May 12th
THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER (Continued)
Scripture Reading: Numbers 20:7-13
7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
8 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.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 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?
11 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.
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
Moses represents the Law and the law will always kill the true. Truth, which is Who Christ Jesus is, must be spoken. 2 Corinthians 3:6 confirms this as follows: "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. The Spoken Word releases Christ within the believer. Smiting the Rock twice instead of speaking to it as God commanded foreshadowed much of ministry today. The problem is preached and the answer the people hear is Law. People seldom hear the Spirit of Hebrews 10:10 which declares, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Yes, water did come from the Rock anyway because God is faithful. However, the consequences cost them their entrance into the land of promise. This powerful example for our learning is overlooked in most ministry today. First Corinthians 10:4 reads: "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." People hear Word all the time but rarely receive the Spirit of the Word. Romans 8:3 reads: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Acts 13:39 reads, "And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Despite these holy warnings, most prefer their carnal, empty, and vain methods. Speaking in obedience versus smiting (killing) exacts God’s Divine purpose of bringing a believing people into their inheritance which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Continued
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