The Sweetness Of Christ

by D. Smith, Lerwick | Category: General | Feb 1969

"He should feed them also with the finest of the wheat:

and with honey out of the rock should I satisfy thee" (Psalm 81.16).

When Israel thirsted at Meribah, they strove with Moses and he very wisely cried unto the LORD who said to him, "Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, ... 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" (Exodus 17.5,6). Paul tells us that they "did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10.4). The rock at Horeb was evidently a type of the Christ whom God in a future day would send to His people Israel, but because of their unbelief and hardness of heart He would be to them a "stone of stumbling and a rock of offence" whom they would esteem stricken; smitten of God' and afflicted". As truly as Moses smote the rock with his rod, so would God smite His Son, once, with the rod of His wrath. It was at this part of the prefiguration that Moses on another occasion, sorely distressed by the rebellion of the people, made his regrettable mistake, marring the portrayal of the Cross, and failing to sanctify the LORD in the eyes of the people. For when the people thirsted on the second occasion, the LORD said, "Take the rod ... and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water," but "Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice" (Numbers 20.8-11). The Christ would never be smitten twice, once only would He be offered to bear the sins of many.

Although the Lord Jesus was rejected by Israel, yet to believing Jews and Gentiles who recognize Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," He is the Rock upon whom the Church which is His Body is being built. Through divine grace every believer is a member of that Church and being eternally linked with Christ can never be expelled from it, neither through weakness of the flesh nor by the power of hell, for He is also "the Saviour of the Body" (Ephesians 5.23).

How rightly the Christian in his sojourn through life can affirm "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer: My God, my strong rock, in Him will I trust" (Psalm 18.2)! In this evil day of change and uncertainty when men bewail the absence of peace and rest it is still the privilege of every believer to experience and enjoy by faith the strength and refuge of the LORD.

Much bitterness exists in the lives of men and women today, and alas, all too often the lives of little children are also affected by the piercing chill of sin. In contrast to this, there is a sweetness in the Rock which every Christian may fully enjoy, even in affliction and distress. The sustaining sweetness of Christ can be a real and refreshing fragrance to the soul that lays firm hold upon Him, who, as our Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, is not unaffected by the feeling of our infirmities, but having passed through this world Himself, has acquired a complete knowledge of all our need (Hebrews 4.14,15). The sweetness of Christ is even more than a balm, it is the one thing which satisfies the inward desire of the human heart. While the unsaved man can never find the sweetness of Christ satisfying to his desire, yet the believer who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit can obtain complete satisfaction to the heart and mind by eating of the honey in the Rock. We can develop our acquaintance with Christ by feeding upon the Scriptures and constantly engaging in private prayer; and this will enable us to manifest our love to Him by keeping His commandments. Those who love Him, enjoy the most satisfying experience available to the human heart for such "shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him"; "if a man love Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him" (John 14.21-23).

The delight of the honey which lies in the rock is particularly pleasant on a Lord's day morning when we gather around the emblems at the Remembrance, and have our hearts exercised to discern the all-worthy One of whom it is said, "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips: therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever" (Psalm 45.2).

The Scriptures have predicted, "In the last days ... men shall be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God". Today, as never before, men are reaching forth in a wild pursuit after the pleasures of this world, which are only for a season. King Solomon, who tasted much of the pleasures of this world, testified to their unsatisfying substance when he said, "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man" (Proverbs 21.17).

Surely God would warn His own regarding the danger of worldly pleasure with its many subtle but sinister temptations. May God give us grace to see in their right perspective "the things of God" and "the things of men", and like Moses, choose "rather to be evil entreated with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11.25), ever finding satisfaction in the sweetness of Christ, the honey in the rock.

D. Smith, Lerwick | Feb 1969
General