Egypt to Canaan (4): Rebellion, Rock, Resource, Resistance

I'd like to read with you in Exodus chapter 17. The chapter only has 16 verses and we're going to read it all. Exodus chapter 17 and verse 1. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim.

And there was no water for the people to drink wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said give us water that we may drink and Moses said unto them why chide ye with me wherefore do you tempt the Lord and the people thirsted there for water and the people murmured against Moses and said wherefore is this that thou has brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst and Moses cried unto the Lord saying what shall I do unto this people they be almost ready to stone me and the Lord said unto Moses go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river I take it that that's when he smote the Nile and the waters turned to blood take in thine hand and go behold I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb and thou shalt smite the rock and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink and Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel and he called the name of the place Massa and Meribah that is contention and strife or temptation and strife because of the striving or the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord saying is the Lord among us or not then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim and Moses said unto Joshua that's the first time Joshua is mentioned by the way choose us out men and go out fight with Amalek tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand so Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek and Moses Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill and it came to pass when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed but Moses hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him and he sat there on and Aaron and her stayed up his hand the one on the one side and the other on the other side and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun and Joshua discomfited Amalek doesn't say he destroyed him but he discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword and the Lord said unto Moses write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven and Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah Nisi Jehovah our banner that is or my banner the Lord is my banner for he said because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation now numbers please the book of numbers chapter 20 and verse 6 numbers 20 and 6 and Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly onto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation this is 40 years after the event that we've just been reading in Exodus chapter 17 and they fell upon their faces and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them and the Lord spake unto Moses saying 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 shall bring forth to them water out of the rock so thou shall give the congregation and their beasts drink and Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him 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 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 and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron because ye believe 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 now a new testament commentary please first Corinthians chapter 10 first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 1 of first Corinthians 10 moreover brethren I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea that's the red sea the cloud was evidently over them when they passed through that red sea the water was a wall on either side of them and the cloud were over them and that explains the next expression they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and it all ate the same spiritual meat and it all drank the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ now while you have your bible open it would be good to see that we have divine authority for teaching that the passage through the red sea is a picture of baptism to believers today and you'll notice that the eating of the manna is spiritual food here and the drinking of the water from the rock is spiritual drink and that rock followed them and that rock was Christ and so we have new testament authority for the subject that we're dealing with tonight I think perhaps what I have to say tonight can very easily be put under four simple headings I may not refer to the headings again sometimes preachers only use them for a jumping off place and sometimes we work very hard to get headings and I often wonder why I've been at this getting headings for outlines ever since I've been preaching and many a time I've questioned myself about the wisdom of it I suppose the excuse I have for keeping at it is that when I'm listening to someone else preach and they have no particular outline or order to what they have to say I have the greatest difficulty following it and then I have great difficulty remembering it afterwards that's the reason we try we don't always succeed at it by the way but we try to at least have some order to what we have to say so that you can follow now we've read tonight of an inexcusable rebellion and this is the constant history of these people and we're going to be reminding you likely in the nights to come if the Lord spares us that this is an echo from the heart of every child of God I'm oftentimes amazed at how God displayed his mighty power in delivering these people how quickly they forgot that and how soon they began to charge God with bringing them out into the wilderness to perish and yet in all their rebellion against God I can see the very nature I have within myself and then of course you have an inexhaustible rock that rock followed them this was a miracle I'm not going to try to give you a natural explanation of it I'm not going to tell you it was some kind of a river of water that followed them I'm going to tell you that 1 Corinthians 10 says the rock followed them and I'm just going to leave it there because I believe that we should take the word of God as it's written there are principles of interpretation in the Bible and one of the first laws of interpretation if you're a young Christian here tonight is this if the literal sense makes good sense seek for no other sense and someone has added to that if you do seek for any other sense it'll likely be nonsense and I believe that the literal sense makes good sense the rock followed them and 1 Corinthians 10 leaves us in no doubt about the rock it says that rock was Christ so there was an inexhaustible rock of course there was an indispensable resource they couldn't do without the intercession of Moses there on the mount when Joshua with his sword and with his men of war fought against Amalek and then of course there was an incessant resistance for there was to be war with Amalek from generation to generation now the order of events in the book of Exodus is divine order you know I can't read this Bible a single day of my life without being impressed again and again with the wonder of the word of God I hope that's the way it impresses you I hope that you stand in awe of the word of God and I hope as you read it there's enough of the wonder of it that appears to you so that you're impressed with the fact this is God speaking this is the word of the living God so the order of events in the book of Exodus and in the chapters we've been reading the last couple of nights is divine order in other words Christ died to deliver me from the world that's what Galatians 1 and 4 says he gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age the Lord Jesus died to deliver me from the bondage of this world just as these people were redeemed by blood out of Egypt the death of Christ has affected eternal redemption for me and then Christ died that I might have the Holy Spirit John 7 and verses 38 and 39 tell us that the Holy Spirit was not yet given for Christ was not yet glorified and I'm not going to leave you in any mystery or doubt tonight what I'm going to be preaching about because the water out of that rock is Christ sending the spirit for the need of his people on earth so the water is a type to us of the Holy Spirit of God as John 7 points out Christ had to die for that purpose the Lord Jesus had to die that I might have the Holy Spirit and no sooner did they drink of the water from the rock than Amalek appeared and of course that's that's the order of our experience the flesh lusted against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary the one to the other and it'll always be so dear child of God it will always be so and so you see as soon as they drank from the water that came from the rock they had to contend with the flesh because Amalek as older Christians and as perhaps the most of you know is a picture to us of the fleshly nature that every believer has that gets no better at conversion now one of the reasons for the wilderness experience was that they might learn their own hearts and here we have people rebelling against God they were even going to stone Moses or at least it got so bad that Moses said they were close to it and uh if you know anything about Moses you know he wasn't a man given to exaggeration besides this is the comment of the spirit of God about their actions in fact what they said was is God among us or not I wonder could Christians really get to that place I wonder could children of God today ever come to the place where they'd ask the question is God among us or not in one of the darkest days in Israel's history God raised up Haggai the prophet and Haggai's message was my spirit remaineth among you but these people were going to learn their own hearts in this wilderness you know Mr. C.H. Macintosh made this statement in one of his writings years ago he said if the depravity of the human heart was exposed anywhere but in the presence of divine grace it would drive reason from its throne and I thank God that although God has exposed my heart for what it is he has shown me what I am it's been in the presence of divine grace sovereign grace or sin abounding and while God has showed me the wickedness of my own nature that it's totally corrupt that it's completely sinful and I've learned that more in the almost 36 years I've been saved just how sinful it is but it's been in the presence of divine grace I wonder is there someone in the meeting not saved tonight the only reason God wants to show you your sin is so he can show you his grace my friend the only reason for God ever opening a sinner's eyes to what they are or to where they're going is that he might open their eyes to the great provision he has made to meet their needs I believe that every warning of the Bible regarding hell and the lake of fire every time God warns sinners of the end of their ways every time he brings before them the reality of eternal fire it's a mercy it's a tender mercy it's a mercy from the heart of our God why? so that you will not perish so that you'll be able to appreciate the work of Christ of Calvary now tonight we're speaking about a rock I made this chart last week and I made it