The hut and the rock

Sunday January 9, 2022

The hut and the rock

The foundations of the earth are shaken... The earth is shaking. The earth totters like a drunken man, it wavers like a hut ; her sin weighs on her, she falls, and does not get up. Isaiah 24:18,20

Behold, I have laid for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a valuable cornerstone, firmly laid. Isaiah 28:16

The shack. The prophet is probably referring to a wooden hut where the shepherds rested at night, after having penned the sheep and goats in the pens. All the shepherd has to do is hit the hut with the shoulder or close the door a little too abruptly and there she is, all shaken up. The earth shaken like a hut ? The prophet's comparison is bold. However, instability characterizes the world : nations, economic systems, businesses, families, couples, work... And sin is, as the prophet says, the root cause of all these upheavals (v . 18).

The rock. While the hut is fragile, the rock gives us a reassuring image of stability. God himself is often compared to the rock (Deuteronomy 32:4 ; Psalm 73:26). He who relies on him will not be moved. David's words at the beginning of Psalm 62 seem prudent : He is my rock and my salvation, my fortress : I will not be moved much (v.3) ; but in verse 7 the tone is firmer. Now this is a statement full of faith : He is my rock and my salvation, my fortress : I will not be moved.

The man in the parable who, to build his house, dug and excavated deeply, then laid the foundations on the rock, had the same experience : the torrent threw itself against this house without being able to shake it, because 'she was founded on the rock (Luke 6:48). The soul founded on Jesus Christ can say humbly but confidently : I will not be moved (Psalm 62: 7). Our "hut" will certainly be subjected to the tremors of our world, but our rock puts it beyond the reach of any collapse.

Founded on Christ Himself, Have for supreme good

Our hearts forever His perfect peace.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)