God in Granite
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just;” Deuteronomy 32:4 NASB
Rock – The Hebrew word sur is used 75 times in the Old Testament. Many of those uses are metaphorical. Here, God is likened to a rock. The attributes of God described by this term are compelling and comforting to every believer. He is absolutely reliable, completely trustworthy and an unfailing source of strength. God is completely upright (Deut. 32:4), He is the source of salvation (Ps. 89:26), He is a strong refuge in times of trouble (Ps. 94:22), He is a help and a protector (2 Sam. 22:32), He will either break us in repentance or crush us in judgment (Rom. 9:32ff.). When we consider how often God’s followers sinned by worshiping an idol carved from rock, it is amazing that the same word is used to describe many of the most important characteristics of God.
Rocks are one of the most common objects of our world. From pebbles to boulders, we are continually confronted by their beauty, majesty and strength. They can be the foundation of our edifices or the biggest roadblocks to our efforts. Moses exclaims that God is The Rock because everything that He does is perfect and just. Yeshua reminded us that unless we build on a foundation of rock, our lives would fail. Peter tells us that God is building a house of living stones. David proclaims that God is the rock of his salvation. And Paul tells us that Christ is a rock of offense. Rock is an important spiritual metaphor.
Given the predominance of physical metaphors in the Scriptures, it’s hard to imagine how we ended up with a God whose principle attributes are abstractions like omnipotent, eternal, infinite or immutable. I rather doubt that any of the prophets would describe God like this. The journey from The Rock to the First Principle of Causation (Aquinas) is a long and torturous road of commingling Greek philosophy with sacred texts. The theology sounds majestic (probably because we aren’t quite sure what it means) but it removes God from the everyday world of our lives. Hebrew points in another direction. Prayer is like breathing. The Spirit is like flowing water. Sin is like disease. Idolatry is like adultery. God is like rock. Perhaps Moses’ exclamation will help you recognize that the hand of divinity is as close as the nearest stone. Did you notice that Moses’ describes justice as whatever God does? That’s a bit backwards too. Our Greek minds teach us that justice is the exercise of certain principles of goodness, but Hebrew thinks differently. Maybe we need some further revisions here too.
As you journey through this day, keep an eye out for rocks. Every time you see one, take the liberty to say with Moses – “God is The Rock. His work is perfect.” You can stand on that!
Topical Index: rock, sur, Deuteronomy 32:4
Moses – “God is The Rock. His work is perfect.”
rock, sur,
(Big Sur, not far from my current home, is where they call the wind Moriah – way out here they have a name for rain and wind and fire 1963)
In 1965 my favorite song was “Like a rolling stone” by Bob Dylan (lyrics below)
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
And then in 1966, The Rolling Stones came to the States and debuted in my home town, San Berdoo
“I see a red door and I want to Paint it Black”
Red door is Sin
Black is Death
This is WONDERFUL, Skip, thank you.
Skip,
To continue. I have long thought that the emphasis on the natural order trees, rocks, mountains, clouds, flowers, birds, etc. in scripture is there for us to know God better through meditating on them. His glory shines through every petal and sunset! To that end I have started posting albums on a new site called The Meeting Place, run by believers for believers.
http://meetingplace.wall.fm/photo/useralbums/jadmath
I have also taken the liberty of posting your entry today, with full accreditation on there (see below). I have been encouraging readers to go to your site and sign up! I trust that is ok. 🙂
http://meetingplace.wall.fm/
Thanks John. But Mark, who is substituting for Cyndee as proofreader temporarily, points out the I misspelled “worshiping” so please correct it in the post.
I just checked the spelling on line and, according to this website below, both spellings are acceptable…worshiping AND worshipping.
FYI 🙂
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_preferred_spelling_worshipping_or_worshiping
OK, I’ll put three ‘p’s in to accommmodate both versions 🙂
Funnny 🙂
Thank-you.
Theological education can be the enemy of reverence for scripture. Once scripture has been dissected from an academic (often Greek) approach, the majesty is often removed. I keep coming back here because of the reverence I sense in so many of these posts. Few people can study the Council of Trent, translation errors, ect — and still come away with a profound appreciation for scripture as the clearest, most complete, and most dependable record of God acting in human history that we have.
HERE IS A GREAT VIDEO ABOUT ISRAEL & WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE FARMS – WHERE THE DESERT BLOOMS: http://unitedwithisrael.org/family-makes-desert-bloom/
[VIDEO] Jewish Family Makes Desert Bloom!
: Take a journey with United with Israel’s correspondent Yishai Fleisher to a Jewish farm in the Jordan Valley! You will meet a fearless family who live in a place surrounded by Palestinian terrorists.
This family of seven is extremely dedicated to the Land of Israel, and they have actually succeeded in making the dry area flourish with greenery and vegetation!
Click the video below and enjoy your trip through the southern area of Israel, being introduced to amazing sights and scenes, as well as an extraordinary family!
ONE INTERESTING SIGN ON THIS VIDEO: AL AWJA – JERICHO ROAD
THIS PROJECT IS A GIFT FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IN COOPERATION WITH THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS & HOUSING… ???
I DID NOT KNOW THE “AMERICAN PEOPLE” WERE/ARE DOING THIS FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IN ISRAEL – VERY VERY STRANGE WHAT AMERICAN PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THEY ARE DOING WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS…
Speaking of rocks, I just watched the video. Perhaps that’s why it’s called the holy land! 🙂 !!
i guess i don’t get how holy relates to rocks… 🙁
If we’re reminded of God when we see a rock, there are LOTS of reminders in Israel.
Rocky land,
God’s land,
Holy land!! 🙂
YHWH bless you and keep you….
I don’t know lots of theology, but since being captured by God I have always been comforted by the thought of God as a rock. in a dry & weary land, the solid & sure foundation, large rocks throw shadows to rest in, they hollow out & take you fully inside for shelter, “Oh take me to the rock that is higher than I “(Ps 61: 2)
My heart was singing that as a last concious thought as I lay in my bed last night.
I agree that all nature speaks of Him. You can know something of an artist by his work. The fragrance of flowers is as His robes passing by, shells are homes not made with hands, if I don’t stop now I will write ten thousand words of praise of Him that I love! It has already taken me 30 minutes of daydreaming between the words (hands, if) in the pervious sentence.