Good Morning.

And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:21-23)

We’ve all heard, and have probably even sung, about being placed in the “cleft of the Rock.” As a child I can remember wondering “What does it mean to be placed in the cleft of the rock?” The Hebrew word denotes “a depression, hole” or “fissure” in what must have been a huge rock — it would have to be in order that a man could step into such a fissure. It is also hinted at in the Hebrew text that this “rock” wasn’t some random rock but was a specific rock that Moses was aware of — in Hebrew it specifies “the rock.”

In recent years such a rock located in the deserts of Arabia has been nominated as the rock in question. The evidence presented is very intriguing and convincing. This rock, often referred to as the “split rock,” is also believed to be the rock of Horeb from which gushed desperately needed water for the children of Israel as recorded in Exodus 17. In his letter to the Corinthians, it is that rock that Paul connects to the Messiah saying, “For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3).

The point is, therefore, that the Rock that provided sustenance for the children of Israel and shelter for Moses is a picture of what Yeshua is to us and for us. We can run to Him when we are in need of provision or security. Not only that, but in Him, we have a perspective that most do not have — we can begin to perceive and comprehend God’s glory and purpose. We may not, as of yet, be able to see God’s face directly but we can better understand who and what our Father when we are in Messiah. He is our Rock and He has made a place for us, that where He is, there we may be also — in the Presence of the Almighty.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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