Isaiah testifies to this, affirming that He united the Church with Himself as a bride, becoming its Bridegroom.
This rock is referred to as kraesekom, or the rock of comfort, in Deuteronomy. Here, Moses admonishes the ungrateful Hebrews, cautioning them not to let their hearts be haughty, nor forget the Lord who brought forth water from the rock (Deuteronomy 8:14-15). The Wisdom of Solomon also notes how the Israelites longed and called upon God, receiving water from the rock of nesekom and healing for their thirst from the hard rock (Prem. 11:4). The term acro-tomoj has various interpretations: it can signify a rock that is hard, hewn from the summit, or understood as having been struck by Moses' rod, indicating that the rock was so unyielding it could not be broken.
Just as the once-barren rock, dry and void of moisture, was prompted by Moses’ rod to produce an outpouring of water akin to rivers, as referenced by the psalmist David (Psalm 77:20), so too did the Church of the Gentiles, which was previously hard, stony, and parched—lacking in law, scriptures, knowledge, and divine grace—later flourish by the power of Christ’s rod, that is, the holy and life-giving cross. This cross has facilitated an abundance of spiritual mysteries and rivers of heavenly doctrines that nourish not a hardened and rebellious people, like the Jews, but a gentle, obedient, and wise community of believers.
Thus, the cross is recognized as the foundation and affirmation of this Church, forming the central message of the third song. Chrysostom interprets the rock as a symbol of Christ, and the rod that struck it as the cross, asserting that the visible rock corresponds to Christ, with the Apostle Paul affirming that the rock symbolized Christ: “For they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4). The stone symbolizes the Master, and the rod symbolizes the cross, underscoring the potency of the cross. When Moses struck the rock once and again, the miracle being solely an act of God would have required but a single strike if it did not reference the mystery of the cross. However, to reveal the grace of the cross and how Christ emanates grace through it, Moses struck twice, illustrating a figure of the cross. Why twice? It signifies that even inanimate creation respects the sign of the Cross.
Let us now consider this troparion in a moral and metaphorical sense. Just as your heart, burdened by passions and sins, has become hardened and insensible like a stone, reflecting the scriptural concept of being petrified (Mark 8:17), you have also grown callous like the ancient Hebrews, of whom Ezekiel spoke, describing them as: "the whole house of Israel is obstinate and hard-hearted" (Ezek. 3:7). According to St. Isaac the Syrian, passions inherently brutalize the heart, leading the callous to neglect the good (Proverbs 17:19). Thus, if you, dear brother, are apprehensive about the warnings and punishments outlined in Scripture for sinners and the hard-hearted, recognize that this fear, cultivated through consistent contemplation, will strike your heart as Moses struck the rock. From this impact, your heart will break, causing tears to flow, bringing forth a spiritual joy that delights your soul, leading you to echo the words of David: "Thou hast made me drink the wine of gladness" (Psalm 59:5).
THEOSIS