Scrubbed by the Rock
“The biggest danger is hitting the ground, that means death or a wheelchair, so you need secure protection in solid rock.”
This answer to my naïve question, “What’s the biggest danger in rock climbing?” came from a friend of mine in South America. He is an expert climber, an instructor with 30-years’ experience.
Psalm 51
I contacted *Alex, because I saw before and after pictures of a new climbing route he had built. He commented that he wanted to call it Psalm 51 because of the amount of cleaning that went into making this route climbable.
Why Psalm 51? He hoped someone would look up the Psalm, especially the verse “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”[1] That verse is a heartfelt confident cry from a repentant David who had sinned greatly against the Lord. He knew only the Lord could wash away his sins and restore him to a relationship with his God.
Adultery, murder, and death of a baby
David, described as a man after God’s own heart,[2] committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba, getting her pregnant. David then had her husband, one of his loyal soldiers, put into a battle that would end his life! Not only that, the child born from David’s sinful act died as well.[3]
Only a just, righteous, and forgiving God, could “create a clean heart” in David.
Smashing loose rock, scrubbing the rock clean
Building a new climbing route is back-breaking intensive work. Every square inch gets scrubbed with a wire brush in a swath two meters wide by 20 meters high. Then debris is blown clear with a leaf blower. There is a second scrubbing, the setting of anchors, and placing of bolts into the rock face, In the end, all brush and vegetation is scrubbed; pockets and holds are now revealed. The only safe place to set anchors is in solid rock.
Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I
In many places in Scripture, the God of Israel is called a rock.[4] Jesus, the Messiah, is referred to as the stone.[5]
David writes in Psalm 61:2, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”[6] As David recognizes the need to be washed of his sins, he cries out for forgiveness in Psalm 51. It is the Rock of Israel to whom he is crying out in Psalm 51: God is “the rock that is higher than I.”
Scrubbed for climbing
My friend Alex now has a clean, solid rock face with a safe route to climb because he scrubbed it. But Alex knows no one can climb their way to the true Rock. Because as David cried out, the scrubbing and washing need to be done by the Rock. Only He can take us to the safety we need.
No amount of religious ritual or works will ever lead us to God. We must go to the Stone the builders rejected, Jesus, for He has become the chief cornerstone.[7]
Yes, we must be washed. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of the cleansing God does as He takes a heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh – a new heart, as David called for in Psalm 51.[8]
A Pharisee, who was washed by the Rock of our salvation went from a persecutor of the followers of Jesus to a proclaimer of the gospel.[9] He wrote about this washing in this way:
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.[10]
Written by Jeff, Life in Messiah staff
What about you? Are you trying to climb your way to God?
Are you trying to right the wrongs you have done? Have you finally realized that you need to be cleansed?
It is only through the Messiah of Israel, Jesus, that you can be cleansed and have the new heart for which David cried out.[11] We’d love to hear from you if you wish to discuss this further.
Endnotes:
[1] Psalm 51:7.
[2] 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22.
[3] 2 Samuel 11:1; 12:23.
[4] Genesis 49:24; Deuteronomy 32:4,15; 2 Samuel 22:32; Psalm 18:31; Psalm 28:1.
[5] Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11.
[6] Psalm 61:2.
[7] Psalm 118:22.
[8] Ezekiel 36:24–36.
[9] Philippians 3:4–9.
[10] Titus 3:4–6.
[11] Acts 4:12.