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by
Doug Ward |
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-14, the apostle Paul highlights lessons from
the exodus and wilderness experiences of the children of Israel. In doing so,
he brings out several parallels between Israel's situation and that of his
congregations in Corinth.
By
God's deliverance and protective guidance, the Israelites were "baptized
into Moses," perhaps in the sense that they were immersed in the
instruction that God revealed through Moses. Analogously, Christians are
"baptized into Christ Jesus" (Ro 6:3), the prophesied "prophet
like Moses" (Dt 18:15, 18; Ac 3:22-26).
Paul
next points out that God granted the Israelites manna each day, along with
water from a rock. This heavenly food and drink prefigure the bread and wine of
the Lord's Supper, which he discusses later in the epistle (10:21; 11:17-34).
Paul
then adds that the people "drank from the spiritual Rock that followed
them, and the Rock was Christ" (verse 4). This analogy deserves a closer
look. When we explore its meaning, we will find connections with numerous
biblical passages and themes.
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Rocks
Physical and Spiritual |
The Bible tells us that the Israelites received water
supernaturally from a physical rock at both the beginning (Ex 17) and end (Nu
20) of their wilderness sojourn. "He split rocks in the wilderness and
gave them drink abundantly as from the deep," Psalm 78:15 recalls. Because
Numbers 20:8 simply refers to "the rock," as if it were the same rock
as the one as in Exodus 17, a tradition arose that this rock accompanied the
Israelites throughout their journey (t. Sukkah 3.11-13).
Whether
or not a particular physical rock followed the people, God the Rock of Israel
was with them, as Deuteronomy 32 poetically describes (vv. 4, 15, 18). And
because Father and Son act in unison (Jn 5:19), Paul can say that Christ
accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness as a spiritual Rock. Note also
that these verses describe the Rock as forsaken, scoffed at, and forgotten,
hinting at the future suffering of the Messiah (Isa 53:3; Mt 27:29-31, 39-44).
A
second sense in which "the Rock was Christ"' is that the rock from
which the Israelites obtained water in the wilderness can be viewed as a type
of the Messiah. As Moses struck the rock to bring life-giving water to the
Israelites, the Messiah would later be struck (Isa 50:6; Zec 13:7; Mt 26:31)
for humanity's sake to bring life to the world. From him would come the living
waters of the Holy Spirit (Jn 4:10, 14; 7:37). When Moses struck the Nile with
his staff, the water had "turned into blood" (Ex 7:20); and when
Moses struck the rock, water flowed out. Similarly, when the Messiah was struck
on the Cross, water and blood came forth (Jn 19:34).
Additional
Christological elements have been identified in the "water from the
rock" narratives in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. For example, the fact that
the rock was to be struck in Exodus 17:6, but not in Numbers 20:8, historically
has been seen as significant. According to Church Fathers Origen, Jerome, and
Augustine, this detail reflects the sufficiency of Christ's "once for
all" sacrifice (Heb 7:27; 9:12; 10:10). The rock only needed to be struck
once.
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Jacob's
Rock and Ladder |
Viewing the rock in Exodus 17 as a type of the Messiah is supported
by connections to a previous biblical exodus and rock. When the patriarch Jacob
began his journey to Haran in Genesis 28, he stopped near Luz one night and
slept on the ground, using a stone for a pillow. That night he had a dream in
which he saw a ladder (or ramp or staircase) to heaven. God, standing above the
ladder, affirmed that he would be with Jacob during his travels. The next day
Jacob anointed the stone as a memorial of what God had revealed to him at that
place (vv. 10-18).
There
are interesting parallels between Genesis 28 and Exodus 17. Both chapters
include an announcement, introduced with the word "behold," that God
is standing on something (Ge 28:13; Ex 17:6). The only other place in the Bible
where we see this combination is in Amos 7:7. In addition, both events reveal
God's presence to those who are unaware of it or doubt it (Ge 28:16; Ex 17:7).
These parallels suggest a connection between the Exodus 17 rock and the ladder,
with the stone commemorating it, in Genesis 28.1
In
John 1:51, Jesus implies that the Genesis 28 ladder is a type pointing to him.
The ladder pictures the Messiah as a mediator between heaven and earth, one who
shows the way to the Father (Jn 14:6) and reveals heavenly realities (Jn
3:11-12). With the identification of the ladder as a type of Christ and the
parallels between Genesis 28 and Exodus 17, we have further confirmation of
Paul's assertion that "the Rock was Christ."
Elsewhere
Jesus affirms that much has been written about him in the Hebrew Scriptures (Jn
5:46; Lk 24:44), inviting his disciples to search out those things. But how can
we avoid going overboard in our search for types of the Messiah and seeing
Jesus "under every rock"? Here are a few suggestions.
First,
connections that are affirmed by Jesus and the apostles, like the ones in John
1:51 and 1 Corinthians 10:4, are the ones in which we can place the most
confidence. Second, strong verbal and conceptual connections, like those
mentioned here, can help us recognize symbols and types. Third, since we read
the Bible in community with other Christians, past and present, we can look to
leading Christian teachers and scholars (e.g., the Church Fathers and
Protestant Reformers) for guidance. Finally, we should avoid dogmatism,
remembering that our studies are meant to promote learning, not cause division.
With these things in mind, we can be scribes trained for the Kingdom like those
in Matthew 13:52.
1See
Kevin S. Chen, The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch, IVP Academic,
2019, Chapter 5.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 24 Apr 2026, 15:12.
