Ascribe Greatness to our God the Rock.
Monday
Genesis 49.22-24 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.”
Jacob is blessing all his sons. In blessing Joseph he describes God as “the Rock of Israel.” God is Rock-like – solid, a permanent and reliable foundation, a refuge place, a shelter and a shade. Rocks last forever; so does God, and God’s promises.
Tuesday
Exodus 17.5-6 “The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.”
God’s people were tired, thirsty and full of complaints. You can’t survive the wilderness without water. It is in the hardest places, the rock places, that we need God most. This story is a reminder that out of our hardest experiences God’s mercy pours out. The rock at Horeb was a place of salvation, the place where God promised, against all the odds, life-giving water.
Wednesday
1 Corinthians 10.1-4 “Our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
Centuries later, Paul told the story of the rock at Horeb to converted Gentiles in Corinth. This was no static, fixed landmark. The rock Moses struck pointed forward to Jesus, the source of living water. “That Rock was Christ.” So the rock of salvation, the source of living water, the well of water springing up to eternal life – is Christ – and whoever drinks it, Jesus said, will never thirst again!
Thursday
Psalm 18.2 “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and Deliverer; my God is my Rock in whom I take Refuge. He is my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold.”
Every word is about strength, safety, reliability, protection/ No wonder Luther wrote, “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” The Psalms have always been the favourite texts of those under pressure, just the right words when we are feeling pursued by chance or circumstance. Just look at those 9 capital letters, the descriptive names of God. A good verse to have handy when things get on top of us.
Friday
Isaiah 51.1 “Listen to me you who pursue righteousness, and who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.”
A chip off the old block, we are each chiselled from the rock from which we were cut. Look back over the years of your life, and the life of the saints before us. We are all cut from the same rock, and that Rock is Christ. Isaiah is encouraging folk who are struggling in faith, telling them “you’re part of a people called, guided and provided for by God. You are rock, the same Rock on whom the whole church is founded.
Saturday
Matthew 16.18. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Peter, petros, rock. The rock on which the church is built is the confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Not the sometimes volatile Peter who fails just like the rest of us. But faith in Christ, the confession Jesus is Lord. That’s the name the church lives by, the rock-bed of truth on which the church stands. And not even hell can undermine that foundation deeply embedded in the eternal truth of redeeming love. Facing the cross, looking at these uncertain disciples who would surely sometimes fail, Jesus said, “On this rock - I will build my church.” He looks at us the same way.
Sunday
Deuteronomy 32.3-4 “I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
Of all the things you would choose to say about God, how many of us would say this? A Rock whose works are perfect. A God who can do no wrong. Faithfulness is the word we use for love and care that is rock solid. Justice is the word we use when wrong is made right, and good overcomes evil, based on the rock-solid righteousness of God. That’s who God is. That’s what God is about in our lives, and in our world.
Faithful one, so unchanging; ageless one, you're my rock of peace;
Lord of all I depend on You, I call out to You again and again.
You are my rock in times of trouble, you lift me up when I fall down.
All through the storm, your love is the anchor, my hope is in You alone.
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