Last week we studied Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Lord of Hosts. I told Braxton while we were on our mini vacay that this would be a week of no sleep as I had many cookie and cookie cake orders, and it was just that. I had every intention of posting online devotional thoughts this week, but life and lack of sleep did not allow me the chance. So, if you are one that looks forward to my weekly posts, I let you down, and I apologize. I am not sure I sat down on my couch once this week for any amount of time.
Have you had weeks like that? Constant motion, stress, non-stop, on-the-go activities, responsibilities, and an overwhelming desire to just sit still for just five minutes…and when you do, you fall asleep because you haven’t sat still all week?
It’s interesting that in a week that we were studying the Lord of Hosts, the God of perfect order, my life was anything but that. But isn’t that where it matters most? Not in the calm but in the chaos, when everything is pressing in, the dishes are falling out of the sink because you haven’t even had a moment to fill the dishwasher, to take a moment and look up to the hills and see the angel armies who have set up camp; they are on guard to protect you in your crazy, busy, chaotic moments.
Yahweh Tsebaoth is Lord of Hosts. This name represents God’s organized strength; his order of nations; the stars, moon, and sun; and the commander of angel armies. So even when life is ‘life-ing,’ and things are spiraling, God is the commander of order and strength and the one surrounding you.
Has there been a time in your life when you faced a “Goliath”? A time when you thought, “There is no way I can get through this.” In that moment, that season, were you strengthened by knowing you were surrounded by God’s angel armies, and you weren’t alone? If so, can you share?
There have been several times in my life when I have felt God’s presence and strength, knowing that I was covered in prayer and could feel his armies around us, standing guard. My past with my ex. When my son needed protection in that environment. The time my youngest was rushed to the NICU after birth. With the weight of my daughter’s learning disability diagnosis. More recently, there was Braxton’s health scare. These are a few of my “Goliath” moments. And in every one of them, I see where God was there, surrounding us, holding us, steadying us, and supplying our every need.
Because Yahweh Tsebaoth is the Lord of Hosts, He is also Yahweh Tsuri, the Lord My Rock.
What do you think of when you think of ‘rock’? Aside from your kid’s rock collections that seem to always end up in the washing machine?
A rock can mean permanence, unmoving, protection, and enduring faithfulness. It’s not something that is going to sway with the wind or shift when everything around us does. In today’s world, everything shifts with the wind: emotions, circumstances, even people. But our God, our rock, does not.
Last week when we talked about Yahweh Tsebaoth, we looked at David fighting Goliath, and a rock was used to eliminate the enemy. It was something small, but in the hands of God, it took down a giant.
Isn’t it like us to look at what we have and think that it is tiny and insignificant, but when we place it in God’s hands, it becomes something powerful.
So a rock, big or small, can represent power.
Our key verse this week is Psalm 144:1, “Thank Yahweh, my Tsuri, who trained my hands to fight and my fingers to do battle.”
This psalm was written by David after Absalom’s death and the restoration of peace in the kingdom. David was praising God for His goodness and his human ability to fight in battle. David saw God as his trainer, not just his creator. That is comforting because just as God prepared David for his battle against Goliath, God is preparing you for your fight against yours.
In scripture, when the word ‘tsuri’ is used, it refers to a cliff, a rock or boulder, or an edge, but it also represents refuge or a place of comfort. A place you can run to. A place you can hide in. A place you can breathe in.
In Exodus 17 and Numbers 20, we see that the rock was used to give water to the people. In 1 Samuel 23, we see that David hid in the rocky topography of En Gedi. In Psalm 18:2, David said, “Yahweh is my rock and my Metsuda (fortress) and my Savior, my Magen (shield), and the strength of my salvation, my stronghold.” So the image of a rock, both physical and figurative, is an emblem of unassailable protection.
He is my rock.
My fortress.
My Savior.
My shield.
My strength.
My stronghold.
He isn’t just my protection; he is my complete security.
In Deuteronomy 32, Moses proclaims, “He is our rock.” He also said, “Their rock isn’t like our rock.” Here, a rock is seen as covenantal faithfulness, uniqueness, and God’s moral perfection. Nothing else compares to who God is.
In Psalm 18:46 it says, “Yahweh lives! Thanks be to my rock! May Elohim, my Savior, be honored.” And in Psalm 62:2, “He alone is my rock and my savior—my stronghold. I cannot be severely shaken.” Our rock gives us this assurance that our rescue is as firm as stone.
Isaiah uses the term “rock” in the context of judgment. Isaiah 26:4 says, “Trust Yahweh always, because Yah, Yahweh alone, is an everlasting rock.”
In Isaiah 28:16 it says, “This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I am going to lay a rock in Zion, a rock that has been tested, a precious cornerstone, and a solid foundation.” “Whoever believes in him will not worry.” This was a prophetic statement that pointed to Christ. If we look at 1 Corinthians 10:4, we will see this referenced: “and all of them drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them, and that rock was Christ.” And in 1 Peter 2:4, “You are coming to Christ, the living stone/rock who was rejected by humans but was chosen as precious by God.” So the prophetic statement from the Old Testament was fulfilled in the New Testament.
In worship, we are called to acknowledge God as that rock. Psalm 95:1, “Come, let’s sing joyfully to Yahweh. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.”
As I was reading that verse, I was singing the song that I learned in my youth that went with it. If you know anything about me, then you know that I love music. One of the first things that came to mind when I was thinking about God as my rock was the old church hymn, “He Hideth My Soul.” The lyrics say,
A wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord.
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
What a beautiful picture. Hiding in Him. Where he covers me with His hand. While the storm blows around me, I am safe.
It is powerful to think of our God as this Rock. This immoveable, unpenetrable shield, a stronghold in times of distress, a place of comfort, a refuge, and one to be praised.
In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us to build our lives on the rock. Many of us remember the children’s song, The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The rains came down, the floods came up, and the foolish man’s house went splat! The wise man built his house upon the rock; the rains came down, and the prayers went up, and the house on the rock stood firm. So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ.
How often do we build our lives on things that seem strong in the moment?
Control.
Plans.
People.
Current circumstances.
And when those things shake or break, everything comes crashing down around us. But if we build our lives on the Rock, the One that doesn’t move, when the rain comes, when the wind blows, when life gets busy and unsteady and makes you question your life choices, you can stand firm in knowing that God is surrounding you; God isn’t moving; God is steady, firm, and unshakeable.
Our Rock, our Yahweh Tsuri, is our protector and steadfast comforter, our place of refuge, and our immovable shield.
Where do you need a rock right now? Where are you feeling shaken? Uncertain? Or is life just falling down all around you?
Let me remind you that Yahweh Tsuri is constant, steady, and unmovable and wants to hide you in the cleft of that rock to protect you and to give you that space to retreat, to breathe, to cry, and to just be.
Sometimes we all just need a moment. One of my favorite Bluey episodes is of Chili the mom, where she just wants 20 min to herself. The whole episode is the girls trying to come into the room where she needs her 20 min and Bandit, the dad, is trying to entertain the girls and keep them away.
I think we could all benefit from 20 min hiding in the Rock. Hiding in Him. Taking a moment to breathe, to escape the chaos for 20 min, or longer. Yahweh Tsuri is our rock, our refuge, our defender, our protector, and our steady place in an unsteady world.
Have a great day with Jesus!
