The Rock was Christ

3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! 4 The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he; Deut. 32:4 NRSV

47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, 2 Samuel 22:47 NRSV

Notice in the Scriptures above that the "Rock" has a "work" that is "perfect" and "ways" that are "just." God/Yahweh here is the Rock and He is a living personal and acting creator. 2 Samuel even says Yahweh "lives!" Deuteronomy goes on to even describe Yahweh as a "he"; "faithful"; "without deceit"; "just" and "upright". God is not a "what" but a "who" that speaks as a "he".

Daniel L. Segraves notes that "we are to read the Old Testament as did the writers of the New Testament: the events found in the Hebrew Scriptures anticipate and represent greater realities that will be brought to light in the messianic age, with the coming of Jesus Christ."(1) It is indeed the coming of Jesus, and not a Trinity, that the Old Testament foretells. In Jewish homes the song "The Rock From Which We Have Eaten" is sung around Shabbat. Messianic Jewish scholar David Stern suggests “One of the best known zmirot (songs) sung in Jewish homes on Shabbat is “Tzur Mishelo Achalnu” (“The Rock From Which We Have Eaten”). Since it may date back to as early as the second century, and because so many of its ideas parallel those of these verses, I quote two stanzas:”

The Rock, from whom we have eaten—

Bless him, my faithful friends! 

We have eaten our fill without exhausting the supply, 

Which accords with the Word of Adonai.

He nourishes his world, our Shepherd, our Father;

We have eaten his bread and drunk his wine …. 

With nourishment and sustenance he has sated our souls …. 

May the Merciful One be blessed and exalted! (2)

In this song Jews have no problem calling the "Rock" a "He" who is a "Shepherd" and a "Father". Emil Schurer in his voluminous work on the Jewish People says that the Shema and the Shemoneh Esreh “occupy...so prominent position in the Jewish liturgy”. Shurer suggests that the Shema (Jewish confession of faith, consisting of Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21, Num. 15:37-31) is cited, preceeded by prayers, so that they would be in “constant remembrance of Him.” The Shemoneh Esreh is the “chief prayer, which every Israelite, even women, slaves and children, had to repeat three times a day...it is so much the chief prayer of the Israelite, that it is also called merely ‘the prayer.’”(3) Here are parts of the prayer I would like to consider closer. Notice how they echo that of Stern's Jewish song.

We praise Thee, for Thou art the Lord our God and the God of our fathers for ever and ever; the Rock of our life, the Shield of our salvation, Thou art for ever and ever...Cause us to turn, O our Father, to Thy law, and draw us near, O our King, to Thy service, and restore us in perfect repentance to Thy presence. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who delightest in repentance. 6. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed; ready to pardon and forgive Thou art.

Let’s examine more Scripture about the Rock that was with the Israelites. Notice these passages:

Isaiah 44:8, Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” ESV

 I Samuel 2:2, There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. ESV

 II Samuel 22:2-3, He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me. ESV

 II Samuel 22:32, For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? ESV

 II Samuel 23:3, The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, ESV

 Psalm 18:2, 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. ESV

 Psalms 62:1-2, For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. ESV

In the previous passages we can make some important conclusions. 1) no God or Rock besides "me" 2) no other God or Rock is known 3) this Rock is God or Yahweh of the Old Testament 4) God is our rock, refuge, shield, holy, stronghold, and savior. 5) The God of Israel, the Rock of Israel, even speaks. 6) God is a who and is described as a "him" and a "He". The Hebrew word הוּא appears which typically is a referent of whom or what is spoken about. In this case the whom is "He" and is referring to Yahweh. The New Bible Dictionary makes an important concession in light of popular trinitarian apologetics,

"Without the titanic disclosure of the Christ event, no one would have taken the OT to affirm anything but the exclusive, i.e. unipersonal monotheism that is the hallmark of Judaism and Islam."(4)

This well known fact is overlooked and still ignored by Trinitarians. The Old Testament is unipersonal and that is why Judaism is unipersonal. The "Christ event" however did not introduce another person no more than it revealed another, even lesser, Yahweh. God comes. He is Jesus.

The prophet Isaiah saw a vision of Jesus sitting on heaven’s throne (Isaiah 6:1ff.), with such a robe that its train filled the temple. Clearly no other person is on the right nor the left of God, and His throne. The seraphim present identifies what Isaiah saw as Yahweh. Isaiah later points out that it would be His birth of a virgin (7:14) from David’s lineage that would qualify Him to sit on David’s throne, fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Nathan. But this descendant of David would also be the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father Himself.

