January 17 – The Struck Rock

“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.” – Exodus 17:6 (KJV)

From the rock struck in Horeb, a life-giving stream first flowed to refresh Israel in the wilderness. Throughout their journey, wherever water was needed, it was provided as a miraculous act of God’s mercy.

It was Christ, by the power of His word, who caused the refreshing stream to flow for Israel. “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4, KJV). He was the source of all their blessings, both temporal and spiritual. Christ, the true Rock, was with them in all their wanderings. “And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out” (Isaiah 48:21, KJV). “He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river” (Psalm 105:41, KJV).

The struck rock was a symbol of Christ, and through this illustration, profound spiritual truths are revealed. Just as the life-giving waters flowed from the struck rock, so from Christ, “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4, KJV), flows the stream of salvation to a lost world. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5, KJV). As the rock was struck once, so Christ was offered “once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28, KJV). There is no need for Him to be sacrificed again; those seeking the blessings of His grace need only to ask in His name, bringing before the Lord their prayer with a repentant heart. Such a plea draws from the well of salvation, and the life-giving grace symbolized by the flowing water will be poured out again.

The cooling water flowing in the parched and barren land serves as a representation of the divine grace that only Christ can give. It is as living water, purifying and refreshing the soul. The one in whom Christ dwells has within them an unfailing source of grace and strength, an inner fountain springing up into everlasting life.