It would seem that we started reading the Bible at one of the LONGEST books!!! No matter, we will begin to figure things out...
The common theme of this section of Isaiah seems to be "those who don't trust God and are acting arrogantly will be wiped out, while those who wait patiently and let God take care of them will be taken care of." While this is still in reference to the Assyrians taking over Israel and the surrounding civilizations, this does stand true as a common theme in life. How many times have we met our own folly by being impatient or by being arrogant? And then, how often are we rewarded for being hard-working, humble and patient?
Also in this section, God makes statements that the good people that are left behind after all of this hostile take-over will return to Israel and see it once again in God's glory and majesty...and all without walls and towers and physical protection because they will have the protection of God as a reward for their faith. Sometimes we need pain to understand and feel joy and glory...Isaiah 25:17-18 provides an excellent metaphor "Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain..."
This adds a little meaning to the "humdrum" of which we spoke in our first post. We are always looking for ways to help keep ourselves strong and disciplined, challenging as that may be at times, especially in this world of temptation. It is comforting to know that if we stay the course, our needs will somehow be met.
CAUTION! Even though hard work pays off and things start looking up, we are warned not to forget what got us there in the first place. Chapter 28 begins to warn the Jews not to trust too much in people who seem to be strong and arrogant leaders (not to get political, but current administration?)...it may be tempting to follow their lead, but when God gives contrary instruction, it is their challenge to follow God and not the authorities.
Wishing you all every good thing,
Molly and Mike
Keep up the good posts you two! I'm excited that you're doing this, and honored that Isaiah's name was the inspiration for your starting point. We chose his name very carefully, as Isaiah is a very important and meaningful part of biblical text. The meaning of his name, of course, was very, very important.
ReplyDeleteCheers!