Rocks

"For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves." - Deuteronomy 32:31

I little while back I picked up a cubic yard of gravel for my yard. And when I say "picked up" what I mean is that I had a bobcat tractor dump three loads of gravel into the bed of my truck. I guess I hadn't thought about how much this gravel might actually weigh but whatever I had been thinking wasn't even close. Thankfully the quarry yard was only about 2 miles from my house because my full size truck was literally groaning under the weight of a bed full of gravel. My tailgate has never been the same since. It wiggles slightly when it is closed and every once in a while, if I slam it shut, a few pieces of gravel trickle down from some unknown hiding place. Ever since this experience I have wondered how much the Earth weighs.

When you think about it, this giant ball spinning through outer space is basically one big rock with a little water splashed here and there. If you took all of the rocks in the worlds and weighed them, to what could you compare that number? And would that number actually mean anything to you?

I just Googled the question, “How much does the Earth weigh?” The first website that popped up was a science website called “howstuffworks.com”. They tell me…strike that…they first correct me and then tell me that, “it would be more proper to ask, "What is the mass of planet Earth?" The quick answer to that is: approximately 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (6E+24) kilograms.” Being an American, kilograms make no sense to me. Here is that number in pounds: 13,227,735,720,000,000,000,000,000 lbs. And apparently, the Earth is gaining 100,000 pounds per year. I blame fast food.

All that to say, rocks are generally pretty heavy. They can break windows handily. Even if they are “light” rocks. You just have the throw them harder.

God made rocks for a reason though and breaking windows probably wasn’t at the top of the “Proper Usage of Rocks” list, if there was such a thing. I think that one of the main reasons that God made the earth weigh about 13 trillion, trillion (actual name for that number) pounds is that he wanted the statement ,“The LORD is my Rock” (Ps. 18:2) to blow our minds.

When I pick up a rock in my yard and turn it over in my hand, feeling its weight and texture and solidarity, I ought to remember that God is my Rock. He is sure and solid and weighty. Winds don’t move him and water won’t float him. In other words, he is faithful forever and worthy of my trust. (Isa. 26:4) My Rock is my security and refuge during a storm. (Ps. 31:2)

My Rock, along with his glorious Gospel, is worth building my house upon. Winds and rains will come and my house will stand. (Mt. 7:24-25) No building code in the world could hope to require the strength of that Foundation. The Rock is required and nothing else will do.

Rock in hand; I should try to imagine water flowing forth. I love the smell of a wet rock but only the most insane among us would imagine the wetness coming from within the rock. I have a staff around here somewhere; and I think that if I banged on rocks all day long the water within would stubbornly refuse my beckoning. And yet, Moses struck the rock and water came-a-gushin’. Rocks should remind us that God provides for his people. Even by water from rocks. Even when they lack faith. But he does not only bring water from rocks, but also honey. (Ps. 81:16) In other words, rocks should also remind us that God is not stingy with his provisions.

And if we could not think of a more contrary thing than water coming out of a rock, God decided to make fire spring up from a rock for Gideon. (Jud. 6:21) And that was in spite of Gideon’s ridiculous requests for proof.

I should also be warned that a rock is also biblically analogous to a hardened and unrepentant heart. I should be warned that if the soil is too rocky, the plant may flourish for a moment but then be scorched by the sun. (Lu 8:6,13)

I should remember Peter. A lesser rock to be sure, but definitively useful in the formation of the early church. (Mt. 16:18)

Rocks are amazing things. They can be used as anchors. They can be used as walls and buildings. They can be used as altars and memorials. They can be used for jewelry and weapons. They can be used to seal tombs. However, they have the hardest time staying sealed. And we should be thankful for their colossal failure in this regard.