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Why Was Moses Disciplined For Striking The Rock Twice, Numbers 20 Vs Exodus 17
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Feb 19, 2025
It has often been said that the New Testament is in the Old concealed and the Old is in the New revealed. Such is the case with two accounts recorded for us in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. Today I want to compare and contrast those two passages with the sole purpose of understanding why Moses was denied entrance into the land of Canaan.
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hello good morning this is taiva
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times.com and today we are going to be
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looking at on the old testament i know
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i've been studying the book of hebrews
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but i just wanted to take a quick detour
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and look at a significant uh significant
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passage in on the old testament it is
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often said
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by a lot of people that the old is in
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the new revealed and the new is in the
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old concealed and this is so true
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because when you go and read certain
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passages there is so much truths that we
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see
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that are explained in the new testament
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oftentimes jesus himself will quote a
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certain passage when he talked about he
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is the true bread of bread from heaven
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and he was looking at the instance in in
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the old testament where god brought the
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manna and jesus refers to himself as the
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man and the true man
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and then paul and
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and the the apostles they quote a
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scripture from the old testament to
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explain what those passages meant
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so
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this is the case for on exodus 17 and
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numbers 20.
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we read in those passages
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an important event that happened that's
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when the people of israel are in the
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wilderness the desert and there's no
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water and on one occasion god tells
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moses to use his staff to strike a rock
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and then water will come out of it and
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then on another occasion when god and
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tells moses to speak to the rock to
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yield its water and moses doesn't really
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obey the instructions and he strikes the
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rock twice and then he is uh disciplined
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by god tells moses you are not going to
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enter the promised land because you
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disobeyed me we're going to go into
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details about it so now
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the question today is
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why
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was moses disciplined
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for striking the rock twice you know i
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can give you the superficial answer but
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i think it is feeling that we go deep
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into it and understand the significance
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of this so what i'm going to do is i'm
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going to read
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both accounts and then we're going to do
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a compare and contrast of both and to
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try and draw some conclusions and then
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we're going to lean on on paul's
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explanation in first corinthians 10 so
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the first thing we want to do is let's
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read the account so we're going to go to
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exodus 17
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i'm going to put it up on the screen
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we're going to read it and then we're
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going to go to numbers 20 we're going to
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see the contrast there and then we're
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going to draw some conclusions
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so let's go to exodus 17 verse 1 through
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7.
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i'm gonna read
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okay all the congregation
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of the people of israel moved on from
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the wilderness of sin by stages
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according to the commandment of the lord
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and came that referendum but there was
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no water for the people to drink
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therefore the people quarreled with
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moses and said
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give us water to drink
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and moses said to them
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why do you quarrel with me why do you
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test the lord but if people thirsted
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there for water and the people grumbled
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against moses and said
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why did you bring us up out of egypt to
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kill us and our children and our
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livestock with thirst so moses cried to
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the lord
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and said what shall i do with these
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people they are almost ready to stone me
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and the lord said to moses
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pass on before the people take him with
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you some somewhat some of the elders of
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israel and take in your hand the staff
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with which you struck the nile and go
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behold i will stand before you there on
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the rock at whole wrath and you shall
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strike the rock and water shall come out
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of it and the people will drink and
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moses did so in the sight of the elders
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of israel and he called the name of the
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place masa and miriba because of the
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quarreling of the people of israel and
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because this tested the lord by saying
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is the lord among us or not
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again this is a recurring thing with on
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the people of israel they complain
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when the uh they run into a little bit
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of a situation when god tests them and
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they begin to complain and say to moses
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we should have just gone back to egypt
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we should have just stayed there and
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moses keeps entertaining before the
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before garden for the people and then
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every time
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moses intercedes
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god uh brings brings upon
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the people some kind of a salvation some
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kind of a relief okay in this case they
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didn't what they didn't have water
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instead of asking god by humbling
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themselves they quarreled and they
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actually wanted to kill moses and then
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moses goes before god and god gives him
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some instruction he does it and water
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comes out of the rock so now this is the
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event again i'll just give you quickly a
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quick synopsis of it
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because we can go deep into this but
