Rolling Rocks

“…They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

While the Israelites wandered in the desert, God provided water for them that sprang supernaturally from a rock. God told Moses to strike the rock with his rod, and when he did, water gushed out. A later time God told Moses to merely speak to the rock and water would come out. Moses, acting presumptuously, struck the rock just has he had done before. In God’s kindness He still allowed the water to proceed from the rock, but He disciplined Moses by disallowing him from entering the Promised Land.

An interesting phenomenon occurs in Death Valley National Park. Rocks actually slide across the desert floor with long trails behind them. Occurring at Racetrack Playa, these rocks somehow slide across the dry lake bed, cutting a furrow in the sediment as they move.

Some of these rocks weigh several hundred pounds. That makes the question: "How do they move?" a very challenging one.

The truth: No one knows for sure exactly how these rocks move - although a few people have come up with some pretty good explanations. Everything from wind, to icy conditions and even magnetic forces have been suggested. The reason why their movement remains a mystery: No one has ever seen them in motion!

It is certain that the “Rock” from which Israel drank wasn’t pushed around the desert with them for 40 years, although that may seem to be what Paul is suggesting in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s purpose isn’t to imply that a water-filled boulder followed the Israelites from place to place. His concern is to show what the Rock represents.

So, he tells them that the Rock was actually Christ. Does he mean to say that Jesus actually took the form of a rock, in the same fashion as becoming human? The suggestion actually cheapens the thought that Jesus took on human form. He is not some divine shape-shifter disguising himself as rocks, then trees, and then as a baby in a manger.

The Rock is not actually “Christ” any more than the cup is actually Jesus’ blood when He holds it up before His disciples during the Last Supper. “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” (Luke 2:20) The “cup” is neither the “covenant” nor the “blood”. But it does stand for the covenant.

This is a literary device called metonymy. It is a figure of speech where a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by something closely associated with it. “Houston, we have a problem.” The city of Houston is not being referred to itself, but rather the NASA Mission Control that resides there.

So, we are told that the Rock was Christ. The Rock, pouring out the needed drink without which Israel would die of thirst, was a picture of what Christ would do for those that allow Him. We all, as though walking in a wilderness, need our deepest thirsts met. We try to assuage that thirst with so much that is inadequate. We find ourselves going back over and over, like drinking a cheap soft drink.

Jesus wants to completely meet refresh us, if we will only allow Him to. The problem that Paul refers to, in just the very next verse, is that God was not pleased with the majority of them. Instead of letting God’s miracle provision satisfy them, they chased their own lusts into idol worship. We are told that the story of Israel in the wilderness is given to us so we will learn not to lust as they did.

We may find ourselves begging for more of the latest thrill, only to find it is nowhere in sight. But Christ, on the other hand, follows us throughout our wilderness journey. He provides “drink” that completely satisfies. He will not hide at the moment we need Him most.

We have a choice. We can drink deeply of the provision of God, knowing that we are receiving miraculous supply. Or, we can give into our basest desires, lusting after power, pleasure or popularity, only to find we must fill ourselves over and over again. The moment we finish drinking we are thirsty all over again.

The rocks my move across the Mojave Desert without our understanding how; but the Rock who is Christ moves with us throughout our wilderness wanderings. He is not simply an oddity over which geologists scratch their heads. He is the true source of all our soul needs for life’s satisfaction.