Isaiah 27:1-28:29
This passage was not intended to be a lesson in agricultural history. Although, I would be quite interested to hear more about why caraway couldn’t be threshed with a sledge but could be beaten with a rod. The point, of course, is that Abraham’s descendants were making a proper hash of being a great nation. And they were even worse at being a blessing to all the families of the earth. God’s people had reeled from beer, had constructed rules on rules, had not listened and had made this weird-sounding covenant with death. So it looked like God’s redemption narrative was in tatters. The table of his covenant which had been laden with goodies ever since Abraham was now covered with vomit - there was not a spot without filth. So what next? How does the Lord Almighty respond to his kindness being puked on? He brings punishment. We can’t deny that. It is clearly there in black and white. But he also blows a trumpet. And this trumpet will act like the most incredible hangover-cure to the perishing masses. Staggering and befuddled people will find that the LORD Almighty is a glorious crown, and they will be saved. And these people will not only be the descendants of Abraham but Egyptians and Assyrians will be included too. What do we do with this? We are called once again to deep repentance for our ingratitude towards God. We bow and confess that we have made a lie our refuge. But we are also aghast at the staggering grace of God to us, that he should consider us something worth his time and effort and forgiveness. Doesn’t this just lead us to an overwhelming sense of privilege? To think that the LORD Almighty, the One who is wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom, should let us come and worship Him.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
I’ve heard people say Paul’s “Thorn in the flesh” was his secret wife. How ridiculous! Paul doesn’t say so how on earth could we know? We could waste loads of time pondering on this conundrum, and on all the others like it, but they are distractions. They are seized upon by people wishing to push their own agenda. We would do better to focus on the main and plain meaning of the passages. And this is the plain truth for us for today; our character is more important than our comfort. We are better off in continual pain and humble before God than if we were lying on a beach in Bodrum, sipping cocktails and shoving Him away. If we think that sounds a bit crass and over-dramatic it probably just indicates how we have been infected by our culture. Our culture thinks so little of character. But in the bible, our character is greatly treasured indeed. It is climatically important. If we want to be used by God and do something significant with our lives then we, like Paul, must not become conceited. We must prize our humility before God above everything. We need to ‘delight’ in our weaknesses and the things that knock us back. We must work hard to be humble. Because God uses humble people. His power is made perfect in weakness.
Psalm 106:40-48
“..out of his great love...” Words just don’t get close to conveying the depth and breath and vibrant reality of God’s great, great love for us.
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