Christian Living

m02000

TITLE: Between the Rock and A Hard Place

INTRODUCTION:

As a young boy our family went fishing quite often. The best fishing spot for us seemed to be on the dam along the rocks.

During and after World War II when there were so many government projects of construction under way, they built large canals which connected large canyons in the hills. These canyons were then dammed up on the open end and large reservoirs of water were created and were connected by these canals for irrigation and power production.

This dam we fished on was such a dam. The dam was constructed of dirt fill. Rocks and concrete were thrown over the water side of the dam to prevent erosion. The dam was narrow and the road was barely wide enough for two cars to meet. Usually one would pull over and stop to allow the other by.

One evening we were fishing and a cloud burst hit. We packed up as quickly as possible and got into the car. I was very afraid of heights and water at the time, so as my father started to pull the car forward and it slid sideways into the rocks you know who was terrified.

We all got out of the car and Dad tried to get the car onto the road. Finally some other men came and pushed him back up onto the road, however they told us the road to the west was washed out. Naturally we were headed west.

The only choice was to turn the car around on that slick clay dam. There were small turn arounds, but they were dangerous under perfect conditions. On one side the rock and water, and on the other side a probable fatal drop to the canyon floor.

Yes! My father was between the rocks and a hard place.

As Christians we find ourselves so often in hard situations. We find ourselves between a rock and a hard place.

Hopefully we can, in this study, change our thinking slightly and find that rather than being between a rock and a hard place, that we are really between the Rock and a hard place when we have trouble.

Take a moment and read I Cor. 10:1-4.

1. "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;" Paul seems to be speaking of the people wandering in the wilderness and the fact that they followed the pillar of fire and smoke through their travels and that they all passed through the Red Sea when they were coming out of Egypt.

2 "And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;"

3 "And did all eat the same spiritual meat;" Spiritual meat would seem to be speaking of the provisions of food by God to the Israelites in the wilderness.

4 "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

This verse is the problem verse that we want to look at this morning. If our thinking thus far is correct in this passage, then the spiritual drink would be speaking of the water that the Israelites enjoyed while in the wilderness.

God indeed, supplied every need that they had while they were in the wilderness. The question arises then in the last section of verse four, what Paul is saying when he states, "for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." The spiritual rock must refer to the rock which gave forth with water in the wilderness. Paul states that this rock was Christ and that it moved with them through the wilderness.

We see a couple of items that need to be answered. a. What is meant by Christ being the Rock? b. What is meant by the rock followed them?

We can do one of two things at this point. a. Assume there is a problem and try to figure out what Paul meant by these very cryptic statements, OR b. Assume that Paul was still speaking in plain language and that he was stating that this rock that gave forth with water was actually Jesus Christ and that Christ followed the people through their travels so that they would have water.

The final option seems to be the most logical, yet some expositors try to find some deep meaning to these simple plain statements of fact.

Before we go on we need to understand a couple of items that are recorded in the Old Testament concerning this rock that Paul was speaking of.

When in the wilderness the Israelites had need of water. The first time Moses was told to strike the rock, which he did and all was okay (Ex 17:6ff) The second time Moses was told to speak to the rock, but he struck it and God said you won't enter land. (Nu 20:8ff)

Now, lets realize that some people question whether I Cor. 10:4 is speaking in a literal sense when it states that, "the rock was Christ." In speaking of this phrase Barnes states, "This cannot be intended to be understood literally, for it was not literally true." (Barnes P 182)

Think about that one for a moment! This is poor theology. This is poor thinking as well. He is setting aside logic in his statement. He offers no attempt to prove that it isn't literally true. I could take any phrase of Scripture, for example "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and then state, "This cannot be intended to be understood literally, for it was not literally true." If I did such a thing I would be as foolish as Mr. Barnes was on this point.

The author of the Living Bible seems to agree with this type of poor thinking. I Cor. 10:4 "He was there with them as a mighty Rock of spiritual refreshment." Why would they seek to make this into a spiritual refreshment, when the context is talking of real things? It seems that they don't care for making Christ into natural materials, such as rock and water.

However - Consider the following.

1. Christ came as a human being in the N.T. - natural material.

2. Christ appeared in the O.T. as both a pillar of fire and as a pillar of smoke--natural materials-- (Ex. 13:21 cf. 14:19 shows the smoke and fire to be Angel of Lord or Christ.)

3. Many believe the burning bush and the other appearances of God to Moses were also the angel of the Lord, or Christ.

4. Lenski and others boldly hold to a strict literal interpretation concerning "the rock was Christ."

5. Note the text "all ate the same spiritual food;" "all drank the same spiritual drink," "from a spiritual rock which followed them;" Based on this let us analyze. What spiritual food - what spiritual water. From the context the most practical answer is the food and water supplied by God in the wilderness. Was it something to feed their hungry and thirsty souls? NO It was literal food and water - supplied from God.

Paul is saying the source was spiritual. Now--the phrase "the rock was Christ" changes nothing. Because this phrase is in the verse, some feel obligated to spiritualize the text and say "No, Christ wasn't really a rock."