The Rock was Christ : Jesus is Yahweh


Paul, speaking of the Israelites in the days of Moses, said, “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (I Corinthians 10:4). The Rock is a type of Christ but also identifies Jesus as Yahweh. Jews and Trintarians will stumble here. Jesus, the everlasting Father, is also the Son, who is also the Mighty God (See Isa. 9:6). The only God the Father in the either Covenants is Jesus, the Son. Jesus then is the True God (1 John 5:20). Fundamentally, the One who existed prior to the Incarnation is the same One who existed after the Incarnation but in a different form.

It was not the human Son of God, the seed of the woman, that was with the Israelites on that day. Yet, the one eternal personal Spirit of God preexisted the Incarnation. In his book Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity Richard Bauckham notes:

The implication for Jewish monotheism and Christology is remarkable: the exclusive devotion that YHWH's jealously requires of his people is required of Christians by Jesus Christ. Effectively he assumes the unique identity of YHWH. This is coherent with the suggestion that Paul already has the Song of Moses in mind in 10:4 ('the rock was Christ'), alluding to the description of YHWH as Israel's Rock that is characteristic of the Song (Dent. 32:4, 15, 18, 31; note the close association with the theme of Israel's idolatry in v. 18).(5)

James D.G. Dunn, in his book New Testament Theology notes:

...in the Gospels it is typically Jesus who heals or saves, or through whom God saves. And it is noticeable that, in the Pastorals in particular, the title of Savior is used of God as much as of Christ.(6)

Not a verse of Scripture even hints of any other Rock or significant Savior other than Yahweh. (See also Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30-31; Psalm 28:1; 42:9; 61:2; 71:3; 94:22; 95:1, Isaiah 51:1.) With Jesus now understood to be included in the identity of Yahweh does not introduce another Rock, Savior or Yahweh. If so, the closest possible explanation would be polytheism and not Trinitarianism (i.e. more than one divine person can be called Rock, Savior, Yahweh).

Yahweh is a who that speaks as a he. Such self utterances and reflections by others on Yahweh as a he or him certainly reflect the indivisible nature of God's being as well as His inexhaustible person (esp. in contrast to worship of Baal(s)). For Israel Yahweh is an eternal undivided self. Notice these passages. Well before Christ was ever born the Old Testament prophet Isaiah states:

Isaiah 8:13-14, “But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over—a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

In the Acts of the Apostles Luke records Peter’s affirmation in the clearest way possible: 

Acts 4:10-11, “let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead(7). 11 This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’” NRSV

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 9:32-33, also says “They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” NRSV

In even clearer terms Paul states: 1 Corinthians 3:11, For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. NRSV

NOTES:

1) Segraves, Daniel L. (2008). Reading Between the Lines (Kindle Locations 2920-2933). Word Aflame Press. Kindle Edition.

2) Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : A companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed.) (1 Co 10:3). Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications.

3) Schürer, E. (1890). Vol. 4: A history of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus Christ, second division, Vol. II. (86, 87). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

4) Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1209). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

5) Richard Bauckham. Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity (Kindle Locations 1362-1366). Kindle Edition.

6) James D. G. Dunn (2009). New Testament Theology (Library of Biblical Theology) (Kindle Locations 1533-1537). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.

7) Who raised Jesus from the dead? 2 Cor. 5:19—God was in Christ, reconciling the world…..; John 2:19—Jesus, Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up; Gal. 1:1—Father raised Christ from the dead and Rom. 8:11—Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead. God raised Christ from the dead.

Jesus or Yahweh?

I would first like to recommend an article by my friend and fellow theologian Jason Dulle. He has some very excellent remarks on Yahweh or Jesus? What is God's Name? 

There is really no choice that needs to be made between Jesus or Yahweh (a pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton). I think this presupposes something unnecessary as well. In reality they are both the same name, but with one being a continued or expanded form of the other, describing what God does. Dulle notes this as well in his article:

"the problem with such a statement is rooted in the fact that it sets up a false dichotomy between "YHWH" and "Jesus," forcing us to decide between the two."

The Jewish Study Bible (non-Christian source) says,

"YHVH was probably originally pronounced "Yahweh," but in Second Temple times, as an expression of reverence, Jews began to avoid uttering it, substituting adonai and other surrogates. (As a reminder, to do so, in printed Hebrew Bibles the consonants are accompanied by the vowels of the surrogate words, leading to such hybrid English forms as Jehovah.") pg. 112

Yah or Jah is an abbreviated form of the Tetragrammaton. Some however do believe that this form, Yah or Jah, is the original form. I personally don't know for certain but others say it is a shortened form such as yeho, yo, yahu, yah which in some way represent the divine name known among the Israelites before the full name Jahveh or Yahweh was revealed on Mt. Horeb (Ex. 3:6-16).

