The Rock Of Israel
The Rock of Israel
"The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:4)
In Moses' farewell song, the Song of Moses, God is called The Rock (Ha'Tzur) nine times (Deuteronomy 32:1-43).
God is also called El Tzur (God is our Rock)
2 Samuel 22:47"The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!
and Tzur Yisrael (The Rock of Israel)2 Samuel 23: 3The God of Israel spoke.The Rock of Israel said to me:ÔÇÿThe one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God,
Isaiah 30:29. But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festivals.You will be filled with joy,as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrimsto Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord– to the Rock of Israel.
These names describe His character perfectly since He is solid, unchangeable, immovable and the ever-present reality and foundation. He is a safe place of refuge for all of us.
In the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), we are told that Israeldrank from the same spiritual rock, and that this Rock which accompanied them in the wilderness was Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah1 Corinthians 10:4and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
Just as Yeshua accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings, as Believers, we can take comfort knowing that Yeshua is with us in all of our wanderings. God not only knows our wanderings, He keeps our tears in a bottle Psalm 56:8You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
The Hebrew Bible text of the beginning of Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32: 1-4)as it appears in the Torah scroll. It’s written in a two-column format toreflect the poetic structure of the text where each line is matched by asecond, parallel thought.
Like Moses, David praises God as his Rock, refuge, fortress and deliverer after He saves his life from King Saul.
"…The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge …."
2 Samuel 22:2-3He sang:"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.
When we are being persecuted, pursued or in any kind of distress, we can do what David did and call upon the Lord our God.
He will save and deliver us out of our trouble. We can trust God to be our mighty Savior, even from those who are too strong for us.
Like David, we can say, "With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God, I can scale a wall…. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is aRock (tzur)except our God?" 2 Samuel 22: 30, 32In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall……..For who is God except the Lord?Who but our God is a solid rock?
A nimble ibex stands atop the rocky mountains of the JudeanDesert.
When we are weary, wandering in a wilderness, faced with hard choices or even in the midst of a battle, we must remember that God is our Rock. He is our ever-present foundation and far bigger than the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!" 2 Samuel 32:47
Israel has such a wonderful Rock and Savior in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), and yet so few of the Jewish People know Him.