A True Foundation

Deuteronomy 32:31 “For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.”

The song of Moses was spoken in the assembly of Israel. The nation that God had formed on the promise to Abraham was becoming a reality. The fledgling nation was wrestling with an identity previously unknown to them. Israel had been slaves in Egypt for over 400 years and their familiarity was with the pantheon of Egyptian gods.

In a very short period of time, the Lord decimated the power of the false gods and established Himself as God alone before the world. Israel was to be a demonstration of His power and a people by which He would rule.

The words of Moses were a reminder of God’s sustaining love, His wrath against idolatry, and the foolishness of anyone who entrusts their life to anything other than Him.

Deuteronomy 32:36-38 “The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.  He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!”

Belief in anything or anyone other than the Lord God will reveal a lack of power. When the people cry out for help, they have no one who listens. The clay figurines, the medallions, or the beads bring no relief from fear or anxiety. The many words of the idolator amount to nothing because they are spoken to lifeless objects or deceased people.

One thing Israel quickly learned in Egypt is how the Lord God is not like any other god.

Deuteronomy 32:9-12 “For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of His eye.
As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
So the Lord alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him.”

Some may wonder how the faithfulness of the Lord toward Israel concerns anyone else today?

The people of Israel were the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. In a world filled with foreign gods and idols, Israel served as a reminder that no other god exists before the One True God. The people were to be holy, set apart, and pure. They were not to intermarry with foreign wives, they were not to adopt any of the false worship found among the nations. They were to be a holy people, serving as a light to all who walk in darkness.

Israel’s foundation was built upon the Rock that God had established and the Temple Mount served as a reminder that God will supply.

Today, the Temple is gone and Israel has become like every other nation on earth, secular in government and no longer practicing the holiness that God called them to follow.

The promise given through Moses is still effectual today.

Leviticus 26: 3,14-17 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit….“But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.”

The multitude of blessings and cursing promised by God were in respect to how Israel decided to live. Should they choose to live faithfully, the Lord promised to bless them. If they chose to live contrary to God’s commandments, then a multitude of judgements would befall them.

We don’t have to look far in God’s Word to see what happened to Israel. There is a long history of tragedy and triumph with that little nation and the Lord continues to bring blessings and cursing on it today.

Israel is God’s time clock, the events foretold that will occur through that people will signify God’s ultimate redemption and tribulation He will bring upon the world.

What is True

Belief in the Lord is not any belief system. Just because someone “believes” in something, doesn’t make it true. Some will ask, “how do you know your belief is true?”, and I will tell them, “because the Lord has proven He is true”.

Every other belief has only mythology and false promises to rely upon. They may claim some “miracle” happened after they prayed to their false god, but upon inspection the reports are always fuzzy and lacking content. Demons will at times masquerade as angels of light and convince people that a particular belief is substantiated, but the fruit of the path always lacks substance.

Truth is defined by God alone.

1 John 2:21 “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”

A solid foundation is one that is founded in truth. Truth is not relative, it does not change with the culture nor does it make exceptions based off the way someone “interprets” it.

Truth is defined, it is narrow, and it is exclusive.

Can we know the truth that John spoke of?

That truth is none other than Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The revelation of God to the world was and is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the revelation of God’s love to the world. Jesus is the Creator of all life and it is His purpose and plan that will come to fruition in the end. He is the One who redeemed Israel out of Egypt and He is the One who redeems His people today. He is the source of all life and any eternal value has its foundation in Him. Jesus is truth.

A Heritage of FAITH

I’ve heard people question how God’s promises to Israel relate to people today?

The same promise God made to Abraham regarding a heritage of faithfulness, is the same spiritual heritage offered to people today.

Galatians 3:29 “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Not all of Israel was saved. For those who rejected God’s promises, many suffered and died for their rebellion. For those who maintained their faith in God, the promise of the Messiah eventually brought them into God’s presence. When faith arises in a person today, that faith is substantiated in the Messiah, the Truth revealed is what truly brings salvation.

Jesus paid the price to redeem His people. There is no other way to be redeemed to God. Jesus is the spiritual Rock that Moses spoke of, and it is upon that Rock God has built His church.

Romans 9:6-8 “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”  That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has truly raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. Confession is the act of declaration, it is a revelation of the heart. Belief is the heart acting in faith, it entails repentance from sin which is a turning and following of Christ.

Jesus was the promise the patriarchs looked forward to coming.

The promise of blessing is given to God’s people. The promise of curses and judgement are reserved for those who reject the Rock of Christ Jesus.

Do you really want to know eternal life?

Know Jesus. Trust Him, and you will never be the same again. He will be the Rock in which your life is founded upon and you will never be moved.