This is not the LZ (landing zone) though. Think of it this way, what is the name of Jesus without YHWH/YHVH? His name is YHWH, YHWH is salvation. Indeed, by saying "I and my Father are one" is to identify Himself as Yahweh. There is no either/or here. God's name is YHWH because He is timeless existence but He is also Yeshua/Jesus because of what He is doing with us - saving us! We call on YHWH when we speak the name of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ESV

See Catholic Encyclopedia on "Jehovah/Yahweh"
See Jewish Encyclopedia on "Tetragrammaton" 

Jesus Is Yahweh's Unique Dwelling Place

"Jesus is Yahweh's unique dwelling place."*

David Norris, I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology pg. 78

Exodus 3:15
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ עֹ֨וד אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־ מֹשֶׁ֗ה כֹּֽה־ תֹאמַר֮ אֶל־ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י

Exodus 3:15
And God said moreover unto Moses Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel The LORD* God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you this is my name for ever and this is my memorial unto all generations. ESV

The term "Father" is a title or metaphor for God. It is true that God is our Father and the title certainly applies, but we should keep in mind that it is used to point us to God in his relational mode of existence with Creation. The title Father is used variously throughout the Old Testament. Trinitarian theologians put so much emphasis on the title "Father" that it is used to refer to a distinct person in the Godhead as well as a worthy title to be called over one in baptism. Is this the name for God though? Father? Here is how the Bible defines its use of "Father":

1. The immediate male parent or grandfather or even more distant relative (Gen 17:4; 28:13; 42:13).

2. The pioneer of some craft or occupation (Gen 4:21)

3. The mayor or provost of a town (1 Chron. 2:51)

4. A courtesy title for one who had acted like a benevolent father (Gen 45:8)

5. An aged and revered teacher (1 Sam 10:12)

6. As a prophetic title of Christ, the coming Messiah, as “The everlasting Father” (Isa 9:6).

The Gospel of John takes the use to an all time high in the New Testament with a total around 116 with Christ using them about 108 of those times. John is very theological in his presentation and so this is to be expected as we see the reality of the Incarnation or the relationship between the Father and the Son. Thomas F. Torrance points out that "We can approach Jesus only as sinners who need the mediation of Christ in order to go to the Father..."* This relationship helps us conceptualize how God could become a man and indeed redeem us.

Besides the Gospels the New Testament authors only use "Father" 78 times, but use "God" more than 1000 times. This is their preferred term for God, whereas Jesus’ preferred term was "Father" but not by much. 174 times He called God "Father" and 161 times He called Him "God". To the Jew Yahweh is God, the only Lord God.

In Exodus 3:15, above, LORD here is capitalized because it is יְהֹוָה or Yhvh. J.R. Ensey made these comments at the Apostolic Theological Forum worth noting:

"If God's name has always been Yeshua, it would seem strange that He never referred to Himself as such, nor was He ever called that until the New Testament. It might be counter-argued that while God was called YHWH in the OT, He is never called by such in the NT. But is God called YHWH in the NT? Yes, in its expanded form as Jesus, meaning YHWH is salvation. The name Jesus found exclusively in the NT, is a continuation of the revealed name of God found throughout the OT. "Jesus" is not a new name." *

The name of God in the Old Testament is YHWH and Jesus is the continuing revelation of the name of YHWH. Indeed, Yehshua means: YHWH is salvation. To invoke the name of Jesus is to in some way invoke the name of YHWH. This distinguishes the name of Jesus as a covenantal name and is not equivalent to the proper name "Jesus" given in other languages. There are several titles for God but God's name is YHWH (Ex. 3:14-15). Yeshua or Jesus has been revealed, as the "exalted" name "above all names" (Phil. 2:9-11).

In I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology Dr. David Norris says, "Analogously, the name of Jesus functions covenentally much the same as Yahweh." The name Yeshua contains part of the divine name in its grammatical construction and was also accompanied by the announcement of angels. In fact, there is "no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" outside the name of Jesus (See Acts 4:12).

To those who heard the name know that Yeshua was the salvation of Yahweh. This was important for Christ's divine identify as Yahweh but also His mission since it "declared what Yahweh would do in the person of Jesus Christ."* (Norris, pg. 76) The name of Jesus is the name above all names. We must be sure that we do divorce from its very meaning or forget, rather, that it is a continuing revelation of YHWH Himself.

"God did not remain in heaven and send a Son, the second Person in the Godhead, to earth. He was right here HIMSELF, GOD WITH US Matthew 1:23" S.G. Norris

(The Mighty God in Christ, pg. 20)

NOTES:

* Norris, David S. I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology (c) 2009 by David S. Norris. Word Aflame Publishers Academic, pg.78

* Torrance, Thomas F. Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ (c) 2008 by Thomas F. Torrance and Robert T. Walker. Intervarsity Press Academic publishing.

* "What is God's Real Name?" by J.R. Ensey delivered at the 2009 Apostolic Theological Forum

* Norris, pg. 76