Inviting The Enemy - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 27:4-5,

"I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.
Or else let them come to me for refuge;
    let them make peace with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me."

This very interesting passage has in view a time when the Lord's judgment against Israel is past. It is a picture of a later date. The Lord anticipates threats against her, the "briers and thorns". Those "briers and thorns" may not be enemies external to Israel, but internal ones, as Geoffrey W. Grogan says in his commentary on Isaiah, "they may represent internal rather than external enemies, paganizers rather than pagans."

In any event, the briers and thorns can attempt to undue God's handiwork in Israel and face him in battle and get burned up or they can instead seek the Lord for refuge and make peace with him. Here is a wonderful invitation to those facing the Lord's judgment to make peace with him!

God invites those who are his enemies to make peace with him! This is reminiscent of Romans 5:6-10 to me, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

The inscrutable love of God is an amazing thing! He invites us, his enemies, to himself!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Yearning For The Lord Himself - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 26:9,

"My soul yearns for you in the night;
    in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness."

We live in a day of lawlessness. "Defund the police" movements, district attorneys who decline to prosecute criminal behavior, looting and rioting and the burning of communities condoned. Parents who object to the tenants of what their children are being subjected to in the schools relative to Marxism under the guise of "Critical Race Theory" and forced acceptance of homosexuality and gender-bending under the guise of social justice, are labeled and investigated as domestic terrorists  by the FBI if they dare take their concerns to the local school board. It all leaves many of us feeling a strong desire for reclaiming our moral and ethical heritage, a deep desire for the rule of law under the constitutional priciples our republic was established on.

The people of the world, and certainly our nation need to learn righteousness.

While I share that strong desire, it would be short-sighted to end my hopes and expectations there. During a time when very difficult circumstances spiraled out of control around Israel, the return to "righteousness" is seen in Isaiah's prophecy as a yearning for the Lord himself. Simply a return to the "good old days" will not do. Nothing short of a return OF the Lord needs to be our perspective.

It will only be when the day of the Lord comes that the world will learn of righteousness. The blessings of the good old days will certainly be eclipsed by the return of the Lord when his kindom is founded on the septer of his justice and his rightiousness.

I am reminded in these frustrating days to continue to yearn for the Lord himself, to place my hope in him, not just seek a relief from lawlessness. The absence of lawlessness is only a part of all we will have from to the presence of the Lord.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Existential Shroud - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 25:7-8a,

"On this mountain he [the Lord] will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever."

As Isaiah continues his prophecy of the end of the age, he speaks of a mountain of refuge and shelter the Lord becomes for his people. In verse 6 he says, "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines." It is reminiscent to me of Psalm 16:11, "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Isaiah says that on this mountain the Lord will destroy the "shroud", the "sheet", that enfolds all peoples and covers all nations. In that this prophecy speaks of what is yet future, it is important to note that this shroud or sheet remains in place now, in our day.

Some interpret this shroud as being the spiritual blindness this lost and fallen world exists in while estranged from its Creator. In Isaiah's prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, he prophesied in 9:2, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." In John 8:12 Jesus claimed, "I am the light of the world." With this view, the Lord will do two things: remove spiritual blindness and swallow up death.

Others see the shroud as God's judgment of death he holds over us all. A new age is coming when death will be vanquished by God, "They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3b-4. Paul, in speaking of the nature of the resurrection believers have to look forward to quotes this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:54, "When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'"

I suspect the latter is best, but either way, what an amazing and wonderful outlook we have!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Coming Global Warming! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 24:4-6,

"The earth dries up and withers,
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens languish with the earth.
The earth is defiled by its people;
    they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up,
    and very few are left."

Well, there you have it: global warming! It will become so hot only "very few are left." In this prophecy of the destruction of creation by the hand of God that looks ahead to future events, we read of the world and the heavens languishing as the earth's inhabitants are burned up. This really is a frightful scene.

The global warming that will actually take place (unlike the alleged global warming fake science has brought us designed to separate us from our wallets and our freedoms) is not going to be due to carbon dioxide emissions. "The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant." It is a moral pollution that will bring about this global warming. Mankind's rebellion against his Creator brings his final judgment of the current heavens and earth.

