Read 1 Corinthians 10:11. What reason does Paul give for these events to have been recorded?
Paul explains that all the things that happened to the Israelites are examples and warnings for Christ’s followers and will help them avoid the same troubles; that is, they will learn from these examples. This is pertinent instruction for us, we who live at “the end of the ages” (ESV). God gives His people the Holy Spirit to strengthen the believers with “power, love and self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV) so they can make correct decisions and follow His teaching. Jesus Christ is the Source of new life (John 14:6), and only He can turn us into “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. . . . Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1, 2, ESV).
Later on, in His ministry, Jesus picked up lessons from these Old Testament accounts, particularly with the manna and the water, using those images to teach truths about Himself, the One who led the Israelites through the wilderness.
Read John 4:7–15 and John 6:31–51. What truths are revealed here for us as Christians?
The Samaritan woman discovered that Christ offers something that she would not get anywhere else. The inner thirst for peace, joy, and happiness comes from God, and thus only God can satisfy it (Ps. 42:1, 2).
Later, in the context of the manna, Jesus explained that it was God, not Moses, who provided it for the people. Then Jesus declared: “ ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger’ ” (John 6:35, ESV). Jesus repeated two times that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48).
As the manna in the wilderness was “bread from heaven” (John 6:31, 32), so the water from the rock was Christ’s gift to satisfy their thirst. Besides these physical aspects, bread and water also had spiritual significance, for Jesus Christ is “the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48) and “the living water” (John 4:10, 11, 14; John 7:37, 38). Only in Him, then, can our spiritual thirst and hunger truly be satisfied.
Supplemental EGW Notes
The world’s Redeemer knows the necessities of every soul. When we are oppressed and languid, he knows it, and he it is that supplies the spiritual refreshment. Ask ye of him; watch unto prayer, and it will come. Jesus is the bread of life, to be eaten every day; he is the water of life to the parched and fainting soul, and all may partake of his grace.
Earth’s cisterns will often be emptied, its pools become dry; but in Christ there is a living spring from which we may continually draw. However much we draw and give to others, an abundance will remain. There is no danger of exhausting the supply; for Christ is the inexhaustible well-spring of truth. He has been the fountain of living water ever since the fall of Adam. He says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” And “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”—“Jesus at the Well of Sychar: The Water of Life,” Signs of the Times, April 22, 1897, par. 20, 21.
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me.” The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard it in the temple on that last day of the feast. The fountain is open for all. The weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life. Jesus is still crying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Revelation 22:17; John 4:14.—The Desire of Ages, p. 454.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.