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Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee...
It should not be a great surprise that our final stone is God Himself. Look through Psalms, or Isaiah, and they are full of references to God as the Rock. But what kind of rock? So many kinds...
The first one that I thought of was in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2...
Dan 2:34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Dan 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is Christ as the stone of Destiny, who destroys utterly the kingdoms of evil men at the end of time, and then rules over all. Notice, like on our altars, it/He is a stone cut by no human hand- He is, as it says in the Catholic mass, God from God, cut from God but still God.
Probably the most famous reference was made by Christ about Himself, in Matthew...
Mat 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Mat 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
Mat 21:44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
This is the Christ of Judgment; the scandillon, the Stone of Stumbling. This was a two-way message to the Jews- if you believe in God but not Christ, you will be broken; if you don't believe either, you'll be crushed. Then, I was surprised by another reference of chilling prophecy in Deuteronomy:
Deu 32:17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
Deu 32:18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Deu 32:19 “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
Deu 32:20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.
This was the last song of Moses, whom God allowed to see the future end of ancient Israel- the Rock that birthed a people. But just before this, you get an idea of this reference:
Deu 32:3 For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
Deu 32:4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Here, God is perfect, a rock unmoved by any force of man. Another example of this immovability extends out to those who trust Him...
Mat 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Mat 7:25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Mat 7:26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Mat 7:27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Note that the man who built without the Rock didn't just see his house damaged; GREAT was its fall- all the way to hell. But that sure foundation is our shelter- and like I said, it wouldn't take you long reading David in Psalms or Isaiah to get dozens of references, including one of my favorites:
Psa 61:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
Psa 61:2 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,
Psa 61:3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
I have another one that surprised me; it is not only the Father and Son that are The Rock...
Zec 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the BRANCH.
Zec 3:9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
The seven eyes is Hebrew poetic for the Seven Spirits of God, in other words the Holy Spirit in His seven ministries. Engraving its inscription means, like we saw with the stone foundation being the Word, which is Christ, the word is inscribed (put on our hearts) by the Holy Spirit.
Of course we cannot forget what I quoted from Jesus at the beginning...
Mat 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
The Jews rejected their Messiah; they wanted a political ruler, or none at all. But, He became marvelous in OUR eyes when He "removed the iniquity of this land in a single day" on the Cross. See how it all ties together? Alright, one last reference, and that is the one that started this whole journey for me- my Life Verse and its near neighbors:
1Sa 7:10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.
1Sa 7:11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.
1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Eben-ezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.”
1Sa 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
And Eben-Ezer means, "Stone of Help." And when I feel like I can't go on, like I am abandoned to my fate, I read this verse, and imagine all the Eben-Ezers standing behind me where my Lord has saved me.