It is amusing to note that many of those who are so concerned with treating the environment cautiously and carefully to avoid some perceived catastrophic warming of the earth are the very people who are bringing God's judgment of conflagration to it. Abortion, homosexuality, gender bending, lawlessness... you get the idea.

There will be no avoiding this coming day of the Lord. It sits squarely before us with no escape. However, those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith look ahead to a bright, wonderful future that awaits us. Safe in the Savior's arms we will be delivered into his presence with the manifold blessings we will share in his presence!

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:9-11.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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What In The World Is God Doing? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 23:6-9,

"Cross over to Tarshish;
    wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
    whose traders are renowned in the earth?
The Lord Almighty planned it,
    to bring down her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble all who are renowned on the earth."

The prophecy given Isaiah against Tyre includes references to many places. Tarshish, Cyprus, Sidon, Egypt, all of Phoenicia, the Babylonians and Assyrians, Tyre's trading "with all the kingdoms of the earth", verse 17. We see the Lord providing prophecies to Isaiah that concern many nations, their entanglements, their conflicts, their prospects.

The key feature of all these nations, and the prophecies about them is that found in verse 9, "The Lord Almighty planned it..." The verse goes on to point to the pride the people of Tyre had and the Lord's actions against it. 

Some people have this notion that in the Old Testament the Lord has only been interested in one nation, Israel, and preoccupied with her standing before him. While it is clearly true that his pointed focus had been on Israel as his vehicle to bring his plan of redemption of mankind to fruition, Israel is not the only nation God interacts with.

Just as we see the Lord's involvement with all of these nations in the prophecies of Isaiah, I am reminded that the Lord continues to use nations for his purposes yet today. Why anyone would make the assumption that the Lord was only interested in the nations of years gone by and not so much today seems short-sighted to me.

I am reminded of Paul's words at the Areopagus, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."

God is just as operative and active among the nations today as at any time. As we read the headlines of the day, it should always be with the view of "I wonder what the Lord is doing here..."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Easy Way Or The Hard Way - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 22:8-11,

"The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day
    to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.
You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.
You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses to strengthen the wall.
You built a reservoir between the two walls
    for the water of the Old Pool,
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard for the One who planned it long ago."

In this prophecy of Isaiah against Jerusalem we see the difficulties the Lord is going to put the city through. In this portion the people are not seen as looking to the Lord for help, but to their own armaments ("the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.")

The Jewish nation has had a different purpose of the Lord than all other nations. She was to be the vehicle through which the Lord would bring his plan of salvation to mankind. Paul says in Romans 9:4-5, "Theirs [the people of Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen."

As with all nations, Israel would be used by the Lord for his purposes. The Lord's purposes are never thwarted, "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord." Proverbs 21:6. What we see in Israel's history is the attempt to do just that, thwart his purposes. Hence, the Lord makes adjustments to bring about what he desires. Israel chose the "hard way."

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:21, "What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?" Israel chose poorly...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.  

Struggling In The Calling - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 21:2-4,

"A dire vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot.
Elam, attack! Media, lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
At this my body is racked with pain,
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered by what I see.
My heart falters,
    fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror to me."

In this prophecy against Babylon, Isaiah says he had been shown "a dire vision". He describes the vision briefly and then speaks of how it affected him. That effect was substantial in how he described his reaction to the vision: his body is racked with pain, pangs likened to a woman in labor, he is staggered and bewildered, his heart falters and he trembles. It all has become a horror to him.

In verse 10 Isaiah points out that what he has seen and heard was from the Lord, "I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel." Obviously the Lord knew how it would affect him, but he had chosen Isaiah for an important calling to be his prophet during a time of calamity he was bringing on that part of the world at the time.

I am reminded that there are those times when the Lord may call us when things become very difficult in life. While serving him in those times may not be fun and entertaining, they are important and that calling from him is important.

Don't always assume that the tasks of serving the Lord he has called us to will be amusing and delightful. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind there can never be anything in life more meaningful and fulfilling than our faithfulness in serving him, even in the difficult times.

