David Robinson (25 Apr 2008)

 

David Robinson said:

 

<<Moses messed up the picture when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it and that mistake cost Moses dearly.>>

 

I will make a statement about this that I do not know if you will be able to receive. The traditional view is as David describes it above regarding Moses striking the rock the second time: He messed up the picture of Jesus being only once crucified for our sins and therefore God had to punish Moses, and God chose to do so by not allowing him to enter alive into the Promised Land, right?

 

Guess what, the Holy Spirit showed me that there is something much bigger than that happening here. And it goes to the heart of this debate that has been going on with the Doves about worthiness or lack thereof. Do you think that God kept Moses from entering the Promised Land as a punishment merely because it just seemed like a good choice - and like a child who was promised a trip to Disneyland and then his parents cancel it because he did something wrong? Did you think that God just chose this to punish Moses with, just because it was a convenient way to hurt Moses? God needed something good to do to Moses and this seemed to do the trick? WRONG! There is a type in everything that Moses did and the punishment that followed. Moses did not “mess up” a picture or type of Jesus being once crucified for us, and therefore God punished him! Rather, Moses was fulfilling a different type, and even his punishment was part of the type. Yes Jesus would only once be crucified for our sins. But Hebrews speaks of people who were once covered by that first crucifixion but then they do something that is referred to as “crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh”. Moses was “describing” (to use Paul’s term) which is to say that he role-played that act by striking the rock the second time.  

 

Romans 10:

4.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

 5.  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

 

That is Paul’s way of saying that anyone who returns to the works of the law after having been saved by Jesus’ substitute sacrifice, is only going to get credit for however much life they can generate by their own works, because they did not believe God’s promise to save them by speaking to the rock, Jesus. This is why Romans 10 goes on to tell us that the word is already nigh you so speak it forth, do not strike the rock the second time. God did not just arbitrarily punish Moses for striking the rock, but rather God let Moses suffer the very same punishment that anyone in our day will also suffer for doing the same act. Which is that as Moses did not enter the Promised Land alive but had to die in the wilderness first, so also will Christians who crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh: They will not enter into our promised land (rapture) alive but will stay here to die in this wilderness first and then will enter in just as Moses did. I could spend much time proving this from scripture but either you will receive it or you will not. So if you are interested I will go into it at another time.

 

Barry Amundsen