"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" Col:3:3
When we read the Holy Bible through the view of who Jesus Christ is and all that Jesus has accomplished and is accomplishing in our lives, we then can see Jesus all over the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation Jesus is there, for he is that Living Word of God Jhn:1:1
Jesus is Always Present in Scripture
We can see the Holy Spirit always
directing us toward our Lord Jesus Christ in so many ways. This is
what God the Holy Spirit does, he speaks to us about Jesus,
about who Jesus is, not just what Jesus does.
"When the Counselor
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes
out from the Father, he will testify about me." Jhn: 15:26
The Bible in so many ways is just that,
God the Holy Spirit speaking to humanity about Jesus, for all Scripture is
inspired by the Holy Spirit, regardless as to who the "human author" many be.
David's Life
We can see Jesus this truth in the
Scriptural accounts of David's life overtly and subtly. There was a
time before David sat on throne of Israel that he was an outlaw in Israel.
King Saul , who was driven by jealousy, mental
and emotional instability and hatred, perused David relentlessly and those
men who had joined with David. In one such time of being perused by
Saul, David had fled to an area in Israel called Horesh
, to the south of Jeshimon to elude King Saul.
This area of Horesh had caves, hills
and a large outcropping of rock. It was a place which seemed as if it
was designed to conceal someone who needed shelter at the Hill
of Hachilah.
" in the strongholds at
Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?" 1Sam:23:19
In this rugged and rocky wilderness
David and his men found a period of short-lived safety until an agents of King
Saul became aware of their location and sent informants to the King.
" Then Ziphites came up to Saul at
Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on
the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now then, O king,
come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall
be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 1Sam:23:19-21
Saul, hopeful that he might finally overtake
and destroy his perceived rival David, welcomes the report and then Saul
request more information from the spies sending them to obtain more information
about David' movements and location in the area.
"Saul said, “May you be blessed
of the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. Go now, make more sure, and
investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him
there; for I am told that he is very cunning. So look, and learn about all
the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I
will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the
thousands of Judah.”
Then they arose and went to Ziph before
Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to
the south of Jeshimon" 1Sam:23:21-24
Saul Pursues
Saul then upon receiving the information
assembles his men and moves to pursue David and his men which have been
traveling along with him.
"'When Saul
and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and
stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in
the wilderness of Maon". 1Sam: 23:25
Shelter Behind the Rock
As David and his men realize that they
are being hunted once again by Saul and his army, David then leads his men to
an area which places the massive outcropping of rock between Saul and
David and his men thus separating David them from their pursuers.
The rock separated and hid David and his
men from those who pursued them to destroy them. They now behind the great rock
beyond the grasp of Saul.
" Saul went on one
side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain;
and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were
surrounding David and his men to seize them."1Sam:23:26-27
Saul is Drawn Away
It is then, when Saul believes that he
might finally capture and destroy David that events elsewhere draw
Saul away. David and his men were saved from capture and death. To
commemorate their deliverance from their pursuers David and his men give the
great outcropping of rock the name "the Rock of
Separation"
"But a messenger came to
Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the
land.” So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the
Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of
Separation. David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of
Engedi" . 1Sam: 23:26
The Rock of Separation
This event in the life of David speaks to all
of us of what our Lord Jesus Christ has, and is doing, in the lives
of Christians. Jesus is there to Separate us from our pursuers, Jesus
is that Rock of Separation for each us.
As we Christians, pass through the
wilderness of this life there are many things that will pursue us; our
past, poor decisions, or even sin, whatever pursues you and I , we can take
shelter in our Lord Jesus Christ, he is that Great Rock as St. Paul wrote
regarding Jesus , that "and that rock was Christ." 1Cor:10:4
Jesus has places himself between each of
us and our pursuers, and in him we are hid from them.
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" Col:3:3
"there is now no more
condemnation, to those who are in Christ" Rom:8:1.
Not even sin or death has the power to destroy
us, we are separated from it by our Lord, again as St. Paul writes.
"Blessed is the man whose sin
the Lord will never count against him." Rom: 4:8
"that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" 2Cor:5:19
We are , even separated from the full extent
of Satan's power to do harm to the people of God
"We know that anyone born of God does not
continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one
cannot harm him." 1Jhn:5:18
Separated from the power
of temptation, Jesus is there to stand as that Rock of Separation for
us.
"Submit therefore to God. Resist the
devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you." Jam: 4:7
Through Jesus we have died to the reach and power
of sin and death and are now safely hid in Jesus beyond the power of anything
which pursues us seeking to destroy us. We are concealed and separate from our
pursuers by Jesus Christ the great Rock .
"For you died, and your life is
now hidden with Christ in God"Col:3:3
In Christ we are separated even from death
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your
sting?" 1Cor:15:55
Never From Jesus
In Christ we have been given victory
over all which would pursue us, whatever it is that dogs us in this life's wilderness.
We have a Savior who is always there who interposed himself between us
and that which pursue us always keeping himself there as that great
outcropping of desert rock, that Rock of Separation sheltering
us keeping us hid in his own life and being.
Jesus has separated us, even as the
massive rock separated David and his men from Saul, from all who seek to
destroy us.
The only thing Jesus will never separate us
from himself and His love from us, He will not let you go.
"Never will I leave you; never will I
forsake you." Heb: 13:5
"neither height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom: 8:39
Jesus Christ is that Rock of Separation that we see standing forth from
the pages of the word of God he is always there to shelter us and protect
us and separate us from all that would pursue us, Jesus is that Rock of
Separation.
(31) Rock of Ages by
Reawaken (Acoustic Hymn) - YouTube
Benediction: May we each and all shelter in our Lord
Jesus Christ who separates from all that would pursue us, today, tomorrow
and forevermore...Amen.
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Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
"If It Is Not About Jesus,
It Is Not About Anything"
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