I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Isaiah prophesied the fall of Jerusalem. He predicted that the people would make all kinds of preparations to protect the city. Except the one that mattered, calling out to God for deliverance. God called on the people to weep and mourn in repentance for their sins. Instead they danced and partied saying, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die.” It is funny how many people today quote that line as the thing to do, when in this passage those who say it are being condemned.
This prophecy so strikes me as applying today. God is calling on people to express remorse for their wrongdoing and repent, but rather than do that people are doubling down on their sins and celebrating. How often have I heard people say “Let us eat or drink for tomorrow we die” as a philosophy of life? Yet, this passage tells us that this attitude is sin, one which God will not forget. The passage is directed at those who see trouble on the horizon and do everything in their power to meet it, except turning to God. Are we calling on those around us to call out to God for deliverance? Are we calling out to God for deliverance?
Every time I read this passage, I get confused about what Paul is trying to say here until I get to this verse:
I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God…(NIV)
I should not try to live for my own pleasure and enjoyment, rather I should put to death my own desires and live to fulfill God’s will. I can never succeed in following a set of rules, the law, closely enough to stand in God’s presence on my own merits. There is more to it than that. I will get more pleasure and fulfillment from doing what God desires than I can by seeking to satisfy my own earthly desires.
When a people turn from God, He will strike them. He will break their defenses and turn them over to their enemies and to trouble. However, He will raise a banner as a rallying point for those who fear Him. There He will muster His forces and defend those who come to Him. From that rallying point, those who fear the Lord will sally forth. With God’s help they will be victorious over all opposition.
The key point in this psalm is that, in times of trouble, those who fear the Lord must look for where He is raising His banner and rush to that point in order to serve Him. From there God will send them forth to victory.
Do we make it our goal to mentor those around us to be wise and to say the right thing? Do we find joy when they show wisdom?