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this is not what we are trying to focus
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on and then in numbers 20
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verse
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2
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to 9 to 13 we read the following
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again this is in a later time
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now there was no water for the
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congregation and they assembled
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themselves together against moses and
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against aaron and the people again
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quarreled with moses and said
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with that we had perished when our
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brothers perished before the lord why
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have you brought the assembly of the
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lord into the wilderness that we shall
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die here
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both we and our karo and why have you
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made us come up out of egypt to bring us
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into this evil place it is no place for
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grain or figs or vines or pomegranates
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and there is no water to drink then
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moses and aaron went from the presence
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of the assembly to the entrance of the
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tent of meeting and fell on their faces
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and the glory of the lord appeared to
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them
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and the lord spoke to moses saying
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take the staff
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and assemble the congregation you and
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aaron your brother and tell the rock
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tell the rock before their eyes to yield
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its water so he shall drink water out of
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the rock for them and give drink to the
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congregation and their karo and moses
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took the staff from before the lord as
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he commanded him
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then moses and aaron gathered the
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assembly together before the rock and he
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said to them here now you rebels shall
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we bring water for you out of this rock
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and moses lifted up his hand and struck
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the rock
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with his staff twice and water came out
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abundantly and the congregation drank
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and their livestock
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and the lord said to moses and aaron
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because he did not believe in me
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to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the
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people of israel therefore you shall not
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bring the assembly into the land i have
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given them
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these are the walrus of meribah where
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the people of israel quarreled with the
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lord and through them he showed himself
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holy
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again these are the two accounts now we
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need to understand why moses was
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disciplined
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okay
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now i want to zero in on
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verse 12 for a second
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in verse 12 we read the following
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and the lord said to moses and aaron
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because you did not believe in me
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to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the
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people of israel therefore you shall not
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bring this assembly into the land that
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i've given them so what's the
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observation
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now first we need to understand that the
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command was to speak to the rock
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and to tell it to yield its water
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but as we see in the verse above that i
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just read god was displeased with moses
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because he did not believe in god he
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displayed unbelief
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and as a result instead of doing what
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god said to do moses trusted in his own
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ability and the scripture adds that
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moses didn't uphold god as holy in the
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eyes of the people of israel it was a
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serious offense
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and we need to know why
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because
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there's a similar event that took place
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in exodus 17 and in exodus 17 we see
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that in that case
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moses actually strikes the iraq as
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instructed by god
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and then water comes out okay now but in
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numbers 20 the instruction is to speak
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to the rock so it can yield its water
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see the rock had already been struck
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once in exodus 17 and that was
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sufficient in the eyes of the lord
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in the eyes of god
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that was sufficient because
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moses struck him once and that was
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sufficient so all god said was just
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speak to it so he can yield its water
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okay so this is why god told moses to
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speak to the rock so he can yield his
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water because he was already struck once
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but moses according to the scripture did
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not believe the word of god and chose to
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strike the rock not once but twice
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this is what i think happens
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i think happened he probably went there
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and struck it once and didn't happen and
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he did it again okay so
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this is crazy stuff so god would have
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been justified in killing moses
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instantly before the eyes of the people
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for disobeying his word or command
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but he disciplined him instead by not
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allowing him to go into the promised
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land okay we might look at it say this
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is harsh punishment why would god do
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that
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the scripture says because you did not
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believe in me and uphold me as holy
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before the people now
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when you do um scripture interpretation
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it's good to stick with the context
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because this is what we are given okay
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moses did not obey the word of god he
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did not keep the word of god and he did
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not uphold him as holy before the people
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now we need to understand a little
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deeper what this means
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and what was so significant about the
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rock that god was so displeased with
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moses when he struck it twice in the
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second account so we need to know that
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and to understand i want to go to uh
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first corinthians 10 verse 1 to 5.
