10:4 the spiritual rock that followed them.

The rock that came after the

Israelites, as history turned out, long after them, was Christ.

The Greek text does not have the article the, but it is not necessary to use the
definite article when the noun comes after a preposition (in this case, ek;
seecommentary on Matthew 1:18).
The Greek word translated follow is akalouthe (#190 pronounced
ah-koe-loo-thay-) and its basic meaning is to come after, which can be either
in time or spatial sequence. Thus it refers to following after something
sequentially. It also can mean to accompany someone who was taking the lead,
thus go along with. It was used metaphorically for following someone
doctrinally as a disciple, thus be a disciple. This use came from the fact that the
disciple did actually follow the teacher where he went both physically and
mentally. It was also used of following in the sense of obeying or complying, as in
follow my directions.
The common definition ofakalouthe, combined with the scope of Scripture,
shows that in this case follow means to come after: Jesus came centuries after
the Israelites. The Israelites did drink, i.e., get nourishment, from knowing
about the Christ who was to come after them, just as did Abraham, who rejoiced
at seeing the day of Christ (John 8:56).
There are some very Trinitarian versions, such as the NIV, that translate the word
follow as accompany, as if Jesus were accompanying the Israelites on their
journey. But akaloutheappears in the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament 90
times, and even in the NIV it is translated as some form of follow (like
follows, following, etc.) 83 of those times. The NIV translatesakolouthe as
accompanied only twice, here and in Mark 6:1, and we submit that the NIV
does so here because of the translators Trinitarian bias and not because the
context calls for it.
While it is true that lexicallyakoluthe can be translated as accompany, it
should not be translated that way here for several reasons. First, we must
remember that when akoluthe is used as accompany, it is still used in the
sense of following, or going with, a leader. It is not used in the sense of
accompanying a group while at the same time being the leader of the group.
But if the Messiah was with Israel, he clearly would have been leading the group
in some way, not just following them around.

Also, the scope of Scripture shows that follow in the sense of come after is the
correct interpretation. Since this verse mentions the Israelites in the desert, the
desert wanderings become the remoter context against which one must check
any interpretation. As we have already noted, there is no reference that can be
brought forward to show that Christ was either with the Israelites or was
somehow following them around. Are there verses that show that the Israelites
were looking forward to the Messiah? Yes, many. For one thing, it was in the
wilderness where that great prophecy of the coming Messiah was given: A star
will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel, and their kingdom will
be exalted (Num. 24:7 and 17). This prophecy of the Messiah spoke of him as a
future reality, not a present one. Furthermore, the Passover Lamb foreshadowed
the Messiah. The manna anticipated Christ being the true bread from heaven.
The Tabernacle, with all its offerings, foreshadowed Christ in many ways,
including being the place where people would meet God. The High Priest was a
type of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Not only the verses associated with the wilderness wanderings, but the whole Old
Testament, spoke of the Messiah as a future hope. For example, Micah
5:2foretells his birth in Bethlehem, and Isaiah 53 shows his future life and death.
Also, verses such asJeremiah 33:14 and 15 show that the Christ was the
promised Messiah. But there is no need to promise the Messiah if he was
already with the people. No clear verses say the Messiah was with Israel, and the
Jews never understood that to be the case.
The lesson from this verse is that the people looked forward to the coming of the
Messiah and drank, i.e., got strength and nourishment, from knowing that he
was coming, just as we today get strength and nourishment from knowing that he
is coming again.
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