Preface:    One of the most common designations for God the Son in the Old Testament is the title, The Rock. Often this may be supplemented with additional words, like the Rock of Israel, the Rock of God. However, the idea is, he is solid, he is dependable, and we can put our trust in Him as the true foundation of our faith. It is important to note that almost every time that the word rock occurs, it is a reference to Jesus Christ.

1.      At the very beginning, the Rock of Israel was identified as God.

         a.      In Gen. 49:24–25, when Jacob was blessing Joseph, he said, “But his bow [the bow of Joseph] abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel); by the God of your father, who shall help you. And may the Almighty bless you with blessings of Heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

         b.      Moses, in one of his more poetic moments, said, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall drop down as the dew, as the small rain on the tender plant, and as the showers on the grass; because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah, ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without evil; He is just and upright.” (Deut. 32:2–4).

2.      The exodus generation became aware of the Rock in Ex. 17. The Jews had just been given the Law at Mount Sinai and they had observed the Sabbath, and now they were moving forward toward the Land of Promise. They are in the midst of a desert area without water, so they go to Moses to demand water from him. Actually, they went to him more to vent, and to claim that he brought them out to the desert to kill them of thirst. Moses goes to God in prayer. Now, the idea behind this is, Jesus is the Living Water. The water that He gives (salvation) will forever quench our thirst. God tells Moses to take his staff, which he used to strike the Nile, and to go strike a particular rock. This staff speaks of judgment, and when Moses originally struck the Nile, it turned to blood (or appeared to turn to blood). This is judgment. Moses is to take this rod of judgment and strike the Rock, which represents Jesus Christ. From that Rock burst out a tremendous amount of water; essentially, a river of water, from which all of the Israelites (2 million?) were able to drink.

         a.      Ex. 17:1–6: All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

         b.      John 4:9–15: The Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

         c.      John 7:37–40: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of His heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet."

         d.      1Cor. 10:4: And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

3.      A second no-water incident occurred in Num. 20. This was with the second generation of believers in the exodus. The Jews exited Egypt with Moses, and there were those who were 20 and above, the adults, who made up Gen X; and there were those who were below 20, the Generation of Promise, who observed their parents failing again and again and again. God let Gen X die in the desert, until almost the entire generation had been under the sin unto death. Once they all died out (including Miriam and Aaron), Moses guided them again through the desert, taking them up the eastern side of the Land of Promise. However, their first test was the same as the first test of their parents. They were thirsty, there was no water to drink, and they came to Moses, irrationally angry. Moses is no longer to take his staff and hit the Rock, because the Rock (Christ) is judged but once for our sins. That was illustrated back in Ex. 16 already. This time, Moses is to speak to the Rock, and from the Rock will come the waters of life. When it comes to salvation, our Lord is not crucified again; He is crucified once in time, and after that, we simply call on His Name for our salvation (i.e., we believe in Him). This time, Moses made the mistake. He took his staff and hit the rock twice, which is not in line with the type (the Rock is the type, Jesus is the anti-type). For this reason, God had to discipline Moses—He would not allow Moses to enter into the Land of Promise.

         a.      Num. 20:2–12: And there was no water for the congregation. And they gathered themselves against Moses and against Aaron. And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying, Oh that we had died when our brothers died before Jehovah! And why have you brought up the congregation of Jehovah into this wilderness, so that we and our cattle should die there? And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? It is no place of seed or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates. And there is no water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to them. And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying, Take the rod, and gather the assembly, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes. And it shall give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock. So you shall give the congregation and their animals drink. And Moses took the rod from before Jehovah as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now you rebels. Must we bring water for you out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock twice. And the water came out plentifully, and the congregation and their animals drank. And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

         b.      Deut. 8:15: He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground, where there was no water, who brought you forth water out of that solid rock.

         c.      These incidents are recalled in Psalm 78:15–20: He split the rocks in the wilderness, and let them drink, as from the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. And they sinned still more against Him, by provoking the Most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their heart by asking food for their lust. And they spoke against God; they said, Can God set a table in the wilderness? Behold! He struck the rock so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He also give bread? Can He provide flesh for His people? Also, Psalm 105:41: He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. Isa. 48:12: And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; He cut open the rock also, and the waters gushed out. Notice that the psalmists and Isaiah do not separate these incidents, but refer back to them both as one incident, as it were. It is the same Rock and the same Living Water (salvation).

         d.      This passage appears to look back on these no-water incidents: Earth, tremble at the presence of Jehovah, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the Rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters (Psalm 114:7–8). This passage appears to separate these incidents, and the result in each case is slightly different.

4.      Hiding within the Rock or in the cleft of the Rock is one approach to the holiness of God.

         a.      God put Moses in the cleft of a rock, so that Moses could have some contact with God in Ex. 33:20–23. And He [God] said, You cannot see My face. For there no man can see Me and live. And Jehovah said, Behold! There is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon a rock. And it will be, while My glory [God’s essence] passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back parts. But My face shall not be seen. We cannot have any contact with a perfect God, as our righteousness is not equal to His, and His justice requires separation and damnation. However, if we are in Christ—in the cleft of the Rock—we may have contact with God’s essence (called His glory). Moses is not allowed direct contact because Jesus Christ had not yet died for our sins. The Cleft of the Rock is a type and Jesus is the antitype.

         b.      Enter into the Rock and hide in the dust for fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of His majesty (Isa. 2:10).

