Translated by Claude
On the Struck Rock
1. "Enter through the narrow gate" (Matthew 7:13). Christ said this to his disciples, naming, as I understand it, the narrow gate and the constricted way as that endurance and patience most worthy of all praise, through which those who desire to be wise in heavenly things attain glory and shine by the exercises that look toward a good ordering of the soul and toward virtue. For just as courage testifies that the foremost places in war are won, so also to endure with unbroken spirit the labors that come from trial proves one to be strong and noble, splendid and illustrious, and heaped with all praise, in the rendering of every virtue acceptable to God. Hence the disciple of the Savior, that such a man is altogether conspicuous and distinguished, left us his testimony saying: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life" (James 1:12). And those who have attained such a height of fortitude as to have obtained that broad and surpassing glory, they speak — worthy of their promised rewards they appear — and say: "O God, you have tested us, you have refined us as silver is refined; you have laid afflictions on our backs; you have made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, and you brought us out to a place of refreshment" (Psalm 66:10–12). For the end of labor is joy, and afflictions open for those who strive bravely the way to gladness.
For the Knower of hidden things — that is, God — knows all things before they come to pass and are done. For all things are naked and open before him (cf. Hebrews 4:13). But the outcome of events and the fortitude of those who are tested are delayed according to their proper times, so that not only may God bear witness to their excellence according to their deeds performed through virtue, but it may be celebrated equally by men and angels. For this reason the blessed Paul says of himself and the other saints, that when they had contended and won most victoriously, "they became a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men" (1 Corinthians 4:9).
Israel is therefore tested in many ways, so that even if it appears to labor under weakness, it may marvel at the goodness of God who bears with it in its sinning. And the mystery of Christ is foreshadowed in each of the things that happened. For just now in our exposition of the passage concerning the manna we showed Israel to be not a little weak and given to pleasure. But behold, the same thing appears again, briefly impressed upon us. For it again reads thus:
"And the whole congregation of the children of Israel set out from the desert of Sinai with their tents according to the word of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. And the people reviled Moses, saying: Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them: Why do you revile me, and why do you test the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and spoke against Moses, saying: Why is this, that you have brought us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying: What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before this people; and take with you some of the elders of the people, and the staff with which you struck the river, take it in your hand and go. Behold, I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and my people will drink. And Moses did so before the children of Israel, and he called the name of that place Testing or Strife, because of the quarreling of the children of Israel and because they tested the Lord, saying: Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17:1–7).
8. These things the divine word recalls to us in the book of Exodus; but in Numbers a fuller account of them is given, which I think it necessary to bring forward, so that by weighing each detail rightly and carefully we may arrive at what was once done in figure and grasp the spiritual sense. It is written thus:
"The children of Israel and the whole congregation came into the desert of Sin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried. And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered against Moses and Aaron; and the people murmured against Moses, saying: Would that we had died in the destruction of our brothers before the Lord! Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord into this desert, to kill us and our livestock? Why have you brought us out of Egypt to come to this place? A place where nothing is sown, and there is no fig tree, no vine, no pomegranate, and there is no water to drink. And Moses and Aaron came from before the congregation to the door of the tent of testimony, and they fell on their faces, and the glory appeared to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the staff and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before them and it will give its water; and you shall bring out water for them from the rock and give the congregation and their livestock to drink. And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation before the rock, and said to them: Hear me, you unbelievers — shall we bring water for you out of this rock? And Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock with the staff twice, and much water came out, and the congregation and their livestock drank. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you did not believe me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of contradiction, because the children of Israel reviled before the Lord, and he was sanctified in them." (Numbers 20:1–13).
59. For they had passed through the dry land, and having advanced far across the parched earth and grown faint from the exertions of the journey, if any small discomfort occurred, they murmured most bitterly against Moses and Aaron. For even though they had been spectators of many wondrous signs and had learned from their own experience the excellence of the divine power, they still feared that the supply of necessities for life might fail, and that he might cease to provide food and drink in every place — overcome by pusillanimity, endowed with a childish and effeminate mind, and if any discomfort presented itself, they immediately assailed their guide and cried out impiously that he had become a mediator for them and that through him they had been called to freedom. On the other hand they called blessed those who had perished in the pusillanimity that preceded intercessions — those who, seized by desire for meat in Egypt, were punished with death when they ate the fatal quail (cf. Numbers 11:33). And so they say: "Would that we had died in the destruction of our brothers before the Lord! Why have you brought the congregation into this desert to kill us and our livestock?" (Numbers 20:3–4).