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let's read the scripture now listen to
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what paul says for i don't want you to
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be unaware brothers the our fathers were
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all under the cloud and all passed
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through the sea
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and all were baptized into moses in the
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cloud and in the sea and all ate the
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same spiritual food
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and all drank the same spiritual drink
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for they drank from the spiritual the
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spiritual rock that followed them
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and the rock was christ
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nevertheless with most of them god was
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not pleased for they were overthrown in
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the wilderness now you see that
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they drank
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from the same spiritual rock
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and the rock was christ so according to
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the apostle paul whose interpret
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interpretation of the old testament is
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accurate the rock was christ so we
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understand that the rock was a picture
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of christ so when moses was instructed
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to strike the rock so that the water
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will come out of it
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you represent it again you represented
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the sacrificial death of christ on the
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cross okay to serve as the atonement for
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our sins and also that is and also so
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that the spirit of god will be poured
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upon those god has called okay so the
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first time that was a representation of
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jesus sacrificed okay god struck him
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again he said
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he he took the penalty for our sins okay
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for god so loved the world that he gave
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his only begotten son that whosoever
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believes in him should not perish but
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have eternal life and jesus himself said
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in john 12 32 to 33 and i when i'm
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lifted up from the earth will draw all
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people to myself and he said this to
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show
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uh what kind of death he was going to
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die okay i also want to go to hebrews
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chapter 7 verse 26 to 28 because he
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sheds a lot of light into these passages
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let's listen to what the scripture says
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for it was indeed feeling that we should
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have such a high priest
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holy
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innocent unstained separated from
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sinners and exalted above the heavens he
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has no need
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like those high priests
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to or to offer sacrifices daily first
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for his own sins and then for those of
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the people since he did it
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once
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for all when it's offered of himself
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once for all pay attention to those
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words for the law appoints men in their
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weakness as high priest but the word of
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the oath which came later than the law
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appoint a son who has been made perfect
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forever that's not the only scripture i
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want to look at i also want to look at
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hebrews 9
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verse 11 to 14. let's listen to the
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scripture here
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but when christ appeared as a high
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priest of the good things that have come
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then through the greater and more
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perfect tent not made with hand that is
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not
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that is not of this creation he entered
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once for all into the holy places not by
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means of the blood of god and calves but
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by means of his own blood thus securing
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an eternal redemption for if the blood
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of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of
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defied persons with the ashes of a
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heifer sanctify for the purification of
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the flesh how much more will the blood
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of christ who through the eternal spirit
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offer themselves without blemish to god
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purify our conscience from dead works to
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serve the living god
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and that's not the only thing that i
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want to look at in hebrews chapter 9.
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there's also another scripture that i
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wanna give you and then we're gonna draw
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on some conclusions here 24 and 27
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listen to the word of god hebrews 9
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verse 24 and 27 for christ has entered
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not into holy places made with hands
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which are copies of the true things but
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into heaven itself now to appear in the
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presence of god on our behalf
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nor was it to offer himself repeatedly
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as the high priest enters the holy
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places every year with blood not of his
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own for then he would have had to suffer
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repeatedly since the foundation of the
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world but as it is he has appeared
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once for all at the end of the ages to
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put away sin by the sacrifice of himself
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and just as it is appointed for men to
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die once and after that comes judgment
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so christ having been offered once to
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bear the sins of many will appear a
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second time not to deal with sin but to
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save those who are eagerly waiting for
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him and then we're going to conclude
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this with hebrews 10 verse 11 to 14
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and every high priest
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stands daily at his service offering
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repeatedly the same sacrifices we can
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never take away sins but when christ had
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offered for all time a single sacrifice
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for sins he sat down at the right hand
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of god waiting for that time until his
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enemies should be made a footstool for
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his feet for by a single offering he has
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perfected for all time
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those who are being
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sanctified so what is so significant
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about this let's go back to exodus 17.
