The Bible is rich with names and titles which
God uses of Himself. He calls Himself Creator,
Redeemer, the Holy One, King, Savior. In addition
to these kinds of names and titles, there are
numerous metaphors of God. Now, those of you
who are still in English, Grammar, know that
a metaphor is a figure of speech. A metaphor
is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened
to another different thing by being spoken of
it as if it were that thing. Our earlier chorus
that we've just sung employs three metaphors
for God. He's my rock. He's my fortress. He's
my deliverer. In Him will I trust. Tonight I'd
like for us to think about this metaphor for
God, the Rock. The Lord our Rock. Would you open
your Bible please to the book of Deuteronomy,
the 32nd chapter. Deuteronomy 32 is actually
a poem or a song. that was written by Moses.
And if you look through the entire poem, you
find out that the rock is the key theme to it.
It's the main name by which he identifies God.
We're just going to read the first four verses,
though, tonight. Moses says, Give ear, O heavens,
and let me speak, and let the earth hear the
words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the
rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets
on the fresh grass and as the showers on the
herb. For I proclaim the name of the Lord, a
scribe greatness to our God, the Rock. His work
is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God
of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous,
and upright is He. God is called here the Rock.
What is the significance of this biblical metaphor
for God? I'd like for us to think about that
for just a few minutes tonight and then we'll
be on our way. I'd like to suggest in the first
place that there is a prophetic significance
to the Lord our Rock. I'd like to give you a
list of seven scriptures. These seven scriptures
will help you trace the theme of the Lord our
Rock prophetically through the Bible. In other
words, though we may look at some other scriptures,
and though there are many other scriptures that
use this name for God, if you'll just remember
these seven, you'll be able to outline prophetically
the significance of the name the Lord our Rock.
We begin by going to the first place in the Bible
where it's used and that is in the book of Genesis
the 49th chapter and the 24th verse We have here
a record of Jacob's blessings upon his sons Before
he died he gathered them around as was the patriarchal
manner of that day He laid his hands upon them,
and he spoke blessings to them And, of course,
among the sons, now restored to him was Joseph.
And in verse 22, he speaks of Joseph. He says,
Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough
by a spring. It's branches run over a wall. And
remember, he's speaking poetically. He's using
the license of a poet here to describe his son
and his family that he has seen. He goes on to
say the archers bitterly attacked him and shot
at him and harassed him. Who would the archers
be? Well, if you know the life of Joseph, you
know that those are his own brothers that Jacob
has in mind. But his bow remained firm and his
arms were agile from the hands of the mighty
one of Jacob, from the God of your father who
helps you. And you'll notice that in the middle
of that particular sentence, there is a certain
clause that is slipped in by the Holy Spirit,
in parenthesis, at least in my translation. From
there, that is, from the mighty one of Jacob,
from that source, is the shepherd, the stone
of Israel. This is the first occasion in the
Bible of this name for God calling him a rock
or a stone. It is used prophetically here pointing
to the one who would come from the mighty one
of Jacob and would be known as the shepherd or
as the stone or the rock of Israel. And of course
it is a messianic prophecy. It is a prophetic
utterance. pointing to the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now as we think of this theme of
the Rock, we begin here. The next logical step
would be in Exodus. I invite you to turn just
a few pages to Exodus chapter 17. Those of you
familiar with the Exodus of the people of Israel
will recall that there was a time in the wilderness
when they were complaining about a lack of water.
They thirsted and they grumbled against Moses,
verse 3. So verse 4, Moses cried out to the Lord,
saying, what shall I do to this people? A little
more and they will stone me. The Lord said to
Moses, pass before the people and take with you
some of the elders of Israel and take in your
hand your staff with which you struck the Nile
and go. Behold, I will stand before you there
on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the
rock, and water will come out of it, and the
people that the people may drink." And Moses
did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
And so our second of seven stops is in Exodus
chapter 17. And here we see prophetically again
that the rock spoken of by Jacob, would one day
be smitten. It is very clear from the New Testament
that what happened here in the striking of this
rock was prophetic. In fact, it is a type. It
is a picture of what would happen to the Messiah
when he would come. He would be stricken. He
would be smitten. But as a result of his being
smitten, there would be made provision for the
people of God. It is a picture of the sacrifice
of Christ, the rock who followed them through
the wilderness, according to 1 Corinthians 10
verse 4. By his sacrifice on the cross, when
he was smitten, the Messiah supplied for the
spiritual need of all of God's chosen people.
From him flows the water of eternal life, the
spiritual drink of God. that thirsty sinners
may come to and partake of and find their souls
need met. That is stop number two. But we turn
ahead now to Psalm 118. And we find out something
more about the rock in its prophetic significance.
