Names of God: Rock by Robin Densmore Fuson

In the series of names of God, we are now focusing on attribute names of God. The Lord is called the Rock in Psalm 19:14. Isaiah 26:4 says, “the Lord God is the eternal rock.”

That’s the rock that will not move or fade away. So today, we will look at God as the Rock.

One of my heroines in the Bible is Hannah. She shared a husband with another woman who had many children and was nasty toward Hannah, flaunting her productive womb. Ridiculed for being barren, she went to the tabernacle to pray for a miracle—a child. She promised if the Lord granted her petition, she would give the child back in service to the Lord.

Samuel was born and instead of reneging on her promise, when still a wee boy, she brought him to live with Eli, the priest, as an apprentice. Can you imagine the heartache she must have felt? The day she gave her son, Samuel, back to the Lord, Hannah prayed a song of worship. Worship. She worshiped in her sorrow. In it, she says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord, I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none like You, nor is there any rock like our God” (1Samuel 2:1-2 nkjv).

Hannah rejoiced in the Rock because she clung to Yahweh in her barrenness. Her Rock—a strong pillar—to cling to, when the tide of ridicule almost overcame her. Read all of her story in 1Samuel 1- 2:11.

Not only do we need to cling to God, our Rock, we can run to Him as our rocky cave for protection.

I was born is a small town in the Rocky Mountains. There is a reason they are called rocky. Granit pinnacles and rocky faces protrude from the earth. They are foreboding and impressive. But if I was out on one of those tremendous mountains in a storm, I’d like one of their caves to hide.

 In the Old Testament, people hid themselves from enemies in caves and behind rocks, therefore a fortress.

David ran from his enemies into strong holds of rocky caves. A fortress is where we seek refuge. David wrote a song in Psalm 18:2. Here it is in the nlt, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock in whom I find protection.” David also said, “The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9 nlt)

What an amazing picture that is of God’s attributes as our Rock, Fortress, and Savior.

During the Israelites’ travels from Egypt to the Promised Land, they ran out of water. The Lord told Moses to take his rod and hit the rock where refreshing water gushed out for the tens of thousands of people.

Water from the rock.

The rock here is sustenance. Life sustaining water came from a rock. Paul refers to this event in the traveling Israelites in 1Corinthians 10:4 and he put the true significance of the rock in this verse. I’ll read it from the NLT. “all of them drank from the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.”

Jesus is our Rock. He is the Rock of salvation. He is our sustenance.

Another reference to Him as the Rock is in Mark 12:10, where Jesus called himself the cornerstone, quoting Psalm 118:22: the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief cornerstone. That verse is explained in Acts 4:11-12 nlt: There is salvation in no one else!

Jesus is our sure foundation, rock of salvation, and the cornerstone Which is where the complete building gets its strength and straight lines. The structure is built off of the cornerstone. Especially in ancient times, they placed a large rock at the designated spot of the corner of the planned building, then the carpenters and masons aligned the building off that rock. The entire structure squared off from that rock. And Jesus says He is that Rock.

Build your house on the rock. In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus told of two men. One built his house on a rock and when the winds and waves came, the house survived, but the other fellow built his house on the sand, and the winds and waves crashed that house flat. When I used to teach the children at church, we sang a little song about those verses.

Our house, therefore, our life, should be built upon the Rock of Salvation, Jesus Christ. Some people reject Jesus and they perish. In contrast, those of us who embrace Jesus as Lord and have a relationship with Him are taken to heaven.

In Psalm 40:2 the psalmist said the Lord pulled him out of the mire and set his feet upon the rock. Do you need to be pulled out of the mire and placed on the Solid Rock?

David knew his own strength wasn’t good enough and he needed help from the Rock of surety: “lead me to a rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2 nkjv). He knew he needed a place of stability, refuge, a shelter where God provided protection. He knew this was not only physical but also spiritual.

Are we relying on the Rock of Salvation? Only Jesus can save us and take us to heaven. It’s an individual decision. No one can do it for another. Each individual needs a relationship with the Rock, Jesus. Where do we stand? With or without the Rock?

The previous talk: Names of God: Ancient of Days

Or start the series here: I Am (Names of God) by Robin Densmore Fuson