Jesus, the Spiritual Rock that Followed Them

Finding Christ in the Old Testament, at times, can seem like Mel Gibson’s apartment in the movie “Conspiracy Theory.” Yet, we know that in order to be faithful Bible readers, we must see Christ as He reads Himself in the Hebrew Bible.[1] The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 does not make our effort any easier when he writes concerning the Israelites in the wilderness: “they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”[2] Here, Paul is specifically referring to the narrative from our sermon’s passage, Exodus 17, wherein God provides water for His parched, grumbling people by Moses striking a rock at Horeb. Paul’s interpretive lens conjures two questions: how is Christ the Rock at Horeb? And what rock was following the Israelites in the wilderness?

To the first question, it is important to recognize that Paul himself gives a qualifier to “Christ the Rock” when he writes that Christ is a “spiritual Rock.”[3] At its simplest, this refers to the reality that the water from the rock was a miraculous event. As commentator, David Garland, points out: “The manna and the water that flowed from the rock are called spiritual because they were formed not according to the law of nature but by the power of God working independently of the natural elements.”[4] Therefore, it was Christ who was the source of Israel’s nourishment and quenching in the wilderness. But this also sets up a dilemma of faith, for “they could look at the water pouring from the rock as a hidden spring or as water provided by God to slake their thirst and silence their doubts.”[5] Yet, God’s people did not improve on their faith, rather they continued in idolatry and sin.

The question of Christ, the following rock, is more complexing than the first. In the Old Testament, there is no mention of a rock that followed the Israelites around in the wilderness. A cloud and pillar of fire, sure. But a rock, no. Many writers see Paul picking up on a Jewish tradition claiming there was a rock or well that followed the Israelites from the wilderness to the Promised Land. Garland, again, interprets this myth and tradition best in stating that “The ‘following rock’ implies Gods continuous graciousness…Wherever Israel may go, God goes with them and provides. Paul may have incorporated a traditional Jewish interpretation of the following rock, but he gives it a uniquely Christian twist: ‘the rock was Christ.’”[6]

Knowing this short attempt at understanding Apostle Paul’s comments concerning Exodus 17 is not exhaustive, there are two lessons that we can take away. First, we should read Old Testament texts Christologically. Succinctly put: “Being a Christian in union with the risen Christ should make a difference in how the Old Testament is read.”[7] Yet, we must be cautious in this reading for we are not inspired as the biblical writers were. We must be careful to not arbitrarily find “one to one correspondences of a passage and the New Testament,” nor find “Jesus in the Old Testament in a superficial way.”[8] Secondly, in reading Exodus 17 with the Apostle Paul’s comments in mind, we are reminded that the three persons of our Triune God are always at work for His people. The Son and the Spirit were just as much with and among Israel in Rephidim as the Father.[9]

[1] Luke 24:27

[2] 1 Corinthians 10:4

[3] Ibid

[4] David E. Garland. 1 Corinthians. (Baker Exegetical, 2003), 454.

[5] Garland, 1 Corinthians, 455.

[6] Garland, 1 Corinthians, 456.

[7] Peter Enns. Exodus. (Zondervan, 2000), 353.

[8] Enns, Exodus, 353.

[9] For further study concerning God’s inseparable operations, read Dr. Scott Swain’s article on Zondervan Academic. https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/common-places-pro-nicene-theology-inseparable-operations