5.      One of Balaam’s prophecies was about the Kenites, one of the few local tribes who had good relations with Israel. He said, “And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable and said, Strong is your dwelling-place, and you put your nest in a rock. But the Kenites shall be wasted until Assyria shall carry you away captive.” (Num. 24:21–22). The place where the Kenites lived (in an alliance with Israel and Israel’s God) was like putting there nest in a rock, were it is safe and secure. The Rock, of course, is our Lord.

6.      Moses, in his great song, wrote: Jehovah alone led him [Israel], and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, so that he might eat the increase of the fields. And He made him [Israel] suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the hard rock [these are blessings, both temporal and spiritual from the Rock of God], butter from cows, and milk from sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the sons of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And you drank the blood of the grape. But Jeshurun [a name given to Israel in rebellion against God] grew fat and kicked. You grew fat, thick, and satisfied. Then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new ones newly come up, whom your fathers did not fear. You forgot the Rock who brought you forth, and ceased to care for God who formed you. And Jehovah saw, and despised them because of the provoking of His sons and of His daughters. And He said, I will hide My face from them; I will see what their end shall be. For they are a very perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness. They have moved Me to jealousy with a no-god. They have provoked Me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to jealousy with a no-people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For they are a nation without wisdom, neither is there any understanding in them. If they were wise, they would understand this; they would consider their latter end! How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them and Jehovah had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock [other nations did not have Jesus Christ as their Rock] , even our enemies themselves being judges. 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. Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed up among My treasures? Vengeance and retribution belong to Me. Their foot shall slide in time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come on them make haste. For Jehovah will bring His people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants, for He sees that their power is gone, and only the imprisoned and abandoned remain. And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be your hiding place. See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is no deliverer out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to Heaven and say, I live forever! (Gen. 32:12–21, 28–40).

7.      Gideon offers a sacrifice on a rock, which include a fire which comes out of the rock, which speaks of judgment—the judgment which is laid upon Jesus Christ. And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. He put the flesh in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to Him to the oak, and offered it. And the Angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And there rose up fire out of the rock and burned up the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of Jehovah went away out of his sight. And when Gideon saw that He was the Angel of Jehovah, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! Because I have seen the Angel of Jehovah face to face (Judges 6:19–22). We have a similar offering made upon a rock in Judges 13:19.

8.      Throughout the Bible, Jehovah Elohim is called the Rock.

         a.      Hannah, the mother of Samuel, has a song which celebrates Jehovah Elohim as the Rock. There is none holy as Jehovah, for there is none beside You. Neither is there any Rock like our God (1Sam. 2:2).

         b.      After being delivered from Saul, David wrote a song praising God, calling Him the Rock. And he said, Jehovah is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer. The God who is my Rock, in Him will I trust. He is my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Savior. You save me from violence (1Sam. 22:2–3). Calling God a Rock continues in vv. 32, 47.

         c.      For who is God besides Jehovah? Or, who is a Rock except our God? (Psalm 18:31).

         d.      Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

         e.      I will cry to You, O Jehovah; my Rock, do not be deaf to me, lest, if You be silent to me, I become like those who go down into the pit (Psalm 28:1).

9.      The Rock of Israel is distinguished from Jehovah Elohim in the following passages. Recall that, there is a well-defined Trinity in the Old Testament as well as the New. The name Jehovah may stand for any member of the Trinity.

         a.      And these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said: The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, and His Word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: he who rules over men justly, ruling in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning, as the sun rises, a morning without clouds. The tender grass springs out of the earth through shining after rain (1Sam. 23:1–4). In fact, you will observe that the entire Trinity is found in this verse.

         b.      And they remembered that God [the Father] was their Rock, and the Most High God [God the Son] was their redeemer (Psalm 78:35). Distinguishing here might be argued one way or the other.

         c.      The passage which was the inspiration for this doctrine: I [God the Father] will set his [a reference to both David and to Jesus as King] hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He [God the Son] shall cry to Me, My Father, You are My God, and the Rock of My deliverance [resurrection from the dead]. And I [God the Father] will make Him [God the Son] My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth (Psalm 89:25–27). In this passage, the Rock of God appears to refer to the Father as separate from the Son in this passage.

         d.      Isaiah warned the people of Israel about forsaking their God: In that day his strong cities shall be like a forsaken branch, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the sons of Israel; and it will become a ruin. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your strength, therefore you shall plant pleasant plants and shall sow it a fresh shoot (Isa. 17:9–10). It is arguable whether these two titles both refer to God the Son or not.

         e.      Habak. 1:12: Are You not from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Jehovah, You have ordained them for judgment; and, my Rock, You have established them for correction. This is also a passage which requires exegesis to determine whether the titles here all refer to God the Father, God the Son or to more members of the Trinity.

