Hear now the reading of God's holy, inerrant, inspired word. Numbers chapter 20, the first 13 verses. Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of sin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying, If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord. Why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, Nor is there any water here to drink. So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the rod. You and your brother Aaron together gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water. Thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock and give drink to the congregation and their animals. So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as God had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock. And he said to them, Here now, you rebels, must we bring water for you out of this rock? Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. And water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he said, Because you did not believe me, to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel, Therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This was the water of contention, Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, yet he was hallowed among them. Please be seated. we see in this scripture here the children of Israel sinning. And if you've read the Bible at all, you know that that's a pretty common thing for them to do. And how does God deal with sin? Specifically, how does God deal with the sins of his people? Well, we'll see here in this scripture, In real life history, how God shows us his dealings with sin, specifically with the sins of his people. And also we'll see how he deals with the sins of those who don't trust him. I'd like you to see then that there's God's mercy to those trusting in the one sacrifice of the rock, who is Christ, And God's justice to those not trusting in the one sacrifice of the rock, who is Christ. This first theme, God's mercy to those trusting in the one sacrifice of the rock, Christ. Well, what do we see here but two things? Sin, God's mercy. Well, what is the sin? It's pretty straightforward. We can see it in the second verse, or in the first section here, is the sin of the people is not trusting God. This God who has led them now for 40 years, since they came out of slavery, since they came out of Egypt, for 40 years now, God has been showing himself faithful. And then he brings them into another testing. Not that he hasn't done it before, but he brings them into yet another testing. And what is their response? It's interesting to see their response in light of what's in previous scripture. In Exodus 17, verses 1-7, listen to this. And as I read it, listen to see the similarities of Exodus chapter 17 and this in Numbers chapter 20. Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of sin according to the command of the Lord. They camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord? But the people thirsted there for water, and they grumbled against Moses and said, Why now have you brought us from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, What shall I do with this people? In a little while more they will stone me. Then the Lord said to Moses, Pass before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand your staff, your rod, with which you struck the Nile, and then go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he named the place Masa and Meribah, contention and arguing, because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel and because they tested the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? This was a couple months after the children of Israel came out of Egypt by God's outstretched arm and his strong power. Just a few months. They'd seen the miracles and then that, the testing, saying, God, are you with us or what? And what did God do? He showed himself faithful. He gave them water by striking the rock. And there's this theme of what the rock means. The rock is a type. Now, children, do you understand the word of typology and what a type is? It's a foreshadowing, a picture of what's to come. And that rock is a foreshadowing of Christ himself come to earth. And when Moses struck the rock back in Exodus with the rock as a type of Christ, and if you don't believe me, look in 1 Corinthians 10, verses 1-4, where Paul says, For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Now children, don't misunderstand what it's saying here. Jesus did not turn into a big rock and roll around in the desert with them for 40 years. No, it's a type, a foreshadowing of Christ when he comes to earth. So that rock represented him. And so what did God tell Moses back in Exodus to do to this rock? He said, strike it with your rod, the same one you did that you struck the Nile and later the Red Sea. And what was that rod doing but judging the unbeliever? Judging the unbeliever. Stick that rod over there, put blood in that water. Put your rod up and split the Red Sea. then put it down, bring the waters back, and I'll drown out all the Egyptians. It's a judgment rod. And God said, take that rod, strike the rock, and it'll give you water. That rock was a type of Christ. Striking the rock foreshadowed something. And what did it foreshadow? It foreshadowed Christ taking the punishment of those miserable ingrates, God's people. You see that? And then the water flowing from that stricken rock foreshadowed Christ's blood being shed for them, giving them spiritual life just as that real water nourished their bodies. so 40 years before god showed how he took care of them not just only on a physical plane but even more so on a spiritual plane as well for we are body and soul and god takes care of both god was showing the israelites how he deals with the sin of those who trust in him remember that whole congregation drank from the rock. And yet, what was the verdict of that whole generation? Unbelievers. So that water sustained their physical body. But unless they were drinking in faith, it didn't do them any good. Because when they were drinking that water, what they should have been thinking, and a few were, was where'd that water