"He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He."
Deuteronomy 32:4
“Don’t forget your Bible verse, ‘Life’s hard, then you die!’” Years ago, when my niece was no longer a toddler but not yet in kindergarten, she made this statement, surprising and causing many of us “adults” to smile and chuckle. Somehow, she had gotten her wires crossed and had mixed up some ideas she had heard somewhere, perhaps Sunday School or Children’s Church. I have never found that verse in the Bible; of course, it does not exist. Her two statements are valid, though, “life is hard,” and eventually, “we all die.” Her childlike version of these two ideas that plague humanity got me thinking about those who do not know God. How can a lost sinner bear it when life is hard, or death comes? Being alone? How terrible that must be!
We believers who have put our faith in Jesus Christ have the “God of all comfort” as our Father (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We also have the sacred duty of being God’s ambassadors and calling sinners to repent and turn to Him (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). But why should someone without knowledge of God place their trust in Him? This is why, as we witness, we teach the lost. We need to show unbelievers what the God of the Bible is like. One way is by sharing verses about God and His character (His attributes) with them. Moses wrote many wonderful passages about God. Here is one of them.
Exodus 32 is known as “The Song of Moses.” He points out that God is faithful even when Israel is not (vv. 4-18). He tells of the need for God’s chastening (vv. 19-33), and he moves on to God’s compassion for His people who have been humbled (vv. 34-42). Moses finished his song as it began (vv. 1-3), calling all to rejoice, praising Him, for He will make all things right again! (v. 43). [1]
Let’s consider verse 4 today.
“The Lord is the Rock, and His work is perfect! Yes, all His ways are right! God is true and faithful. He is good and honest” (Deuteronomy 32:4, [2] HSB).
“He is the Rock.”
This is an excellent description of our God! The Hebrew word “rock” is “a word expressive of power and stability” [3] (JFB). “This means that God is stable and permanent. So the only stability in life is in clinging to Him, the great Rock” [4] (BKC). “As the Rock, He is the one who saves, and in whom refuge can safely be taken…” [5] (NBC). He is our “firm and secure foundation” that we can build our lives upon [6] (see CSB).
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2, [7] ESV).
Several times in Moses’ song, he said that the LORD is a “Rock” (Deuteronomy 32). Paul reminds us that the Rock is “a companion who is able to lead one through the trackless deserts of life (1 Corinthians 10:4)” [8] (CSB). The “Lord our Rock” is to be trusted because with Him, there is never any betrayal or uncertainty (James 1:17).
“His work is perfect.”
God’s works, that is, every one of His actions, are “perfect.” This Hebrew word is translated as “complete, whole, entire, sound, … healthful, … wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity” [9] (BDB). We can be assured that God’s actions are “entirely in accord with truth and fact …” [10] (BDB).
“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him” (2 Samuel 22:31).
“For all His ways are judgment.”
God is just (fair) when He deals with humanity. He made them, and He loves them. Therefore, He has the right to make the rules they must live by (His sovereignty). Because of His Justice, we can trust Him.
“And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18).
“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 36:7).
“A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”
He is true! (“firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, and steadiness”). [11]
He is without sin! (no “injustice, unrighteousness, wrong, or violent deeds of injustice”).
He is just! (“just, lawful, and righteous”).
And He is upright! (“straight, upright, correct, and right”).
When God works with His people, His “…procedure was marked by justice and judgment, whether they [Israel] had been exalted to prosperity or plunged into the depths of affliction” [12] (JFB). Yes, indeed, I can trust this God!
Quote: “People who can ride through the toughest issues of life and remain calm are not indifferent; they’re just trusting God” [13] (John MacArthur Jr.).
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).
[1] See Barnes on Deuteronomy 32. I have borrowed his verse divisions and the general idea of his points in his outline, edited for our use. BNB – Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[3] JFB, Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 140–141.
[4] BKC, Jack S. Deere, “Deuteronomy,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 318.
[5] NBC, J. Gordon McConville, “Deuteronomy,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 228.
[6] CSB, Eugene H. Merrill, “Deuteronomy,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 309.
[7] ESV is the English Standard Version of the Bible.
[8] CSB, ibid.
[9] BDB – Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[10] BDB, ibid.
[11] All these definitions are from BDB.
[12] JFB, ibid.
[13] MacArthur’s quote is from his writing, “Found: God’s Peace.” Downloaded: July 11, 2022. From: https://www.wow4u.com/trust-quotes7/.