“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”
Isaiah 8:13-15 NLT
Our planet is made of rocks presented in different forms. We have the dust and small particles that can cover large areas, such as in our deserts and seashores. There are pebbles used for roads and paths, and for decorative purposes. There are even heavy monoliths forming structures like Stonehenge, a monument to a bygone religious custom. Rocks are dressed and used for building purposes, walls and houses, and even the Egyptian pyramids. But much of our planet consists of rock, solid and immovable. But, fascinatingly, these rocks have formed in different ways; however, a lesson in geology is beyond my abilities and the scope of this blog.
The Lord is described as being a Rock, because He is unchangeable, a secure foundation and a place of safety. Malachi 3:6 reads, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed”. Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety”. We have these lovely words that fill us with a sense of security, words such as ”fortress”, “protection”, “rock”, and “Saviour”. But why should we feel so? In our world, in our societies, and in our towns, cities and villages, there seems to be no place of ultimate security. Yes, we can visit our churches and cathedrals and find a little peace, but then we find that even the insecurities of our world have penetrated within their doors.
Today, there is a hunger in society, particularly amongst young people, for peace and security. The world around us is fast-changing. New customs, more technology, and changes in government that never seem to make any improvements. Just more of the same old problems with promises that they will be fixed, but they never are. Jobs are not secure any more. The list of woes seems endless. Such societal distress calls for a solution, and our churches are seeing an upsurge in people seeking meaning in our meaningless world. But in all the chaos, there is a Rock who never changes and who promises an eternity that will be marked by the peace and security that cannot be found in the kingdoms of the world.
The people in Judah found that they ignored the Rock, who is the Lord, at their peril. God is like a large, stable rock: a secure foundation and place of safety. To those who do not honour the Lord as holy, that same Rock, a cornerstone, becomes something of a tripping hazard. God’s truth cannot be denied, any more than a person can walk through a boulder. For those who reject Him, God becomes a “stumbling rock.” He’s something they cannot help but trip over. Everyone who tries to succeed and thrive apart from the Lord eventually falls and does not prosper. And for everyone who honours Him as holy, He is the solid rock on which they build their life.
Isaiah declared that the Lord would become the stumbling stone for both houses of Israel. That meant that both the northern ten tribes, Israel, and the southern two tribes, Judah, would be destroyed. The Lord would become a trap and a snare even to the people of Jerusalem in the end. They refused to honour Him, and that would ultimately bring them misery and destruction.
In Matthew, we find the account of a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, and at one point, He told the parable of the Evil Farmers. Jesus engaged the religious leaders by asking them the question, ““When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”” (Matthew 21:40). Having drawn an answer from the Pharisees, Jesus quoted the verses from Psalm 118, “Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on”” (Matthew 21:4-44). The Pharisees quickly caught on to what Jesus meant, realising that it was they He was referring to as the evil farmers. But there had been no change in attitudes to God since the days of Isaiah, and the Jews would once again experience what it meant that God was a Rock over which they would stumble, and it would ultimately fall upon them. In AD 70, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and many Jews perished.
There is a simple principle that applies to all mankind and has always done so. There is a God in Heaven, who is eternal and real and who put human beings on this planet for one purpose: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Short Catechism). The people hearing Isaiah’s prophecies chose to ignore that and suffered the consequences of stumbling over the Rock, ending up “snared and captured”. We pilgrims have a mission as builders, building on the Rock that is the Lord in ways that will bring order into this chaotic world. Only God has the answer for those who intuitively know that he is there, but for many, they cannot find Him unless someone opens the door into His Kingdom, where they will find Jesus, and His saving grace, a fount of blood that will cleanse all from their sins.
Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source of peace and security. Only You are the Rock on which we can be founded. In today’s chaotic world, we choose to stand firm on a foundation that will never move, and we give You all the glory and all the praise. All the thanks and all the worship. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 