When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

• Exodus 33:22

My dove in the clefts of the rock,
    in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
    let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.

• Song of Songs 2:14

For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

• Psalm 27:5

“The shower was glorious: warm clean water over my festering skin, streams of water through my matted hair. I went back to my cell with a new resolve: The next time I was permitted a shower, I would take with me three of my gospels. Solitary was teaching me that it was not possible to be rich alone.
“And I was not alone much longer: Into my solitary cell came a small, busy black ant. I had almost put my foot where he was one morning as I carried my bucket to the door when I realized the honor being done me. I crouched down and admired the marvelous design of legs and body. I apologized for my size and promised I would not so thoughtlessly stride about again. After a while, he disappeared through a crack in the floor.
“But when my evening piece of bread appeared on the door shelf, I scattered some crumbs, and to my joy, he popped out almost at once. He picked up a heroic piece, struggled down the hole with it and came back for more. It was the beginning of a relationship.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“Jesus is my hiding place – the cleft of the Rock where I can hide.”

• Corrie ten Boom, Highlighted Quote

Boilerplate

In this new mini-series, I will be looking at a devotion that is said to be written by Corrie ten Boom.  Really, this devotion is like several that I had read.  They come from the writings of that person.  Thus, the prayers at the end may be the editor’s addition to what Corrie ten Boom actually wrote.

Each of these posts will include the suggested verses to read, a quote from the writing that came from a Corrie ten Boom book (five in all according to the copyright page, but no chapter in the book is given the specific book of origin).  I will also include the highlighted quote, similar to an internet quotation, and I will end with the quoted prayer for that devotion.

Discussion

Tante Corrie describes her life in solitary confinement in prison.  It was her birthday, and she started singing.  The guards ordered her to be quiet.  Then she had a chance to take a shower.  She tried hard to not look like it was as wonderful as it felt.

But then, she nearly stepped on an ant.  The ant became her companion.  And when times got hard, Tante Corrie had to endure, but the ant could crawl into the cleft in the stonework of the prison.  God had provided Tante Corrie with a companion, and God provided a hiding place for the companion.

God first places Moses in a cleft in the rocks.  Moses, a man who had not been transfigured into his new body, a body without corruption, that Moses would die if he saw God in His full glory.  So, God placed Moses in a cleft in the rock.  Moses could only see God’s backside as He passed the cleft.

This story has confused me in that God the Father is a spirit and does not have a body like man. Therefore, God should not have a frontside or a backside.  This could be a Christophany. Or the glory of God can manifest itself in different ways.  However, it happened; Moses was unable to take it in.

When we come before God in the next life, we will be able to take it in.  Our bodies will have become uncorruptible.  Jesus lived on earth in a toned-down image.  When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, He looked much different, and much the same as when He appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos.

In Song of Songs, the female in this love story hides in the cleft in the rocks.

But in this devotion, Psalm 27:5 was used.

I have had times when I simply wanted to be hidden in the cleft of the rocks, safe from the troubles and trials of this world.

In one way or another God protects us.  He can give us strength to fight the hard battles of life, or He can hide us from the trouble.  But Jesus promises to not leave us.

Closing Prayer

“Father, You are my constant companion. I am never alone because You are with me and have promised to never leave or forsake me. You are the Hiding Place where I will always find refuge. Help me to remember that in trials and oppression, You are able to draw me close and breathe hope into me again. When I run into the arms of Jesus, I will be safe. And in Your arms I will find comfort.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 36, Jesus is Our Hiding Place)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.