DEVOTION SATURDAY 6-12-10

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR

SATURDAY JUNE 12TH, 2010

”EL-sela" 

GOD MY ROCK TO STAND  ON

By

Pastor Bob Coy

“I will say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" Psalms 42:9 (NKJV)

Although Psalm 42 isn't officially attributed to David, many Bible scholars believe he's the author of this Psalm. That being the case, let's take a closer look at what he's really saying as he speaks of "God my Rock."

Remember that David lived as a fugitive before he was crowned king. Saul was filled with insecurity and envy, and he was bent on finding and killing the young up-start named David. Consequently, David did a lot of running and hiding in the Middle East, where the terrain is often punctuated by rocky formations.

For a fugitive like David, these rocks were an essential ally. They gave him the chance to rest and recover. They were also a hiding place that concealed him from Saul's soldiers. These weren't just rocks, they were lifesavers.

With that in mind, we see a deeper significance when we come to "God my Rock." In the Hebrew, it's the words El (God) and sela (rock), but not just any type of rock. More specifically, this word is linked to the idea of a "split rock." It speaks of a rocky crag filled with crevices and clefts that are ideal for hiding.

So when David calls God, El-sela, he's drawing attention to the fact that God is his hiding place and his protection from those who were pursuing him. He was a fugitive, he was on the run, but he was safe because of El-sela.

We don't find ourselves hunted the same way David was, but we can all relate to what it's like to be hounded and harassed by an adversary. It's in these times, when we're feeling like the proverbial fugitive, that we need to recognize our God is El-sela, the One who conceals and protects us from the enemy.