God told Moes, "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 to drink” (Exodus 17:6) Read on to learn about this wonderful type of Christ. This is Part II. Here is Part I.

Table of ContentsBaptism and Communion with ChristA Firm FoundationProducing Living WaterThe Samaritan Woman at the WellThe Feast of TabernaclesStruck Once for Sin"Speaking” to the RockPersonal ApplicationSuffering Doesn’t Mean We DisobeyedAsking the Right WayPressing onRemembering God’s Past ProvisionThe Wilderness Isn’t Supposed to Be PleasantThose Who Have Been Given Much Must Be CarefulProsperity Is Not Always a Sign of Obedience

Baptism and Communion with Christ

The word baptize means immersed. Think of how we say people are immersed in their thoughts or immersed in their work. Sometimes when Scripture uses the word baptize it communicates immersion, but with something or someone. For example, the Greek word for baptized is used in Matthew 3:11 and Acts 1:5 to refer to people being baptized (or immersed or having unity) with the Holy Spirit. Mark 10:39 is about being baptized (or immersed) in trials. When people are suffering, we say they are experiencing a baptism by fire.

First Corinthians 10:2 says Israel was “baptized into Moses…in the sea.” This figuratively took place when Israel crossed the Red Sea. It might seem odd to compare crossing the Red Sea with baptism because the Israelites stayed dry, but it isn’t physical (water) baptism: it’s spiritual baptism. Notice it doesn’t say they were “baptized into the sea.” It says they were “baptized into Moses.” This is about their spiritual immersion and unity with Moses in the wilderness. Paul uses the same words Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27 to say we “were baptized into Christ.” Like Israel was baptized into Moses, we are baptized into Christ. Like Israel experienced spiritual immersion and unity with Israel in the wilderness, we experience spiritual immersion and unity with Christ in the church.

Along with baptism, the other ordinance is communion, which these words look forward to: “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.” The idea isn’t that Christ physically nourished Israel in the wilderness: He wasn’t physically in the manna or the water. Instead, Israel was spiritually nourished by Christ in the wilderness, like we’re spiritually nourished by Christ in the church. As we discussed in the previous chapter, Jesus is also our spiritual food. He said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

A Firm Foundation

The Greek word for a small rock formation is lithos. But the Greek word in 1 Corinthians 10:4 is petra, referring to a massive rock formation, conveying the strong foundation Jesus provides. Jesus himself, along with many New Testament verses, use this metaphor: “On this rock (petra) I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock (petra). And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock (petra)” (Matthew 7:24-25). Like Christ was the spiritual Rock for Israel in the wilderness, He’s the spiritual Rock for us in the church: “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 2:20).

Probably thinking back to Jesus’ statement to him in Matthew 16:18, Peter used three different Old Testament verses employing the metaphor in 1 Peter 2:6-7:

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16). So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has becom...