August 28

1 Corinthians 10:1-18
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord not only provided miraculously for their exit but also for their sustenance as they traveled the desert He provided manna for bread, quail for meat and water via various miracles. Two of those miracles were occasions where water poured from a rock after Moses struck it. (If you remember the first time he was commanded to strike it, the second time he was commanded to speak to it but in disobedience, he struck it again.) Paul says that Rock was Christ. He is the Rock who brings us the water of life when He was struck down in His crucifixion but raised again, declaring us righteous before God. He is also the Rock who brings us ongoing, daily life as we kneel before Him yielding our lives to Him in reverence.
Throughout the Scripture “Rock” is used as a metaphor of Christ. “Rock” is used by the Psalmist as a place of safety and refuge, like Masada. Jesus refers to hearing and obeying His words to being like a person who builds his house on solid bedrock. Here the “Rock” is the source of pure living water that sustains our life. Jesus also refers to Himself as the manna that came down out of heaven. He is the source of our sustenance.
Paul says Jesus followed the Children of Israel. The Lord Jesus is our “Rock”. He follows us. He is always there. He is our place of refuge and safety. He is the bedrock upon which we can build. He is the source of pure living water that sustains us and is the source of sustenance. What comfort there is in that knowledge! What warning is also there! Paul kind of understates the case when he says with most of them God was not well pleased. Indeed, He was not well pleased with all the adults except Joshua and Caleb. They were His children. He met their needs. But because of their unbelief, they lived out their natural lives in the wilderness never experiencing the promised land for which they had been called out of Egypt.
We are often tempted to leave or ignore the source of our sustenance. That amounts to idolatry and immorality. But He constantly follows us. He is there ready to give us a way of escape from the temptation if we are willing to take it. We can bear it, because He is there. This blessed truth is part of the symbolism of communion. We drink of one cup together—the cup of the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes us holy through communion with Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John