The psalmists of old seemed to have a favorite metaphor for God: Rock. You’ll find the imagery used twenty-nine times. Sometimes the writers included reasons why this was a meaningful comparison for them; sometimes they included synonyms:
- “The Lord is my rock, my fortress” (18:2)
- “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield . . . my stronghold” (also 18:2)
- “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (61:2)
- “God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe” (62:2 CEV)
- “Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come” (71:3 NASB)
David seemed especially fond of this metaphor, perhaps because he spent months hiding from King Saul in the rocky terrain of the Judean wilderness. Psalm 57 was written specifically when he escaped into a cave. It may have been the characteristics of the rock walls surrounding him that brought to mind descriptors of God—solid, strong, protective, and unchanging.
“Be the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2)?
Later when he became king, David composed Psalm 18, probably after the numerous battle victories summarized in 2 Samuel 8. Four times in that psalm he extolled God as his Rock.
In the New Testament we find Jesus’ parable about a foolish man building his house on sand, and a wise man building his house on rock. The point is clear: God is a reliable foundation-Rock on which to build our lives. He provides:
- solid, trustworthy wisdom for decisions
- strength and power for life’s challenges
- protection from our arch enemy, Satan
- unchanging reliability, faithfulness, and love—to name a few unfailing attributes
like a person who builds a house on solid rock” Matthew 7:24.
(House in Meteora, Greece.)
One of my favorite examples of Bible imagery is found in Philippians 2:15. To understand the context though, we have to start reading at verse fourteen:
Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
as you hold firmly to the word of life.
–Philippians 2:14-15 NIV
Isn’t that a glorious statement in the fourth line above? We can shine into the darkness of the world like stars as we allow the Spirit to foster purity within us!
Now why would letter-writer Paul choose stars to make his point? Perhaps their beauty reminded him: with kindness, patience, joy, and more we can bring beauty to the world around us–a world darkened by selfishness, greed, and hatred.
Paul would also have known about using stars for navigation. As far back as 3000 B.C. ancient Minoans were using constellations to navigate the Mediterranean Sea (1). Perhaps Paul connected the starlight to God’s wisdom shining in mature believers, enabling them to provide guidance to those around them.
But now, centuries later, we know more about stars than Paul did and further comparisons can be drawn:
Stars shine by burning hydrogen into helium in their cores. We shine as the Holy Spirit burns away the dross in our lives—those unbecoming traits like pride, negativity, and ingratitude. That’s when we can become radiant.
One prominent star in the evening sky of Fall and Winter is Deneb in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan), which is 19 quadrillion miles from earth. The gleam we see left Deneb about 1500 light years ago in 521 A.D (2). The gleam of our lives can also achieve far-reaching effect as one life touches another which touches another, and then another . . . ad infinitum.
Stars not only create beauty but fulfill function. They manufacture and distribute into the universe such elements as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (3). As we shine like stars in our circles of influence, we too fulfill function, manufacturing and distributing such elements as goodness, encouragement, and helpfulness.
From earth and sky come these two insightful examples of biblical imagery: rock and stars.
Do you see the connection between the two? As you plant yourself on the firm Rock of Almighty God and shine for him like a star . . .
. . . YOU are a Rock star!
Notes:
- https://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/navigation/
- https://earthsky.org/space/ten-things-you-may-not-know-about-stars/
- https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-from-and-evolve
Photo credits: http://www.hippopx.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.wikimedia.org (2); http://www.pixfuel.com; http://www.maxpixel.net; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.maxpixel.net.
From the Inside Out 