come from? Out of a rock. oh, it must be some sort of phenomenon. Let's try to explain this away. Maybe there's other rocks that do this. Or maybe things just happen. Doesn't it happen now? But no. As they drank and their bodies were sustained, then they would say, what's behind this? Where am I really getting my life? From this water? No. From the God who provides this water. That's what he was showing them back in Exodus. Well, this time, same situation. Forty years later, the people of God have been walking with God for forty years. And he brings them to a testing. They're just about to enter the promised land and he brings them to a testing. That's just like the other one. And here's what God had planned, as we can see in verses 6 and 8. That he planned on meeting their need of restoration to himself. Why restoration to himself? Why would they need that? Because they had just grumbled and complained. They acted just like they did 40 years ago. It's like they hadn't learned anything yet. How long does it take you to learn something? I hope not 40 years. And yet these people, 40 years later, still hadn't learned anything. And so Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the rod. You and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water. And thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and to their animals. Kind of the same, kind of different. Desert, no water, rock. Moses and Aaron, a rod for judging. but a little different what God wanted now. Before God said, strike the rock. This time he says, speak to the rock. And you'll get the same result as before. Water flowing out. Life-giving water. And so what was he doing? In a sense, God is showing that speaking to the rock would picture to these people that you speak to God for your sustenance. You come to God for your needs. Speak to the rock. Pray to God when you have need. And by giving them water, what else was God going to show them? He was going to remind His own that judgment for their sins was already paid for by the rock for 40 years. Now remember, that's a type. That's a typology thing. It's a foreshadowing. And yet, 40 years beforehand, he was foreshadowing the work that Christ would do. So he was showing, reminding them that judgment for their sins would be paid for by that rock and that he hears the prayers of his people and he answers them. He meets their needs. And he wanted to make sure they understood this, that their relationship to him was based upon his grace, upon his grace through the sacrifice of the one to come. That's what he was going to show them with this little picture here. Well, what did happen? In the second part, I'd like you to see God's justice to those not trusting in the one sacrifice of the rock who typifies Christ. We see two things here as well, sin and punishment for sin. Well, what's the sin? Well, unlike 40 years before, Moses didn't just completely obey. By now, after 40 years, Moses was probably getting a little bit tired of these people. He'd been leading them. He'd been faithful. And then what? They're doing the same thing. And they're calling his God names. And so Moses is getting tired of it. And so we can probably figure that he might be justified in getting mad at them. I mean, parents, sometimes you think, well, aren't I justified in getting mad at my children after I've told them time and time and time again on the same thing. So you might sympathize with Moses in this. But you can't condone what he did. Because what did he do? Well, he disobeyed God blatantly. God said, speak to that rock and it will provide the water, that life-giving water that the people need. And what did Moses do? He did what he did 40 years before. He struck that rock he was angry he might have a right to be angry but he disobeyed in his anger and he struck the rock and what did God do God in his graciousness still gave water even though Moses had sinned and the people had sinned they were still his people, God's people. And God was still going to provide for them. He was going to sanctify himself in front of them. He was going to prove again, even after all this sin, even after his representative Moses' sin, that God still takes care of his people. And he provided water. Even after Moses' direct, blatant disobedience, God still provided. God showed himself faithful. And that's how we can see that at the very end of verse 13, and God was hallowed. Children, that means he was set apart among them. He showed himself different. He showed himself special. He showed himself faithful to the children of Israel, giving them water out of this. But there's also a scene of punishment here as well. and it was Moses that received it because you can see that God promised something that we all know later happened God promised to Moses and Aaron you're not going to bring these people into the promised land Moses was kept from going into the promised land and what does that mean? what did that signify? what kind of picture did that show? In Hebrews chapter 4, verses 9 through 11. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered his rest, God's rest, has himself also rested from his works. Just as God did from his. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience. Out of this scripture in Hebrews, we see that this idea of the promised land is a picture of the Sabbath rest of God. And for those that will not trust God, They don't enter into that Sabbath rest. And so Moses' sin was showing this, that he didn't trust God. And he was showing that like those that don't trust, they don't enter this promised land. Why was God so severe in verse 12, the second half? You shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Moses striking the rock was giving them another picture. It was like he was foreshadowing something that should never be and could never be. And in fact, never has happened. But you see, Moses did strike that rock and he shouldn't have. How many times does the Messiah need to be stricken? What kind of foreshadowing was Moses doing when he struck the rock, a type of Christ, the second time? It was like he was foreshadowing a blasphemy, wasn't he? It was like