Day 4 Feb 29



Day 4 Feb 29

Passage: Isaiah 40: 12-17
The passage today is filled with question marks, and is one of the unique passages in the book of Isaiah. Three consecutive questions are not meant to allow the listeners to contemplate and to come up with their own answers. In actuality, the design of the questions is meant to turn the focus of the listeners (including the readers) to “who is God”!

Who could use the palm of the hand to measure the volume of water? No one could. Only God Himself could measure the dimensions of the sky and the earth, the height of the mountains, the depths of the seas, and determine the amount of dust covering the lands. Only God Himself could decide what to do, and what needed to be done. Only God Himself could formulate and implement strategies and initiatives!

This phrase, “The nations are like a drop in a bucket,” allows us to see that all things on earth are insignificant in the eyes of the Lord! Nations do not carry any weight in God’s eyes, they are transient, and will disappear from history! God is transcendent, unmatchable! Who exactly is God? From the perspective of the people at that time, what did He have to do with their situation?

Perhaps the destruction of their nation dealt a blow to the people and brought about many doubts, the people in foreign lands could possibly be under persecution by foreign cultures and religions! God perhaps could no longer be a God who could protect us? Is the Lord only one amongst many gods? Facing Israelites who could be in doubt, the prophet brought forth a powerful response- NO! God is unique, meaning: God alone ecides, and at the same time God alone has the power to carry out His purpose! God does not need to consult the opinions of other advisors, God so emphasizes His singularity and uniqueness, the focus of which is a guarantee to the people that what He has promised would for certain take place.

What seemed like “water-cooler” theological questions are in fact God’s starting point to resolve the life and death situation of the people! The reason is simple, if God were not to be this “unique”, the people would therefore not have unique life prospects…

Prayer: God, when we are troubled, never did it cross our minds that You are such a powerful and mighty God. Nations are like a drop in a bucket in Your eyes, so insignificant. Our hearts have opened wide…

第四天 Feb 29


经文：以赛亚书 40:12-17
今天的经文充满了问号，是《以赛亚书》当中非常特别的一段。一连三个问题不是为了让听众自行思考而各有答案，实际上问题的设计，乃是为了将听众（包括读者）的注意力转向“耶和华神是谁” !

有谁能用手心来测量水的容积呢？  没有人。只有耶和华神自己能测量天地的长阔，山之高、海之深，测定承载大地的尘土。只有耶和华能独自决定要做什么、当做什么。只有耶和华自己才能制定策略及执行方案!

“万国都像水桶里的一滴”，说这样的话，让我们看到原来地上的一切，在耶和华眼中微不足道!万国在神眼中也都毫无份量，它们短暂、会从历史中消失 !耶和华超越世间一切，无可比拟!神到底是谁？ 对此时的百姓而言，祂与百姓此时的生活处境有什么相干？   

百姓或许因亡国的打击而对神产生诸多的疑虑，身处异地的百姓也可能受到异地文化宗教的冲击!耶和华上帝是否是个保护不了我们的神？耶和华神是否不过是众神中的一位？面对可能产生疑惑的以色列百姓，先知提出强有力的回答——不!神是独一无二的!意思是：神独自决定，同时神有能力单独执行心意!神不需要参考其他谋士的意见，神如此强调自己的惟一及独特性，重点在于向百姓保证神应许的事必然发生。

这些看起来像是属于“谈谈”的神学问题，却是神解决百姓生死存亡的起点!原因很简单，如果耶和华神没那么“特殊”，百姓也不会有特殊的生命前景……

祷告：上帝，我们在烦恼的时候，从来没有想过祢是超然一切的上帝。原来万国在祢眼中如水桶中的一滴水珠，又如微尘。我们的心开阔了…… 

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