Deuteronomy 32:1-6 (KJV)1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 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. 5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. 6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

As we have been studying the names of God over the past few weeks, one of the Greatest Names of God was put in a song by a dying Prophet. This Prophet was Moses. Moses was a patient and a humble man who loved the Lord. What we have just read responsively is one of the Names of God that He gave to His Israel and his Moses. Moses sang (for this is a song):

I will publish (make known) the Name of the LORD (Yahweh)
Ascribe ye greatness to our God.
He is THE ROCK, His work is perfect – all His ways are judgment

God is “The Rock”. This is the name that Moses “published”. He didn’t make it up. It isn’t a nickname. God gave Moses and Israel this name of His. God is (in the Hebrew) צוּר Tsuwr – (pronounced tsue-war) – the Rock. God is (in the Greek) πέτρα Petra the Rock.

Moses song is based on God being the Rock. Have you ever thought about how many songs we sing that involve God being the Rock?

God is our Rock of Ages:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood,
from Thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Christ is the Rock on which we stand:

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;
All other ground is sinking sand.

God is our Rock in uncertain times:

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He’s the One;
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

God Is Our Rock. When Israel came out of Egypt God began to teach them to trust Him. If you belong to God you must learn to trust God! God does not provide everything to us immediately.

Israel cried out for deliverance from Egypt for 400 years, just as God told Abraham:

Genesis 15:13 (ESV) Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

Israel was planted in Egypt for 430 years, and 400 of those they were afflicted. Why so long? Because people are knuckleheads when it comes to God! God loves us. God possesses us. God cares for us. Yet we keep trying to do things our way.

1 God Is Our Rock Who Gives REDEMPTION. After 400 years of affliction the nation was FED UP with Egypt. So God’s people cried out to the Rock of Ages. And He answered. God led Israel out of Egypt by pillar of fire and pillar of cloud. When they got to the Red Sea they reached a barrier. Behind them was the Egyptian Army, led by Pharaoh, ready to destroy them. In front of them an impassable barrier, a watery sea, a Red Sea. The Biblical Red Sea (see Ex 23:31; Num 21:4; Deut 2:1; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26) is a depth of around 1.15 miles deep at it’s height! How is Israel going to get through this sea? They have no time to build boats. To try and swim would cause many of the nation (desert nomads are not known as swimmers) to drown. Israel cries out – and Moses answers!

Exodus 14:13-18 (KJV) Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

God parted the waters, and Israel passed through the Red Sea as if on dry ground. God dried up the path that Israel would take. As the Psalmist said:

Psalm 40:2 (ESV) {God} drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

The Red Sea would have run red that day with the blood of God’s people if God the Rock had not intervened. Their path was solid and sure because He alone is the Rock of Deliverance, the Rock of salvation. They Egyptian Army along with Pharaoh died that day because they made their hearts rock hard instead of repenting and exalting God the rock.

God is our Rock of Deliverance. I believe God paved the way through the Red Sea for His Children. If you know anything about seas and oceans you know that the bottom of a salt water area is usually sand, algae, and mud. But God paved the way for His people, and bogged down the enemies of His people.

Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7 (NASB) My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. 2 He only is my Rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. 5My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

2 God Is Our Rock Of PROVISION. In his song Moses sang:

Deuteronomy 32:2-4 (KJV) My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock

His “doctrine” shall drop as the rain, my “speech” shall distill as the dew, as a small rain upon a tender herb. Moses draws several pictures of water, something we all need. We are, I am told, according to H.H. Mitchell Journal of Biological Chemistry 158:

“… the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%. Each day humans must consume a certain amount of water to survive. … this varies according to age and gender, and also by where someone lives. Generally, an adult male needs about 3 liters per day while an adult female needs about 2.2 liters per day.”

We are largely water, and must drink liquid if we are to survive. People have been known to fast 40 days and longer, but the normal person can only go about 3 days without water. As Israel under Moses traveled to Rephidim (Exodus 17) where there was no water to drink. Israel immediately started to complain, and Moses once more went to the God the Rock.

Exodus 17:5-7 (KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

You would not expect water to come out of a dry rock. But that rock did not represent a dry rock. That Rock represented Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is a wonderful God written Book of Books that foretold of the Coming Messiah. God used beautiful imagery to explain what He would one day do in Christ. When Moses stood before that Rock as God commanded him to do he was to take the Rod that he held over the Red Sea – the Rod that God used to to part the waters – and standing before this Rock HE WAS TO STRIKE THE ROCK. That Rock was Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

When Moses stood before the Rock he represented God the Father. As Moses struck the Rock this represented Christ being given for our sins. And as the Rock was crucified for our sins it is in His suffering that we have the water of life. Water flowed from Him, Christ our God. We see this image many times in the New Testament.

• Jesus told the Samaritan Woman:

John 4:13-14 (NLT) …. “Anyone who drinks this {well} water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

• Jesus told the crowd on the “Last and Greatest Day of the Feast”:

John 7:37-39 (KJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

When Israel stood before the Rock at Massah Meribah that Rock represented the Crucified Christ. He died so that we could live. He is our Rock. God told Moses “I will stand BEFORE YOU there upon the Rock”. God took our sins. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us.