Afterall, look what Jesus did for us when his Father called him to be a sacrifice of atonement on our behalf! The writer of Hebrews tells us, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death..." Hebrews 5:7. The reminder of the verse speaks of his "reverent submission."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Words and Deeds - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 20:3-4,

"Then the Lord said, 'Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame.'"

The Lord had told Isaiah to take  off his outer garment of sackcloth and his sandals and after three years he gave him a message concerning Egypt and Cush. For three years the man went walking around in a loincloth and barefoot! Following that, the Lord gave him the prophecy against Egypt and Cush.

Both the actions the Lord had Isaiah take as well as the message constituted the prophecy. The Lord communicated through word and deed. Both together completed the communication.

Perhaps there is a model here for us. If we want to communicate effectively, words and deeds that work together can bring a message forcefully!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

The Lord Stirs Them Up! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 19:2,

"I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom."

Isaiah turns his prophetic message toward Egypt. Here the Lord is saying that he will "stir up" Egyptian against Egyptian. In what is clearly to me a prophecy of vast vision spanning to the time of the coming Lord's kingdom on earth, he speaks of something he is going to do to the Egyptians more proximate to Isaiah's day. He will stir up the Egyptians, one against another.

To me, these are the kinds of things not to be overlooked when learning of how the Lord operates, how he works, the kinds of things he does. The importance of it is how it can be instructive to us on the events of our day, how the Lord might be working, what he might be doing in our nation and world today.

Many may think that divisions in our day have their origin from within the realm of the spiritual forces of evil, things like the Marxism inherent in Black Lives Matter and Critical Race Theory, the rejection of our founding fathers and documents and all things patriotic, the use of the COVID pandemic for politics, the demand we accept bizzare societal and cultural perspectives and changes on things like abortion, homosexuality, and fake gender notions.

What did the Lord use to pit Egyptian against Egyptian? Might he be using the divisions in our day for his purposes?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Be Calm Because the Storm of Judgment Is Coming - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 18:4-6,

"This is what the Lord says to me:
    "I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
    like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
    and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter."

This prophecy against Cush (upper Nile region) by the Lord captures my attention this morning. Where Isaiah encourages his listeners to place their quiet trust in the Lord during a whirlwind of nations at war, here the Lord is seen as "quiet, contemplating calmly the frenzied scene of diplomatic and military activity", Geoffrey W. Grogan in the Expositor's Bible Commentary on Isaiah. He points out when Isaiah commended quiet trust, he was calling the people to view things from the Lord's perspective.

I am somewhat reminded of Psalm 37:7,

 
"Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land."

This seems like great direction for us today!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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God's Plans Are Never Thwarted - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 17:12-14,

"Woe to the many nations that rage—
    they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!
Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.
In the evening, sudden terror!
    Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us."

In this prophecy of the destruction of Damascus we see a number of nations embroiled in military conflict. The northern tribes of Israel had aligned themselves with Syria and now threatened Judah. This motivated Judah into looking at Assyria to bond with. It would seem to me the dark spiritual forces of evil were looking to nullify God's use of Israel as his vehicle to bring about the redemption of mankind. The northern ten tribes were no longer "in the game" so to speak, and to have the southern two tribes unite with Assyria would accomplish the same. But God...

God's purposes are never thwarted. There would be a future for the nation and the history of it is just fascinating to read about. It is amazing how God works out everything according to his plans!

The thought I had this morning is completely unrelated to the events Isaiah speaks of. As I read the above verses I couldn't help but recall all the violence, burning, looting and plundering we in America experienced in the summer of 2020. For those who keep an eye on international news, people do crazy things all over the world. These verses appear to fit what people do from time to time. I wonder if these people today who fit the description in verse 12 might experience what those people back in Isaiah's day experienced as described in verses 13-14?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Arrogance and Pride: Watch Out! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 16:6-7a,

"We have heard of Moab's pride—
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,
    they wail together for Moab."

The previous chapter began this prophecy of the  Lord's judgment of Moab. As the prophecy continues, we read of the offense of the Moabites, and it compares well with the cause of the Lord's judgment of Babylon in Isaiah 14:13-14,

""You [king of Babylon] said in your heart,
    'I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.'"