very rapidly far too rapidly and when I got back to the back of this hall and look up at this chart I hope your eyes are better than mine because there's quite a few things on it that I can't see from the back of the hall but right here at Rephidim near the place where the man was given the water came from the rock the rock why a rock? well you know that in the old testament for instance in Deuteronomy chapter 32 God is spoken of as the rock of Israel of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful and has forgotten God that formed thee so that would be a familiar term to these Israelites you know in Isaiah chapter 32 in verse 2 you read of a rock spoken of and a man shall be as in hiding place from the wind and a cover from the tempest as rivers of water in a dry place as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land I'm glad of a great rock in a weary land I found a shelter in that great rock and the storm has broken upon the rock in all its fury and I'll never feel the storm I'm hiding in the rock of ages so Isaiah 32 and 2 says a man shall be as a great rock in a weary land a rock spoken of now strange to say in Numbers chapter 20 we read of a rock that was to be spoken to Moses was to speak to the rock that's the way over here on the chart by the way right here Moses was to speak to the rock and the rock would give forth abundantly of its water and we'll come to that again in a moment because that's where Moses failed so that was the rock that was to be spoken to but the Bible has more than that to say about the rock in 2 Samuel 23 you read of a rock that spoke so Isaiah 32 tells us of a rock that was to be spoken to a rock that was spoken of Numbers chapter 20 a rock that was spoken to and 2 Samuel 23 a rock that spoke who is the rock? 1 Corinthians 10 says that rock was Christ so actually they had a shepherd leading them through that wilderness this is perhaps the first time we've come to this directly that rock was Christ they had a leader they had a shepherd Christians can sing from their hearts within complete truth today I am a shepherd one I love so well how he has blessed me tongue can never tell they were being led along in their journeys by a tender shepherd's heart it was the rock you know the rock has three thoughts about it but I want to leave with you just as quickly as I can and if I don't move along tonight I've been well aware today as I've been reading the word of God that I'm certainly not going to be able to cover the material of chapter 17 but I'm going to try to do it if the Lord gives help and very very simply let me tell you that when you think of a rock you think of its strength that's the language the Bible uses about a rock shall the rock be removed out of his place? Job asks no the rock will not be moved many a time I've trembled on the rock but thank God the rock cannot be shaken you remember the man who built his house? the evangelist Luke says he dug deep and he founded it upon the rock the rock for depth the storm, the tempest the floods can never move it it's the rock for strength and I'm on the rock and as I've said I've trembled on the rock but I've never felt a tremor in the rock yet it's never trembled beneath me thank God we have a kingdom which cannot be shaken and so the rock tells me that Christ is the all-powerful one the language of the prophet is in Isaiah 9 and 6 he is the mighty God he's the strong one for his people the Lord Jesus and then of course you think of the rock for durability the rock of ages people are greatly interested today in the age of the rocks and there's a great deal of false intellectualism today our young people are facing this in school in high schools in college and universities why do I call it false intellectualism? because men oftentimes profess to know a great deal that they do not know and if it's something that's against God or against his word it's remarkable how quickly men will swallow anything that seems to be contrary to the word of God I was speaking to some college students lately about the subject of the age of the rocks I'm not going to try to go into that here tonight but you know as well as I do that the geologists claim a history for this earth of five billion years and there are some Christians who say they believe the Bible and believe the Bible account of creation who want to make all that room for the historical geologist and by the way that is historical geology it is not practical geology it's historical geology that deals with origins and there are some Christians who actually want to make allowance for those five billion years of earth history and just where they're going to fit Adam into it I don't know because the same uniformitarian who believes in five billion years of earth history he believes in a billion years of life on earth and he believes at the very minimum at least a million years of the history of man now I'm going to tell you very quickly that although I would talk all this in school and though I had a major in geophysics which is physical geography and geology I do not believe in uniformity I do not believe in an ancient earth I believe in a recently created world and I believe in a recent creation of man in other words I believe the Bible just as it's written and I have never found anything to make me believe otherwise and if some of you feel quite happy about about trying to fit the geologic ages into the into what is called the gap theory between the first and second verse of Genesis 1 if you can fit it in go ahead and fit it but I hardly need to tell you that you're trying to fit something in