Feeling Dry Today?
Sunday’s Verse:
From Exodus 17:6 ESV
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”
Israel found themselves thirsty in the wilderness. They had witnessed God’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt, leading them through the sea, and miraculously providing them manna from heaven each morning. Yet when they began to run low on water, fear and complaining quickly ensued. The Lord responded to their outcry with an unusual command to Moses: strike the rock.
But notice what else the verse says. Notice where God says He will be: “I will stand before you there on the rock” (v. 19). God does not simply send His people water from heaven; He places Himself alongside the rock that Moses will strike.
We see this passage as pointing forward to Christ. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10: 4 that “the Rock was Christ.” Just as Israel needed the rock at Horeb to be struck so water would come flowing out for their benefit, we have Christ being struck for us at the cross. From Christ’s pierced side came the living water we need to make it through the wilderness of this life.
Like ancient Israel, we still feel our weakness in the desert. We worry. We complain. We question whether God is with us or has heard our prayers. Yet, beloved, the Lord has already answered that question through Christ. The Rock was struck. The fountain of forgiveness has been opened wide. We do not have to trust in our own strength or faithfulness because our God is faithful and He has secured our pardon.
Where Christ is, there is water for the thirsty.
If you are feeling dry today, run to the Rock. There in the words of Scripture, in your Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper, Christ continues to provide living water for His thirsty people.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, You are our Rock and our salvation. When we grow weary and thirsty in this wilderness of life, lead us to the water that flows from You. Forgive our unbelief. Strengthen our faith. Refresh us by Your grace. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above is licensed through Unsplash+