We know the arrogance and pride of a people can result in the Lord's judgment of any nation if we listen to the Scriptures. We find it as a theme in prophetic announcements found in Isaiah and other books. 

Certainly rejection of God and/or pretending he doesn't exist would be viewed as sufficient arrogance and pride. Making up fake science to explain the existence of our world, mankind, the universe apart from God, is a high form of arrogance and pride.

Jettisoning God's moral and ethical demands he makes of his creation likewise express an arrogance and pride that would be sufficient for God's judgement: abortion, gender bending, divorce, homosexuality and the like all fit here.

The true church of Jesus Christ today lives among a people that are certainly ripe for judgment. How wonderful we have a Savior from heaven who will bring about the end of this estate. Evil will be brought to an end as the Lord wields his scepter of justice. What an incomparable expression of love, mercy and kindness he has expressed by providing himself as a sacrifice to make a way for us into eternity with him! Otherwise, I would be expecting the same fate of those who have no room in their lives for the Lord due to their arrogance and pride

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

What A Communicator! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 15:5-6,

"My heart cries out over Moab;
    her fugitives flee as far as Zoar,
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim
    they lament their destruction.
The waters of Nimrim are dried up
    and the grass is withered;
the vegetation is gone
    and nothing green is left."

The fifthteenth chapter of Isaiah is a prophecy of the destruction of Moab at the Lord's hand. Moab's origin is rooted in Lot's incest at the conniving of his daughters. That account is found in Genesis 19:30-38. Here, in this prophecy of Moab's destruction, it is the Lord who has made the determination to do so and his tool to do it may have been the Assyrians, but might also have been Israel or Judah or, "some incursive force of hungry and rapacious nomads from the desert" per Geoffrey W. Grogan in the Expositor's Bible Commentary on Isaiah.

What strikes me this morning is the dramatic imagery of sights and sounds of the prophecy. Although these people have certainly earned the Lord's judgment of them, the prophecy nevertheless strikes a heartfelt tone. Dobon goes up to its high places of worship to weep, Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba, Heshbon and Elealeh cry out so loud it is heard in Jahaz. (It is noted that none of the place-names are known for certainty except Zoar at the southeastern tip of the Dead Sea.) Although the destruction is well deserved and determined by the Lord, Isaiah claims (or, possibly the Lord himself???), "My heart cries out over Moab..." Verse 5.

I can't help but note that oftentimes when prophecy is studied in a group, graphs are drawn, a timeline is made, columns of data are compared and contrasted. Information is sliced and diced in a study of it. Nothing wrong with the approach, but look at the tone of this prophecy (and many, many more just the same). The expressive mood, the emotion communicated! This is often how the Lord expresses himself in prophecy. Imagery, sights and sounds, colors, emotions. Nothing at all academic about it. How unlike the dry and dusty stuff of the theologian and the expert!

Sometimes I wonder if some of what we can glean from the Lords' prophecies ought to include studying the expressiveness of the Lord himself. He certainly is the most amazing communicator!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

What Arrogance! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 14:13-14,

"You [king of Babylon] said in your heart,
    'I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.'"

As Isaiah continues his prophecy against the king of Babylon, he points to the arrogance, the pride and the obsession for control that consumes the man. It is possible that the king is singled out as a representative of the people of Babylon as a whole, or at least it's leaders who must have shared this arrogance, pride and obsession for control over all others. Here he is called out on what his heart declares.

Many see an allusion to Satan in these verses, and if not, it certainly fits well. Notice each of the four boasts begin with "I will...". The universe is to revolve around this self absorbed man! Like a crescendo of overwhelming and presumptuous arrogance the king is quoted as saying in his heart, "I will make myself like the Most High."

I can't help but think of the humility of the Son of God as a contrast to this depravity, "[Christ Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:6-8.

On a side note, I can't help but think of the arrogance we see today in our politics, news and social medias, sports and entertainment industries, academia, the cabal of oligarchs in our world today with billions that are attempting to remake the world after themselves and control every aspect of our lives. As they lay claim to be able to control weather, determine the level of the oceans, decide our genders, deliver us all from all illness, disease and infirmity... I wonder what God thinks about all that?

