A Cool Shadow In A Hot Land

TO READ: Isaiah 32:1-8

Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.

Isaiah 32:2

Not only can I be a shelter and a river, I can be like a large rock casting a cool shadow —a solid piece of permanence rising up out of a weary land. Notice I said “like” a large rock. God is the Rock. David told the Lord he loved him for his rocklike qualities (Psalm 18:1-2). He knew he could rely on God’s rocklike permanence, eternal strength, and stability as a refuge for his frail human nature.

This was a favorite theme of the king. David lived much of his life in the rocks of the Holy Land. When he was chased by his enemies, he knew what it was to run into the crevasses and caves and find shelter there. He could always rely on the caves being in exactly the same place he had left them! They seemed to be eternally reliable.

“I love you, LORD; you are my strength,” sang David. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection” (Psalm 18:1-2). We all need such a wall of permanence in our lives. We need to lean back and find the granite firm against our backs. Sometimes we need to find a crevasse in the rock and hide ourselves from our enemies.

The prophet Isaiah tells us when our Rock is King, we become like a shadow of the Rock to others. Do others look at you and me and see us as shadows of our Rock within the weary land?