"And if you say to me, 'We are depending on the Lord our God'--isn't he the one who
So spoke Sennacherib's field commander to the people of Judah. His words must have scorched the conscience of the king of Judah, Hezekiah. While ever things ran smooth for him, he had no need of the Lord God. When a ruthless and powerful enemy threatened, he claimed to be the Lord's servant, and used that claim to warn Sennacherib off. But the Assyrian wasn't buying it. He knew Hezekiah had haughtily ignored his God and he suspected that Yahweh would not let himself be t
"'Woe to the obstinate children,' declares the Lord. 'Thos who carry out plans that
The grandeur of humans lies not only in their capacity for partnership with God in his earthly purposes, but also in their freedom contemplate an execute planning without reference to God at all. This Scripture acknowledges the latter option has been exercised by the people of Judah. God, however, does not rest content with our poor choices. He follows us around appealing to us to reconsider.
"These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is fa
It is far easier to 'talk the talk' than 'walk the walk.' Sadly, hypocrisy is a native human propensity, so we have to make an effort to resist it. But humans can be even worse that hypocrites. Truth to tell: WE want to make the rules; WE want God to honor our facile moralities. Fake religion always tries to make God the worshiper.
“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’
Within the capitalist, free-market environment, there are many ‘self-made’ men, and many who think themselves ‘independently wealthy.’ According to the Bible, no such people exist. Material prosperity never occurs except by permission. Riches accrue by reason of a prior sponsorship. Without the antecedent generosity of God, diligence and creative effort would not avail. All humans, great and small, are first of all heirs and beneficiaries.
“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, t
God takes his people the long way round. He could have led Israel into Canaan in a very short time by a shorter route. He didn’t do so because he knew how to manage the journey in the way that would yield the least temptation to turn back. God always seems to take too long; our life’s course seems unreasonably difficult. But God knows me better than I know myself. He sees that I am ignorant, weak and impatient. He intends to get me to the land where his promises are all fu
“Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possessi
Why does God take so long? Why must we get old and die, waiting for God to establish us in Canaan; the place of our hopes and dreams? Two ideas are suggested by today’s verse. First, God does not relinquish his resolve to rid us of everything that would threaten our peace and joy. Secondly, he does so at a rate no more rapid than would be to our ultimate advantage. What God is doing in the world, he is doing thoroughly and with indomitable purpose. We are not discarded.
“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong . . . Do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and d
Contrary to what politicians who win government like to say (that the voters always get it right), the crowd is a fool. Worse, the crowd is self-serving and without a conscience. Crowds have been known to riot, causing mayhem and death; crowds lynch and crucify the innocent. Scripture reminds us that the crowd is not a reliable guide for truth and justice. There’s something else: The crowd is fickle. Sometimes the crowd will take the part of a perceived underdog even if he
“Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possessi
Why does God take so long? Why must we get old and die, waiting for God to establish us in Canaan; the place of our hopes and dreams? Two ideas are suggested by today’s verse. First, God does not relinquish his resolve to rid us of everything that would threaten our peace and joy. Secondly, he does so at a rate no more rapid than would be to our ultimate advantage. What God is doing in the world, he is doing thoroughly and with indomitable purpose. We are not discarded.
" Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely exclude me
Righteousness by ethnicity runs deep in the human psyche, but not in God's. Here those who are not descendants of Abraham are assured that they will be counted among the Lord's people on grounds of faith in the Lord. According to the law, Eunuchs were to be excluded from the congregation; they were not allowed to be priests (Leviticus 21:20 and they were not seen as useful males because they could not produce offspring. God's love is so much wider and his heart so much more
"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song
This promise occurs in a chapter drenched with thoughts of God's good intentions toward his people; his willingness to make a covenant with them and fulfill his promises to David. Of course the picture cannot be understood as a literal description of future events. The language of metaphor is required in order to represent what God intends. Trees have no hands to clap with, nor do mountains have vocal chords. But the imagery speaks unmistakably of a state accord in creation
