Christ the Solid Rock of God’s Unshakeable Promises

Scripture for the day: Deuteronomy 32:36

When He sees their weakened plight and there is no one left, slave or free, He’ll say, “So where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge…”

Every time the term rock comes up, I can’t help but wonder why God would associate Himself with such an uncut, unpolished version of a stone. In fact, when it comes to His altar, He instructs His people to use uncut, that is naturally occurring stones a.k.a rocks.

And then, when He uses a song to remind His people of their unfaithfulness (Deut 32), He uses the imagery of the Rock throughout.

Study these verses in Deuteronomy 32: (Message Translation)

Vs 4. The Rock : His works are perfect, and the way he works is fair and just;

Vs 15. He abandoned the God who made him, he mocked the Rock of his salvation.

Vs 18. You walked out on the Rock who gave you your life, forgot the birth-God who brought you into the world.

Vs 30. How could one soldier chase a thousand enemies off, or two men run off two thousand, Unless their Rock had sold them, unless God had given them away?

Vs. 31 For their rock is nothing compared to our Rock ; even our enemies say that.

What Does the Rock Represent?

The Rock for the Israelites was symbolic of God’s promises. It was the sum total of every good and perfect gift they could enjoy as part of their covenant relationship with God. The Rock represented:

Position – He found him out in the wilderness, in an empty, windswept wasteland. ( Deuteronomy 32:10)

Protection – He was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing its young (Deuteronomy 32:11)

Provision – He fed him honey from the rock, oil from granite crags (Deuteronomy 32:13)

And suddenly, it all makes sense. including why God rebuked Moses for hitting the Rock instead of speaking to it. (Numbers 20:7–11)

The promise, the position, the protection, and the provision had to flow freely, without human effort. Moses just had to speak and not hit hard to get water out of the Rock.

This instance can even be interpreted as the flow of the Holy Spirit operating via the gift of tongues.

Moses had to speak for the Spirit to flow. And yet, he chose to do it the wrong way- the hard way.

I wonder if Moses finally realized the reason why God couldn’t let him enter the promised land. I guess he did, which is why again towards the end of the chapter when God tells him of his fast-approaching death on Mount Nebo, he accepts the same- no questions asked.

Resting in Christ the Solid Rock

God is our Rock and refuge, an ever-present help in times of need.

And His son, Jesus Christ the solid rock, is the cornerstone on which we build our altar of worship and lay down our lives for now and forevermore.

Anyone who rests on the solid foundation of His words is unshakeable like the house in Matthew 7:24-25.

Indeed, we who put our faith in Him will never be put to shame.

Let us sing:

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand!