CARVED IN STONE 01

The kingdom of God is formed by faith.  Hebrews chapter eleven tells us so and I fully agree.  Every prophetic pronouncement and prayerful prose comes from and through faith as does the very universe we live in and the eternal salvation we depend upon for our very future beyond the grave.  Scriptures abound to prove this obvious point but the faith of our existence has been carved in stone.  From the precious stones that adorn the throne of God in heaven to the stone which the builders rejected in Jerusalem and even to the stones that dispensed judgment upon God’s people, the humble stone has been the foundation upon which it all stands.

The Temple in Jerusalem was built of stone which had to be perfectly quarried elsewhere and assembled on site lest God hear the sound of man’s imperfect hammer upon the ground He sanctified.  Moses’ first two tablets were cut by God Himself but because of Israel’s sin and Moses’ shame, they had to be recut by man though the writing was of God and God alone.  The High Priests wore a breastplate of gold adorned with twelve stones that bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel while they also carried two special stones, the Urim and Thummin that somehow revealed God’s will to the priests.  I’d like to take a journey with you to explore a few of these stones and the importance they bore to God’s chosen people Israel and the rest of the world.

MAN MADE STONES

Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

After the fall, mankind was yet of one language and that language was almost certainly Hebrew.  Rather than fulfill God’s clear commandment and scatter to the four winds to populate the earth, they chose to gather in one place and build a great city and greater tower of brick that would reach clear to heaven and in so doing establish themselves as the sole authority of heaven and earth.  The tower would serve as a focal point and bind all the people together.  From this point on in scripture the only time brick was used was to approach God in His own kingdom through natural spiritually dead means (Genesis 11), make brick as slaves in Egypt for the Egyptians who worshipped death (Exodus 1 & 5), and finally, to make brick altars to burn incense to pagan gods who were not alive (Isaiah 65).

These manmade stones were not made in the fires of creation as are natural stones, but in the kilns of man.  They were a poor substitute for the living rock of earth itself.  Ancient brick was made with dried mud for compressive strength and straw for tensile strength and some sand to keep it from cracking.  It was quite strong unless the rain fell directly upon it and washed away the mud leaving only straw which would rot.  Today in Africa, rural homes are often made with this same mud and straw or other grasses and compressed around a wooden framework.  These homes are strong, attractive and if kept dry…durable.  During the rainy season it takes a good roof with wide overhangs to keep the adobe from washing away.  You can see that brick is no substitute for natural stone. 

God speaks of the man who built his home upon the sand where the winds blew and the rains came and the house fell because it was built upon the sand.  Another man built his house upon the rock and the wind blew, the rains came and the house remained strong because it was built upon the rock (Matthew 7:24-27).  What does that all mean?  It means that even if your building materials (flesh) are somewhat weak, the foundation you build upon will transmit its strength up through the structure.  If that foundation is stone, and in this particular case the stone is Christ, then He lends His strength to the entire structure of our mortal lives (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). 

STONE OF REST

Genesis 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep (Exodus 33:14). 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16, 2 Chronicles 1:9, Genesis 22:17), and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Numbers 24:5-9). 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest (Joshua 1:7-9), and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of (Isaiah 55:8-11).

Jacob didn’t leave his parents for Haran simply because he sought a wife; he left because his brother Esau threatened to kill him as soon as his father Isaac died.  Jacob left in haste with few possessions.  When he arrived at the end of his first day’s journey, he was exhausted emotionally and physically.  He needed to rest physically and enter into a rest spiritually.  One of the most important aspects of the stone of God is to give that rest.  It may be a stone of stumbling and rock of offense to those who do not understand its significance (Isaiah 8:14, Romans 9:33, 1 Peter 2:8), but it is a stone that gives rest to those who believe.

Peter explains (1 Peter 2) that they stumble out of disobedience when they disobey the Word of God but that we who obey are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and a special gift God has given to Himself.  God has promised that He will never leave or forsake us and that His Holy Spirit, His Comforter, will remain with us forever (John 16:7-11, Hebrews 13:5-6).  When you get to the root of those who break God’s Word and choose to live in sin, you discover their story is both Biblical and that they were warned of their choices.  Jacob may have been running away from His choices but he ran toward God and God’s will.  Because he did he discovered the comfort of a stone of rest which secured and anchored a ladder to Heaven and God’s blessings.

ALTAR OF STONE

Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Jacob did not make the stone into an altar to a lifeless pagan god, he made it into an altar to the Living God of Israel.  The place he had chosen to sleep was called Luz (almond tree) for many years.  Jacob renamed it Beth-El (beth=house, El=God) or House of God.  It’s previous name (Luz) can also mean ‘shaken.’  When something hastens or moves quickly it is said to be shaken.  The almond tree bore its flowers in January or February, even before the leaves appeared.  Those flowers looked like snow when they fell off and signified old age and death, and when the leaves appeared it signified rebirth.

God appeared to Jacob in the old age of his understanding and brought a new thing to him.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  Jacob was leaving his old life of earthly deceits, lies and desires and pressing toward the new life of obedience to God.  He rested on the rock which signified Christ Jesus and now old things (Luz=almond / shaken) were passed away and all things were made new (Beth-El – House of God).  He was passing from death to life in his relationship to God.

In Hebrews 12:26-27 God said:  “Yet once more I shake not only the earth but heaven also.”  Once God has shaken all things only those things which are founded upon the rock / stone Christ Jesus will stand.  If these things do not abide in the strength of God then they cannot stand when God shakes their foundations.  God only allows His foundation to stand.  Jacob changed a shaking tree to the house of God.  That house stands to this day.

