The Rock is Christ

1 Corinthians 1:1-5
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now Paul launches into teaching that is very theological in tenor. He goes back into Hebrew history and reviews the story of Israel escape from their Egyptian captors via the parting of the Red Sea. He brings up the manna provided for them by God and the water which poured from the rock that they might be sustained. This manna was miraculous and the water was sweet and plentiful, both provided for their survival. In more learned and scholarly circles than I travel in, this passage is understood to be a “type” of what we receive today in Holy Communion.

The line that leaps out for me this morning is in reference to the water which God provided from a Rock, on more than one occasion. “... and the Rock was Christ.” There Jesus was, in the book of Exodus, saving God’s people from destruction! Just as His final sacrifice for the sins of mankind saves us from destruction, so He was already in that work before God’s people even had an inkling of understanding about God’s power to save. The words resonate through my spirit with hope and love. The plan of God to save us was well underway even as the Children of Israel ran through the parted waters of the Red Sea.

... and the Rock was Christ

P.S. Sorry for any typos. I’m on the road today and tomorrow so this comes from my phone! Technology is an awesome gift, but comes with a few limitations!

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