{"id":87599,"date":"2025-06-07T17:32:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T22:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=87599"},"modified":"2025-06-07T17:32:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T22:32:13","slug":"why-would-god-have-moses-strike-the-rock-one-time-and-not-the-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-would-god-have-moses-strike-the-rock-one-time-and-not-the-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Why would God have Moses strike the rock one time and not the next?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Dear Brother Jeffrey,<\/p>\n

I have a question and would appreciate your insights. In Exodus 17, God commanded Moses to smite the rock for water, and then in Numbers 20, He commanded Moses to speak unto the rock for water. We know that Moses smote the rock in Exodus; he did the same in Numbers, smote the rock twice. Due to disobedience, he did not enter the promised land. My questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Is there any explanation in the Bible why God would have Moses strike the rock in the first instance (Exodus), and then speak to the rock on the second occasion (Numbers)?<\/li>\n
  2. Does it appear that Moses was also showing frustration or stress with the children of Israel, resulting in his striking the rock instead of speaking to it?<\/li>\n
  3. Is I Corinthians 10:1-4 making metaphorical linkage between Christ and the rock in Exodus and Numbers? If so, and the rock is Christ Himself, was Moses punished because of disrespecting Christ, or purely for not complying with the exact command of God?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t

    Answer:<\/h2>\n

    God did not tell us why He gave different commands in the two situations. However, we are told why Moses and Aaron were punished. See “Why did Moses strike the rock twice and what was Aaron’s participation?<\/a>“<\/p>\n

    Moses was definitely annoyed with the Israelites.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The Israelites had assembled to oppose Moses and Aaron (Numbers 20:2).<\/li>\n
    2. They argued with Moses, claiming that they would have been better off dead (Numbers 20:3).<\/li>\n
    3. Before striking the rock, Moses called the people “rebels” (Numbers 20:10).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What I can’t answer is whether this was the cause of Moses changing God’s command.<\/p>\n

      Emphasis should be on the metaphorical connection. In two instances of the wilderness wanderings, first near the beginning of the journey and the second near the end, God provided water from a rock. Jesus is the source of living water for his followers (John 4:10,13-14). Thus, in the world that is parched from a lack of righteousness, Jesus becomes our refreshing source that sustains and renews us. Multiple rocks are in the account, but Paul said the Rock (singular) was Jesus. Paul also said that the Rock followed the Israelites. In other words, Jesus was with the Israelites during their journey, helping and sustaining them. The point in I Corinthians 10 is that the Israelites had similar advantages to Christians, yet they failed to follow God despite God’s aid.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Question: Dear Brother Jeffrey, I have a question and would appreciate your insights. In Exodus 17, God commanded Moses to smite the rock for water, and then in Numbers 20, He commanded Moses to speak unto the rock for water. We know that Moses smote the rock in Exodus; he did the same in Numbers,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[485,54],"class_list":["post-87599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-moses","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21114,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-moses-strike-the-rock-twice-and-what-was-aarons-participation\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":0},"title":"Why did Moses strike the rock twice and what was Aaron’s participation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why did Moses strike the rock twice and what was Aaron's participation? Answer: \"So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them. Then the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28596,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-break-his-promise-to-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":1},"title":"Did God break His promise to Moses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Moses' time than God had promised him that he would go into the promised land right but then later when Moses strikes the rock twice and water comes out then god says that Moses will not Lead the people into the promised land because how can Moses be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88934,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/strike-the-rock\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":2},"title":"Strike the Rock?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The children of Israel were desperate for water and were crying out to Moses, \"Why have you brought us out here to die of thirst?\" God told Moses to take his rod and \"strike the rock,\" and \"water will come out of it, that the people may drink\" (Exodus 17:3-6).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/tissot-moses-strikes-the-rock-491ed5-small-229x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":38085,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-god-allow-sinful-things-to-worship-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":3},"title":"Why does God allow sinful things to worship Him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If your opinion of using musical instruments in the New Testament is sin, why does God allow sinful things to be used to worship Him, either symbolically or physically or metaphorically or whatever in His presence? In the Old Testament sacrifices and musical instruments are used to worship God;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94619,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/some-obvious-shadows-of-jesus-in-exodus\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":4},"title":"Some Obvious Shadows of Jesus in Exodus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Exodus is rich in foreshadowing Jesus. A mark of divine wisdom is in the embedding of the shape and form of Jesus long before He arrived in the flesh, showing a wisdom too great for human wisdom alone to account for it. Moses is a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68537,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-rock\/","url_meta":{"origin":87599,"position":5},"title":"Jesus, the Rock","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Rocks play an important role in Scripture. For example, when the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, God cared for their thirst by providing water from a rock (Exodus 17:1-7). Though they had tested God's presence, God provided and demonstrated He was there. On the mountain,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/rock-300x240.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}