One of the most widespread pictures of Christ that we find in the Bible is that of the rock. He is presented as such in a variety of ways in order to capture the many facets of His person and work. To Israel, He was the rock of provision (1 Cor. 10:3f); to the nations, He will be the rock that obliterates all their empires (Dan. 2:34f); to the church, He is the foundation stone (Eph. 2:20); to the Jewish leaders of Christ’s day, He was the stone which the builders rejected (Ps. 118:22); to unbelievers, He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense (1 Pet. 2:8); to believers, He is the living stone (1 Pet. 2:4); and to the Father, He is the tested and precious stone (Isa. 28:16).
In all of these grand spheres—Jews, Gentiles, the church, believers, unbelievers—the Lord Jesus is the Rock.
But there is something very moving in the fact that Christ is also the rock to individuals. David called Him, “The Rock of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:3). Jacob knew Him as, “the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel” (Gen. 49:24). And Moses referred to Him four times as the Rock in Deuteronomy 32, speaking of His perfection (v.4), His role as Savior (v.15), His creatorial power (v.18), and His supremacy (v.31).
Do you notice anything else that these three passages have in common? They are the final words of each of these great men. “These are the last words of David” (2 Sam. 23:1). “When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people” (Gen. 49:33). “And the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, ‘…Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people’” (Dt. 32:48-50).
Is it merely a coincidence that each of these men spoke of the Lord as the Rock as they stood on the brink of eternity? I rather suspect that in that profound moment, as they looked back on their lives, they had a special appreciation of the one great constant that had been with them every step of the way. These men had all had their ups and downs. David had spent years on the run from Saul and then endured multiple rebellions. Jacob, after his own troubled wanderings, had spent years deceived into thinking that he had lost his beloved son. And Moses had endured both ill treatment with the people of God and the ill treatment of the people of God. What could these men have relied upon in life? Their circumstances? The people around them? They looked back and saw that towering over the capriciousness of men and uncertainty of circumstances was the solid, immovable Rock.
This whole world is busy building its life on sand. What a refreshing contrast to know the power, safety, and reliability of our Rock of refuge (Ps. 94:22). We can confidently call others to faith in Christ because He is utterly, uniquely, infinitely trustworthy.
Like David, Jacob, and Moses, we also face ups and downs, trials and heartaches. But if we know the Lord Jesus, we have Heaven’s remedy for every trial: “Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:1f).