Praising the Lord, the Rock

Having spent forty years as a shepherd in Sinai's sparse, rocky wilderness, Moses might have been more familiar with rocks than trees or human beings. The huge rocks in the wilderness provided shade from the Mediterranean sun and also served as hiding places for him and his flock.

This explains why, in this chapter, popularly known as the Song of Moses, he describes the Lord as the Rock at least four more times (Deut 32:15, 18, 30—31). The psalmists who followed him continued this imagery to describe the Lord (Psa 18:2; 19:14).

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psa 18:1—2).

Towards the end of his life, Moses reflects on his life with the Lord, attributing human qualities to the inanimate rock.

He has experienced the Rock as “perfect.” The word in Hebrew means round or complete. However, the Lord’s perfection is not in the shape but in the just way that he deals with his people: “All his ways are justice.” God dealt with him in justice when the people tried to stone him (Exod 17:4), when his siblings repudiated him (Num 12:1), and when the stubborn people refused to move on towards the promised land (Num 11:5).

Throughout life's journey, the Rock has been faithful to his promises. Moses could not spot an iniquity in the Lord. The Lord has always been upright in his dealings with Moses and the crowd under his leadership.

We must boldly sing with the hymn writer: “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

The Lord never changes, but our memories of his faithful dealings with us blur as the days pass. However, as Moses approached the end of his life, his memories grew brighter.

The psalmist advises: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).