Denton

God is described with the name "Rock" in numerous passages of scripture, a few of which we quote below:

1. Deut. 32:4, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
2. Deut. 32:15, "...then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
3. Deut. 32:18, "Of the Rock that begot thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
4. 1 Cor. 10:4, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: And that Rock was Christ."

Several key points about God the Rock can be made of the verses quoted above:

1. Jesus Christ is the Rock.
2. The work of Christ is perfect.
3. Christ ways are judgment.
4. Christ is a God of truth.
5. Christ is just and right.
6. Christ has made us.
7. Christ is the God of our salvation.
8. Christ has begotten us and formed us.
9. Christ is the Spiritual Rock that we spiritually drink of.
10. Christ is without iniquity.

The connotation of the use of the name "Rock" in reference to God is not that of a small stone, but of a giant boulder. The characteristics of a giant rock or boulder are descriptive of some of the aspects of God's nature. First, a rock is generally thought of as a good foundation on which to build. In Matt. 16:18 the Lord said, "And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The foundation or Rock upon which the Lord's church is built is upon Jesus Christ. There are three aspects of Christ upon which the church is built. First it is built upon the person of Jesus Christ, i.e., who he is. Second it is built upon the work of Jesus Christ, i.e., what he has and will do. Third, it is built upon the word of Jesus Christ, i.e., what the scriptures teach us concerning the church, its composition, offices, ordinances, government, etc.

Also the word of our Rock (Christ) is the foundation each of us should strive to build our lives upon. Matt. 7:24-27 reads, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rains descended, and the floods came, and winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

A second characteristic of a giant rock is that it can serve as a fortress of protection or advantage against an advancing enemy. Ps. 31:2, 3 describes our God in this manner: "Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." Also Ps. 94:22 reads, "But the Lord is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge." Additionally Ps. 62:6, 7 says, "He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."

A third characteristic of a giant rock is that in a weary land it can provide a shadow from the wilting heat of the sun. Is. 32:2 describes Christ as follows: "And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Life and its trials, afflictions, tribulations and troubles sometimes becomes very weary to us. Christ is that shadow of a giant rock who gives us rest and renewal and comfort in our oft weary lives.

While we may not normally think of rock providing sustenance, yet there are rocks out of which water flows, and there are rocks in which the honey bees make nests, and there are flinty rock out of which oil does come. Christ as our Rock provides all of the spiritual equivalent of these things to us:

1. Deut. 32:13, "He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock..."
2. 1 Cor. 10:4, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." See also Ex. 17:6 and Num 20:8.

Finally in II Sam. 23:1-7 Christ is described as the Rock upon which the covenant of redemption rests. He is the sure foundation and from that covenant Rock we drink the pure waters of salvation which are so refreshing for our souls and we find refuge from the storms of life and he provides us a shade from the weary trials of life. The gospel of that salvation is sweeter than honey. Because of that Rock of salvation we are anointed with the oil of gladness. We also find that the Rock of our salvation has destroyed for us the enemies of sin, death, hell, Satan, and the grave. What a Rock we are made to stand upon!

God's Name - I Am

When God appeared to Moses in the bush that burned with fire but was not consumed and told Moses "I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt," Moses asked God in Ex. 3:13: "...Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?" God's answer in v.14 was: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

We are all creatures of change. When I think of myself as a child and compare what I was to what I am today, I see much change. I am much larger today than when a child. My hair is graying, my skin is more wrinkled, while I am stronger, yet I seem to have a lot less stamina. Hopefully I have more wisdom and knowledge than I did as a child. There have been numerous technological and sociological changes from my childhood. Changes are constantly abounding. Yet with all the changes about, God is not changing. We quote the following two verses that show the unchanging nature of God:

1. Mal. 3:6 - "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
2. James 1:17 - "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

The name for God, "I AM," speaks to us of God's eternal, unchanging, existing nature, character, and purpose. We never find where God says, "I was that, but I will be this."

When God appeared to Moses, the children of Israel had been in Egyptian bondage for 400 years as God had prophesied to Abraham (Gen. 15:13). Their hope of deliverance rested on a covenant promise God had made to Abraham, "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterwards they shall come out with great substance," and on a God that changes not. If God's will, purpose, character, or ability could change, then they had no hope of deliverance. No doubt in that long period of bondage the children of Israel longed for the God of the covenant with Abraham to arise and deliver them. When the appointed time came, the great I AM arose (who changes not) and delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage as he had promised to Abraham!

