The rock of escape – Part 1

The Rock of Escape is the name given by David and his men to a rock in the wilderness of Maon, where DAVID escaped the pursuit and capture of king Saul. In other words, that place was their rock of escape. We all have a place we can call our place of escape. David may have named the wilderness of Maon the place of his escape, but in earnest, it was God Who kept him from harm in all the numerous attempts Saul made on his life. God was his Rock of escape, (1 Samuel 23:14-29). As we read from verse 14 of this passage, “And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand” (I Samuel 23:14 NKJV).

Just as David and his men escaped the capture of Saul, those who run to Christ will escape the present COVID-19. Later, David in Psalm 124:6-8, declared that he had escaped from the snare of the fowler. He probably was describing one of his experiences, when he escaped from Saul’s hands. He likened it to the escape of a bird from the snare of the fowler. “Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”

The experience of Noah is yet another illustration that the righteous could escape from judgment. Noah escaped the flood, when God decided to destroy creation, due to the prevailing sin on earth. We, too, can escape the present pandemic.

How did Noah escape the flood of his age? First, he found grace in the sight of God (Gen.6:8). Second, he walked with God (Gen.6: 9). Third, he obediently built an ark, when God asked him to do so. He did not procrastinate that God would never destroy the earth; he believed God’s word.

God gave Noah the wisdom to build the ark. He was not an architect, not a carpenter, not experienced in animal husbandry, nor was he a botanist. But he conscientiously built the ark and gathered all the animals into the ark. His obedience led to the preservation of the human race.

Genesis 8: 1 states that God remembered Noah and all the animals with him in the ark and sent a wind to dry up the water after the flood. Noah’s sacrifice of burnt offering to God immediately after the flood was soothing to God and evoked a divine pledge from God never to destroy creation anymore. (Gen.8: 20-22). Then in Gen. 9:1, God blessed Noah and his sons and said, “be fruitful and multiply.” After the flood, God blessed Noah and his family. God took care of Noah before, during and after the flood. Just as God preserved the life of Noah during the flood, He will preserve us during COVID-19.

Matthew 24: 36-44 reminds us that Noah’s story is a testimony and sign that we should all be ready for the Lord’s return. In the Old Testament, God insulated His children in times of plagues and judgment, so as to keep them from harm. The New Testament equivalent is found in Galatians 6: 17, where Paul says, “From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:17 NKJV).
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