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see i want you to see the the
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significance in exodus 17 and numbers 20
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through the verses that we just read
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okay as we agreed the rock is a
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representation of christ so the first
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time moses was told to strike the rock
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thus given later generations a picture
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of the world
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the work of christ okay who suffered
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only once and whose death was sufficient
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okay to perfect all those who approach
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god through him
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okay so we are told in john 7 37-39 on
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the last day of the feast the great day
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the great day jesus stood up and cried
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if anyone thirsts
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if anyone thirsts let him come to me and
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drink whoever believes in me as the
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scripture has said out of his heart will
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flow rivers of living water now this is
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said about the spirit whom those who
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believed in him were to receive for as
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yet the spirit had not just yet been
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given jesus was not yet glorified
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so basically
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when moses struck that rock once
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it was almost a representation of what
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kind of death jesus was going to die he
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only died once and that was sufficient
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when he died on the cross he said it is
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finished
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okay and the veil was torn from top to
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bottom and that was done so jesus didn't
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have to die again and again and again he
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didn't have to do that just like the
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lames the lames had to be sacrificed
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over and over and scripture says that
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god was not pleased with that sacrifice
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but with jesus sacrificial death he was
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pleased this is why he raised him from
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the dead
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therefore saying i am pleased with this
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so jesus rose again not to die again and
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again and again and again so when moses
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hit that rock the second time
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twice he was basically distorting the
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picture that god was going to give to
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the later generations moses might not
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have understood the significance of it
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but god knows because god is the author
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of scripture so god knew exactly what he
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was trying to paint to the people so
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moses
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being moses at the time said you know
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what the first time i hit the rock and
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water came i'm gonna do it again there
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was an instruction
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god said speak
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to
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the rock and tell it to yield its water
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now the rock can yield its water because
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the wrath of god was satisfied so
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there's no longer a holding on to things
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because the wrath of god has been
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satisfied so god now said
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you can come come to me all you will
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thirst and i'll give you rest
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you found red for your souls okay jesus
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says ask and it shall be given to you in
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the beginning
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before jesus died
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the wrath of god was standing and then
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because he died once and for all he made
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provision for us and now we can come
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into the presence of god through him so
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by moses
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doing that again
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striking the rock twice he was showing
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almost as if the sacrifice of christ was
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not sufficient
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so this is why god was so displeased
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with moses and he told them you are not
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going to enter the promised land because
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you have no idea what you have just done
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i don't think moses knew the
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implications i don't think he did
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because again they were just giving a
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glimpse of what was going to happen they
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didn't know the fool didn't have the
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full revelation when jesus came he made
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all things complete
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so now you see why moses was severely
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disciplined by god for not believing in
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him and upholding him as holy before the
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people basically by striking it twice it
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was almost saying that jesus sacrificial
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death wasn't sufficient
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that he needed to be done again and
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again but god was pleased all jesus had
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to do was died once and for all and that
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pleased god because the the death of
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christ was of an infinite value
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so moses was sending a distorted message
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to later generations as if to say that
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jesus sacrifice wasn't sufficient and
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adequate in that jesus needed to be
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sacrificed again and again and i don't
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think like i said moses understood
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the implication
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so god showed him grace he didn't just
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kill moses on the spot
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he said you are not going to enter
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because you had just you had just
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pretty much defiled um
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the work of christ you had
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you have adulterated it
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and and and and that was displeasing to
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god because moses trusted in himself he
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didn't trust in the work of
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in the word of the lord
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the god said speak to the rock and he
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will yield its water because my wrath
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has been satisfied already when i struck
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my son once it was sufficient for all
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eternity
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you see that
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so i believe um hopefully this makes
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sense to you
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and again i just
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uh studied it this morning so this is
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why i was a little bit uh
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all over the places but i hope that this
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helps you guys out and i look forward
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again to seeing you next time have a
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wonderful day
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