Jesus Christ is described as the great I AM in Heb. 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." In verifying to a group of Jewish Pharisees his deity, Christ responded to their question in John 8:57, "...Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" with: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM." These Pharisees who did not believe in the deity of Christ took up stones to destroy him. In Rev. 1:8 Jesus said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending..." As the great I AM the character, purpose, will, nature, and ability of Christ has never changes. It is the same when this time world shall end as it was when and before he created all things. This has particular significance to us in light of the covenant of redemption God made with himself before the world began. In that covenant he chose a people to live with him and conformed to the image of Christ before the world began and these same people shall stand before him glorified as he purposed when time shall be no more (Rom. 8:28-30). This would not be possible if God could change his mind, purpose, or will or if God's essential nature, character or ability could change. Our hope of eternal glory rests on the great I AM and his unchangeableness.

Similarly, God's unchangeableness is important to us as we live out our lives in this time world. In the book of John, Jesus describes himself to us as the great I AM in seven different ways:

1. "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12; 9:5)
2. "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35; 4:8)
3. "I am the door." (John 10:7, 9)
4. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)
5. "I am the resurrection, and the life." (John 11:25)
6. "I am the true vine." (John 15:1)
7. "I am the good shepherd." (John 10:l1)

Now, knowing the unchangeable nature of God, we don't have to look back and say that God was these things to generations past, but is he still these things to us today? We know as the great I AM he is still our light, our bread, our door, our way, truth, and life, our true vine, our resurrection and life, and our good shepherd! This knowledge is a comfort and blessing to God's people in ALL generations.

God's Name - Lord of Hosts

God is often referred to in the old testament as "Lord of hosts." The term, "Lord of hosts," is specifically called the name of God in at least three different verses:

1. II Sam. 6:2, "And David arose...to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts..."
2. Is. 51:15, "But I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name."
3. Jer. 10:16, "The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name."

The word, "host," is translated into English from four different Hebrew words meaning:

1. Chayil - strength, wealth, army.
2. Chel - strength, wealth, army, force.
3. Machaneh - camp, encampment.
4. Tsaba - hosts, warfare, service.

God is specifically said to be the Lord of hosts over:

1. All the people of Israel (Ex. 12:41; II Sam. 7:26; I Chron. 17:24).
2. The armies of Israel (I Sam 17:45).
3. All the people of God (Is. 8:18).
4. All the hosts of heaven (Is. 45:12).

God is not only the "Lord of hosts" but also the captain of the hosts of the Lord as set forth in Josh. 5:13-15, "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."

While God appointed Joshua as the man to lead the armies of Israel into the land of Canaan, yet God as the Lord of hosts and the captain of the Lord's host was truly the commander and leader of Israel and her armies when they went to war against the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. When Israel followed the commandments, guidance, and direction of the "Lord of hosts," she prospered and was victorious over all her enemies. When she transgressed and failed to seek the guidance of the Lord of hosts as in the initial battle against Ai she was smitten of her enemies. Truly the same principles apply to us today as individuals, families, and church bodies. If we are to prosper in our spiritual warfare in this life we must seek and follow the commandments and guidance of our captain, the Lord of hosts.

A significant pattern is set for us in the scriptures whereby first a great victory is won by the Lord of hosts alone, then he sends forth his armies to fight in their battles under his direction. First we see that God alone delivered the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage as he sent forth the ten judgments upon the Egyptians culminating in the deaths of the firstborn sons of all the Egyptians. Then God destroyed Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea. After this great deliverance we see God directing Israel as to her battles. This is typical of the great victory fought and won for us by the captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10) Jesus Christ who delivered us from our sins by his death on the cross. This same captain and Lord of hosts now directs and commands us in our spiritual warfare.

Also in I Sam 15:2, 3 we see the Lord of hosts commanding the king and his army as to their campaign, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." This is typical of us as we war against fleshly lusts, worldly pleasures and powers, and those things that war against our soul. Our success is found in completely obeying the commandments and direction of our Lord of hosts."

The Lord of hosts has provided for his army and each soldier a full and complete armour as set forth in Eph. 6:10-18. We are to put on this "whole armour" and prove their value to us in our Christian warfare. We are to use the weapons of our warfare provided to us by the Lord of hosts for they are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." We are not to "entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life that we may please him who has chosen us to be a soldier." As good soldiers we are to obey the commandments/direction of the Lord of hosts and not be rebellious as King Saul was and of whom the Lord of hosts sent Samuel to state, "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being King." May the Lord of hosts help each of us to prosper in our spiritual warfare.