We have the revealed will of God available to us, found throughout the Bible. The most obvious examples of this are the Ten Commandments and the call to love others as we love ourselves, but it doesn't stop there. Take for example the original sin of Adam and Eve as they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The sin goes beyond the simple eating an off-limit fruit. Remember the name of the tree. The knowledge of good and evil.
Before they ate of the tree, Adam and Eve didn't know what evil was. That's not to say that there was no evil, for Satan was in the garden. Adam and Eve were meant to rely on God for everything, from their bodily needs to their knowledge. They were in a close, personal relationship with God. They were free to enjoy the blessings of His will, as God served them and cared for their needs. They were free from an evil nature, but they weren't free from temptation.
The temptation to be like God, knowing good and evil, was presented to Eve by Satan and she decided to take it and eat. Adam, who was there with her (and didn't take charge of his family... future post) took and ate as well.
Side note: Temptation is not a sin, neither is contemplating something that is against the will of God a sin. Adam and Eve weren't ashamed until their eyes were opened. Their eyes weren't opened to sin by touching the fruit, but by eating the fruit.
On what basis do I say that the underlying sin here was more than just a chomp of fruit? Let's turn to Genesis 3:11 and see what the first thing was that God asked Adam when he was "found" in the garden: Genesis 3:11 (NKJV): ..."Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
The first question had to do with the effect, not the cause. "Who told you that you were naked?" can be reworded to say, "By what means have you gotten this knowledge?" God intended all things to come to man directly from Him, but in their pride, Adam and Eve decided to obtain knowledge similar to God's by their own means. They went against the will of God by eating the fruit and by the underlying reasons why they did so.
Since then, humanity has been known as a group that seeks to find wisdom by their own efforts, with an emphasis on turning away from the will of God. This is a part of the original sin that all of us in the "family tree" have had from Adam all the way to you and me. Attaining wisdom is a good thing, whether it be theological or not, but we must always strive to grow our minds and seek our wisdom through the precepts of the Lord.
Psalm 111:10 (NKJV): The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 40:1-44:5.
The people of Jerusalem had been forgiven and their time to be redeemed was at hand, but in this reading we get the first obvious impression that it's more than just the Jews that are to receive this gift. All of mankind (Jews and Gentiles) will be the recipient of the next gift! I wonder how the Israelites felt about that one.
They watched for the Messiah, but when He came, so many of them totally missed the signs, and many still do. I can't help but think the phrase, "Sing to the Lord a new song" refers to the new opportunity that would soon be available to all tribes, tongues and nations. To start, we need to pay attention to His messages and see His love that is always there for us, because for most of us, the promise wasn't there two millennia ago.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 44:6-48:11.
The subject of idolatry is mentioned all over within this reading. God goes to great lengths to point out that he is the only legitimate God out there. He then challenges the worshipers of idols to match the things that He does.
It's all laid out pretty clearly in this reading. The blacksmith hammers the metal until it reaches the desired shape or the carpenter does the same with a chisel. Some of this same wood will be burned as fuel for cooking and it's being worshiped? The whole thing is a lie! And not a victimless crime, either. People relied on idols to care for them and see that their problems could be solved. They sacrificed their best crops and livestock to these hunks of material. They killed their children to appease blocks of wood!
And idolatry wasn't the only offense. The Babylonians are mentioned as a people who relied on magical conjuring and astrology. Powerless people were guiding the society into ruin and God was the one who would end it.
Ultimately the maker is in charge of what is made, as the reference to the clay and the potter shows, and these people worshiped the items they created themselves? Of course, too many people worship their jobs and the money and prestige they have from them. I know people at work who can't function until they've read their horoscope! So we can't scoff too loudly at idolatry in this day and age. Examine yourself. What do you rely on to get through the day? I have no room to boast in this, by the way, as my testimony clearly shows.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 48:12-52:12.
RAGBRAI is going on right now, which means that thousands of people from around the globe are bicycling from one end of Iowa to the other. One tradition of this ride is to dip the back tire of your bicycle in the Missouri river at the beginning and the front tire in the Mississippi river at the end. This tradition is possible because a river is a permanent fixture of the landscape. It is wide, strong, and brings prosperity to the communities near its banks. Just look at what the Nile meant to the Egyptians.
What I'm getting at is the term, "peace like a river." God was telling His people that had they followed Him, their peace would have been strong, everlasting and would bring them prosperity while the wicked would enjoy none of this peace. Their loss helped bring about the plan that God had held from the beginning. The inclusion of all people into His fold.
