily manifestation of all these things and more. He truly is the "fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Psalm 62:1-2, 6-7,
Psalms 89:26, 95:1
- The Rock:
- God is the Rock of our Salvation, our refuge, our fortress, the firm foundation on which He is building His house of living stones. He is the source of all the glorious gifts of grace from the Word to the fulfillment of the Word, the outpouring of His Spirit.
Zechariah 14:8,
John 4:10-14, 7:37-39
- The Living Water:
- The streams of living water flow through us and out of us to touch the lives of others. The power of God ministering life, love, and rest to weary travellers.
Now, let us see the picture more fully. The Word (Christ), ordered by God,
uttered before the Rock (Yahweh), to cause Water (the Spirit) to pour forth
and satisfy men's needs. This is the way God wishes to interact with man. He
makes His will known to us. We must then obediently offer that which He has
given us back to Him in faith. Then we will witness the working of the Holy
Spirit in power.
The image is salvation from physical death from the lack of water; the
reality is salvation from spiritual death from the lack of contact with the
Spirit. When God worked, He meant to do it in such a way as to point us
toward spiritual truth. We often miss the important spiritual messages by
refusing to see anything but the physical occurences.
This pictures God's dealing with us in several areas:
Luke 22:42,
Philippians 4:6,
I John 5:14,15
- Prayer
- God makes His will known to us (We must be listening/paying attention). We align our own will in agreement with His. We pray for His will to be accomplished. God hears and His Spirit performs that will in mighty ways. This is truly effective prayer.
Romans 10:13,
II Chronicles 7:14,
Joel 2:28
- Salvation
- God shows us His Son, the sacrifice and substitute for the judgment of our sins. We agree that Jesus is our sole hope of salvation, and tell God so. God hears and sends His Spirit to dwell within us. He also pours His Spirit out upon us for great works.
Romans 1:2,17,
Romans 10:17, & 5:1,
Galatians 3:14
- Faith
- God makes a promise. We accept the promise and though we cannot at that time see the fulfillment, we praise God and tell Him how we look forward to the fulfillment. God hears and His Spirit confirms in us the truth of the promise, enabling us to proceed with the confidence that the promise is as good as done.
Zechariah 4:6
The Pattern is repeated in many spiritual applications, but too often we
miss it. How many times do we fall back on our own muscle or force of
personality because of anger or frustration at the jeers and doubts of
others when God has given us His Word of grace, a promise to be fulfilled
which in itself would silence all His critics? Can we not appreciate His
power? How often do we feel that His work rests solely our our shoulders to
be performed with every ounce of our strength, when He only wants us to
speak to Him in faith and He will do the work through us -- but by
His power, not ours.
In II Corinthians 13:14, Paul closes his letter by wishing the blessings
of the Godhead on his readers. Here again, the principles of God's ideal of
interaction can be seen:
John 16:28
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, our intercessor, allows us access to God
though we do not deserve it. By grace, the Word became flesh and lived among
us. He came from God and returned to God, satisfying all the righteous demands
of holiness on our behalf.
Romans 8:38-39
The love of God is unchanging. The God that created us, sent His Son to die for
us, and accepted that work of Christ as payment in full, has done so because of
His love for us. That love, our solid foundation, allows us to be accepted into
His presence as His adopted heirs.
Acts 2:16-18
And finally, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the result. God desires to
have a meaningful relationship with everyone. God wants an intimacy with us that
will allow us to work side-by-side with Him as He accomplishes great things here
on earth.
How marvelous are God's works! How mighty His power! How wonderful His plan!
How gracious He is to make us a part of it! May we listen attentively for
God's Word. May we stand firmly in faith on the Rock of our Salvation. May we
be willing conduits for the free flow of Living Water. May we seek to know
God's manifest Will, acknowledge it before Him, and allow Him to bring it to
fruition in and through us.