Water in the Wilderness
Water imagery is everywhere in the Bible. It shows up in the very first chapter (“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” – Genesis 1:2), it’s in the very last chapter (“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life…” – Revelation 22:1), and it’s mentioned hundreds of times in between.
In the same way it bookends the entire Bible, water bookends the wilderness journey of the ancient Israelites. They cross the Red Sea on their way out of Egypt in Exodus 14, and they cross the Jordan River on their way into the Promised Land in Joshua 3. Between those two water crossings, God provided for his people over and over again, including water.
One of the most striking examples is in Exodus 17. We’re told that God led them to camp at a place called Rephidim, “but there was no water for the people to drink.” This is still very early on in their wilderness wanderings, and for some reason, God leads them to a place with no water. Why would he do that? Didn’t he know they needed water? Of course he did. He tells Moses to pass before the people, take his staff, strike the rock, and water would come pouring out. The people drank from the water and were saved from death. It’s an incredible example of God’s abundant provision for his wayward people. God intentionally led them to a waterless place so that they would see his power and learn to trust him to meet their needs.
While that’s an incredible story, and definitely useful to us as an example, the Apostle Paul tells us it actually means even more than that. In 1 Corinthians 10:4, talking about Exodus 17, Paul says plainly, “the Rock was Christ.” The implications of this simple statement are staggering. It means that while the rock was indeed a literal, physical rock that literal, physical water came out of, it was simultaneously a signpost, a symbol, and a promise pointing forward to Jesus.
Several times in the New Testament, Jesus uses water imagery to show us why he came to the earth. In John 4, Jesus told the woman at the well that he could give her “living water” that would become “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In John 7, he proclaims to a crowd, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” And in Revelation 7:17, we learn that Jesus, the Lamb, “will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The Bible’s message is clear: In the same way your physical body thirsts for physical water, your soul is dying of thirst for spiritual water, and that water only has one Source. Come to Jesus. Like a wanderer in the desert finding an oasis. Like a deer longing for a stream. Come to Jesus. He pours cool water on the thirsty soul, without payment and without price.
Water from the rock in the wilderness satisfied the Israelites for a little while, but they got thirsty again, and eventually died. But the living water from Christ our Rock never runs out, never fails, and never disappoints. Are you facing a “waterless place” in your life right now? You’re not alone. Call out to God. Ask him to meet you there. Drink deeply from the Spring of living water he has already provided. He loves to meet your needs.
And [Jesus] said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Revelation 21:6)
Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:17)