The Rock
Notes
Transcript
Ha’azinu
Ha’azinu
When you imagine a large boulder or rock, what comes to mind?
A rock is something sturdy, strong, dependable. Today we have explosives and modern equipment so nothing seems immovable to us, but in the ancient world it woud take a long time to chizel away a sizeable rock.
This song of witness starts with the command for the heavens and earth to hear and act upon the words that follow.
This song or poem was given with a purpose - to stand as a witness to a people that will go astray, not might go astray.
The poem would be an artefact of the covenant relationship for generations that would follow.
There are two parties to the covenant. On the one hand is the Rock of Israel - the One who is dependable and certain - and the other party to the covenant are the decendants of Jacob.
This poem was to forever remind the covenant people that God is their Rock and only in Him can they find security, blessing and length of days.
The hebrew word for Rock is tzur. And it is different from a small stone - the idea is that a tzur is immovable.
What we see in this song of witness is that the Rock of Israel - the tzur - has not moved. It is the wayward people that have drifted away and decided to leave the fortress and protection that a tzur provides.
“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
God’s faithfulness is immoveable. You can’t push it, pull it, lift it, decide to topple it - it just sits there day in and day out, rain or shine, the tzur provides a guarntee of faithfulness to those who decide to attach themselves to it.
“He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock,
From a distance this tzur is ordinary, but as one gets close this immoveable tzur holds nourishment and provision, the best things in life like honey and oil are found in this tzur. You can go up and take the richness of life from the tzur - but you have to stay close to access it.
“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— You are grown fat, thick, and sleek— Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
“You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who gave you birth.
But as a song of witness we see that the people choose to leave the security of the immovable tzur. they push away, kick, separate, neglect, and create distance.
“How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?
and as the people separate from the tzur, destruction comes upon them who have left their tzur, they will recognize the situation for what it is. their protection is gone. something has changed. the rock of salvation is no longer saving Jacob and the enemies are having victory. The rock is no longer close.
“Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this.
And Jacob will then realise that what they thought was protection was false. they will realise they left the true tzur that does not move. and when they do realise this, their tzur will once again be faithful to them. their rock will once again vindicate and provide salvation for them.
“And He will say, ‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge?
‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
the truth is the tzur of israel has never moved. Our Rock holds all things in HIs hand. this song is a witness that the children of Jacob are in covenant with God whether they want to be or not. whether they know it or not. whether they are obedient or not.
there is no ‘get out of the covenant’ in this song of witness. there are only blessings or curses in this song of witness.
and because this rock is faithful in the end, the people come to their senses, they realize who the true tzur is, and so The Rock of Israel commands the nations as follows.
“Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people.”
there will come a time when the nations recognize who the true tzur is - and it is not the so called rocks of the nations - but it is the tzur of israel that is the true rock. at that time all will rejoice for the work of the true Tzur.
the history of the world is being captured in this one song and we are seeing it play out before our eyes.
during this high holiday season let us not forget where our world is heading and what our responbsibilities are as we see that day fast approaching.
