The Existential Shroud - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant 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 End Of This World Is Coming! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 24:1-3,

"See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants— it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word."

Here is a sobering prophecy: the earth is going to be devastated by the Lord, utterly devastated. The finality of the Lord's action is sealed with these words: "The Lord has spoken this word." It will happen, period! The only question that remains is: when?

Some refuse to accept this, but no matter... it is coming in full certainty. In the face of the caricatures of whacky people carrying sandwich signs, "The end is near!", the sophisticates of our day have been prophesied by Peter, "They will say, 'Where is this "coming" he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." 2 Peter 3:4-7.

The reason for the devastation of the earth is provided in verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah 24, "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." (Here is real global warming - God-made global warming!)

Peter brings the same news from the Lord, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." 2 Peter 3:10. Also, in verse 12 we read, "That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat."

Peter goes on to ask a very practical question, "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" Verse 11. He provides his own answer in verse 14, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."

The solution for this is stated very simply in Romans 10:9-10, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Simple, straightforward and true. This world has a shelf life, and when we hit that date, the world is going to be destroyed. The destruction is going to come upon everyone at the time, and the only refuge is to embrace Jesus Christ in faith.

Do so today and insure your place in God's kingdom, a place at his table!

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

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant 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!

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.

Failing To Run To Safe Haven - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 22:5-11,

"The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains... 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."

As the Lord brought enemies to destroy his own people for their turning from him, we read here that instead of turning to the Lord, instead of crying out for his mercy, his forgiveness, instead of calling to him for help from the advancing forces against them, they continued to ignore the Lord.

Just as their abandonment of the Lord brought his judgment of destruction upon them, so the people of Jerusalem, seeing danger headed their way, made their own preparations instead of looking to the Lord for his deliverance. Here is the ultimate expression of no faith in the Lord.

Often, throughout the Scriptures, we see the Lord bringing his judgment, coupled with the dire threat of disaster, to his people to draw them back to himself. He does it in the hope that his people might recognize their plight and call out, reach out to him for help and deliverance, that they may turn back to him.

Often, however, sinful man continues in his sinful ways, abandoning God, rejecting God, rebelling against him. Even with the threat of his judgment hanging over them, people will often ignore their only hope of salvation.

This was true in Isaiah's day and it is true today, as God's judgment looms over all people. Will they throw themselves at the feet of the Savior's mercy? Or continue to go their own way and rely on themselves as Israel did back then?

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.

Our Frightful God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant 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... 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."

To be a prophet of God was at times a very painful experience. Isaiah speaks of pain and pangs that seized him like a woman in labor. He staggered from what he saw and heard from the Lord. He trembled from fear and his heart faltered. The solace and rest he longed for at night eluded him as he was horrified. Not a fun occupation.

What strikes me, as I read of what Isaiah suffered in his reaction to the visions of the judgment God was going to bring on Babylon, is the terrifying reality of what God can and will do in his judgment of peoples.

Where some see God in only pastel colors, of a serene disposition and predisposed to only acts of kindness toward everyone, this simply is not how God reveals himself. He tells us in Jeremiah 9:24 that he not only exercises kindness, but also justice. His exercise of each can be overwhelming.

Listen to what Jesus told us, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31.

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.

Words and Deeds - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant 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.

Egypt's God, Assyria's God, Israel's God, My God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 19:23-25,

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.'"

As with the Lord's announcement of his judgement against Jerusalem and Judah followed with a future blessing in the next age, so in the Lord's announcement of his judgement against Egypt. A day will come when the people of Egypt will become God's people, a bright future to look forward to. The same will be true of the peoples of Assyria!

The reality of God being the God of all the peoples on planet earth is on display here. Where once, when only Israel was known as God's people, a day comes when peoples from all nations will be God's people. In Jesus Christ, where the gospel is to go out to all nations, all the peoples of the earth have opportunity to join God's kingdom. Jews and Gentiles alike. All people of the earth can be God's people.

Consistent with the revelation that all people are invited into God's kingdom, Assyria and Egypt, along with Israel will all, one day, embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior, and thereby become his people, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance." This looks forward toward the next age, when all the nations of the world become the nations of Jesus Christ. Where Egypt is yet among the family of nations today, Assyria is not. However, from this once world power, a people will emerge as the "handiwork" of the Lord.

Where would I be today if God had not included Gentiles in the target of his agenda of building his kingdom? Where would that leave me? Thanks be to God that in his love of all mankind, his mercy was extended even to me - someone so far removed from the people of God! And, how fascinating the world will be when a highway, the highway of God, will exist between Israel, Egypt to her south and Assyria to her north!

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.