He is the Rock, His works are perfect
“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 32:4
These words are thrilling. They are full of comfort and security. They were spoken by Moses in his ‘Swan Song’ to the Israelites - his beautiful words given just prior to his death. My Bible actually titles this chapter, 'The Song of Moses'.
Moses had been the steadfast leader of this unruly throng of 2-3 million, most of whom died in the wilderness because of their wickedness. Only two - Joshua and Caleb, over 40 years of age were allowed to enter the promised land; the rest were 39 years or younger. Numbers 26:51 states that 601,730 family men plus wives and children, totaling around 2-3 million, entered the promised land. It’s interesting to me that God didn’t add or subtract from that original 'Exodus' number.
I used to think it was so unfair that Moses didn’t get the prize, too. But, as usual, God sees from a different perspective than we do. Moses represented the law. (Remember the Ten Commandments?) Joshua, who replaced Moses as the leader of the Israelites, was a type or foreshadow of Jesus. Their names are even the same in Hebrew (Yehoshua), which means ‘Yahweh is Salvation’.
The Promised Land represents salvation and the law doesn’t get us there. But Jesus does. Yahweh (another name for God) is our salvation and Jesus is God. All of the events in the Old Testament point to Jesus and what He has done. Examples tumble over themselves - like the exodus demonstrating the breaking of the bondage of sin. Or the blood of the Passover lamb saving anyone in an anointed dwelling from death. We could talk for decades about all the correlations!
Even though the law didn’t end until Jesus came, the story is there, for those with eyes to see. Those who believed in the coming Messiah were counted as the faithful, a scattering mentioned in the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Maybe our names will be there, too!
“Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this.” ~Hebrews 11:1-2
“We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.” ~Hebrews 12:1