that is a figment of man's imagination and has no basis in fact whatever you know I sometimes ask young people how do geologists know how old the rocks are? I don't know how I got on this subject but maybe God has this for someone in the meeting tonight just how do they know how old the rocks are? well of course the very first simple answer that sometimes comes to the mind is well they look very old well just how old is a rock supposed to look? but really of course that's not how they tell how old the rocks are they would tell you that they know how old the rocks are by the fossils that are in them the living organisms that have become embedded in that sedimentary rock which covers 70% of the earth's surface and so they tell you that they know the age of the rocks by the fossils that are found in them by the way be very careful about that because it's really only index fossils that they use in other words they just have a certain number of simple fossils that they call index fossils and if anything else disagrees with that particular artificial calendar then of course they throw it out it's like the little lad who told his mother he was nine feet tall and his mother said well how do you know that? oh he said I measured myself well she said what did you use to measure yourself with? well he said I used a ruler well she said let me see it and he brought his little ruler he had made it himself and he had put all the markings on it himself and according to the ruler he really was nine feet tall but it was only his own little measuring stick and you know you might smile at that but perhaps you have more reason to smile than you think how do men know the age of the rocks? by the fossils that are in them well then tell me how do they know the age of the fossils? by the rocks of course that's circle reasoning that would be laughed at in any other field it would be considered a joke but you see this is something that's against God and this atheistic materialistic rationalistic philosophy of the 20th century has left us with a lawless world and the fear of God gone from the hearts of men and much of it can be traced to so-called scientific theories that are supposed to be contrary to God's divine revelation I was very interested and I'll stop for a moment and tell you this just last year there was a story in the newspapers in this country about a skull that was dug up in the Mississippi Delta a dredging machine was doing some work in the filth of the delta and this human skull was exposed immediately of course the paleontologists and the anthropologists were glad of the find and they took it to a university there in the southern United States and they used their radioactive digging upon it and all their scientific methods and after a good bit of study and learned discussion about this skull they came to the conclusion that it was 57,000 years old not 50 mind you that's two round of a figure oh they're much more accurate than that 57,000 years old of course I must tell you that so far as geology is concerned that that is only like yesterday that is man's geology however the skull was supposed to be 57,000 years old they'd even proved it by radioactive digging after all who's going to argue against a scientific tool like that so the dredging machine went on digging and within another week or two it dug up something else it happened to be a board it was fossilized it had turned into stone and when they examined the board they found engraving on it and when they turned it over to the scientists they had slightly red faces the board was the gunwale of a Kentucky flatboat and it had been found much deeper than the skull that was supposed to be 57,000 years old and finally when they revised their estimates they considered that the skull was really the skull of a white man who died about 200 years ago you know I know a lot of people are interested in the age of the rock I'm far more interested in the rock of ages and here in the wilderness God provided a rock and that rock was to meet the need of these dear people it was durable the rock of ages it tells me that Christ is the everlasting one from everlasting to everlasting thou art God the Bible tells us about creation that it will all wax old as a garment and as a vesture it shall be folded up and I'm reminded of that every day that I live in a creation that's getting old like a garment the very fact that it's getting old tells me that it had a youth but it's getting old and God's about ready to fold it up an old man in France many many years ago hundred years ago he was a brilliant man in his day his name was Burchelt and he made this statement he said when men have cracked the secret of the atom and learned to harness its power it seems to me that God Almighty will come down with the great ring of keys in his hand and he'll say to man gentlemen it's closing time we're getting ready to wind up I believe it my friend it all shall wax oldest of the garment and as a vesture thou shall fold it up we're just about getting near the folding up time are you not saved tonight are you in your sins I wouldn't be in your place for a million worlds thank God for solid certain absolute truth based upon the solid rock of holy scripture the rock is known for its durability Christ is the everlasting one the rock is known for its elevation and you know the word in exodus 17 is a little rock and the word the word in numbers 20 is a high rock so you see Christ is the exalted one so I learned those three things about the rock very simply I learned first of all that Christ is the strong one I learned that he's the everlasting one and I learned of course that he's the exalted one the humiliation of Bethlehem is exodus 16 last night we were speaking about the manna being given the manna that came down from heaven upon the dew of the desert that's Christ coming down in wondrous grace to meet the need of guilty sinners that's exodus 16 isn't it remarkable that exodus 17 is the sufferings of the cross you see God is perfect in his order I'm ashamed lots of times that I've read through scriptures and I've read chapter after chapter after chapter I never even never even heard what God was saying to me in it I'm ashamed of that I believe that we should try to go in for a careful reading of the word of God because there's wondrous truth here that we often miss and it isn't that deep and difficult it's only there if we look for it so exodus 16 is the one who came down in grace and mercy to sinners exodus 17 is the sufferings of the cross for of course the rock is smitten that's the great truth of exodus chapter 17 now the rock was smitten by the rod of Moses the rod in his hand had been the symbol of judgment in the land of Egypt he had stretched that rod over the red sea and the waters had closed in on the armies of pharaoh and destroyed them and now it's the same rod in his hand the symbol of judgment the first time that rod is mentioned it turns to a serpent reminds me of a curse and so Moses that day he goes to the rock and he has the rod in his hand that speaks of the judgment of God the Lord himself was to stand upon the rock we read that in verse chapter 17 and verse 6 of exodus 17 behold I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb and thou shalt smite the rock God was there when the rock was smitten well I enjoyed that today God was there when the rock was smitten you know what it reminded me of Isaiah 53 and verse 4 smitten of God and afflicted when the rock was smitten there at Calvary God was there the rod of judgment was there and the savior cries I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath he hath led me and brought me into darkness and not into light surely against me is his hand turned he turned his hand against me all the day the Lord Jesus felt the rod of the wrath of God but notice the condition of the people to whom this water was given in exodus 17 it says Moses was to strike the rock and the water was to gush out the rock was smitten at Calvary there the Lord Jesus was smitten that makes it clear enough to you I don't want anybody to mistake what I'm saying I can't stand it when men get on the platform and use language that just makes it more difficult to understand and if I do that I hope you'll tell me after the meeting the idea of ministering the word of God or preaching the gospel is to make it as simple as you can and if the man doesn't make it simple it's his fault the Lord Jesus was smitten at the cross by the rod of God's judgment who smote him? God smote him smitten for me there at Calvary why? so that the waters could rush out to meet the need of a thirsty people and these people were in what kind of a condition? they were rebelling they were murmuring they were saying is God among us or not they were going to stone the man that God had used to bring them out of Egypt what a condition they were in and listen here's sovereign grace if ever I thought when Moses smote the rock the water gushed out it says in verse 6 behold I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb and thou shalt smite the rock and there shall come water out of the rock that the people may drink there's a movement around us today in the religious world and they claim it's the fastest growing religious organization in America it's called Pentecostalism it's the fastest growing denominational organization in America this system professes that you get the spirit of God when you're in the right condition by prayer by self-emptying by what they call praying through going through days and sometimes weeks and months of great soul affliction and finally if God finds you a worthy vessel then you receive the Holy Spirit as a second blessing after salvation how contrary Exodus 17 is to that here were a people what kind of state were they in a state of rebellion they were in anything but a spiritual condition they were carnal and fleshly and murmuring against God and blaming God for their troubles and of such a people God gave the water that water is the Holy Spirit the New Testament teaches us that very very clearly the Holy Spirit is given you see 1 Corinthians chapter 10 says that all drank of that spiritual rock they all did and in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 13 it says for by one spirit were ye all baptized into one body whether ye be Jews or Gentiles whether ye be bond or free and listen have all been made to drink into one spirit 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 13 all what were the Corinthians like carnal carnal babes there was envy among them and whenever you get envy you get strife and whenever you get strife you get division and go back the other way and it's still true division strife envy it's the divine order that's given to us in scripture of man's rebellion here were a people in Corinth were they fit were they exercised were they in the right condition to receive some particular blessing no and yet every one of them every single one of them had been made to drink into that self-same spirit so don't try to tell me that the Spirit of God is given as some condition in the life of the believer the Holy Spirit is a blessed gift the Holy Spirit is a divine guest and the moment I was saved he came to dwell within me and thank God for his grace and his gentleness oh he's a gentle guest and I've often grieved him in thought and word and deed I've often grieved his holy person he is a person you know you can't have more or less of the Holy Spirit he's a person you can't have more or less of a person you either have the Holy Spirit or you don't and if you don't have the Holy Spirit you're not saved for Romans 8 and verse 9 says if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his but it has often been pointed out that the Holy Spirit can have more or less of me to be filled with the Spirit means that he controls me in every part he fills every part of my being every part of my life I wonder how much the Spirit has of me I know I have the Holy Spirit a divine person a gentle blessed holy guest but how much does he have of me he yearns for the whole man he's not content with just half a heart and I'm afraid sometimes that's all he gets from us half a heart now 40 years later in Numbers 20 they were at the rock again it says in 1 Corinthians 10 that rock followed them so through all those 38 years of wandering the rock followed them but why is it in Numbers 20 that there's no water the condition of the people has been so bad they've been so far from God they've been so rebellious that the water has dried up from the rock and so God tells Moses now to go to the rock and Moses is to speak to the rock now the word that's used for the rock over here is a different word than is used for the rock over here this is a low rock a flinty rock the word that's used for a rock here is a high rock so this rock is Christ smitten at Calvary this rock is Christ exalted and seated at the right hand of the majesty on high now you see the difference do you see why Moses was to smite that rock and yet he was to speak to that rock ne'er again shall God Jehovah smite the shepherd with a sword ne'er again shall cruel sinners set it not our glorious Lord in Exodus 17 the elders were present but in Numbers 20 the whole congregation were present in Exodus 20 it was Moses own rod which spoke of judgment but in Numbers chapter 20 it was the rod of the Lord that came from the tabernacle it was Aaron's rod the rod of the priest in Exodus 17 Aaron is not mentioned whereas in Numbers 20 Moses is told distinctly to take Aaron with him and to go to the rock and that Aaron and Moses were to speak to the rock what does it tell me of? it tells me I have a great high priest above and he tends with sweet unwearied care his people here on earth he's there for my infirmity he's there to intercede for me and he carries on an unfinished blessed work in the father's presence and he only has to be spoken to that's all and what did Moses do? he spoiled the type Moses in his anger and Moses had reason to be angry he really did his heart was grieved with a rebellious people and Moses said shall we bring water out of the rocks for ye rebels? and he smote the rock twice it's a serious mistake meekest man in all the earth lost his temper he became angry you know sometimes people say well I don't really have too much in my life you know that's wrong or outwardly wrong anyway I lose my temper once in a while that's about all here's a man and he lost his temper and because of losing his temper the consequences were that he was not allowed to lead Israel into the land of Canaan he smote the rock but listen there's more to it than that Moses spoiled the type God is very careful about types God has a jealous care over these types because you see they were types of his own beloved they were types of Christ I wonder sometimes today when first Corinthians 11 says that a man should have short hair and a woman should have long hair and a woman should have a covering on her head and the angels are looking on and they're seeing in that a picture of divine submission and subjection to the lordship of Christ I wonder what God thinks about when we're rebellious and we disobey his word because when Moses smote the rock it was so serious that in Numbers 20 God said that he would not be allowed to go into the land of Canaan he spoiled the type God help us not to spoil the picture in an assembly of God's people there's a beautiful picture a woman with her long hair and her covered head is a beautiful picture of the church who is subject to Christ don't spoil the picture that's the divine order now there may be some here tonight and that's entirely new to you God will not hold you responsible for what you have not been taught but I would suggest to you if you're going to understand what I'm saying that you read 1 Corinthians 11 where the great subject of headship in creation is being described and where that is seen exemplified in a New Testament gathering of the people of God who gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in a local locality in a particular locality 1 Corinthians 11 has definite teaching telling us that angels are actually beholding the company and seeing in it the divine order so you see God is very careful about his pictures and when men destroy them it grieves the heart of God and yet in Numbers 20 you have a wondrous illustration of sovereign grace Moses smote the rock contrary to the word of God the shepherd can't be smitten twice he was smitten at Calvary he'll never be smitten again but when Moses spoiled the type it says that the water came out abundantly oh the grace of God my dolphin has melted our hearts how oft when wandering far astray his love has hedged up all my way so bid me return and live and learn how much he can forgive Mr. Maxwell and I talked to a man here the other day and I tell you that conversation tore our hearts he's a man who's truly saved there's times when I wondered if he was really saved but I believe he is really saved he's been away from God and God has been dealing with him Christians can get away from God he's been far away but God has been speaking to him he told us that one day he was at his work and a verse came into his mind let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon and he said I just couldn't help but sing to myself who is a pardoning God like thee or who has grace so rich and free God is a pardoning God and in spite of Moses sin the water come out of the rock abundantly to meet the need of the people of God we read in numbers at least in Exodus chapter 17 about the war with Amalek and I'm just going to mention a few things about it because there are only a few minutes left and then I'm going to close Amalek is the flesh the flesh in you and the flesh in me there was already a decline in these people from the time they left Egypt we quoted the other night from Psalm 105 that when they come out of Egypt that there was not a feeble man in their tribes not one but all this time that they were coming down here there was a foe an enemy that was following them by the name of Amalek and in Deuteronomy chapter 25 verses 17 and 19 you read about Amalek that he smote behind most of them and the feeble among them and the faint and the weary there were those who were dragging behind and Amalek snuck along behind the children of Israel and just cut off the stragglers the feeble ones when they come out of Egypt there wasn't any feeble ones didn't take them long to get feeble did it sometimes it's like that with us why it's amazing how quickly it can go down spiritually just let the world get into your heart or into your life or into your home fail to feed upon the word of God fail to feed upon Christ you'll soon get feeble and Amalek will find you an easy victim who's Amalek? Amalek's the flesh in the closing part of Exodus 17 there are four twos given to us there are the two natures Amalek and Israel there's the two intercessors Aaron and Hur and Aaron is a picture of the intercessor above Christ the great intercessor at the father's right hand Hur is a picture to us of the intercessor within us Romans 8 the Holy Spirit of God so there are two great intercessors in Exodus 17 they held up the hands of Moses as Moses prayed for the children of Israel as they were fighting Amalek down there in the valley with the sword of Joshua what's the sword of Joshua? the word of God now here's the picture Moses is up in the mountain these chosen men of Israel are down in the valley fighting with Amalek and Joshua is leading them Moses on the mount what's he a picture of? oh you say a picture of Christ no no no I don't believe it I've heard men say that but I didn't agree with them for one moment Moses is not a picture of Christ here at the close of Exodus 17 if you ask me why I'll tell you when he was ascending up to heaven he led his own out as far as to Bethany and he lifted up his hands and he blessed them and those hands have never grown weary they're still raised in blessing over his blessed people but the hands of Moses grew weary because Moses is not a picture of Christ Moses here is a picture of the believer as he cries to God for deliverance from the flesh so you see it took Aaron and her to help hold up his hands it took the divine intercessor above and the intercessor within my we have everything going for us that's a worldly expression but perhaps you'll understand that better than some other we have everything going for us we have the divine work of Christ in heaven we have the Holy Spirit of God within us there are two weapons here there's the spirit and there's the words and there are two results there was immediate victory they were able to the word that's used in Exodus 17 is they were able to discomfort Amalek well I'm always glad when Amalek gets discomfited the flesh the old nature when he gets discomfited he wasn't defeated completely because he was to dog the footsteps of Israel all their days there was to be war with Amalek from generation to generation will we ever be done with the flesh you say well we're having an awful battle with it lots of times now you know the flesh is sinful and the new nature is sinless the flesh is of course completely opposed to anything that's glorifying to God it's entirely different than the new nature God didn't change my heart when I got saved why you'll say you know that sounds like something strange no it's not strange God did not change my nature when I got saved he gave me a new nature a divine nature now I have two natures I have Amalek and I have the new divine nature I've got both of them and the warfare is constant and as long as there's Moses there to hold up his hands and earn and her to sustain them there'll be victory over Amalek will we ever be will we ever have the victory over Amalek yes we will that's what that banner means Jehovah Nisa that banner tells me that the time's coming when I'm going to have the final victory over the flesh the Lord is my banner when is it going to be when I see him when I'm raptured away from earth into his own blessed presence and I'll be able to say goodbye old flesh forever I'm glad the warfare's ended and old Amalek the words of the close of Exodus 17 is that the Lord would utterly blot out the very memory of Amalek I'm glad of that I can rejoice in that and go on home to heaven knowing that someday the battle for the flesh will be won let us pray