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 30:15-18,
"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
'In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, "No, we will flee on horses."
Therefore you will flee!
You said, "We will ride off on swift horses."
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.'
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!"
In this prophecy about the people of Jerusalem, the Lord indicts them for looking for help from Egypt as the Assyrian threat grew. Rather than looking to the Lord for help and trusting in him, they looked to others. Israel had completely abandoned their Lord. They exhibited no trust or assurance in him to provide them deliverance. If the Assyrians advanced they would ride off to Egypt and seek their safety there.
The Lord tells them they will face his judgment for abandoning him. "A thousand will flee at the threat of one." Yet, as the Lord tells them this he also tells them of his longing to be gracious to them and to show them compassion. The Lord tells them there will be a time when they will weep no more, verse 19. He says, "And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel." Verse 29.
In many places of Scripture we find the juxtaposition of the Lord's anger and his compassionate love. He is found this way in the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation. The Lord has a many faceted presence that we see, and those who say "well, the Lord is a God of anger in the old testament and a God of love in the New" are simply mistaken. Such people really need to read their Bibles and find out what he really is like.
'In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, "No, we will flee on horses."
Therefore you will flee!
You said, "We will ride off on swift horses."
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.'
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!"
In this prophecy about the people of Jerusalem, the Lord indicts them for looking for help from Egypt as the Assyrian threat grew. Rather than looking to the Lord for help and trusting in him, they looked to others. Israel had completely abandoned their Lord. They exhibited no trust or assurance in him to provide them deliverance. If the Assyrians advanced they would ride off to Egypt and seek their safety there.
The Lord tells them they will face his judgment for abandoning him. "A thousand will flee at the threat of one." Yet, as the Lord tells them this he also tells them of his longing to be gracious to them and to show them compassion. The Lord tells them there will be a time when they will weep no more, verse 19. He says, "And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel." Verse 29.
In many places of Scripture we find the juxtaposition of the Lord's anger and his compassionate love. He is found this way in the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation. The Lord has a many faceted presence that we see, and those who say "well, the Lord is a God of anger in the old testament and a God of love in the New" are simply mistaken. Such people really need to read their Bibles and find out what he really is like.
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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