Reading: Isaiah 35, 36, 37
My Verse: "Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have your raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against the Holy One of Israel!" (Isaiah 37:23)
Poor Sennacherib! He became proud of what he thought of as his own accomplishments - the conquering of many nations. You, LORD God had to remind him that . . .
"Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins . . ." (37:26).
Sennacherib became boastful and proud. He mocked, reviled, insulted and blasphemed! He dared to haughtily lift his eyes against You, LORD God. He defied You!
You had to remind him as You remind us everyday.
"I know your sitting down
and your going out
and coming in,
and your raging against me" (37:28)
You, LORD God, gave us a most wonderful thing - free will. You want us to love You freely, willingly, intentionally. If we do not; if we continue to lift our eyes to You haughtily; if we continue to defy You - You will bring us to answer for our wrong choices.
"Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come to my ears,
I will put a hook in your nose
and a bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
by which you came" (37:29).
Does it mean that we can go too far, too long in our resistance to You? Is that what happened to the king of Egypt when it is said You hardened his heart? (Exodus 9:12)
This story is amazing in so many ways. It speaks of pride, defiance, folly, , the power of prayer, love, faith - but most wonderfully of Your divine providence!
Kind Hezekiah pleaded with You to save him. You told him that Sennacherib would not enter Jerusalem, he would return to his own land where he would die. In fact, You sent an angel to strike down 185,000 of Sennacherib's soldiers. Sennacherib returned to his own city where his own sons killed him. You, LORD God will not be mocked. And what You say You will do You do.
I like what a footnote in the ESV Study Bible states. "The ancient plan of God means that he is not responding to unfolding events, but that events reveal his own long-intended purpose." This can be so reassuring as the world around us seems to be in such chaos. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris chillingly puts a spotlight on this - the continual breaking down of our society.
You, LORD God, show in this story that You will not be mocked. You show You are God of the entire universe. You show that You know exactly what is happening. You show that all events are working toward Your purposes.
"Great is our LORD and mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit" (Psalm 147:5).
"His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?" (Job 9:4).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have your raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against the Holy One of Israel!" (Isaiah 37:23)
Poor Sennacherib! He became proud of what he thought of as his own accomplishments - the conquering of many nations. You, LORD God had to remind him that . . .
"Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins . . ." (37:26).
Sennacherib became boastful and proud. He mocked, reviled, insulted and blasphemed! He dared to haughtily lift his eyes against You, LORD God. He defied You!
You had to remind him as You remind us everyday.
"I know your sitting down
and your going out
and coming in,
and your raging against me" (37:28)
You, LORD God, gave us a most wonderful thing - free will. You want us to love You freely, willingly, intentionally. If we do not; if we continue to lift our eyes to You haughtily; if we continue to defy You - You will bring us to answer for our wrong choices.
"Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come to my ears,
I will put a hook in your nose
and a bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
by which you came" (37:29).
Does it mean that we can go too far, too long in our resistance to You? Is that what happened to the king of Egypt when it is said You hardened his heart? (Exodus 9:12)
This story is amazing in so many ways. It speaks of pride, defiance, folly, , the power of prayer, love, faith - but most wonderfully of Your divine providence!
Kind Hezekiah pleaded with You to save him. You told him that Sennacherib would not enter Jerusalem, he would return to his own land where he would die. In fact, You sent an angel to strike down 185,000 of Sennacherib's soldiers. Sennacherib returned to his own city where his own sons killed him. You, LORD God will not be mocked. And what You say You will do You do.
I like what a footnote in the ESV Study Bible states. "The ancient plan of God means that he is not responding to unfolding events, but that events reveal his own long-intended purpose." This can be so reassuring as the world around us seems to be in such chaos. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris chillingly puts a spotlight on this - the continual breaking down of our society.
You, LORD God, show in this story that You will not be mocked. You show You are God of the entire universe. You show that You know exactly what is happening. You show that all events are working toward Your purposes.
"Great is our LORD and mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit" (Psalm 147:5).
"His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?" (Job 9:4).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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