2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
- Psalm 18:2, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
In many ways, Summer Bible Day Camp 2001 was no different than the Day Camps of previous years. The Campers played games and sang songs. They learned Bible lessons and made art projects. They ate snacks and met new friends. And again, the weather was just a little on the warm side.
Like other years, this year’s camp also had a unique theme, "Treasures in the Kingdom," This theme carried the campers back in time to the Middle Ages. There they learned about castles from Sir James of St. George, a castle architect. Sir Godfrey came to Camp the following day and shared with us his experiences about the not-always-so-glamorous life of a knight on the Crusades.
But perhaps the most exciting part of Camp came on the final day. We talked about the legend of the Holy Grail, the vessel believed to be the cup Jesus gave to his disciples at the Last Supper. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when knights and castles were very important, many different stories grew up around this cup. Some believed that the Grail possessed magical powers, even the power to heal anyone who drank from it. And as the stories go, adventurous knights made it their lifelong quest to obtain this priceless treasure.
With these romantic tales about knights and treasure filling their heads, the Campers embarked on a treasure hunt of their own. They followed a series of biblical clues that ultimately led them to a treasure chest. This chest was not filled with gold (it was filled with gold candy) or anything that resembled the Holy Grail, but it did contain a priceless treasure.
The words of the gospel lesson for today reminded the Campers that our greatest treasure is a spiritual one. Our treasure awaits us in heaven. As we review the Biblical lessons the Campers learned during the week, this year’s Day Camp theme will also serve as a good theme for us as we...
UNCOVER TREASURES IN GOD’S KINGDOM
A single Bible verse was chosen to be the theme verse for Day Camp, Psalm 18:2. In our pursuit of heavenly treasure, this verse will provide the framework for our meditation. King David wrote...
I. The Lord is my rock
II. The Lord is my fortress
III. The Lord is my deliverer
Psalm 18, like many other psalms, came from the pen of King David. In order to understand what prompted David to use such powerful pictures to describe the Lord, it is beneficial to review some of the events of his life.
When David was young, he worked in his father’s fields as a shepherd. On two separate occasions while he was tending the flocks, a lion and a bear attacked the sheep. David was not a afraid. He didn’t run away. He stood his ground and killed them both with his own hands.
When David was a little older, he visited his brothers in the camp of the armies of Israel. What he saw there was very disturbing. One of Israel’s enemies, a Philistine giant named Goliath came out day after day and mocked the God of Israel. He challenged any of the Israelites to fight him one-on-one in battle. But because Goliath was nine-feet tall and wore armor that weighed well over one hundred pounds, the Israelites were afraid.
Everyone except David. Even though he was little more than a boy, even though he was not at all battle tested, even though he wasn’t wearing any armor, David accepted Goliath’s challenge. He went into battle with a slingshot, and again he was successful. David slew Goliath and led Israel to a great victory.
As David grew older, he earned quite a reputation as a warrior and a leader. He was so successful that the king of Israel, King Saul, became jealous and wanted to kill him. But somehow David was always able to stay one step ahead of Saul. And in the end, Saul’s greatest fears came true. David took Saul’s place on the throne of Israel, and was recognized as Israel’s greatest king.
This is a pretty impressive resume, and it includes only a handful of David’s accomplishments. Still, these accounts tell us a lot about David the man. He was strong. He was brave. He was courageous. These are enviable qualities, the kinds of characteristics that everyone would like to have. So what was David’s secret? What was the secret of his success? The Lord.
David said: "The Lord is my rock..." In other words, David was not about to take the credit for his many triumphs. He owed everything he had and everything he was to God. What the Campers learned about castles this week might help us understand why David chose to call the Lord his "rock."
The earliest castles were made of wood. These fortifications served their purpose, but there was one fundamental problem with wood construction. If you go over to Europe today, I can almost guarantee that you will not be able to find an authentic wooden castle. Why? They didn’t stand the test of time. When the enemy came up against a castle, they didn’t have to attack it head on or try to break through the walls. They could set the walls on fire instead.
Over time the primary construction material in castle building changed over to stone. Stone is much heavier than wood. Stone is much stronger than wood. Most importantly, stone does not burn like wood. In fact, some stone castles were built so well that they are still standing after hundreds of years of weather and warring.
David may have been thinking about these properties when he called the Lord his rock. God is strong. God is sturdy. God is unbreakable. God was with David when he killed the lion and the bear. God gave David the strength to defeat Goliath. God gave David the ability to rule a nation and still serve the Lord.
