Today's Reading:O.T. - Isaiah 16 - 18
N.T. - Hebrews 12:7-11
Focus Verses: Isaiah 16:9-11
9So I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah. O Heshbon, O Elealeh, I drench you with tears! The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit and over your harvests have been stilled. 10Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting. 11My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth. 12When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail. 13This is the word the LORD has already spoken concerning Moab. 14But now the LORD says: "Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab's splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble."
Insight:
Even as Isaiah prophesies God's judgment against Moab and Damascus, God's love and grace are evident. There was weeping in the streets and homes of these nations because of the discipline God is bringing upon them. There was also weeping in heaven as God grieved over the people he wanted to redeem and renew.
God took no joy in their suffering, and grieved when he saw them turn to idols and pray to false gods who were powerless to help them. God's hand of discipline upon them was motivated by his loving heart for them and his desire for them to live in truth and to know him.
Response and Action:
I am committed to seek God and to live in truth. I know that God loves and disciplines his children. I will accept his hand of discipline as a blessing of being his child. I trust that God's judgment and discipline will result in renewal and righteousness for me. I will humble myself before God so that he can lift me up.
O God, you are a loving father. Your heart is touched and you weep for me when I hurt myself by turning away from you. Thank you for loving me enough to discipline and correct me. Your discipline and correction never seems pleasant at the time, but I trust that you are lovingly working for my good. Amen.
Proverbs: 14:27
"The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."
Resources:
Never Beyond Hope: How God Touches & Uses Imperfect People
by J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom
