horsch@cs.ubc.ca (Michael Horsch) (05/18/91)
In article <May.10.23.10.45.1991.27055@athos.rutgers.edu> jhaynes@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes: : :Exodus 17:1-7 [...] : This is the first account of where Moses was instructed to bring water from :the rock by striking the rock. : :Numbers 20:1-13 [...] : Here the people were in the Desert of Zin and Moses was instructed to : speak to the rock. But in his anger he struck the rock and brought the : judgment of God upon him. The blessing of the rock still flowed out : because the blessings from God are not restricted to the obedience of our : teachers. : :1 Cor 10:4 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from : the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was : Christ. (NIV) The "spiritual rock" of which Paul speaks need not be the rock which Moses struck in the stories you mention. It could very well be the covenant God made with the Israelites. Even the rock which Moses struck can be interpreted as a covenant: a promise for salvation. And didn't Moses have to go back up the mountain because he smashed the first version of the commandments in anger? Another strike to the "rock". (This reminds me of a cartoon I saw: Moses, holding a tablet which states "Thank you for not sinning", says something like "I think you're going to have to be more explicit than this." Anyway, I liked it...) :In His Hands, : :Joel Mike (just ask me) -- Michael C. Horsch Department of Computer Science horsch@cs.ubc.ca University of British Columbia
tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) (05/23/91)
In article <May.18.00.49.05.1991.2976@athos.rutgers.edu> horsch@cs.ubc.ca (Michael Horsch) writes: >Even the rock which Moses struck can be interpreted as a covenant: >a promise for salvation. And didn't Moses have to go back up the >mountain because he smashed the first version of the commandments >in anger? Another strike to the "rock". I recently read a book entitled "The Bible as History". (If I recall correctly that was the title. It apparantly was a translation of a book written in German.) In any case, the author claims that water from a stone is quite possible in that region, and is a fairly well known phenonmenon. Let me see if I can remember the explanation. Start with a stone with a slowly flowing spring. Mineral deposits build up as the water evaporates. Eventually, the deposits block the spring entirely. Strike this stone (for instance with a shovel) the deposits break off, the spring is uncovered, and water flows from the stone. If there's enough interest, I'll bring in the book, and get the actual explanation. Tom Blake SUNY-Binghamton
jclark@sdcc6.ucsd.edu (John Clark) (05/26/91)
[Thomas Blake responded to a comment about Moses striking a rock and geting water. He referred to "The Bible as History", saying that the author claims that water from a stone is quite possible in that region, and is a fairly well known phenonmenon. --clh] But this does not explain why Moses was rebuked by the Diety when he struck a rock a second time to get water rather than speaking to it as he was told to do. -- John Clark jclark@ucsd.edu