Psalm 118 verse 22. It says, the stone which
the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in
our eyes. You say, well, what could that be speaking
of? Well, again, we have the light of the New
Testament to shine upon this Old Testament passage.
For example, Matthew 21, 42. Our Savior Himself
refers to this text. In Acts 4 in verse 11, Peter
draws upon this text. What is the significance
of it prophetically? It is that the stone who
was to come, the stone of Israel, the stone who
was smitten, would be a stone that would be rejected
by the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel
or its leaders are the builders here who saw
the stone. And instead of putting it into place,
they rejected it. They threw it aside. They did
not want it. But it says that God has made that
same stone the chief cornerstone. It's the Lord's
doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. And so this
stone was rejected by the nation of Israel. And
of course, that all has to do with our Lord's
ministry culminating in His crucifixion. Now
if you'll turn with me to Isaiah chapter 8 and
verse 14, we come to stop number four. We see
something more regarding Israel and this stone.
Isaiah 8 and verse 14. In this chapter Isaiah
is speaking to the nation of Judah. Isaiah has
produced a son which has been assigned to the
nation. That judgment is coming upon them. His
name is Meher Shalal Hashbez. Now you might try
that for your child the next time around. We'll
put up three roses for anybody who names their
child Meher Shalal Hashbez. And a prophecy then
followed, further confirming the fact that the
nation was in deep trouble. And in verse 14,
Well, verse 13, let's back up. He says, it is
the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
In fact, they had more respect for the king of
Assyria than they did for their own God. They
were more concerned about what he might do, or
his power, than they were the Lord. But Isaiah
goes on to say, and he shall be your fear, and
he shall be your dread. Then he shall become
a sanctuary, but to both the houses of Israel.
a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over.
And so as we think of the stone or the rock prophetically,
we must remember that the stone that was rejected
by the nation also became to them a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense in Christ's first
coming. Romans 9, 32 speaks of this. 1 Corinthians
1, 23, the preaching of the cross is to the Jews
a stumbling block. And so the Christ whom they
rejected, that stone that they pushed aside and
did not choose, then became a stone of stumbling
to them as a people and stumble they have. At
this point it's important for us to pick up a
side theme in one sense, a central theme in another,
and that's in 1 Peter. So we'll turn to the New
Testament. 1 Peter chapter 2, as we come to stop
number 5. 1 Peter 2, beginning in verse 4. Peter
writes to Christians, to believers, to both Jews
and Gentiles who have trusted in Christ, He says,
In coming to him as to a living stone, rejected
by men, but choice and precious in the sight
of God, you also as living stones are being built
up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained
in Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion. a choice
or a chosen stone, a precious cornerstone, and
he who believes in him shall not be disappointed."
And so we see that the stone that was prophesied
and which was to be smitten, which was rejected
by the nation and which became a stone of stumbling
to Israel, is actually now God's chosen stone
in the church. God has made him the chief cornerstone,
the foundation of the church, and the foundation
of each one who places his faith in Christ, who
comes to him as a living stone, as Peter says
here. It was to Peter that Jesus said, and upon
this rock I will build my church. Speaking there
in Matthew 16 of that rock of his confession.
of what he had said, thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Well, the nation rejected
that truth, but Peter recognized it is true,
having been taught it by God himself. And upon
that confession of who Jesus was, Jesus says,
and upon that rock I will build my church. If
you are a Christian tonight, then your life rests
upon this rock, Jesus Christ. The rejected stone
has become the foundation stone of the Church
of the Lord. Now let's go back to the Old Testament
once more, this time to the book of Daniel, and
we have stop number six as we think of this theme.
When you come to the book of Daniel, it's the
second chapter. We don't have time to read here
the whole dream which Nebuchadnezzar had. It's
an interesting dream. It's a dream that speaks
of things to come from that day and things that
even touch upon our day. As a matter of fact,
my opinion, for whatever that's worth, is that
the amazing things that we see happening today
in East Germany, Poland and parts of Europe are
just helping to set the stage for some of the
things that Daniel talks about in his prophecy.
We're not going to go into that though tonight.
In verse 31 though, Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar
says, You, O King, were looking and behold there
was a single great statue. That statue which
was large and extraordinary splendor was standing
in front of you, and its appearance was awesome."
Now he, Daniel, describes what the king had seen.
The head of that statue was made of fine gold,
its breast and its arms of silver, its belly
and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet
partly of iron and partly of clay. You'd continued
looking until a stone. was cut out without hands
and it struck the statue on its feet of iron
and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the
clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were
crushed all at the same time and became like
chaff from the summer threshing floors and the
wind carried them away so that not a trace of
them was found. But the stone that struck the
statue became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth. And in fact that was Nebuchadnezzar's
dream. And now Daniel goes on to describe the
meaning and to interpret it. For time's sake
tonight we're going to go down to verse 44, skip
over part of the interpretation. It says, And
in the days of those kings That is, the latter
kings. You see, the statue outlines the whole
age that we call the times of the Gentiles. It
lays out the great empires in Gentile world history.
