THEME: GOD IS THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION: PURE IN JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND EQUITY. (Deuteronomy 32:4)
TORAH & GOSPEL ARE NO MORE CLEARLY SEEN THAN HERE IN “GOD THE ROCK.”
HA’TZUR (THE ROCK, THE NECKLACE), not
EH’VEN (A STONE, A BUILDING STONE, A GEM STONE)
Jacob set up an EH’VEN at the place of the ladder of ascent and descent into and from Transcendence. Yeshua referred to this place in John 2 when He encountered Nathaniel, the man without guile. To this place also the Apostle Paul gave witness in Ephesians 4—the ministry of ascent and descent from the eternal realm into our world through the Body of Messiah.
BUT THIS STONE, TZUR*, is (in its verb form) the place where one is enclosed, shut up, even besieged and entrenched. It is a place of hostility where one confronts his enemy from the Fortress of ROCK. IT IS FROM HERE—TZUR (ROCK)—THAT GOD BATTLES HIS OPP0NENTS AND IT IS HERE (ROCK) THAT WE TAKE OUR STAND WITH HIM IN THE WORLD.
*[BDB, pp 848-849]
TZUR is a ROCK, a BOULDER, a CLIFF, a MASS OF STONE, not a lesser EH’VEN—a Piece of Rock, like the stone that slew Goliath. This then is the interpretation of Matthew 16:18, “You are Peter (PETROS, a pebble), and upon THIS ROCK (PETRA, the Foundation Stone) I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Petros is a piece of rock. Petra is the Boulder. The only linguistic difference is the gender of the same root. It is larger than “lithos” (similar to petros)—a small utility stone. Peter was raised up into a ministry beyond his own natural state—he was an extension of the ministry of THE ROCK, MESSIAH YESHUA. (1 Peter 4:2-8)
So are we. So are you. You who have received the Spirit of Messiah are graced to walk in Him.
Take to heart the exhortation of the LORD: it is in HIM that we live, and move and have our being. When we build on HIS WORD we take our stand on Eternal Truth against all foes. Let us then weather the storms of life, anchored in TZUR—GOD THE ROCK. (Matthew 7:24-25)