60. O what weakness — how impatient a spirit and how inclined toward sloth is the mind! For pressed by this small thirst they immediately prefer Egyptian slavery to the divine gifts, and the most bitter yoke of servitude once experienced now becomes sweet, nor does it appear any longer difficult to endure — however rigid Pharaoh may be — nor is the clay still hateful, nor the cruelty of the taskmasters still burdensome; but everything is now pleasant and agreeable. To such foolishness did mental weakness thrust them down.
Hear, I ask you, what accusations are laid against Moses and Aaron when they say: "Did you bring us out of Egypt to come to this wicked place? A place where nothing is sown, and there are no fig trees, no vines, no pomegranates, and not even water to drink" (Numbers 20:5).
See how the mind plunges into timidity and wrongly turns itself toward temporal pleasures, and vehemently pursues worldly delights and cares for the appetite of the belly; and how on the contrary it casts away hope and rebels against and struggles against the land promised to the fathers, not understanding that toil always and everywhere wins magnificent gifts. For no one obtains the greatest gifts without sweat. Israel therefore does not know how to conduct itself nobly, nor to resist bravely the onslaughts of the passions.
62. For this belongs to those who are under the law — or rather, it is prepared for those who are grafted into Christ Jesus. Therefore they deserved that God, angry with them, should not supply them with water; yet, so that those who had sunk into such stupidity might be advanced toward faith through further miracles, he commanded Moses to strike the rock with the staff. He was not unaware that even Moses himself would be somewhat pusillanimous and would falter in faith on account of the people's insults. Therefore in Exodus he says: "Take with you some of the elders of the people; take the staff with which you struck the river in your hand and go. Behold, I stood there before you came, upon the rock at Horeb; you shall strike the rock and water will come out of it, and my people will drink" (Exodus 17:5–6). And in Numbers it reads: "Take the staff and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother; and speak to the rock before them, and it will give its water; and you shall bring out water from the rock for them and give the congregation to drink" (Numbers 20:8).
Observe how God calls to his memory the miracles performed in Egypt, and for this reason confirms his faith, saying: "Take the staff in your hand with which you struck the river." As if to say: That staff which by its ineffable power, with God granting such things, turned so great a river to blood, will with the greatest ease draw water from the rock as well. Then also by another reasoning God strengthens him when he says: "Behold, I stood there." He says, in effect: You will not be alone, nor will you again be the agent of wonderful things; but I will show first the rock as mother of many waters, I will prepare the miracle beforehand, I will await your ministry. Speak to the rock, and again I will be the power and effectiveness of your words.
Yet although Moses ought to have been confident in these words, he failed. For he says: "Hear me, you unbelievers — shall we bring water out of this rock for you?" (Numbers 20:10). Then he strikes the rock with the staff twice — as though nothing of what they hoped for would come to pass even if the rock were struck — and struck it twice, even though he had previously turned the river to blood in Egypt by that same staff, which at that time he had extended only once. Nevertheless God gave them water, even though he was not a little angered by their unbelief, lest some who were foolishly suspicious should conceive an opinion of powerlessness. And Moses is rebuked: "You," he says, "shall not bring this congregation into the land that I have given them, because you did not believe, to sanctify me before the children of Israel" (Numbers 20:12).
67. Come then, transferring once more to the mystery of Christ, let us say what is fitting, following in the footsteps of divine Scripture and intent on directing the force of our understanding accurately toward the meaning of the sacred writings.
In the first month, therefore, Miriam died, and the people labored under thirst. Then by the command of God Moses strikes the rock with the staff, with the elders of the people and Aaron standing by; they speak to the rock, and it overflows like a river and gives drink to the congregation and their livestock, as it is written. What then do we say is foreshadowed by the death of Miriam? And who is she to be understood as being altogether? And what bearing does it have on the necessary explanation that he says she died in the first month?
