Proclaiming from the Rock about the Rock
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Introduction
Introduction
Moses was a man that encountered and experienced God. He received the Law and became an expert in that law as he lead the Israelites in the Wilderness. Moses was given an opportunity of Holy intimacy that guided him and helped him through his life. Henry Blackaby developed a study that perhaps many of you have done called Experiencing God. This is a wonderful study in understanding and doing the will of God.
In this study, Dr. Blackaby said,
Dr. Blackaby is well into his 80’s now. His life
“Many people have grown up attending church and hearing about God all their lives, but they do not have a personal, dynamic, growing relationship with God.”
― Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God
Moses had that personal, dynamic, growing relationship with God and it was evident especially in the latter years of his life. Moses lived to be 120 years old. He is credited with writing the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness because of their sin and unbelief. They were going to enter into the Promised Land but were going to have to do so without their leader Moses. They wondered what God would do with them. They wondered what it meant to be the covenant people of God in this new land. What would life be like with God and out of the wilderness?
Moses was about to die, but he knew that God needed one more task from him. The Book of Deuteronomy is a summary of 3 messages Moses gave to answer the questions they had. He helps them remember the mighty acts God performed on behalf of His people. He helps them remember and understand the Law of the Lord that was given. Third, Moses led the people to renew their covenant with God so that they could have a close personal relationship with Him.
Deuteronomy is not just a book that recites the laws, but it gives us some insight in how to grow closer to our Lord.
Near the end of this fascinating book, Moses recites a beautiful song in front of the whole assembly of Israel. There is much that he shares, but in , he gives us story to tell, a foundation to stand on, and a faithfulness to behold.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.
A Story to Tell
A Story to Tell
Do you have a story to tell about who the Lord is? The truth of the matter is that one way or another, we all have a story to tell about the Lord. Depending on your relationship with Him, it can be ongoing or it can be finished. It can be just beginning or it could have started a long time ago. It could be growing and exciting or it can be sporadic and perhaps dull. Moses said he had a story with intention. He intentionally said he was going to proclaim the name of the Lord. He is really saying, “I have to tell you about the character of the Lord! I am ascribing to His greatness!”
If we could ask ole Moses why he emphatically tells the Israelites, “I will proclaim the Name of the Lord,” he could say, “to preserve the honor of the Lord.” Moses had an understanding about honoring the Lord. After all, the very first commandment that he was given was:
“You shall have no other gods before me.
It takes a position of honor for such a bold statement.
Exodus 20:3
Moses could have said, “I will proclaim the Name of the Lord because these Israelites have known and worshiped a Holy God, yet they continue to be a people that is unholy.” Moses recognized the need to remind the Israelites that their worship and actions should reflect each other.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:
Moses could have said, “I will proclaim the Name of the Lord to declare that God is righteous.” I am certain that Moses had the same understanding that King David had many years later when David wrote:
Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous laws.
Psalm
God could be praised seven times a day because He is righteous.
You are always righteous, O Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
You and I can also recognize what Moses did. We can proclaim the Name of the Lord because of His goodness.
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
We are so blessed to know of the goodness of God. Has God been good to you? Then proclaim the Name of the Lord!
We can proclaim the Name of the Lord because of His graciousness.
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah
He longs to be gracious to you. When was the last time you thanked God for His graciousness? I am convinced that if we understood the Lord’s graciousness more we would be more gracious to others.
Notice we don’t see Moses saying, “Y’all on over to church with us sometime.”
We can proclaim the Name of the Lord because of His greatness. Is your God great?
I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
Deuteronomy 32:3
When did you last praise the greatness of our God? You might say, “well I invited someone to church this week.” That’s fantastic. We need to invite people to church. But this verse says to I will proclaim the Name of the Lord, not invite someone to church. There is a difference in proclaiming the Name of the Lord and inviting someone to church. When we truly proclaim the Name of the Lord, those that are around us will say, “I want some of that” and they will invite themselves to church! Come on, now! When we are proclaiming the way we need to proclaim that Glorious Name of the Lord in our words, actions and deeds, the overflow of that proclaiming will automatically invite others to church!
Our God is a Great God. He draws all unto Him. There is nothing greater than our Great God! Someone proclaim the Name of the Lord with me!
I will proclaim the Name of the Lord. Oh praise the greatness of our God!
Do you think Moses got a little bit excited in doing that? Do you think he realized that he has a firm foundation to stand on?
A Foundation to Stand On
A Foundation to Stand On
Moses gets a little fired up and says, “He is the Rock!” Now across the way they have a stadium they play football in called the Rock. They make lots of noise and I can’t imagine what it would be like to play on that field, but that’s not even a grain of sand compared to God Almighty the Rock. What a foundation He gives us to stand upon. God is called the ROCK throughout the Old Testament. Six times in this chapter! Oh that we might realize the solid rock on which we stand!
The Rock is firm.
He said:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:2
The Rock is unshakable.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
The Rock gives us shelter.
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Because He is the Rock, His works are perfect.
You can’t build perfection on something that is not solid. From the beginning of the Bible in Genesis and through the Book of Revelation and every book in between, we see that God’s ways are perfect.
Genesis 1:31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
His ways are perfect because He made all things very good.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Iwas
Psalm 104:
His works are perfect because they are made in His wisdom.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:
His works are perfect because they are made in His understanding.
But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
His works are perfect because they are made in His power.
I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Ecclesiastes
His works are perfect because they are made to endure forever.
Do you know why all of His ways are perfect? Because all of His ways are just. Just means having the attributes of justice as well as the One who executes judgement. This means that the Lord is righteous. He is fair.
Who is wise? He will realize these things.
Who is discerning? He will understand them.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.
A Faithfulness to Behold
A Faithfulness to Behold
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy A faithful God. Our
Aren’t you glad to know that your God is a faithful God? When we examine the faithfulness of our God, we see that He is totally dependable, incredibly trustworthy, and steadfast to His commitments.
You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.
We
Our God is a faithful God who wants us to know Him and be assured because beside Him there is no other! He is a faithful God Who does no wrong! He can’t do wrong because it is the opposite of Who He is. He’s never cheated. Hes’ never lied. He’s never wronged. Our God is a faithful God Who does know wrong!
Proclaim the Name of the Lord with me!
Our God is faithful, does no wrong and is upright and just.
The word for upright describes one that is in accordance with a proper standard. This is absolutely incredible to me because He created the standard!
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
Our God is a great God! Listen to this once more, but this time from the Message translation:
For it’s God’s Name I’m preaching—
respond to the greatness of our God!
The Rock: His works are perfect,
and the way he works is fair and just;
A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
a straight-arrow God.
Church, it is time to respond to the Greatness of our God!
We can be assured that His foundation is strong. We can trust that He and His ways are faithful. I invite you to get to know Him more and more through His Son Jesus.