The Lord was David’s rock throughout his life. Because the Lord does not change, he is our rock too. That’s why we sing hymns like "Rock of Ages." That’s why we sing, "On Christ, the solid rock I stand." In God, we find strength and stability. Even if everything else in our world is crumbling around us, our faith rests on the solid bedrock of God and his Word.
David had good reason to call God his rock, but he didn’t stop there. He also called the Lord "my fortress." This makes sense, right? David was a king. He lived in a palace. The walls of the capital city, Jerusalem, were much like the fortified walls of a castle.
The introduction of this psalm provides some additional information. David sang these words "when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul" (Introduction).
If you read the account of Saul and David in I Samuel, David’s word choice might strike you as a bit odd. When Saul and his armies pursued David in an effort to kill him, David spent very little time in one place, much less in a fortress. Most of the time, David was on the run. He hid in the desert. He hid in the hills. He and his men hid in caves. But rarely if ever did he hold up in any kind of fortified structure.
So did David make a mistake? Should we be critical of his choice of words? Perhaps he would have been more accurate if he would have said, "The Lord is my guide," or "The Lord is my hiding place." Actually, David’s word picture is perfect. He recognized that the odds were against him. Saul had more men. Saul had more resources. David knew that he needed divine intervention if he wanted to survive.
Because God had anointed him to be Israel’s next king, David had nothing to fear. With God on David’s side, there was nothing Saul could do to stop him. David had God’s promise, and so he put his trust in the Lord. Like a castle without walls, like an impenetrable invisible fortress that followed him wherever he went, God protected David from his enemies.
The question came up at camp, "Why don’t we have castles today? Sir James, the castle architect, said that castles are very expensive to build. And like many other things, the medieval castle became obsolete.
David’s words remind Christians that this is not entirely true. We do have a place where we can go and find refuge. We don’t hide behind thick walls of stone. We don’t put our trust in buildings that will eventually crumble and fall. The Lord is our fortress. Sometimes he may allow us to see the walls he builds around us. At other times he protects us from things we may be totally unaware of. The tragic car accident we weren’t involved in. The serious illness that didn’t strike. The family crisis that never came to be.
David’s first two descriptions of God have something to do with castles: "The Lord is my rock... and my fortress." But what about the third phrase? David called the Lord "my deliverer." How does that relate to a medieval theme?
Maybe you are thinking that we have already covered that ground. God saved David from a lion and a bear. God delivered David from Goliath. God rescued David from the hand of Saul. These powerful enemies of David had two things in common. They wanted to see David dead. And they all failed.
The greatest threat to David was not a wild animal or an angry giant or a jealous king. David was in danger because of his own sin. David was a great king, a courageous leader, a man after the Lord’s own heart, but he was still a sinner. He let his sinful pride eat away at his heart. He acted on his sinful lusts and took another man’s wife. And for all of the wonderful things we can say about him, there is no disputing the fact that David was guilty of cold-blooded murder.
What could God possibly want with someone like that? Why did God remain patient with him? Why didn’t God get rid of David and start over? David didn’t have the answers to those questions, but he was very thankful that God did. God loved David even though he didn’t deserve to be loved. God rescued David from his sins. God delivered David from physical danger and spiritual death.
If we squared off against the spiritual enemies that oppose us every day, it would be a very short battle. It would not take very long for the devil to deliver a fatal blow. The world would pour salt in the wounds. And our sinful nature would stand by and taunt and jeer.
That is what would happen every time if we tried to fight the battle alone. But like the knights who fought battles to protect their subjects, we have one who goes into battle on our behalf. In fact, the battle is over and the winner is...Jesus. Our Savior took on sin and death and hell and emerged victorious. He descended into hell to proclaim his victory and he rose again to seal it completely. And he gives us everything we need to face any enemies that rise up against us.
With the belt of truth buckled around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, with the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, equipped with God’s powerful armor we are able to defend ourselves against all kinds of evil.
And with the sword of the Spirit in hand, with the living and active Word of God as our weapon, we go on the offensive. We boldly proclaim that Jesus lives, and the victory is won. We announce the good news that the gates of God’s kingdom are open wide. We tell others that the Lord is their rock, their fortress and their deliverer too.
Out of all the things that the Campers learned during the week, everything can be boiled down to one timeless truth. Heaven is the greatest treasure there is. Jesus is the greatest treasure there is. This is the treasure we have. This is the treasure we share. Amen.