STONE OF OFFENSE

Exodus 4:24  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.  25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

When Jesus announced in John 6:53 that He was the bread of life and they must eat His body to have eternal life many disciples were offended (v61) and ceased walking with Him (v66).  Jesus looked at his twelve closest disciples and asked if they too would be offended and walk away.  Peter, always the first to speak up (right or wrong) said, “Lord, then who shall we follow.  You alone have the words of eternal life.”  Moses’ wife Zipporah was a Midianite and was deeply offended by the idea of circumcision.  This is what often happens when you marry someone who does not have your faith. 

God sought to kill Moses because he had not circumcised his son in obedience to the given law.  He and his wife had apparently argued over this before because she understood God’s reason for the threat to Moses’ life.  Many times when it appears that God is seeking our life but doing it in a slow and round about way it is because He is giving us a chance to repent and make things right.  In this case Zipporah recognized it was her husband’s life or distasteful obedience and she chose to obey.  Even knowing she made the right decision she was angry with Moses and probably God for a requirement she did not understand and certainly did not approve of.

Circumcision is both painful (though only mildly so in an infant) and bloody.  God’s requirement for it to be done on the eighth day was extremely important.  On that day an infant’s supply of chemicals that stop bleeding was at its highest ever and the child was so young that its ability to experience pain was reduced.  Shed blood was also important since only through blood sacrifice could sins be covered or washed away.  Moses ought to have circumcised his children when they were first born but one can imagine that his Egyptian upbringing and an argument with his pagan wife prevented him. 

There is a reason you never hear of Moses two sons amounting to anything in scripture.  They might have been sanctified by his relationship with God but it is apparent that his wife Zipporah never forgave or forgot this moment.  He left her behind and her father brought her back to him but eventually she left and never returned.  After that Moses married an Ethiopian woman who remained with him.  No matter how much you might think you are in love or need someone in your life, it never pays to marry someone outside of your faith.  It will always be a stumbling stone and rock of offense (Isaiah 8:14, 1 Peter 2:8). 

STONE OF CONTENTION AND BLESSING

Exodus 17:4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

The people of Israel were angry about the lack of water and rather than trusting God and crying out to Him they began to curse and threaten Moses.  It is worth mentioning that God chose to bless this grumbling sinful people with water when they were yet in their sins.  Romans 5:6-8 says that while mankind was in their sins without strength to walk according to God’s law Christ died for them.  Moses was to walk up to the rock in Mt. Horeb and strike it with his staff.  It is likely that Moses staff is also made of almond tree wood and this caused God to shake the earth splitting the rock and releasing water for God’s people.  Making sure there was a witness Moses struck the rock and water flowed sufficiently for all Israel to drink.

This rock was a type of the first coming of Christ.  Christ was stricken, smitten and afflicted so we might have life. The rock in Horeb was smitten so Israel might have the water necessary to prolong their lives.  Christ the Water of the Word was stricken so we might have eternal life.  God told Moses to strike the stone with the same rod he used to smite the river in Egypt when God turned the water into blood. 

This was an important lesson. 

Psalm 23:4 says, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  A staff is a tool of direction but a rod is a tool of correction and punishment.  In one case God used the rod punish Egypt by turning the water of the land into polluted blood filled with sin.  In the other, the rod was used to punish the stone (a type of Christ) so His blood might purify and bring forth water and life.  Whenever the rod strikes there is punishment.  When Moses struck the rock, the murmuring and sin of the people was transferred to the rock and the people, now made righteous by the rock’s sacrifice, received life in return.  Moses was angry with the people however and appears to have missed the significance of the lesson which would cause him to stumble later.

STONE OF REST

Exodus 17:12 But Moses 'hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Immediately following God’s example of grace by providing water from the stone, Amalek attacked Israel and Moses ordered Joshua to go out and meet them in battle.  God had decided to punish Amalek for their sins against Israel.  Moses stood upon the hill with his rod in his hand and as long as his hands were raised Israel prevailed in battle.  It wasn’t long before he began to tire and when he lowered his hands to rest Amalek prevailed.  Aaron and Hur found a comfortable stone and placed it under Moses so he could sit and then one held up his right hand and the other his left until the sun set which gave Joshua sufficient time to destroy Amalek.

Amalek was a son of Esau’s firstborn from one of his concubines.  Because Esau hated his brother, they hated all Israel.  When Israel left Egypt they were told to respect Esau’s children because they were family and children of Isaac and Abraham.  When parents raise their children with their own prejudices those prejudices can grow to terrible levels.  The Edomites should have treated Israel with some family respect but they went so far as to celebrate Israel’s enemies, urging them to utterly destroy Israel.  God finally decided He had been longsuffering enough to one of His wayward sons.  He spoke utter destruction to Edom and all his seed (Ezekiel 25:12-14, Jeremiah 49:7-22, Isaiah 34:1-17, Malachi 1:1-4). 

I have often heard the voice of ignorance say that God is mean spirited and vindictive and that He is always attacking good people who simply want to live in peace.  This type of statement is a lie of the highest order.  God is longsuffering toward us to change for the better (2 Peter 3:9) but His grace will not last forever.  The Edomites treated their brethren with disdain and attacked so God gave Israel victory.  In Exodus 17:16 God said that He would fight against Amalek from generation to generation; in other words…forever.  Saul’s only reason for being crowned king was to destroy Amalek from the earth and he failed.  Amalek has become a spirit on the earth of those who stab someone in the back and strike down the weak and helpless.

Consider this, whenever Christians (or anyone else) backbite and gossip they are walking in the spirit of Amalek and have made themselves anathema to God.  He will not take this lightly but will chasten them sharply so they might be saved.  God will not allow those with an Amalek spirit to succeed.  As Moses discovered in the scripture above, it is wearying to continue to fight this Amalek spirit but we can rest in Him until the job is done.  He also discovered that for all his spiritual gifts and powerful relationship with God he needed those around him to lend him strength and help fight the battles.