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A brief bit of encouragement for the journey from God’s Word. Today’s Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 31:30-34:12 / Psalm 90 Music: “Awaken the Dawn” by Stanton Lanier
Well a good Monday morning to you. I hope you had a good day yesterday, the Lord's Day, meeting with God's people, learning something from God's Word, and especially taking advantage of the opportunity to worship him and to give him his due on the Lord's Day.
Well today in our Bible reading we're finishing up the book of Deuteronomy, reading chapters 32 through 34, and then there's a chapter 32 is a song of Moses, so this chronological Bible reading plan is also going to throw us into the book of Psalms, because in Psalm 90 you have recorded for us in one of the Psalms a song of Moses, or a prayer of Moses.
I want to focus first of all on a key word that Moses uses in his song in chapter 31 of Deuteronomy, where he begins the song, he says, I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God, and then he says this, he is the rock.
He is the rock. And when I read this, my mind immediately went to the two occasions where the Lord provided water for his people from the rock in the wilderness. And as Moses continues on here, he says, he is the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.
He is a God of truth and without injustice. Righteous and upright is he. And I think that's an interesting way of describing the Lord as the rock, the one whose work is perfect, everything he does is always right, it's always perfect, his ways are always just.
Now, when you think about that, remember those two occasions when the water gushed from the rock. The first occasion, the Lord told Moses to strike the rock, which he did, and the water gushed forth. The second occasion, the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock, and instead, Moses was just so angry with the people of Israel, because they're complaining spirit and everything, that he went to the rock and he said, do we have to give you this, do we have to fetch water for you out of this rock?
And he smote, he hit the rock with that staff that was in his hand, and the Lord, nevertheless, graciously provided the water from the rock. But, because Moses did not honor the Lord, the Lord said, you didn't set me apart, you didn't sanctify me before the people, you made it look like you were the one that was giving the water, because you didn't do that, therefore you're not going to be able to enter the land.
Sorry Moses, you blew it. So, I think it's interesting that, as Moses, here at the end of it, near the end of this wilderness journey, Moses knows he's going to be passing off the scene here pretty soon, because he doesn't get to go in the land, he nevertheless describes the Lord as the rock whose ways are justice.
He's experiencing the effect of the just ways of the Lord, and I think by saying this, he is also recognizing that he's pretty much getting what he deserves. The Lord's ways are justice. So he describes God as a rock.
Now what's interesting, as you continue on in this song of Moses, he uses the rock metaphor several different times. In, drop down to verse 13, he uses the rock as a reference to false, as a reference to the source of where God has provided stuff.
He said he made him, that is Israel, draw honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock, so the Lord provided for his people out of the rock. The rock provided what the people needed from the rock.
And then in verse 15, again, here he's criticizing the people who scornfully esteemed the rock of his salvation, which of course is the Lord, who is the rock. But then what's interesting is, later on in the song, he speaks about the so-called rock of the pagans.
So in verse, let's see, verse 30, he says, How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, speaking of Israel's success in battle, unless their rock had sold them, and the Lord had surrendered them?
I'm sorry, this particular verse is talking about Israel sinning against the Lord and him bringing judgment upon them, and people will be successful at overcoming Israel, defeating Israel, one is going to chase a thousand Israelites, two will put ten thousand to flight, and he says, How could they do that, unless their rock had sold them, and the Lord had surrendered them?
He goes on to say, Their rock is not like our rock, for our enemies, even our enemies themselves, being judges. So even though the enemy has their rock, lowercase r, their rock is not the one who's going to give them the victory.
It's going to be Israel's rock who sells them to the enemy because of their unfaithfulness, and so forth. Well, anyway, on through here, this song, Moses repeatedly uses this imagery of the rock to point out the strength, the stability, the faithfulness, the fidelity of God, and again in those opening verses he speaks of him as being perfect, whose work is perfect, his ways justice, a God of truth, and without injustice, righteous and upright is he.
I'm glad that I serve such a God who is truly a rock that can be counted on, steadfast, unmovable. Let's thank the Lord for him today. So Lord, we do thank you for this imagery that Moses uses to describe your character, and your power, and your ability.
Thank you that you are a rock to your people. Now, bless these thoughts to our hearts today, we pray, and we ask this in Jesus' name, and for his sake, amen. All right, well listen, I trust you have a good rest of your Monday, hope your week gets off to a good start today.
God bless.
