That Rock Was Christ
And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 10 the apostle Paul used the stories of the Exodus from Egypt to teach lessons to the Christians of Corinth—and us today.
God had saved all the Israelites by incredible miracles, including the pillar of cloud that led them, the parting of the Red Sea and the bread from heaven—manna—that sustained them (verses 1-3). These were also symbols of spiritual miracles that help us to come out of slavery to sin, including baptism and the spiritual bread—symbolizing Jesus Christ (the Bread of Life, John 6:35) and the Word of God (Matthew 4:4).
The ancient Israelites were also saved from thirst by miracles of water from the rock (Exodus 17:5-7; Numbers 20:7-11). Here Paul explains “that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus Christ, before His human birth, was the One who performed the miracles, talked with Moses and gave Israel God’s laws. He was the Creator God and the Spokesman for the God family (Ephesians 3:9; John 1:1-3).
In this way, Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament, and in the New Testament He said He came to earth to reveal the Father—the One they had not known (John 1:18).
For more about Jesus Christ, see the section “Who Is Jesus?” and the article “Jesus in the Old Testament?”