And he says, in the days of those kings, at the
latter end of it all, the God of heaven will
set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.
And that kingdom will not be left for another
people. It will crush and put an end to all these
kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out
of the mountain without hands, and that it crushed
the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and
the gold, the great God has made known to the
king what will take place in the future. So the
dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.
So what is all of this? Well, what Daniel interprets
this dream to be, and God gives him the interpretation,
is that that stone cut out without hands is the
Lord, the Messiah. And he says there will come
a time at the end of Gentile world domination.
when this stone will absolutely crush and destroy
the Gentile powers accumulated through the centuries.
And all of the Gentile glory and all of the Gentile
world domination will cease and it will all amount
to so much chaff the wind will carry it away.
And then that stone in the vision begins to swell
and expand until that stone becomes itself a
great mountain. And Daniel says that that mountain
is the Lord's kingdom which He will establish.
And so leaving it at that point, stop number
six tells us that this stone that was prophesied
by Jacob, the stone of Israel, which would be
smitten and provide salvation. This stone that
would be rejected and become a stumbling stone
to the nation of Israel, but the chief cornerstone
for the church. That that stone would one day
be the end of Gentile world domination and would
establish the kingdom of the Lord upon the earth.
Well, that's quite an expanse, quite a horizon.
prophecy that we've looked at there but there's
one more reference to the stone that I think
is important to look at and that's Matthew chapter
21 as we think of the prophetic significance
and it is a warning Jesus has referred in verse
42 to that text from Psalm 118 but in Matthew
21 in verse 44 Well, let's begin in verse 43.
He says, Therefore I say to you, the kingdom
of God will be taken away from you. He is talking
now to the nation of Israel and its leaders.
And be given to a nation producing the fruit
of it, that is really the church of Christ. And
he says, He who falls on this stone, which one?
The one rejected in verse 42, referring to himself.
He who falls on this stone will be broken to
pieces and on whomever it falls it will scatter
him like dust. There is the solemn word of warning
by Jesus himself that to reject him and thus
to fall upon the stone and have the stone roll
over on you is to be absolutely ruined. To reject
him is to be crushed as it were. under God's
judgment. And so I plead with anyone tonight
who is rejecting this rock, Jesus Christ, please
understand that your rejection will lead you
only to ruin. Oh, how great is the grace of God
today that He allows you to come and partake
freely of the water of life that He has provided
through a sacrifice. But if in fact you turn
away from that water, you will not drink of it,
you will not believe on the Lord, then you leave
yourself no recourse, no other destiny, but that
this stone would fall upon you eventually and
crush you in judgment. Flee from that judgment.
Well, so much for the prophetic significance
of this theme. I'd like just in closing to look
at a couple of ideas regarding the practical
significance of it. For this picture of a rock,
the Lord our Rock, provides a sense of security,
protection, and stability for the child of God,
the one who believes. In the first place, the
Lord our Rock is a rock of salvation to us. There
are so many texts to look at, but would you turn
back again to the Psalms in Psalm 40? We have
a wonderful word of David He says in verse 1
I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined
to me and heard my cry He brought me up out of
the pit of destruction out of the miry clay and
He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps
firm. The Lord is a rock of salvation. And one
who believes in Him knows the meaning of being
lifted up from the pit of destruction, from the
miry clay of sin, and having his feet set solidly
on rock." I can remember as a kid. after heavy
rainstorms going out into our cow lot. Now if
you've been raised on a farm, you know a little
bit of what that's like. I can remember having
hip boots on that were too big for me. And when
I would walk out there where there were normally
cattle and sheep and other kinds of animals,
after a heavy rain I would sink down into that
mud. Two inches four inches six inches so much
so that on one occasion. I walked right out of
my boots And then what do you do you can't get
back into them very quickly because you're so
dirty What a great feeling it was after walking
across the cow lot in that mud and finding yourself
Just lifting each foot with effort to step upon
the rock That led us into the barn kind of a
stepping stone up into the barn itself, and to
be free from that extra weight, that pull, that
mire of the mud. Oh, and so it is when we come
to the Savior, we are released from that mire,
from that pull downward that holds us, and we
are set free, and there is solid footing for
us. The Lord our Rock is a rock of salvation.
In the second place, The Lord, our rock, is a
rock of strength. Look in Psalm 18, verses 1
and 2. For the child of God, the Lord is a rock
of strength. Again, David. I love thee, O Lord,
my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer. My God, my rock in whom I take
refuge, my shield in the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold, I call upon the Lord who is worthy
to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."
You'll notice that these verses have been used
for a number of the scripture songs that we enjoy
singing, including the one that we sang earlier
tonight, verse 2. He says, the Lord is my strength.
He is my rock. and my fortress, my deliverer."
He goes on in this psalm. We don't have time
to read it all. It's a long psalm. But he explains,
he elaborates on what the Lord, his strength,
enables him to do. Especially beginning in verse
28 and on. He talks about God being his light.
He says, for by thee I can run upon a troop and
by my God I can leap over a wall. He goes on
to explain what God strengthens him to do. What
this really is, is no more than an Old Testament
elaboration of Philippians 4 .13. I can do all
things through Christ, who what? Who strengthens
me, because the Lord is the rock of strength.
Then we have touched upon this, but in 1 Corinthians
10 .4, there is the word that the Lord is the
rock that followed Israel through the wilderness.
The rock who provided, which provided, spiritual
drink that they all shared in. Let me just say
that the Lord, our rock, is a rock of supply.
You and I have by His grace the fullness of the
Holy Spirit. We have provision for our earthly
journey. just as Israel was ministered to in
a spiritual sense by this rock throughout their
years, their decades of wandering in the wilderness.
So as you and I as pilgrims in this wilderness
world walk, we have a rock who ministers supply
to us. We have the fullness of spiritual drink
that comes from Him that nourishes us in the
inner man. And finally, Let me say by way of
practical significance that the Lord our rock
is the rock of safety the rock of safety Turn
over to Isaiah chapter 32 for our final text
tonight Verses 1 & 2 Isaiah again is speaking
of the Messiah here in his kingdom And he says
behold a king will reign righteously, Isaiah
32, and princes will rule justly, and each will
be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter
from the storm, like streams of water in a dry
country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched
land." Isaiah is thinking here of a rock. that
provides shelter. If you're walking through wilderness
and that sun is beating down upon you and you
are thirsty and you are looking for escape, what
do you do? You go to that rock that is higher
than you are. That rock that gives a shadow and
you rest in the shadow of that rock. It becomes
to you a rock of safety. Our Lord is to us a
rock of safety from the wrath of God, a rock
of safety from the conflicts of life. And so
as we think of the Lord our rock, rejoice tonight
if you're a Christian. Rejoice that he is to
you the rock of salvation. He is the rock of
strength, the rock of supply, and the rock of
safety. A shelter in the time of storm. There
is of course a hymn that is written on that theme,
the Lord's our rock, in Him we hide, a shelter
in the time of storm. Secure whatever ill betide,
a shelter in the time of storm. Oh rock divine,
oh refuge dear, a shelter in the time of storm.
Be thou our helper ever near, a shelter in the
time of storm. Or there is that great hymn written
a couple of hundred years ago now by Augustus
Toplady, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide
myself in thee. Or the hymn by W .O. Cushing
written just 110 years ago, written in a time
in his life when he said no one in the world
could know the struggles and the conflicts he
was going through. But during that time, He came
upon some of the truths we've talked about tonight
in the Word and penned these words, When pressed
by the foe, I have fled to my refuge and breathed
out my woe. How often, when trials like sea billows
roll, have I hidden in thee, O thou rock of my
soul. And then we have the hymn in our own hymnal.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock. A
wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord. I'd like for
us to close tonight by singing another one using
this same theme, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,
number 340 in your hymnal. And I would hope tonight
that this is in fact where your faith is resting.
If you do not know the meaning of salvation,
if your life is not upon the solid rock that
God has provided, You can trust Him. You can
believe on Him, just as those who testified tonight
so eloquently. You can come to know Him, and
you will find your feet lifted from the miry
clay and put upon that solid rock. Well, let's
stand together as we sing, number 340, the first
verse. My hope is built on nothing less than
Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust
the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus'
name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, on other
ground is sinking sand. We talked earlier about
the prophetic significance of the rock. Let's
sing the last verse that talks about the time
when he will come with trumpet sound. Fourth
verse. When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found, Dressed in his
righteousness so long, For blessed to stand before
the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand,
is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking
sand. Well, as you go home tonight, be thinking
about this theme, onto the Lord our Rock, and
realize afresh what a foundation He's put unto
your life by His grace. Let's bow together in
prayer. And if there be someone here without
the Savior tonight, I'll be here and others will
be around. Our pastors would be happy to talk
with you about your spiritual need or call us
this week, won't you? Father, thank you for the
theme of the rock. Oh Lord, we love you. You
are our strength. You are our rock, our shelter.
We rejoice tonight in all that you are to your
people and all that you offer to all who will
come in faith and believe. As we go from here
tonight may we rejoice on that foundation that
we have heard about and sung about and may we
stand and stand secure and solidly and strong
this week upon the Rock. Jesus Christ. And it's
in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.