If you read the context of the passage, you will find that there is no reason to spiritualize anything. Paul is just calling the readers attention to those people in the wilderness and encourages the reader not to fall into the problems that the Israelites had fallen into.

Conclusions:

There is no reason to believe Paul's statement is anything short of being a literal pronouncement of what he believed to be the facts.

A few thoughts from Lenski's work on I Corinthians may help solidify this conclusion in our minds. Jewish tradition states "the rock which Moses struck rolled along on the journey of the Israelites...." p392 "Yes, Paul says, a modicum [small amount] of the legend is true: a rock did accompany Israel throughout the desert wandering, a rock out of which they kept drinking all of the time." P393 Lenski says this was not just a rock, but a "mass of rock". "This supernatural rock that never allowed Israel to perish of thirst in the desert - as any other similar expedition would quickly have perished - was Christ, the Son of God," p 393 "The people of the old and the people of the new covenants are one people, they are all under Christ. For this reason he gave them similar blessings: first a type of baptism, then the sacrament of baptism; first a type of spiritual eating and drinking [spiritual in source], then the sacrament of divine food and drink in the Lord's Supper." P 394 (This shows the type/antitype for Baptism and the Lord's table.)

"followed" in I Cor 10:4 is past, continuing action. The side note in one of my Bibles suggests "Or, went with them."

Now: What did Paul base such a bold statement on? "the rock was Christ" The rock which Moses struck was Jesus Christ before His incarnation. What could Paul possibly base such a statement on?

Let us see:

1. Paul knew the Jewish tradition, so would have relied on that for information unless the Lord had shown Him something different, either in the wilderness or at the time of writing. If this is the case the Holy Spirit would not have allowed him to include things from tradition that were in error without giving some indication.

2. Paul knew the Old Testament quite well from his days as a Pharisee and later studies. Let's consider some facts that were at Paul's fingertips and mind.

a. Rock was a term used interchangeably with God and/or deities of the pagans.

Let us check a few references. At the close of Moses' life God reminded him of his wrong in striking the rock. Deut. 32:51 KJ "Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel." NASB "because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel." ASV "because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel...."

Moses was told to strike the rock the first time Ex. 17:1-9. Note: Moses' sins at the rock.

Nu 20:12: unbelief, "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."

Nu 27:14: rebellion, "For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin."

Deut. 32:51: trespass, "Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel."

Ps. 106:33: rash words, "Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips."

The indication is that there is something more than just one disobedience or striking a rock rather than speaking to it.

Note: "you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel." (Deut 32:51) More is also indicated in Numbers 20:12, "because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." (Nu 20:12)

Aaron died before the people were near to entering the land and Moses later.

Num 20:24 states that Aaron was rebelling against God's command. "Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah."

The account of the incident mentions nothing of a command to Aaron, but he was in on things somehow. The text seems to take a slant of the two men doing something very wrong against the holiness of God.

Let’s relate this to our phrase in I Corinthians. If I Cor. 10:4 be taken literally, we have Moses striking the Messiah. He was striking God Almighty. This was unacceptable to God!

It is very interesting to note that the term rock begins to appear in Scripture at this point in time when Moses was dealing with the rock.

In future years it became a title almost synonymous with God. Deut 32:3,4 "Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." I Sam 2:2 "There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God." (cf. Isa 44:8; Hab. 1:12; II Sam 22:2,8; 22:32; 22:47 and others.)

Note of interest: The Hebrew "Tzur" (rock) is the basis of Tzar, one of the titles of Russian rulers. The Tzar was considered God personified. This word Tzur, or rock as it is translated, is closely identified with deity from Moses' day. (The term "czar" at times is said to have come from Caesar and that it was originally was spelled Tsesar. This is not only the basis of Czar but also of the German emperors the Kaisers. This seems to be later than the Hebrew word however.)

Indeed, Moses applies the term generally to the pagan gods around them as well. Deut 32:31 "For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." cf. Deut 32:37 also. It would seem that Moses and the Israelites may have recognized the significance of this rock in their midst.

b. O.T. writers other than Moses related the term rock to God.

1.) The Psalmist:

Ps 18:2, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength in whom I will trust...." Ps 18:46, "The Lord liveth; and blessed by my rock...." Ps 28:1, "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock...." Ps 42:9; Ps 61:2; Ps 62:2; Ps 62:6; Ps 71:35; Ps 89:26; Ps 94:22 ; and many others.

2.) Isaiah the prophet calls God a rock several times. a.) Isa 8:13,14 God is to become a rock of stumbling. (Relate this to Rom. 9:33; I Pet 2:8 and Ps 118:22) b.) Isa 17:10 The Jews had forgotten their rock of refuge (God). "Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:" c.) Isa 26:4, "For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock." We sing Rock of ages don't we? This is the reference for it. d.) Isa 28:16,17 "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place."

It makes me wonder how the Jews missed some of the things the Lord declared to them. This reminds even me, a gentile, of the wise man/foolish man accounts in the Gospels.

