By Liaf

In my last message, I made the comment that I was going to teach commonly heard topics in the church from our slant. And I have another message--- this time about the Stone or Rock of Israel. You oftentimes hear about the Lord being the Rock, and indeed our Rock. The title of this message comes to us verbatim from Genesis 49:24 where Jacob blessed his son Joseph with the blessing, But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel). You may have sung the popular hymn "I Will Call Upon The Lord" with the lyrics "who is worthy to be praised" and "The Lord liveth, and blessed be the Rock". These were taken from Psalm 18. In a similar Psalm 62, we read, He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. This Rock is God almighty, and it is also associated with Jesus Christ. And rightly so for Paul said in I Corinthians 10:4, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ". The Scripture oftentimes alludes to this Rock from which we should put our trust and use as our foundation for building. Most of Christendom sees this Rock from an abstract perspective, but as I have taught regarding the stone LiaFail, there was a very real rock the Israelites carried with them which apparently was the tangible object of this great spiritual truth. Even my RSV Bible footnotes says of I Corinthians 10:4 that there was a legend associated with the Israelites that this Rock followed them in the desert (from which came the water). That Rock was what Paul was alluding to according to legend.

I see in Scripture ONE GOD, ONE LORD, ONE SHEPHERD, and ONE ROCK. It all designated sovereignty and unity. That's why I find it utterly amazing when some folks on Christian forums deny the deity of Christ. Instead of arguing about what Christ said, I merely point out that both GOD and CHRIST were symbolized by this same Rock according to the Bible (Psalm 78:35 and I Corinthians 10:4). And I even humorously put it into mathematical jargon during one of my posts. I claimed if GOD=A, the Rock=B and Christ=C. Then If A=B and B=C then A=C. Boy! Did I hear fallout from that one! Talk about a response as pleasant as a colicky baby that wants its own way! Mathematics like this is accepted as true until it shakes somebody's cherished beliefs and then all of a sudden this law has an exception. I find it amazing how some people effectively say, "The Bible does not say that. That's your [incorrect] interpretation!". You know what? I sometimes paraphrase Scripture to make it sound like my idea in the midst of a conversation, but it is really another way if saying something Scripture plainly said. When I hear fallout from that, I then point out that I said exactly what the Bible said, but one thought it was my own words. I then question if one can plainly understand what I said (to the point of being offended) then why is the Bible interpreted differently? I'll tell you why. The reason is because some people may not have the fortitude to admit they disagree with the Bible (some sort of residual superstition perhaps) so they interpret it to agree with what they like. Yet, as I have already pointed out, if one says exactly what the Bible says in a paraphrased manner, these same people have no trouble understanding the literalness of that comment. Well, to each their own I guess.

Back to this Stone or Rock. Christendom may sing about it all they want. They may deliver moving sermons comparing Christ to a Rock worthy to be praised and trusted. The imagery is great. After all, who can leave church feeling like they are in sinking sand when they are anchored on this mighty Rock of Christ they have visualized in their minds? However, the application stops at the imagery. That's all. In the secular world, it's almost like a positive-thinking hypnosis session or something. They imagine it, and it comes to pass. But I'm telling all of you, there was (and is) a very real Rock symbolic of Christ. "So what?" retorts a churchgoer. "Doesn't that accomplish the same thing?". Not entirely. You see, I find that if God has a very real tangible object or objects (such as the Tabernacle and its objects), it converts the "out there" abstract concept to a very real "here and now " application. It shows that this is not all just a fantastic dream. It is real. And the reality has a concept associated with it. I'm not arguing that point. Did you ever watch a fantasy love story in which a girl awoke from it all? She was overjoyed but did not know for sure if it was just a dream or if it was real? Then there is some tangible object --- a glass slipper in Cinderella's story for example. It converts wishes and hopes to reality to base one's faith. Don't give me any bunk that faith is not reasonable, that it does not back up itself with reason and tangible evidence. Faith bridges "over there" to "over here". Unfortunately, this "Rock" idea is often taught with the "out there" fairytale style and I find it upsetting that virtually NO Christians understand that historically there was and is a real Rock associated with Christ. If they knew the history of this Rock, it would only serve to strengthen their faith when they see how God DIRECTLY intervened throughout history for His cherished people of Israel. Of course I am not going to repeat myself. You can read about this Rock by going to this Home Page and selecting the option about Jacob's Pillar (LiaFail).

What I want to share with you are two pictures below about my Rock. Yes! I have a Rock in the back wooded area of my property that I lovingly call the "Christ Stone". It has amazing proportional measurement coincidences and an amazing location. Yet, as you read the captions by the pictures, the Rock was found and moved "quite by accident". Or was it? Sometimes God uses the mundane and commonplace and turns it into something special. This is not to say this is a Holy Relic or something to be idolized. But I believe that God used my mathematical mind to appreciate this stone. He knew I could see the significance of it even though it was "just plopped there". My sight of this stone caused me to react in praise. This is an example of a tangible object helping us poor, physical creatures realize the abstract spiritual concepts. And in my opinion, that is much better than just imaging a rock! In a similar manner, think of what effect the Rock had (or should have had) on the Israelites when they had water come from it! I find my Rock has enough effect on me, but I must say I never had water come from it yet!

This is the rock that I call the "Christ Stone"; that is located at the border of a wooded area just East of my house. Its location intrigued me. I discovered that the shadow of my house is cast upon the stone at sunset during the timeframe of the Feast of Tabernacles. Consequently, the full Tabernacles moon rises over this stone.  So that I would not be "complacent in my own conceits" upon owning such a stone, I found out how it mysteriously "turned up" one day. My wife complained that she kept hitting this stone imbedded in the ground while she was running the rider mower (which only goes to show who mows the lawn around here! ). My sister-in-law dug it up with the backhoe (unbeknownst to me while I was at work) and just "plopped it there". The Lord works in mysterious ways. I claim no special powers or icon worship regarding this stone--- it serves for me personally as a tangible reminder of the Things of the Lord.

Besides its coincidental astronomical location, the stone measures about 45 inches by 27 inches and is crudely rectangular. It's these measurements that caught my attention and thus made me call it the Christ Stone. These dimensions are 2 ½ by 1 ½ cubits (the same cubit measure as the Ark of the Covenant) IF the common 18-inch cubit was used. I do not believe the 18-inch cubit was used by the Hebrews and again, this is God's way of putting brakes on any conceit I may have in owning this stone. Notice I placed a shovel on the stone. A shovel at best would be a medium sized staff (only slightly longer than a walking cane). Yet, such a staff would not fit in the Ark of the Covenant as illustrated by the shovel's length being longer than the stone ---even diagonally. This is one of several reasons I do not believe the Ark was fashioned after the common cubit, but had to be larger (after the 25-inch sacred cubit) in order to fit Aaron's staff (unless Aaron had a very little staff).

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