he was foreshadowing having to crucify Christ more than once. And we know that can never be. The God-mans cannot be crucified twice. The God-man's one sacrifice is more than enough for us. It's perfect. And yet, Moses in his anger, in his unthinking anger, what did he do? He showed a picture to the Israelites that he never would have, if he thought about it for just a second, would never have done. Because he did trust Christ. He trusted that same Christ. In Hebrews chapter 10, to get this point across, verses 10 through 14. Is there only one sacrifice of Christ? God says so. By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily, ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But he, Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting for that time onward until his enemies will be made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. So that earlier picture, that earlier typology that God was showing, foreshadowed what we see in Hebrews. And Moses, in his anger, in his blind, unthinking anger, was messing up that picture. He was messing it up and showing the opposite of what God had intended to show. God was showing his people that trusting in this rock, Christ, and his one sacrifice is good enough. And after that, there's no other sacrifice. And yet Moses did trust God, didn't he? Did Moses trust in Christ? Or was this the final proof that as hard as he worked, he didn't really believe? I think not. What does the Bible show us? What is Jesus himself? The anti-type of that rock. The fulfillment of that typology say in John chapter 5, verses 45 and 46, Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you, Pharisees, is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. And in other places as well, Moses trusted in Christ. He trusted in the Christ to come. Even though he made this mistake and even though God judged him to show the people a picture, Moses himself belonged to God. As bad a sin as that was, who was Moses trusting in? Christ. He was trusting in Christ. He believed in Christ. so then what's important about all this one that Jesus Christ's work his one sacrifice was perfect in God the Father's eyes Hebrews again chapter 9 24 through 28 for Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands a mere copy of the true one, true what? True tabernacle, heaven. But he went into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor was it that he would offer himself often, just like the high priest does, entering the holy place year by year with blood that's not even his own. Otherwise, he, Christ, would have needed to suffer often from the foundation of the world, but. Now, once at the consummation of the ages, he has been manifested. Children, that means he has been shown to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him, to those that trust in him. Jesus Christ's work, his one sacrifice, is good enough for God. Is it good enough for you? Is it good enough for you? Or do you think, you know, every time I sin, I've got to do something? to make God happy with me. Don't think that way. If you're trusting in Christ, He has done everything, and all of it for you. All of it. Every sin. So what do we do then when we sin? What do we do? For we do sin, don't we? We still have that remnant of sin within us. As Paul calls it, the old man, the old nature. Well, we do what was shown here. We come to the rock. We speak to him. We confess our sins to him. And what is he? Faithful and just to forgive us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To restore the fellowship that we have lost by our sin. He restores it. He freely gives us that water again, doesn't he? To refresh us, to remind us, this is who paid for your sins. I've done it, says Jesus. I've done it for you. Every time we sin, return to the rock. Confess it. And he brings you back into fellowship. And you can say to the Father, As you come, forgive me and restore to me the joy of my salvation. Restore it to me. I know it's mine and I've broken it through my sin, but restore it to me, that joy of my salvation. You know, God knows our frame, doesn't he? He's even made a sacrament to remind us of how he deals with us, his people who still sin. And what is it? His Supper. His Supper. For what do we do? We come in faith, don't we? And we eat His body. And we drink His blood. And we don't just remember, but we get spiritual nourishment. For just as the waters gave those people physical refreshment, if they were trusting in the Christ to come, They didn't just get physical refreshment. They got spiritual refreshment. But God smiled on them. You trust in my son. I'm well pleased with you. Come and drink these waters. Come and sup with me. So when you take the supper again, think on these things, of what God has done for you and does for you. Again and again. Because if Christ is yours, if you trust in him, then God continues to give and give and give. Because you are his people. He is your God. He promised to be with you, never to forsake you. And his word is true. He can't break his word. It's impossible. And if any of you are out here that don't know what I'm talking about, Don't you hunger for that? To finally go to bed at night knowing, if I die, I've got nothing to lose but everything to gain because I've got the glory of God to look forward to. I've got forgiveness for all that I've done against God. Don't you want that? From God himself. Then even today, turn to him. Turn to him today while there's time, while you still draw breath. Even this morning, for you don't know what the day will bring. Disaster can come that fast, that fast. But turn to him and see what the people of God enjoy. Fellowship and forgiveness from God of the universe himself. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are. You're a great God, a good God, a merciful God, but also a just God and a righteous God. And you've met both things, your justice and your mercy in your Son, Christ Jesus. All praise be to you, Lord Jesus. We can see why now, in heaven, that will be our occupation. And it won't be boring. It will be joyous. May you be praised. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.