10.    There are blessings associated with the Rock of God:

         a.      Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone on my head; I walked through darkness by His light; as I was in the days of my harvest, when the secret of God was on my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me; when I washed my steps with curds, and the Rock poured out rivers of oil for me (Job 29:2–6). The last couple of lines are obviously figurative language, both curds and oil suggesting great blessing.

         b.      And He would have fed them also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock I would have satisfied you (Psalm 81:16).

11.    The rock is presented as a place of safety and strength:

         a.      Does the eagle mount up at your command and make his nest on high? He lives and stays on the rock, on the crag of the rock and the strong place (Job 39:27–28).

         b.      Jehovah is my strength, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my Rock; I will trust in Him; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower (Psalm 18:2).

         c.      For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His shelter, in the secrecy of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me up on a rock (Psalm 27:5).

         d.      In You, O Jehovah, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me quickly; be my strong Rock, a fortress to save me. For You are my Rock and my fortress; and for Your name's sake lead me and guide me. Bring me out of the net that they hid for me, for You are my strength (Psalm 31:1–4).

         e.      Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I cry to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the Rock higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower before the enemy (Psalm 61:1–3).

         f.       Only to God is my soul in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my tower; I shall not be greatly moved. How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You will shatter him, all of you; you shall be like a bowing wall and a tottering fence. Surely they have plotted to cast him down from his great height; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse in their heart. Selah. My soul, be silent only to God; for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my strong tower; I shall not be shaken. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength; my hiding-place is in God. Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a hiding-place for us. Selah (Psalm 62:1–8).

         g.      But Jehovah is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge (Psalm 94:22).

12.    Jesus Christ is not just a Rock of deliverance and blessing, but a stone of stumbling as well:

         a.      Sanctify Jehovah of Hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be a sanctuary for you, but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the people of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble and fall and be broken, and be snared, and be taken (Isa. 8:13–15). Paul refers back to this passage: But Israel, who followed after a law of righteousness did not arrive at a law of righteousness. Why? Because it was not of faith, but as it were by the works of the Law. For they stumbled at that Stumbling-stone; as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a Stumbling-stone and a Rock-of-offense, and everyone believing on Him shall not be put to shame." (Rom. 9:31–33). Peter makes a similar statement, writing: Therefore to you who believe is the honor. But to those who are disobedient [those who choose not to believe in Jesus Christ], He is the Stone which the builders rejected; this One came to be the Head of the corner, and a Stone-of-stumbling and a Rock-of-offense to those disobeying, who stumble at the Word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1Peter 2:7–9; Psalm 118:22 Isa. 8:14 Ex. 19:5–6).

13.    David, in the psalms, speaks of the Rock of God.

         a.      Jehovah is my strength, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my Rock; I will trust in Him; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower (Psalm 18:2).

         b.      David associates the Rock as His protection and deliverer: Jehovah lives; and blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be praised. It is God who avenges me, and humbles the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies; yea, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Jehovah, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name (Psalm 18:46–49).

         c.      A rock speaks of stability. I waited patiently for Jehovah; and He bowed down to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and gave sureness to my steps (Psalm 40:1–2).

         d.      David prays to God, his Rock: I will say to God my rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the cruelty of the enemy? (Psalm 42:9).

         e.      Blessed is Jehovah my Rock, who teaches My hands for war, my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1). This is always a nice passage for the opponent of war—God—the Rock—taught David how to make war. We find a similar message 3 or 4 times in the Bible.

14.    Deliverance is through trust in Jehovah Elohim, trust in the Rock of God:

         a.      In You, O Jehovah, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; bow down Your ear to me, and save me. Be a rock of refuge for me, to which I may always go; You have commanded to save me; for You are my Rock and my Fortress (Psalm 71:1–3).

15.    Abraham is to be looked back to as an example (and his example was, he believed in Jesus Christ): Listen to me, pursuers of righteousness; seekers of Jehovah: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him (Isa. 51:1–2).

16.    Additional references:

         a.      Oh come, let us sing to Jehovah; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to Him with psalms. For Jehovah is a great God, and a great King above all gods (Psalm 95:1–3).

         b.      Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and rulers shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen (Isa. 32:1–3).

         c.      There is no safety in just any rock: What is to you here? And who is here to you, that you have carved out a tomb for yourself here, as one who cuts himself out a tomb on high, who cuts out a home for himself in a rock? Behold, Jehovah will hurl you with a hurling, O man, and grasps you with a grasping. Whirling, He will whirl you like a ball into a large country; there you shall die, and there are the chariots of your glory, the shame of your lord's house (Isa. 22:16–18). Obad. 1:3 (and other passages) have a similar message: The pride of your heart has deceived you, dwelling in the clefts of the rock, his dwelling is lofty; saying in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

         d.      There is no other Rock besides Jehovah: So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His redeemer Jehovah of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it and set it in order for Me, since I placed the people of old? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them declare to them. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you and made you hear since then? So you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is none. I have not known a Rock (Isa. 44:6–8).