Israel is rich in archeological discovery.
I remember back in November, when I got to do a whirlwind trip into Israel with Azmera, to speak at the King of Kings Community church in Jerusalem, thinking that I couldn’t remember a time when I had looked so closely at something as common & ordinary as rocks…So MaNy RoCkS!
But, each rock told a story (incredible!) of the history of God’s chosen people.
And, I remember marveling at all that had been uncovered, and learned, about the culture, the people of the past, and the land of Israel.
So, this morning, as I was reading through my favorite go-to Psalm of David (#18), the word “rock” struck me in a new way in this verse:
The Lord is my rock;
my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock,
in whom I take refuge,
my shield,
the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock!
I have often referred to my husband with a number of descriptors.
My most quoted phrase is “tall, dark, and drop-dead-gorgeous.”
However, I’ve often referred to him as the rock of our family.
When I say this, I’m talking about the security he brings into the mix…
I’m referring to his faithfulness, his calm assurance when the world around us seems to be caving in…
I’m thinking of how the man I see in the pulpit is the same man who holds my hand in the midst of every-day…
He’s the most reliable and God-trusting guy I know!
For David, it seems his thinking went an entirely different direction when he spoke of God as his rock…
While poetic, the word can be somewhat ambiguous, until I pulled the descriptors out of David’s psalm:
Shield – A rock held in front of us can deflect all kinds of harmful objects.
Horn of Salvation (animals use their horns for defense…). So take it a step further…a rock can be a weapon – while in Old Town Jerusalem our guide informed us that while no weapons are allowed in the Old Town, rumor has it that the mosque is filled with rocks, which can be used in battle, if necessary.
Stronghold/Refuge – For David, a rock in the form of a cave, became his stronghold. When running from Saul, a cave became his safety and refuge…his protection.
All military terms.
For David, the Lord was the I AM WHO WILL FIGHT YOUR BATTLES & DEFEND YOU.
For David, the Lord was the I AM YOUR PROTECTOR….
GOD is all this for me…for us!
There are times, we will feel exposed and without help. I certainly have!
There are times when it will seem the odds are stacked against us. Yep!
There will be moments when we wish we could step up and defend our character, because no one else will… Check!
There will be times when everything seems to be AGAINST us… Uh huh!
Throughout life we will all fight some tough battles.
Maybe not military ones, but physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, occupational, intellectual, and even environmental…
Without God, the ROCK, in our midst, we are defenseless, offenseless, and vulnerable.
So, I wasn’t surprised when in researching the word “rock” in the past history of Israel, one of the things I discovered was that as Israel was declaring her independence in 1948, a fierce debate raged about the name of God that would be included in her official Declaration of Independence. When a compromise was reached, instead of using a traditional name for God, He would be referred to as “the Rock of Israel.”
How significant!!!
How perfect!!!
He IS all this and more!
