Striking the Rock

Speak to the rock

Don't strike it!

This is not my usual type of blog. I wrote this story quite a while ago and have been sitting on it, waiting for the right moment that the Lord would have me tell it. Believe me when I tell you that I do not enjoy this, but I believe it is necessary.



Before you go on, please read:
"A Warning - Straight From My Heart" if you haven't already.



Knowing that the timing of "What Happens When You Decide to Follow God Instead of Men?" felt right, this sobering blog seems to fall into place.



In Joshua 1:2, Moses, the servant of God died and the first thing God told Joshua to do is to “arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”

Neither Moses nor Aaron could enter the Promised Land because of unbelief; they disobeyed God and Moses struck the rock in Numbers 20:7-13 instead of speaking to it.

Numbers 20:7-12

⁷ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁸ Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

⁹ And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

¹² And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Isaiah 53 foretells Jesus being stricken and His ordeal at the cross because of us, our sins, our fault. Jesus is referred to as being the “chief cornerstone”, the “rock” that the house is built upon in Matthew 7:24, the “stone cut out of the mountain without hands” in Daniel 2:45 and the "rock" or foundation that His church is built on {the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God}. Matthew 16:16-18


Matthew 7:24

²⁴ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Daniel 2:45

⁴⁵ Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Matthew 16:16-18

¹⁶ And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
¹⁸ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We are supposed to fall on the "stone" and be broken to pieces instead of becoming 'rock dust' as in Matthew 21:42-44. Striking the “rock” has been likened to crucifying the Son of God afresh. Hebrews 6:6.

Matthew 21:42-44

⁴² Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
⁴³ Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
⁴⁴ And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder


.

Hebrews 6:6

⁶ If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.





A sobering story

For many years, my family and I have visited believers from all sorts of backgrounds. Some belong to churches, others don’t, still others meet in homes, some profess another faith but their lives show differently and I see God working strongly in them. It doesn’t matter where we go, when we look for the Lord, we find Him. I remember one day just out of the blue, feeling a very strong emotion of anger, but it was not mine! I didn’t understand it at the time. I couldn’t shake it, so I told my wife what I was feeling. I said, “I feel God is angry , REALLY ANGRY!”, "but not with us. I think the anger is directed at a place we visited." But I didn’t know why until this morning.


I believe that God was really angry with this place for disregarding Hebrews 6. Brothers had been getting up and ministering to the people, sharing the fruit of their land, incredible testimonies and Bible studies that God had given them, feeding the starving and malnourished children of God that had just come out of a very dry land.



People were SO hungry! The place was overflowing back down the entrance hall and growing at an incredible rate. People who had left years earlier were coming back in droves and sharing the good things that God was doing in their lives.



They did not have a "pastor", but this is when a respected elder got up and said, “All these new things are confusing the young people. I don’t want to hear anything new until we have had a chance to go back over our 4 Major Doctrines in detail.” They closed their "open pulpit" and it remains closed to this day.



Something died right there.



My wife and I did not return for several months after that. When we did, we walked into a different place. There was no life; the place was only 1/3 full. Women were directing the fellowship and were the only ones that spoke, complaining about men, making fun of their husbands and other elders, even elders from different churches. One woman actually said she was "changing the direction of the service" (the way the Spirit of God was leading) because "she wanted to talk about something different". The reports were that the men had almost totally stopped sharing and even testifying.


As I was reading Hebrews 6:1-6 this morning, I think I found out why I felt God was so angry.



God had brought this people we visited to the Promised Land as a group. The land was flowing with milk and honey, but they were forbidden to share. They were forbidden to feed others the fruit of righteousness that God had produced in their lives and that was growing in their land.



If I could draw a spiritual correlation between this group and the Israelites coming into the Promised Land it would be this: (First See What Happens When We Decide To Follow God Instead of Men?) 



Joshua 1:2

1. Things had been happening the way God had planned it. Moses had died and the people moved on.


Joshua 3:3-4

2. The ones responsible for bearing the Ark had gone forward and the people were no longer following the priests directly.


Joshua 3:15-17

3. The priests had made a commitment, stood in Jordan, made a stand for what they believed was right and the Lord made a way for his people to come into their inheritance.



Joshua 5:2,11-12

4. The people had crossed over Jordan, had been circumcised, and had already eaten unleavened cakes and parched corn. They knew their doctrines... their foundations.



5. The manna had ceased and they had already begun eating of the Land of Canaan.


Why was God not happy then? Where did they go wrong?



Hebrews 6:1-6 says:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; NOT laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,



Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.



And this will we do, if God permit.


For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,



And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,



If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.



1. They had been enlightened



2. They had tasted of the heavenly gift, the fruit of the spirit, the fruit of the Promised Land. They had been sharing what the “good word of God” had brought forth in their lives.



3. It was verified and linked to what God was doing in the lives of others through the leaping of the Holy Ghost inside of each person; they were made partakers of the Holy Ghost through sharing.




4. It was a glimpse of the power of God filling the earth and bringing His ultimate plan into fruition. Daniel 2:35 When you tasted what the good word of God was doing in people's lives, you had faith it would fill the whole earth. They had tasted of the powers of the world to come.



The Israelites had crossed over and were supposed to be done eating of the parched corn the day before the manna ceased, but they were NEVER forbidden to eat the fruit they grew in their new land.



The foundations were already good. Why would they be “laying again the foundation”? It was because of the fear and unbelief in the leadership; fear of the unknown because this was something new. 2 Timothy 1:7 Moses and Aaron could not enter the Promised Land, only see it.



I sat in my chair as a visitor, flabbergasted and ashamed at what I heard… they turned their back on the path God had set them on and muzzled the oxen. Luke 9:62  1 Corinthians 9:9  They had just refused God’s plan from the beginning of time for them to become one with God. John 17:21 This was the whole purpose for God sending Jesus. I felt as if everything we had been hoping for had been crushed. It was like slapping Jesus in the face.



They had struck the rock. The people had let Moses be resurrected and crucified the Son of God afresh. The Tree of Life became forbidden fruit. They did not speak against Jesus, but turned their backs on the Spirit of Truth. See John 15:26 and John 16:13.

I am convinced this was a modern day example of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth.

Matthew 12:31-32  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

³² And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Hebrews 6:4-6

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
⁵ And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
⁶ If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Leviticus 19:19   Deuteronomy 22:11 

As a covering of both wool and linen is against the law of God, so a mix of old covenant and new covenant is incompatible in God's eyes.

Hebrews 12:24  Hebrews 8:13


My only prayer now is that the people have not "fallen away" in God's eyes.


2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."