I attend an average of two Bible Studies every week, sometimes even four, in addition to weekly Church services, and I have been doing this for the past 15 years. As I study the Old Testament I am constantly reminded of our need for Jesus and of Truth and Grace. I was in a study yesterday where the following passage from the Old Testament was read and discussed:
"Water From the Rock"
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as Holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved Holy among them." Numbers 20:1-13
Beloved, God became angry at Holy men like Moses and Aaron because they were prideful and emotional men, just as we are today, and they did not Honor the Lord while they seemed to take credit for what God had done, so God denied them the Blessing of leading the Israelites into the Holy Land. Could you possibly imagine his wrath toward us as sinful, failing, emotional, and faltering individuals? If Holy people like Moses and Aaron could not perfectly keep the law of God, and incurred his displeasure, what chance do we have? "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 reminds us. So, how do we appease an angry, wrathful God whose commands we can hardly keep, let alone keep perfectly? Famous Pastor and author Jonathan Edwards penned a famous sermon on the wrath of God: "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" which reminds us of the fury and wrath of God, and what Hell would be like without salvation. So beloved, when one reads through the Old Testament, we find that a great portion of it speaks of the law and the importance of keeping the law perfectly. Since the old law is seemingly of great importance, what is its relationship to Christians today? For most Christians, the understanding of the law and the Christian either goes too far to the extreme or not far enough. Beloved, read the following passage from the New Testament:
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." John 1:14-18
Beloved, Christ is the end and the fulfillment of the law for Christians. Before Christ came to die on the cross, all were under the law. However, since humans are not perfect, they were unable to fulfill it. Because of this, Christ came to fulfill the law for humanity, allowing those who put their trust in Him to be delivered from the condemnation of the law. While it is important to think of salvation in terms of the law and realize that no one receives salvation from their own works, it is also important to realize that when anyone believes in Christ, they receive His righteousness and He enables them to keep the law through the Spirit. Because of this, Christians can have peace knowing that they are no longer under the rule of the law, but under the rule of Christ. What a relief that we no longer have to keep every "jot and tittle" --- period and semicolon as prescribed under the law to escape the wrath of God....! We who are in Christ have been saved already through what He accomplished on the Cross for us....!!!
"Water From the Rock"
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as Holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved Holy among them." Numbers 20:1-13
Beloved, God became angry at Holy men like Moses and Aaron because they were prideful and emotional men, just as we are today, and they did not Honor the Lord while they seemed to take credit for what God had done, so God denied them the Blessing of leading the Israelites into the Holy Land. Could you possibly imagine his wrath toward us as sinful, failing, emotional, and faltering individuals? If Holy people like Moses and Aaron could not perfectly keep the law of God, and incurred his displeasure, what chance do we have? "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 reminds us. So, how do we appease an angry, wrathful God whose commands we can hardly keep, let alone keep perfectly? Famous Pastor and author Jonathan Edwards penned a famous sermon on the wrath of God: "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" which reminds us of the fury and wrath of God, and what Hell would be like without salvation. So beloved, when one reads through the Old Testament, we find that a great portion of it speaks of the law and the importance of keeping the law perfectly. Since the old law is seemingly of great importance, what is its relationship to Christians today? For most Christians, the understanding of the law and the Christian either goes too far to the extreme or not far enough. Beloved, read the following passage from the New Testament:
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." John 1:14-18
Beloved, Christ is the end and the fulfillment of the law for Christians. Before Christ came to die on the cross, all were under the law. However, since humans are not perfect, they were unable to fulfill it. Because of this, Christ came to fulfill the law for humanity, allowing those who put their trust in Him to be delivered from the condemnation of the law. While it is important to think of salvation in terms of the law and realize that no one receives salvation from their own works, it is also important to realize that when anyone believes in Christ, they receive His righteousness and He enables them to keep the law through the Spirit. Because of this, Christians can have peace knowing that they are no longer under the rule of the law, but under the rule of Christ. What a relief that we no longer have to keep every "jot and tittle" --- period and semicolon as prescribed under the law to escape the wrath of God....! We who are in Christ have been saved already through what He accomplished on the Cross for us....!!!
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