Our founders were incredible people with massive insight, knowledge (particularly of the human condition) and understanding, and I think, directed by God himself! How laughable is it when a college student creates a social media application or a computer operating system, makes billions, and now thinks he is qualified to undo, to replace all our founding fathers created: the greatest nation this world has ever seen! The arrogance of that could choke a horse!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Pop Up Prophecy - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 13:9-13,

"See, the day of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
    and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
    the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
    and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
    and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger."

This prophecy of Isaiah begins with "A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw", verse one. Yet, here is a prophecy of the end of the age of mankind when God's judgment comes. As Isaiah looks ahead and speaks of a much nearer event, the destruction of Babylon, which took place in 539 B.C. (if I have my history correct), still a 160+ years future to him, the day of the Lord, which Jesus Christ describes in Matthew 24, comes into view. Jesus quoted this passage when asked about the end of the age.

One aspect of prophecy in Scripture that has intrigued me is the way that a prophetic message of something emerges in the midst of something else. Here in a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon, the day of the Lord at the end of this age rears its head. This feature of prophecy, seen in many places in Scripture, feels to me like looking over the ocean and suddenly a whale appears, coming up out of the water only to disappear underneath the surface again. As we read an account of something in the Scriptures, a prophecy may thrust itself from the current context, unannounced and at times with points of commonality shared with the context. The book of Psalms is peppered with it.

It really is a fascinating feature of prophecy to me. It also challenges me. A cardinal rule for many of us is looking to the context of a passage to make sure we understand what we are reading. However, sometimes not so much...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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A Wonderful Psalm of Praise! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 12:1-6,

"In that day you will say:
'I will praise you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
    and you have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
    I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense [or, song];
    he has become my salvation.'
With joy you will draw water
    from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:
'Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
    for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.'"

The above psalm comprises the entire chapter of Isaiah 12. Many find it to be a lofty psalm of praise by a people who have found life-saving relief, salvation, in their Lord. The psalm has two sections, verses 1-3 and 4-6. Each section begins with the same line, "In that day you will say" (although in verse one, "you" is singular where in verse 4 it is plural in the Hebrew).

Isaiah came as a prophet of the Lord's coming wrath on Israel for her rejection of him. As a nation they have become estranged from him and gone their own way, now facing his certain judgment. This psalm looks ahead to the nation's renewed life following that judgment.

Within this psalm is a parallel in terms of us today, where we come into this life facing the Lord's judgment as the offspring of Adam and Eve. He has reached out to us through the Savior he has provided us, Jesus Christ. For those of us who have embraced him in faith, this psalm becomes ours. Where Israel would yet have a future following Assyria's destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonian captivity for the southern, this psalm is a fitting acknowledgment of the Lord's saving acts, not just for Israel, but for all mankind.

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things! Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Judgment Driven By Righteousness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 11:1-5,

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist."

Jesse was the father of King David. It was from the lineage of David that the messianic king would come, Jesus Christ. Both genealogies of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:6 and Luke 3:31-32 point to Jesse and David as Jesus Christ's forebearers. David had been promised by the Lord that a king would sit on his throne from his lineage for perpetuity.

This passage in Isaiah is a prophecy about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Paul, in Romans 15:12 quotes it in pointing out that Jesus Christ is Messiah for both Jews and Gentiles.

In Isaiah's prophecy the "shoot" from the  stump of Jesse is a reference to Jesus Christ. In a moving and inspiring description of him, Isaiah points to three couplets of perfections, each following "the Spirit''. 

Jesus Christ has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

Jesus Christ has the Spirit of counsel and might.

Jesus Christ has the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

What captures my attention this morning in verse 3 is that his judgment will not be guided by what he sees or what he hears, but by righteousness. Geoffrey W. Grogan says, in the Expositor's Bible Commentary, that "Verse 3b does not mean that right judgment ignores evidence available to the senses but rather that it requires inner qualities of character." My perspective is that perfect judgment requires much more than what is seen and heard, but that judgments brought by perceptions are perfected by a righteous evaluation of what it is we see and hear. Jesus Christ is perfect in righteousness, therefore his judgments are perfect.