Being in His fold is a beautiful thing. We are expected to throw our cares on him; It's not a burden to do this! Finding your own way out of a bad situation may be a natural thing for you to try, but when your maker says to lean on him, take the offer and let your path become less treacherous. The Lord will be your rear guard, so you will have no reason to look to your past as He has already handled any loose ends.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 52:13-57:21.
Prophecies concerning the purpose of Christ's time on Earth are prevalent in this reading. Jesus took our sins and weaknesses upon Himself. For this, he was scorned and killed in the most humiliating way that we could create. His punishment for our sins brought the promise of peace to the world. Do you have peace in your heart? You can do it right now if you haven't. Everyone has gone astray from God and is in need of redemption. Jesus was crucified on your behalf. After his return on the third day, it was done. He has conquered death so you never have to face it.
The other gleaning I'll share from this reading is the fact that good people as well as bad people depart from this world in death, some of them long before their time, at least according to our way of thinking. Why can God let this happen? Remember, His ways are not our ways. We do not know what his plans are and often despair at this fact of life. The one who dies in Christ has found eternal peace and their work here is done. It is impossible to frustrate the will of God. Even the vilest sinner is playing into the Lord's ultimate plan and will contribute to His glory, even if this is an inadvertent result to the sinner.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 58:1-63:14.
I have never fasted. I'm not even good at staying on a diet! One thing I do know, though, is that the purpose of a fast is not weight loss or to make yourself out to be a "good person." So why are we to fast? What is the point?
First seems to be the preparation. If you have been forsaking the commands of God, there seems to be no good to fast for Him, so you need to get right with God. On the day of fasting, you need to spend time in prayer, also. If anything can keep you from veering off His path, prayer is the tool that can do this. Fasting is not a way to build up your esteem in the community. According to this passage, it is to be used to share the resources you would have used to support those who are less fortunate than yourself. This will actually remove the yoke of oppression from you and you will feel free to help others in the future.
Today's reading is found in Isaiah 63:15-66:24, 2 Kings 20:20-21, 2 Chronicles 32:32-33.
We have another plea to God in this reading. Israel had been feeling the withholding of God's protection for some time now and they were getting, shall we say, restless. I also caught a hint of an accusation here. Saying that they hadn't been calling on Him because He hadn't been listening? At least the sins that separated them from Him are cited as the ultimate reason.
God did promise to rebuild the heavens and earth into the image originally intended comes as a response to this. This time, though, the clay wouldn't rebel against the potter. True peace would be found throughout, even from natural predator and prey. Peace like a river, prosperity for all. All of this would be possible now if it weren't for the stubborn people like myself who just can't trust and obey on a continuing basis. It will come, though, and His promises will all be revealed.
Today's reading is found in 2 Kings 21:1-9, 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 2 Kings 21:10-17, 2 Chronicles 33:10-19, 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, 2 Kings 21:19-26, 2 Chronicles 33:21-25, 2 Kings 22:1-2, 2 Chronicles 34:1-7 and Jeremiah 1:1-2:22.
In this time, Hezekiah was the king of Israel and he was a good one. After his death, everything went right back downhill. Our society is no benchmark to work from, but you'd think that eventually they would have put two and two together. They were prosperous under godly rulers that led them down the right path and times were terrible when they strayed off the path and began going their own way.
Manasseh, Hezekiah's son was a pretty bad guy. He went so far as to put an idol into the temple of the Lord! That's about as bad as it gets! He was so bad that he led the people of Israel to the worst level of evil that they had ever reached. I'm a firm believer in goals, and I know records are meant to be broken, but this isn't what is intended in these statements! It got so bad that God decided to destroy Jerusalem and hand her over to oppressors. The king was taken to Babylon and some quick and very sincere repentance brought the favor of God back to him and he was freed.
His son, Amon, had to have heard the story and probably lived a part of it, but he was just as bad when his turn came to reign. His officials decided to assassinate him and the people didn't want them either. They put Josiah on the throne and he really cleaned up the place!
Jeremiah was the son of a priest and was chosen to be God's spokesperson. He was nervous about this calling, but when God directs you to do something, He enables you to accomplish the task. Jeremiah went about the lands and showed the people the error of their ways when they turned away from God. I love the wording here. God is the spring of living water and these people chose to dig their own useless cisterns, rather than drink from the everlasting waters. Where is your refreshment coming from?
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