Who will I lean on?

It’s easy for me to condemn the pride of the King of Assyria expressed in chapter 10 verse 13:

"By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, for I have understanding.”

How arrogant!  But really, am I guilty of the same? How often do I pat myself of the back for how well I handled something?  Am I wise in my own eyes? Do I rely on my own understanding, even being unwilling to step out in faith where God has prompted because I don’t see or understand how it’s all going to work out?  Am I clinging to my own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord?

 

“In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”

Isaiah 10:20 ESV

When we were trying to teach my daughter to swim, she was calm on the steps and calm when holding precariously onto the side.  If her Daddy walked with her into the deeper water she cried and wrapped both arms and legs around him.  He'd peel her off so he could teach her to kick, and she was terrified.  She was so sure she was safer alone on the steps or clinging by her little fingers to the side than in the strong arms of her daddy.  She wanted to feel in control even though letting go and trusting her daddy was a much safer place to be.

I want to trust in what I understand too.  I'm uncomfortable letting go of the precarious hold I have and relying on something I can't see.  I'd rather depend on my own strength, my own wisdom, my own understanding that have to let go of control and understanding and trust God to provide.  Maybe verse 20 will become a prayer, that I will no more lean on (myself, my husband, the latest book, my job, well-meaning advice), but I will lean on the Lord, the Holy One, in truth.

Light in the Darkness

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”  Isaiah 9:2

I always hated in school when we were asked to describe the theme of a book or a poem.  I love to read, but I’m just not good at seeing themes and symbols.  However, Isaiah is making some obvious to me, light and darkness being one of them.

The word used here for darkness means literal darkness, but can also mean misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorry or wickedness. The root word it is taken from means to darken as in withholding light.  Even more interesting to me is that the phrase ‘dark land’ means shade of death, the grave or shadow of death. 

I’ve felt like I’ve been in darkness. Darkness by definition means seeing is not possible, and there have been times I haven’t been able to see the way forward.  Depression has been my darkness.  Sin and anger have been my darkness.  Unforgiveness has been my darkness.

Darkness is overcome by light.  Light is the hope in the darkness, the cure of darkness.  Here the word for light means illumination, luminary in every sense, happiness, morning, sun. In Revelation Jesus refers to himself as the Bright Morning Star.  John calls Jesus the Light.  It sounds trite and cliché to say Jesus is the light in darkness, but it is also truth.

The darkness of wickedness (my unforgiveness for example) is overcome by the light of Christ who forgave ALL my sins and asks me to forgive others.  As I submit and repent, light shines in my darkness.

The darkness of hopelessness is lightened by the presence of Christ.  Even when or especially when physical death is immanent, Christ is the reminder of eternal life, that this world is just a shadow of eternity.

The people of Isaiah’s time faced a darkness of distress and anguish, a darkness of very real fears of a very real enemy, and a darkness of ignorance through rejecting God, His ways and His prophets and looking to man for solutions.  Isaiah prophesied that these people in darkness would see a great light.  We read with the knowledge that he is foretelling Christ, but to the people light symbolized hope, help, even deliverance.

When we say Jesus is the light, we are saying He is what overcomes darkness. Whatever the darkness we walk in, Christ has the answer.  Christ is the answer.  Not the answer that we have decided will fix everything, but the presence that changes everything.  “Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

A Beautiful Fear

“It is the Lord of hosts who you should regard as holy.  And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.

Then He shall become a sanctuary.” Isaiah 8:13-14

Is that ‘then’ important?  Is it only after we learn and commit to regard God as holy, only after we fear Him that He becomes our sanctuary?

Is this in part because our fear can keep us safe? Good parenting often involves a little fear.  I don’t really care if the motivation to obey me is fear of getting in trouble when that means they won’t play with matches or cross the street alone.  My children may not understand WHY I am putting certain boundaries on them.  At the time, their understanding is less important than their obedience since my goal is to protect them and keep them safe.

As our children grow older, hopefully the fear factor morphs into a trust factor.  Maybe they fear a little less getting into trouble and begin to trust that our rules are meant for their benefit.  Or they just fear being grounded so they come in before curfew! I still prioritize obedience over understanding since my goal is still to protect them.

As a child of God, am I guilty of prioritizing understanding over obedience? If so, I’m acting just like my teenagers when they throw fits and tell me my rules are ridiculous.  I’m acting just like I did with my parents when I challenged their rule about no boys in the house when they were gone. “Ugh! What a stupid rule! Don’t they trust me?”

Is it possible that in many situations I am incapable of understanding why the Lord has laid out certain instructions? I somewhat recoil from the idea of ‘fearing’ the Lord, but maybe there is such a thing as a healthy fear, a fear that keeps me on the straight and narrow when I face temptation.

One of our ladies at Bible study shared that she so respected and loved her father, that while at college her ‘fear’ of him kept her from making certain poor choices.  Her fear was breaking her father’s heart.

I think that is a beautiful fear.  Could I be so in touch with the heart of God and so overwhelmed by His love for me that concern over grieving my Father motivates my daily decisions?

Do not just fear breaking His law; fear breaking His heart.

