e hënë, 5 nëntor 2007

Isaiah 12:1-6

Passage:

Isaiah 12
1 You will say in that day:"I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."


Journal: This is a psalm (song) of praise in the midst of God's promised discipline and chastening. It speaks to God's wrath; though it is severe, it is not without hope. This is why Isaiah points so often to the coming Messiah; the One that delivers from this great wrath. It is Christ that saves, and it is God that is to be praised for this great salvation. There are actually two hymns here -- v. 1-3 and v. 4-6.

Both songs point to deliverance. These songs point not only to deliverance for Judah from Babylon in the short term but, for God's children, there is a promise of a new heaven and a new earth in the long term. There is a remnant to be saved, and this salvation shall come as a shoot from the stump of Jesse. The bondage of Babylon will be eradicated for the remnant of Judah. Yet, even more astonishingly, the bondage of sin will be eradicated for the remnant that are God's children.

In the short term, the effects of the pagan culture of Babylon will be difficult to overcome as the remnant of Judah slowly rediscovers their God in the coming days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Likewise, in the long term, the effects of our sinful nature are difficult to overcome as God's children, His spiritual remnant, strive to more fully discover Him in the midst of our daily struggle. Paul speaks to this great spiritual struggle in Galatians 5:16-26, as the "sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature." Thus, there is great joy as we envision and draw ever near to this new heaven and new earth created by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ("With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.") Tomorrow, we will look at these two songs more closely.

Heard 'Round the House:

I was putting Song (age 9) and Anna (age 7) to bed a couple of nights ago, when this near anatomical discussion came from the child's legal dictionary . . .
Anna: Daddy, do you have a unister?
Daddy: Do I have a what?
Anna: A unister?
Song: Anna, you mean a unis. You mean does Daddy have a unis?

[Pause, as Daddy processes]

Daddy: Uh, I think you girls mean uterus. And no, boys do not have a uterus. Only girls.
Song: That's right. It's not called a unis. I was thinking it was called a unis.
Anna (undeterred): Daddy, you are a unister!

[Pause, as Daddy re-processes]

Anna (interpreting the pause as a reason to clarify): Daddy, you're a unister. It's another word for a lawyer (nodding her head).

[Pause, as Daddy processes]

Daddy: Anna, I think I know what you mean now. The word is barrister. A barrister is another word for a lawyer. Not a unister.
Anna: What's a barrister?
Daddy: A lawyer.
Anna: No. You're a unister. It's just a word I made up. It means a lawyer. You're a unister, Daddy.

[Pause, as Daddy has tired head, and wonders if this was the facts of life discussion . . .]
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