3.) Daniel saw a rock in his vision as bringing the nations of the world to an end and this was speaking of Christ. Dan 2:34

4.) Zechariah mentions the head of the corner (or cornerstone). Zech. 4:7

It is obvious that the O.T. Jews viewed God as a rock.

God had the attributes of a rock to them. They knew that the rock in the wilderness that watered them was more than so much granite or limestone.

c. Christ may have revealed this fact to Paul personally.

As you settle in to accept this phrase "the rock was Christ" as a literal statement of fact you might want to reconsider some tried and true texts in light of this information.

For example:

Does this statement affect what Paul said in Eph. 2:20 about Christ being the cornerstone of a "holy temple in the Lord."

Does this statement add meaning to Peter's thoughts in I Pet. 2:1-10 where Peter quotes Isaiah's text on the stone of stumbling for the Jews.

Does this statement add meaning to Matthew's thoughts in 21:42-44 concerning the rejected stone.

Does this statement affect the interpretation of Matt 16:18 where it says, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;" (Some believe that Christ pointed to Himself when He said, "upon this Rock:")

Does this phrase add new meaning to that old childhood bible story of the wise man and the foolish man? (Matt. 7:24ff and Luke 6:48ff) Christ was speaking of "receiving" His message. Was He speaking of the wise man accepting Him?

Does this phrase add new meaning to John 4:13 which states that Christ is the living water?

Or John 6:35 which states, "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

Does this phrase help you picture what the devout Jew of Paul's day thought when he heard Christ mentioned as rock - cornerstone etc. they must have been reminded of the O.T. Jews concept of God the Rock.

Some today have tried to make Christ into a 90 lb. weakling.

We need to reconsider who He really is.

He is the Rock of the O.T. He is the Angel of the Lord

He is the anointed He is the Prince

He is a prophet He is a refuge

He is a rod He is a ruler

He is a Savior He is a Sceptre

He is the creator He is the end of the Law

He is the Power of God He is the temple cleanser

He is God almighty He is Holy

He is King He is a lion

He is a Fortress He is a judge

He is the Ancient of Days. He is the foundation

He is the God of Abraham He is the God of Isaac

He is the God of Jacob He is the God of the whole earth

He is the Lord!

Not only is He all of the above, He is that little baby in the manger that we like to think of on a yearly basis.

At the Christmas season we relegate the God of the universe to the manger and consider His Birthday. I trust that as you consider the Christmas season, that you will remember that wrapped up in that little bit of cloth was the God that is all of the things that we have just mentioned.

If our Lord is a 90 lb. weakling then our attitude will be of weakness and powerlessness and boldlessness in our ministries.

If, on the other hand, we realize He is the God of creation, we will have confidence and boldness to proclaim Him the redeemer that He is with great power.

We will have confidence and boldness to proclaim Him the Rock and refuge that He is.

Yes, He was the Servant

Yes, He was the Lamb

Yes, He was the Nazarene

Yes, He was the Child

Yes, He was the Teacher

Yes, He was the suffering One

Yes, He was the one that was humiliated before the cross

Yes, He was Jesus

BUT that was only thirty-three years out of eternity.

Why should we concentrate and focus upon the quiet Jesus when we have the Christ of all eternity to consider.

Let us find a balance between "Jesus", and "Christ", and "Lord", and not overindulge in one area or the other!

Yes, we must understand the teachings of Jesus.

Yes, we must understand the Christ of eternity.

And yes, we must make Him the Lord of our lives!

ALL THREE ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT!

Conclusion:

It seems from our texts that when the Israelites had water needs they were between the Rock and a hard place. They relied on God for His provision.

We as believers have the same choice. When we get into hard times we have the choice of tuffing it out by ourselves or turning to stand on the Rock - Jesus Christ. You say, "Oh my, that is a beautiful thought. It sounds so nice."

This week you go out and become totally frustrated with your job and you remember the sermon. "Stand on the Rock - Jesus Christ!" Yes, That's what I'll do "I'll STAND ON CHRIST." Uh....Ohhhh How do I do that?

By knowing what he has taught us, and using it to control ourselves and our situations.

For example:

1. When you are faced with tremendous pressure consider Christ and his life here on earth. Jesus was under pressures that few of us ever know and yet He functioned quite well without psychosomatic fits of fatigue. He had the answer. He made it a point to find a time to be alone with God. Being alone with God won't relieve the pressure, but it will relieve the tension caused by it.

2. When you are questioning whether to serve God in a particular manner consider Christ's example of being about His Father's business even as a young boy. (Luke 2:49) He never lost sight of serving God, His Father, first. With this goal in mind it is easy to make the decision of serving Him.

3. Don't be misled into believing everything is easy to cope with. when you're between a rock and a hard place the pressure is on - you feel like you're going to crack - you feel like "if one more thing comes along I'll shatter into a million pieces!" If you are tuffing it out you may. BUT, remember - when you are between the Rock and a hard place you won't shatter, you will be held up by Christ your sustainer. We, as the psalmist, can say with equal boldness "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." (Ps 18:1-3)

Remember! The Lord is our rock!