There is no rock like our God – Part 6

What is common to the songs of Moses, David and Hannah were that they used the metaphor of the Rock to characterise who God is and they extolled God as the unshakable rock (Deut.32:4; 2 Sam.22:2 and 1 Sam.2:2). It is not a mere coincidence that their praises of God came after the trials they each went through.

Indeed, like Hannah said, “there is no rock like our God.” Hannah’s words reechoed the statement of David in Psalm 18:31, “For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except for our God?” Who would doubt that God is our fortress, a sure defence in times of trials and storms of life? No matter the harsh realities of COVID-19, those whose faith rests in the Rock of Ages, should equally extol Him.

Moses’ identification of God as the Rock is understandable. In the long and tortuous journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the rocky landscape may have preoccupied his mind with this apt metaphor. Hannah, on the other hand, may have declared that God is her only Rock because after years of waiting for a child, the joy of having her petition granted, would have so elated her spirit. After all, the ridicules and tauntings of Peninah, God lifted her reproach from a barren woman to a joyful mother of a baby boy. As for David, numerous times he took shelter in caves hewn out of rocks. It was, therefore, not surprising that he easily identified God as the Rock of his life.

Our God is no less relevant to us now than he was in the past. Much more than in the past, God is alive in Jesus Christ and He is the Rock of those who bear His image and look up to Him. As Isaiah says, “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” (Isaiah 51:1). We are hewn from the same Rock.

The Rock was the shepherd and stone of Israel. By extension he is also our shepherd and stone, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” (I Peter 2:4-6 NKJV).‬

Like David admitted, the Rock is equally our instructor and teacher. “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God” (2 Samuel 23:3).

The Rock is no less our source of nourishment than he was to Israel in the wilderness, “And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (I Corinthians 10:4 NKJV).‬

The Rock was their strength as he is now our strength, “Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength, A stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake, You will lead me and guide me” (Psalm 31:2-3). May we come out of this present pandemic with our own peculiar eulogy of God. Contact: pastoracukachi@gmail.com