We shall therefore set Moses as the type of the Law, Aaron as the type of the priesthood, and assign the person of Miriam to the typological worship. Hence God speaks to unbridled Jerusalem through the voice of the holy one, saying: "And I sent before your face Moses and Aaron and Miriam" (Micah 6:4). Do you see how she is joined with Moses and Aaron, so as to go before the Israelites together with them? For when wise Moses acted as mediator and Aaron presided — that is, the priestly dignity through typological worship — carnal Israel gained for itself the worship of God. That the person of Miriam is necessarily introduced together with Moses and Aaron is easily understood from this: when Pharaoh with his followers had perished in the Red Sea and the entire army had been submerged, Moses sang a hymn of thanksgiving to God (cf. Exodus 15:1–18). And when they had gone out, Miriam the dancer took her timbrel, as it is written (cf. Exodus 15:20), and at once mingled a great sound with the singing. But this was in the types a subtle figure of true contemplation. For that even the Law itself — that is, Moses — and with him Miriam, that is, the shadowy and typological worship, should proclaim the immense and wondrous power of God Almighty, was indicated by the manner of the song and the sound of the timbrels.
The person of the legal worship is therefore rightly assigned to Miriam, just as truly the person of the Law belongs to Moses and of the priesthood to Aaron. Since therefore Miriam died in the first month — that is, at the beginning of the year according to the laws of the Hebrews, when also the mystery itself is celebrated at the holy Passover — the people thirsted. For in the first month, which is also called the month of new things, the shadowy and typological worship had for the most part ceased and was contracted and removed from the midst. How so? For the only-begotten Son of God shone upon us in human form, as it were in the month of new things. Hence he himself said in speaking: "I am come as the dawn upon the mountains and as in the month of the new fruits" (cf. Song of Songs 2:8–9, loosely). And he also addressed the Church from the Gentiles, saying: "Rise, come, my companion, my beautiful one, my dove; for behold, winter is past, and the rain is over and gone; flowers appear on the earth; the time of pruning has come" (Song of Songs 2:10–12). For we have reflowered in Christ unto newness of life, and the time of his advent has been shown to us as a kind of spiritual spring, making human nature flowering and fruitful. Then — I say, then — with the shadowy worship contracted and Miriam as it were dead, the people thirsted and labored under a poverty of spiritual waters. But the springs of Christ's oracles poured forth abundantly — I mean his oracles themselves and his mystical teaching in spirit and in truth.
Understanding this, the blessed Paul writes thus: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:1–4). He is compared to a rock on account of his unbroken and immovable nature. For that divine and supreme nature is established firm in its own goods.
We must therefore consider how it was that this rock poured out water. For when the elders of the people were gathered and Aaron stood by, words were addressed to the rock; and Moses struck it twice. Because when the elders of the people had assembled and the priests appointed according to the Law — that is, the Israelites, as it were in the person of Moses — they spoke against Christ, accusing him before Pilate, and cried out impiously: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" (John 19:15). Then also they inflicted two blows upon him. For first they killed the Author of life (cf. Acts 3:15). A second blow they added, as it were to the first, when they strove to persuade men that he had remained among the dead. But Christ rose from the dead, treading down and crushing death itself. And when the soldiers came — those who had been appointed by them as guardians of the tomb — they commanded them to say that his disciples had secretly stolen him (cf. Matthew 28:12–13), and so they calumniated that venerable mystery of the resurrection. A double blow was therefore inflicted upon him. Nevertheless the rock poured out a river in abundance, even though Israel raged against him, so as to give drink to the whole congregation; for he watered the world with holy and divine streams. For thus he promised to give himself to us through the voice of the prophet, saying: "Behold, I will extend over them like a river of peace, and like an overflowing torrent the glory of the nations" (Isaiah 66:12). And David also sings somewhere: "The impetus of the river gladdens the city of God" (Psalm 46:4). And again, to the Father and God himself in heaven: "You have multiplied your mercy, O God; the children of men shall hope under the shelter of your wings; they shall be inebriated with the richness of your house, and you shall give them to drink from the torrent of your delight, for with you is the fountain of life" (Psalm 36:7–9).
Observe now how, with their unbelief intervening first, Moses strikes the rock with the staff. For Israel, unbelieving, raged against Christ; and Moses was rebuked, and Aaron with him. "You shall not," he says, "bring the children of Israel into the land which I have given them" (Numbers 20:12). But it is not the Law — which moves among types — nor the weakness of the legal priesthood — as it were in shadows — that will lead us into the inheritance of the saints and into the truer land of promise. Nor indeed shall we be pleasing to God through blood-offerings, nor shall we be made illustrious before God by earthly glory; but rather we shall proceed into the heavenly city and enter into the inheritance of the fathers, having Christ as our guide — through whom and with whom be glory to God the Father with the Holy Spirit, for ages of ages. Amen.
CONTINUE
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