3 God Is The Rock Who Loves Us (Though Sometimes We Misunderstand This Truth). We are told in our focal text:

Deuteronomy 32:3-5 (KJV) I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 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. 5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

God is the Rock, whose work is PERFECT. God has never done sin. God has never done evil. All His ways are judgment. They are balanced. We may not understand what God is doing at times, but God’s work is rock solid. His motives are rock pure. He is a God of truth and WITHOUT iniquity. There is no sin in God. There is no bad in God. Those who are righteous:

Psalm 92:15 (ESV) to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

There is no wrong in God. When things do not go our way we are to say with the Lord that:

Romans 8:28 (KJV) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Those who wander away from God to stay were never God’s children. I wish I had time to preach all of Moses song – I pray you go home and prayerfully read it in devotion, hearts lifted up to God. But I want you to note and read with me another portion of this song:

Deuteronomy 32:31-39 (KJV) For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: 33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. 34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? 35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. 36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left. 37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted, 38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. 39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

There is a little “g” god that most of the world and many local churches follow after.

Their rock is not as our ROCK

This little “g” god is defined not by what the “Big G” God has said, but by what man thinks. This little “g” god is based on human feelings and what we who are little “g” gods think is right”. Their “vine is the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah”.

They tie their lives NOT to what God’s Word the Bible says nor to what the Vine that is Christ has said, but to what THEY define to be godly. And God will not bless this!

God never blesses evil. The Rock may tolerate our missteps but will not bless them.

We bring a curse on ourselves when we do the wrong thing. We curse ourselves when we follow the little “g” gods of the

sexual revolution
redefinition of marriage
fluidity in gender assignment
racism and hate mongering

There are many other little “g” gods that celebrities like Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Mainstream Media, and Hollywood promote. Yet the Big “G” God never blesses sin, and will not bless it now.

God would not bless sin in Adam.
God would not bless sin in Lot.
God would not bless sin in King David.
God will not even bless sin in Moses.

Once more Israel came to a dry spot in their journeys, a place called Kadesh. We read:

Numbers 20:7-13 (KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth HIS water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must WE fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. 13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

God’s command to Moses was simple. Whereas in Meribah Moses was to strike the Rock now Moses was to speak to the Rock. Now Moses has free will. Moses has the Rod of God in his hand. He has Aaron at his side. He can choose to do the right or not. He stands before the Rock, and this Rock is the Resurrected Christ. Crucified at Meribah, now at Kadesh He is risen. He is to bear our burdens. He is our Great High priest. The Bible tells us that He is the Rock that both Israel and the Church are built on. Jesus asked Peter:

Who do YOU say that I am?

Peter replied in Matthew 16:16 “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus to Peter:

Matthew 16:17-18 (KJV) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also 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.

Many years ago the Catholic Church – infested with men who loved power – took this verse and developed the Doctrine of the Pope. They said “Jesus built the Church on Peter, and Peter was the first Pope”. That’s nonsense. The Church is built on Jesus. When you look at the original Greek text what Jesus said to Peter was:

Thou art Πέτρος Petros (a small rock)
and upon this πέτρα Petra (large Rock)
I will build my Church

Peter would remember this later as he wrote under inspiration of God our last responsive reading:

1 Peter 2:5-10 (KJV) Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

The Church is built on the Rock that is Christ. When Israel stepped away from God she ceased being Israel. The Apostle says “not all who are descended from Israel are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). Who are God’s people? Those who have received Christ as both Lord and Savior. The Church is built on the Rock that is Christ.

Ephesians 2:20 (KJV) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

There was no one Apostle or Prophet on which the Church is built. The Church is built on the written Word of God. The Church is built on the Rock that is Christ. The Church is not a man made nor a man fueled organization. The Church is Christ’s. The Church is anchored on God our rock. Many who profess Christ today have neglected the Rock. God said:

Deuteronomy 32:17-18 (KJV)17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

God is the Rock that gives life to His people, and we as His people are to be lively stones founded on Him, glorifying Him, lifting him up.

Moses forgot that.
He stood before the Rock at Kadesh and was only to SPEAK to the Rock.
He STRUCK the Rock.
And Moses lost the Promised Land.

As Moses wrote this song we read today (at least, we read part of it) he wrote the song knowing that he would not enter the Promised Land. Joshua would take his place. Caleb would enter with Joshua. But Aaron and Moses would die. Why?

He did the wrong thing.

Many years ago our 16^th President Abraham Lincoln left Church and headed home. A fellow believer asked him “Mr President, how did you like the sermon today?”. The President said “Well, it was good”. The believer pressed for more information. “Does that mean you liked it?”. Lincoln replied, “It was good, but it was not complete because the sermon did not ask you to do anything great”.

God wants you to do something great.

Do not just acknowledge God as the Rock (which He is) but behave as if He is.

The world’s rock is not our Rock. Act as if He is your Rock. Do not strike the Rock in word or deed. God is to be glorified, to be lifted up. Obey Him. Read His Word. Pray to Him. Seek His direction in your life. If you are born again through the operation of the Spirit of God, be as His Child. Love your enemies. Do good to them that despitefully use you and curse you (Luke 6:28). Read His Word daily. Seek His Face daily.

Make a difference!
Make a difference!
Make a difference!

May God touch your hearts with His Word!