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 8:13-14,
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!
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 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. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare."
Here is the Lord's direction to Isaiah, warning him against following the way of the people of Israel and Judah.
In the midst of looming war, he reminds Isaiah that he alone is the one to fear, to dread. It is not just blessing the Lord can bring into our lives, he can also bring his terrifying judgment.
This passage is quoted by Paul in Romans 9:33, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame." Paul uses this passage in Isaiah to point to God's foretelling of the gospel of faith. Israel had always felt their path to a righteous standing before God lay in their covenantal pedigree and their notion of earning their own righteousness by pursuing the law given Moses. In Romans Paul points to the reality that Israel did not achieve their standing of righteousness by law-keeping, but that the Gentiles had through faith.
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in his finished work on the cross, as expressed in the gospel, is what brings righteousness... not our own best efforts. This determination of God is what has become the stumbling stone for all the do-gooders and law-keepers from Israel's history, right up to many today.
Here is the Lord's direction to Isaiah, warning him against following the way of the people of Israel and Judah.
In the midst of looming war, he reminds Isaiah that he alone is the one to fear, to dread. It is not just blessing the Lord can bring into our lives, he can also bring his terrifying judgment.
This passage is quoted by Paul in Romans 9:33, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame." Paul uses this passage in Isaiah to point to God's foretelling of the gospel of faith. Israel had always felt their path to a righteous standing before God lay in their covenantal pedigree and their notion of earning their own righteousness by pursuing the law given Moses. In Romans Paul points to the reality that Israel did not achieve their standing of righteousness by law-keeping, but that the Gentiles had through faith.
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in his finished work on the cross, as expressed in the gospel, is what brings righteousness... not our own best efforts. This determination of God is what has become the stumbling stone for all the do-gooders and law-keepers from Israel's history, right up to many 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!
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.
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