“Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.” Psalm 114:7,8

In Psalm 114 we get a poetic look back at the supernatural rescue, protection and provision of God for His people, Israel. As God brought them out of Egypt, the sea “fled” and became a roadway to their deliverance. As they entered the Promised Land the Jordan river turned to the side by the hand of God.

Seas, rivers, mountains and hills obey the hand of God. All of creation is an instrument directed by the supreme “conductor” of heaven and earth, and the assumed natural response is to tremble in reverent fear.

As the poem finishes, we are told that God “…turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.”

If you are thirsty, I am going to assume you don’t go outside to find some rocks or a piece of flint! The reason is we don’t expect water to come out of rocks, because life doesn’t flow out of things that are not alive.

In Exodus 17:6 God provided water to his people through a rock. Out of something that had no life, God provided the very thing they needed to live.

So what in the world does this have to do with Jesus? Why would this Psalm help the Jewish people get ready for the Messiah?

In 1 Corinthians 10:4 the Apostle Paul looks back at the way God provided food and water for the Israelites after they came out of Egypt and he says this:

“…our fathers…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.”

No one ever would have ever expected the DEATH of Jesus to be the ultimate source of LIFE! Just like God quenched the thirst of His people long ago through a rock, He now satisfies every thirsty soul who drinks from the Rock of Christ! Tremble before Him…He has done great things!