If you’re joining us in reading through Isaiah and Jeremiah today’s reading is Isaiah 15-16. And the devotion is taken from Isaiah 16:3-5. “Give us counsel, render a decision. Make your shadow like night—at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” What do you do when you’re in trouble? To whom do you go in times of your greatest need? In this prophecy Isaiah’s picturing what a Moabite ambassador is going to say to the Judean king. He is going to ask him for advice. He’s going to ask him to shelter the Moabites from their enemy. Isaiah then reassures the Moabite ambassador that the oppressor will die. The oppressor will cease to be the oppressor anymore. But then he contrasts that pronouncement of death with the establishment of the Davidic throne over Israel. This Judean ruler will be one who seeks justice and quickly brings righteousness to the situation. I recently was given a book that told the story of a missionary couple’s experience in Papua New Guinea during the tsunami there. While the couple was not directly involved in the tsunami experience, the tribe to which they had been assigned bore the full brunt of the experience. It was amazing to read about the shelter that God gave those who placed their trust in him. One group of people experienced something so amazing that it could only have come from God. In the middle of the tsunami after their boat had been capsized they were in danger of drowning. They cried out to God to help them. Immediately the darkness, because the tsunami had come at night, turned to bright daylight and for ten or fifteen minutes remained that way until everybody could locate something on which to float. God is our protector in time of trouble. He is the one to whom we may run for comfort, guidance, and ultimate protection. We do not need to trust in our own strength but rather trust in his guidance and his strength for our protection.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 10:00:00 +0000
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