Perhaps there is a clue here for me. Rather than simply relying on what I see and hear, I need to be aware that wisdom, as perfected in righteousness, is required for good judgment. Perhaps that is why we see so many differing opinions floating around so much these days.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Lord Uses The Wicked For His Purposes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 10:5-7,

"Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
I send him against a godless nation,
    I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
    and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he [the king of Assyria] intends,
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations."

Through Isaiah, the Lord declares he is going to punish the Assyrians after they have been used by him to bring his judgment against his people Israel.

Some may find it inscrutable that the Lord would punish the punishers he uses. Here the Lord points out that the Assyrians are those "in whose hand is the club of my wrath!" They will be sent against Israel, "a godless nation, I dispatch him [the king of Assyria] against a people [Israel] who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets."

However, the Lord declares, "Woe to the Assyrian". In verse 12 we read, "When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, 'I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.'"

As I say, some find it inscrutable the Lord would punish those who he has used to judge others. However, we find this consistent with how the Lord portrays himself in Scripture. "The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster." Proverbs 16:4. On this verse in Proverbs, Trempter Longman III makes the observation in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, the Proverbs volume, "God is in control of the wicked acts of human beings and uses their evil for good." 

Just consider God's use of the Jewish leaders, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate to effect the greatest act in all of human history to bring about the redemption of mankind, the sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ!.

Can you think of other examples of the Lord using wicked people for his purposes?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Light! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 9:1-2,

"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."

Who is it walking in darkness and what is this great light?

Mankind lives in darkness. Estranged from God, cut off from his presence and cursed with a sinful nature, all mankind walks in darkness. People who remain in this darkness are all who have not embraced Jesus Christ in faith. "But anyone who hates a brother or sister (someone who is not saved) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." 1 John 2:11. Before Jesus Christ came to planet Earth, the darkness reigned.

The "great light" is Jesus Christ himself! He says, "I [Jesus] am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12.

When Jesus Christ came two millennia ago, it was to fulfill this passage in Isaiah 9:1-2. We find it quoted in Matthew 4:15-16. How wonderful that God chose to send his Son into the darkness of this lost and fallen world to bring light and life!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Fear the Lord! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 8:11-13,

"This is what the Lord says to me [Isaiah] with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 'Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.'"

King Ahaz and the people of Judah fell into fear over an alliance Pekah, the king of the northern ten tribes of Israel, made with Rezin, king of Aram, to destroy Jerusalem. "Now the house of David was told, 'Aram has allied itself with Ephraim'; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind." Isaiah 7:2.

According to Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, this warning from the Lord to Isaiah in 8:11-13 was against joining with Ahaz and Judah looking to Assyria for help to defend themselves. "I regard this, however, as a caution to the prophet not to join in the prevailing demand for an alliance with the king of Assyria. Ahaz trembled before the united armies of Syria and Samaria. He sought, therefore, foreign assistance - the assistance of the king of Assyria. It is probable that in this he was encouraged by the leaders of the people, and that this would be a popular measure with the mass of the nation."

There is a lesson here for us all. Don't look for help from others when help should be sought from the Lord. And, importantly, don't fear the circumstances we face in this life: fear the Lord! At a time when epidemics threaten, when we are threatened by those who attempt to seize control over our freedoms and our way of life, don't fear them, fear the Lord.

In another passage of Scripture, when we see the wicked on the ascendency, we are told not to fret.

"Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity." Psalm 37:1-11.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Lord Is Involved!- Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 7:18,

"In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria."

King Ahaz of Judah was told by Isaiah that the Lord himself would bring the armies of Assyria and Egypt to fight in Judah, the flies and bees signifying the swarm of troops that will occupy Judah. In verse 20 we read, "In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard also."

I note these international events have their origin in the Lord's will. It was the Lord that brought these things about as these nations fought one another.

I firmly believe the Lord continues to work in this very way yet today. There is nothing within the pages of Scripture to indicate the Lord does not continue to carry out his will, his plans in the world today as he portrays himself in the days of Isaiah. I think sometimes that slips our minds as we watch the news and discuss current events.

It is true that much of what we read about relative to the Lord's involvement in various nations in the Scriptures concern Israel, but not exclusively. Just ask the folks of Nineveh in Jonah's day.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.