Day 17 March 16


Day 17 March 16

Passage: Isaiah 44:1-8
Before we read this awe-inspiring passage Isaiah 44, we need to review Isaiah 43:28, because in that text God says “(I will) deliver Jacob to utter destruction”. The word “destruction” used here is a term that invokes a sense of horror in us. For example, Achan faced destruction because he did not obey the instruction of the LORD (Joshua 7). Should Jacob be utterly destroyed, there would be no remnant left of his line. If that happened, what would become of God’s promise to Abraham? However, in the following passage 44:1-5, we read the LORD declaring that He will revive Israel.

Like a caring Father, God addressed Israel by a personal title “my servant whom I have chosen” (In today’s context, the term “ambassador” is probably a better alternative). Once again, the LORD addressed His people as “Israel”, a name that He had bestowed on His people. In the past the LORD had delivered Israel from slavery; now the same LORD is calling Israel to be His people again. God will irrigate their dry land with flowing stream.

The desert is a strange and wondrous place. Should a misty storm pass over it, those seeds that were buried beneath the drought-stricken land will sprout up overnight. Like magic, a bed of flowers will bloom suddenly, covering the area of many square kilometers instantly.

God is able to water the desert, cause stream to flow through it, make flowers bloom in barren land, and sustain the plants to flourish – such a sight is beyond description. That which occurs in a natural landscape can also happen in the life of God’s people. The LORD said that He would pour out His Spirit on the descendants of Israel. This means that the current generation of Israelites would not encounter the horror that God had declared. They were expected to pass on the LORD’s warning and assurance so that every generation will cherish the hope – the outpouring of the Spirit of the LORD.

Verse 5 expresses the intimate relationship between the LORD and His people: In the past, it was the LORD who declared Israel to be His people at Mt. Sinai; now it is the people who confess, “We belong to the LORD.” What a beautiful and heart-warming scene.

Prayer: God, thank You for pouring out your Spirit upon us, so that we can belong to you.

第十七天 Mar 16


经文：以赛亚书 44:1-8
读44章这振奋人心的经文之前，需要回到43:28，因为在那里上帝说到“使雅各遭毁灭”。这里出现的“毁灭”是很可怕的字眼。譬如亚干因为没有听耶和华的吩咐，后来遭了毁灭（参约书亚记7章）倘若遭毁灭，雅各就不剩什么人了。那么耶和华对亚伯拉罕的应许，该怎么办 ？  但接下来在44:1-5 我们看到耶和华宣告祂要使以色列繁盛起来!
上帝犹如父亲，呼唤以色列的名字，用了这些很动人的词汇“仆人”（用今天的话，会不会叫“特使”？）、“所拣选的”。耶和华要再一次提到以色列的名字。从前祂曾经让以色列脱离埃及的奴役，如今耶和华要再一次的拣选他们，让他们在干旱的时候有水的浇灌。
沙漠是很奇特的地方，如果有飓风带了水气经过，一夜之间，地底下埋藏的种子，接受了水气，就突然冒出干旱的地表，形成一种奇观，那可以是绵延好多公里的一片花海!

上帝能够浇灌，使得水涌流，使得沙漠开花，使沙漠的树继续的生长，蔚为奇观。 这发生在自然景观的事，也能发生在上帝的子民身上。耶和华说祂要把灵浇灌在以色列的后裔身上。这表示在他们那一代恐怕事情还不会发生，但是让他们传递下去，让每一代存着盼望，等着耶和华的灵浇灌下来。第5节把那种亲切的状态描绘出来。从前在西奈山是耶和华邀请与宣告他们为子民，如今是子民亲自说“我是属耶和华的。”这多美啊!

祷告：上帝，感谢祢把祢的灵浇灌下来，让我们属于祢。 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 32 April 02

Image
Day 32 April   02 Passage ： Isaiah 51:1-8 It is hard to imagine that Jerusalem could be restored after being destroyed for decades. Isaiah painted a rosy picture of the restoration which would have been impossible given the situation then. However, God's people pursued holiness and sought the Lord (verse 1). If they knew what was right and were aware of God's law (verse 7), nothing would have been impossible. Isaiah reminded the Israelites that their existence from the line of Abraham and Sarah was a miracle in itself, given that both Abraham and Sarah were well beyond the conceiving age. To use Abraham and Sarah to multiply and create a nation is equivalent to digging people from the quarry and chiseling them from rock (verse 1). Jerusalem's situation in the time of the book was equivalent to the childless old woman, seen as hopeless, ashamed and helpless. Hence, when one thinks of the days where God helped Sarah, he would find hope in Jerusalem's restoration
Read more

Day 22 March 21

Image
Day 22 March 21 Passage: Isaiah 45:14-25 The achievements of Cyrus included not only destroying the Babylonians but also defeating the Egyptians and her allies. The relationship between Egypt and Israel go way back. Sometimes they were intimate neighbors, other times deadly rivals. When Judah was weakening and eventually came to an end, all Egypt offered were empty promises. And now, the success of Cyrus was forcing Egypt and her allies to bow down before him. Outwardly, the victor of the war seemed to be Cyrus the Persian, but the truth was: it was God who ruled history. In the plan to restore Jerusalem, these African countries all came to offer their aid. They come not to worship King Cyrus but to the glorified Holy City of the end times. As a result, such a vision means the nations would worship the LORD. The great redemptive work of God led the nations to assure that "He has no peer. There is no other God!" (verse 14). His action itself was a form of self-
Read more

Day 23 March 23

Image
Day 23 March 23 Passage: Isaiah 46: 1-2; 47: 1-15 Verses 1 and 2 in Isaiah 46 inevitably perplex the reader, what is being conveyed?   Bel and Nebo were both Babylonian deities. Upon the erection of the victory flag of Cyrus, their statues likewise fell with the kingdom of Babylon during its defeat and destruction. With heads dropped, tied to beasts of burden and taken away in captivity, they resembled the people of Judah who, with their heads bent low, were crushed by the Babylonian army during the fall of the city of Jerusalem. Although Judah was destroyed by the mighty Babylonians, God still spoke through the prophets to His people, telling them that the idols, worshipped by the victors, would one day be in bondage too. Chapter 47 reveals the life of the Babylonian princess who was of a highly privileged upbringing. First was the description of the splendor of great wealth painted in the most vivid language, followed by the oppressive and humiliating condition of the o
Read more