How Dare He! (Isaiah 7)

     I’ve read Judges, Kings and Chronicles more than once, so it takes a lot to shock me.  But King Ahaz shocked me! He was outlandish, audacious, brazen. There are many other adjectives that I could apply to him, but instead I’m just going to list some of his ‘accomplishments.’ (from 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28)

·         Did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord
·         Made his son pass through the fire (abominations of the nations)
·         Sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, hills, under every green tree
·         Asked king of Assyria for help
·         Took silver and gold from the house of the Lord and sent to king
·         Sent plan of Damascus altar to his priest and instructed him to build it
·         Offered his burnt offering, meal, drink and peace offerings on this new pagan altar
·         Moved the Lord’s bronze altar to another side of his altar
·         Instructed priests to use his new altar for all sacrifices
·         Used the Lord’s altar as his private altar
·         Cut apart the temple utensils (those made to the Lord’s specific instructions)
·         Made molten images for the Baals
·         Was very unfaithful to the Lord
·         In distress became more unfaithful to the Lord
·         Sacrificed to the gods of Damascus
·         Closed the doors of the house of the Lord
·         Made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem
·         Made high places in every city to burn incense to other gods

God extended an opportunity of repentance and restoration even to the affront that was King Ahaz.  He sent Isaiah with specific words for Ahaz and with the singular offer to ask for a sign.  Not many in scripture are given permission by God to ask for a sign.  But Ahaz rebuffed God’s offer, he remained in his unfaithfulness, he refused to repent and return.  Ultimately, he rejected the Lord as his God.

God ALWAYS desires restoration of His people.  He ALWAYS has an offer.  But He stops short of forcing people’s hands, of forcing obedience, of forcing repentance.  I’m currently praying for several people I wish God would push to repentance, but as I pray I see a picture of the Lord extending His hand to them ready to grasp and pull them up.  But they have to reach out.  They always have a choice.

The good news: no one, not even Ahaz, is beyond the care and compassion of the Lord.   He always pursues. He always offers redemption.

Yes, Lord!!

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”  Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

Why does this verse prick my heart?  I want to be one that without hesitation responds, “Here I am, send me!” when the Lord calls.  I want to be like Isaiah or like Mary who asked one question and then responded, “I am the bondslave of the Lord; may it be to me according to your word.”  However, I fear I would make excuses like Jeremiah.  Or come up with lots of reasons why I should not be chosen like Moses.  Or worse, run in the opposite direction like Jonah.

Thankfully, I know how Jeremiah, Moses and Jonah responded to the call of God because they made the Book too!  The Bible is not just full of success stories, accounts of those flawless individuals who made no mistakes, never wondered, never doubted and never feared.  Gloriously, the Bible is full of human failures, human mistakes, human doubts, human unbelief.  In summary, the Bible is full of human sin.

God answered Jeremiah’s concerns with a personal experience, and further opportunities show Jeremiah’s growth and confidence when he obeyed without question some specific and seemingly crazy instructions.  God countered every argument/excuse Moses came up with, and Moses proceeded to become a remarkable yet imperfect leader who spoke face to face with God just as a man speaks to his friend. And God demanded Jonah’s full attention in a most unlikely way, transforming a recalcitrant servant of God into an effective if volatile prophet.

How will I respond when I hear the voice of the Lord?  I HOPE with, “Here I am; send me.” Nevertheless, the story is always less about me and more about the Lord.  If He can bring a prophet from the belly of a fish, He can overcome the doubt, fear and sin of a disciple hiding behind her insecurities and rationalizations.  It is less about what I think I can do and more about what God WILL do through someone who will say, “Yes!”

Isaiah 5 – Woes of Today

Woe to you who focus on accumulating stuff yet ignore the people around you with real needs.  You miss out on the blessings that accompany following God’s priorities.

Woe to you who focus on indulgence and instant gratification, choosing immediate pleasure over lasting joy and hope.  You miss out on the blessing of seeing God at work; He’s working, you’re just too distracted to see it.

Woe to you who have concluded the end justifies the means, living by lies, trampling over others and promoting sin to get what you want.  You miss out on the blessings that come from waiting on the Lord and seeing His plans fulfilled.

Woe to you who turn evil on its head, calling darkness light and wickedness good, all in an effort to downplay sin.  You miss out on the blessings that accompany truth and light.

Woe to you who focus on your own intelligence, depending on your wits to help you succeed and placing all your hope in clever plots.  You miss out on the blessings of humility and dependence.

Woe to you who look to man’s provision and man’s capabilities looking only for results while ignoring character and integrity.  You miss out on what is lasting – the growth of a soul that lives for eternity.

A Cloud by Day

Then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. (Isaiah 4:5)

I think it’s hard for us to grasp the significance of the cloud and the fire described here.  I think first of the cloud and fire in Exodus, the signs the people had to follow so they always knew where to go.  I’ve sometimes wished for my own cloud or fire.  Could the Lord show me in such a clear, unmistakable way which direction to go?

I believe there’s another aspect to this cloud and fire that I miss because I’ve lived my entire life with immediate access to shelter and even air conditioning or heat as needed.  I’ve camped a couple of times where I’ve been cold for a few hours.  But even then if I was really desperate I could have crawled out of my tent, climbed into the vehicle a few feet away and cranked up the heat.

A couple of weeks ago, my family hiked over 5 miles in Palo Duro Canyon.  It was about 95 degrees that day. 

We cheered EVERY cloud that passed overhead! (There weren’t many.) We were just hiking for a few hours before heading back to our air conditioned car and an unlimited source of water, but we still stopped in every patch of shade and welcomed every shadow.

Israel is primarily a desert land, and for the people in this land a cloud is not just comfort but protection.  At night the temperature in the desert drops sharply, so fire is a necessary source of warmth as well as light to see and provides a measure of safety.  This cloud and fire aren’t just making the people more comfortable, they are a key to survival.

The Lord is reminding the people of something He repeats throughout scripture: I will be your shelter.  I will be your protection.  I will be your refuge from the storm. As true for us in our ‘storms’ and ‘deserts’ as it was for the people of Israel.