“You shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.”
Exodus 17:6
Dear members and friends,
After the amazing miracle in the wilderness of Sin, the Israelites arrived at a place where there was no water. Thirsty and frustrated, they quarreled with Moses by saying, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
In Secrets of Heaven, Swedenborg explains that thirst represents a longing for truth, while water represents truth itself. To drink is to receive truth, and being revived by the truth that follows represents spiritual life. But there is an interesting detail in this story. God does not simply give Moses water. He tells him to strike the rock.
Swedenborg explains that the rock represents the Lord in respect to the truths of faith. The rock is solid and firm. It gives us something upon which to stand. Yet a rock, by itself, does not quench our thirst. Water does. Perhaps this offers an important lesson about our spiritual journey. We can have truth without being refreshed by truth. We can know Scripture, understand doctrine, and hold firmly to our beliefs. We may even have a solid foundation beneath our feet yet still be thirsty within.
There is a difference between having truth and receiving truth, which means being revived by truth. The water comes out of the rock. Swedenborg sees this as truth flowing from the Lord and being received by us. Truth is not given merely so that we can possess it intellectually. It is meant to enter our lives, shape our thoughts, form our affections, and become a source of spiritual life.
Jesus later uses the same image in John 4:14: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst.”
We can stand beside water and remain thirsty. The action requires our voluntary choice: We must drink out of our free choice. Likewise, we can know a great deal about spiritual truth and still remain spiritually thirsty. Truth becomes living truth when we receive it inwardly and allow it to transform how we live. At the end of the story, the Israelites ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Their thirst has made them question God’s presence. Yet the Lord has always been present.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment of reflection this week. I would like to invite you to inwardly reflect on matters and principles that you know to be true. When it is a good time, let’s ask ourselves, “How many of them am I living?”
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee