Walking on Water

The Dew of Morning

Posted on October 2, 2015 by wamplerp

Lord , you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them. You have enlarged the nation, Lord ; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land. Lord , they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord . We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. But your dead will live, Lord ; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer. – Isaiah 26:12-21

This is an interesting riffle here in Isaiah. I was expecting a class I or class II rapid and this passage delivered a bracing class III or IV. It starts out with deceptively calm water acknowledging that God is the source of all our accomplishments and peace. So far so good, then there is a section about how even among earthly rulers the people of this passage honored only God. It seems that this honoring is not easy and may involve pain and writhing — whitewater ahead!

“As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.” Now I confess being a male I have not experienced childbirth, except my own of course. When my wife gave birth to our daughters I was there and I am pretty sure the pain she experienced is not something my wife would have chosen. Yet it was necessary to bring our beautiful daughters into the world and begin the adventure of love and learning that is parenting.

So this verse is saying something really profound. Our entering the presence of God may sometimes come with “pain and writhing”. I don’t remember learning about that in Sunday School. The outcome will be an amazing rebirth, but the process of entering God’s presence may require that we strip down to our souls, and we may not like it at the time.

The passage take a confusing turn in the next line: “We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind”. I am not sure what his means, but it sounds like it is describing pain without purpose — all the pain and writhing without the peace afterward. This is not a bad description of much of Israel’s history of rebellion and running from God…a prodigal people.

In the next part we finally come to the water reference in this complex and confusing passage: “But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” So it seems God will resurrect the dead who have returned to dust. God’s “dew” (grace) will fall evenly on all like dew in the morning. It sounds like for some this rising will not be pleasant as God will come “out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.”

God is the God of both resurrection and wrath, the lion and lamb. We may fear entering his presence, as I am sure women at times fear the pain of a coming childbirth, but the peace that results from the process is worth the pain.

Prayer: God You know the fate of our bodies and our souls, Help us to be at peace and boldly enter your presence.

Posted in Conflict, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Isaiah, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, dew, faith, rafting, water | 9 Comments

A Shelter from the Storm

Posted on October 1, 2015 by wamplerp

Lord , you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall; and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord , we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure. They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands. He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust. – Isaiah 25:1-12

This passage represents a welcome departure from the very specific prophecies about countries and people in the Middle East region. It starts at the very beginning with God: “Lord , you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” It provides a compelling picture of a God who was, is, and is to come. A God who was in some way present, and maybe even responsible, when cities are destroyed yet these same cities honor and revere Him.

Throughout all the turmoil and destruction prophesied in Isaiah up to this point God was a “refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat”. This passage reveals once again the dual nature of God — the lion and the lamb at the same time. He both brings the storm and provides shelter from it. This is both comforting and confusing. It brings up the philosophical question “why is the storm necessary” if God is going to shelter us from it anyway? or stated another way “why is there evil in the world if God loves us?”

This is philosophical deep water to be sure. The understanding I have come to is that this duality is a necessary part of the spiritual cycle. We cannot appreciate, or even fully understand, the shelter without the storm. The same spirit that loves what is good and righteous must be able to hate what is evil and unjust. The ruthless of the world, through free will, sometimes seem to win but “the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall”. In the end God wins and love wins.

As we toil in this land of oblivion here on earth we try to keep our spirit connected to the spring that is God. It is easy to get discouraged as waves and breakers buffet our souls, but God, Immanuel, is with us. The “heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled”. The ruthless may continue to “sing”, but God will provide us with shade along the way. The passage then turns to an amazing “reflection of Him” when it describes the form that the “shelter from the storm” and “shadow of a cloud” will take.

“On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.” What an amazing word picture for what Jesus came to accomplish through the cross. He removed the veil between us and God and He swallowed up death forever. We still have a choice whether to accept the “Cloud” and shelter offered. Those who choose to accept God, and His Son Jesus, will “rejoice and be glad in his salvation”, but those who choose to be free of God will be like Moab in this passage. They will be “trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure. They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands”. Swimming in manure…not a pretty picture indeed. I prefer to accept the “shelter in the storm” and live in the shadow of the “Cloud”.

Prayer: God You provide shelter during stormy times. Help us to use these times to know and love You more deeply.

Posted in Christianity, Conflict, Covenant, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Forgiveness, Free Will, God's Love for Us, Healing, Heaven, Hell, Isaiah, Love for the Lost, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, Sin, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, faith, Jesus, storm, water | 4 Comments

The Moon will be Dismayed

Posted on September 30, 2015 by wamplerp

They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord ’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord ; exalt the name of the Lord , the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!” Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again. In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory. – Isaiah 24:14-23

There was much discussion over the last few days about the end times and a coming Apocalypse. The reason for this doom-saying was a rare lunar event, the conjunction of a lunar eclipse and a “blood moon”. We are safely past this event and the world seems to still be ticking along so perhaps we have more time left. This passage describes a coming calamity that rivals any of the dire predictions made in recent times. A prediction of coming calamity for a location in the middle east never goes out of date.

There seems to be a polarization that is occurring here. Some people are acknowledging and praising God, they “shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord ’s majesty” while others are experiencing incredible wrath and despair, “whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. Does this sound familiar? The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.” The coming calamity will shake the whole earth and will shake each person to their core, perhaps stripping everyone down to their souls.

Times of trial tend to reveal who we really are inside. Those whose souls are pure shine brighter, while those who have souls that are less than pure tend to wither under the pressure. It is interesting that the wrath described here will apply to both earthly beings and those that live in heaven — “In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.” I am not sure I fully understand what this part of the passage is saying. Are there souls already in heaven that will be under judgment? Are there heavenly beings that have fallen from grace and require correction? Certainly there are references in the new testament about fallen angels and evil that exists in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:12).

The “end of the story” is that God will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. From the ashes of the City of David God will rise again. If we take Jesus to be the fulfillment of this promise then His death and crucifixion in Jerusalem would be the point at which He was enthroned for all time as the king of all people, living and dead, body and spirit. He bridged the chasm separating those subject to the despair and disappointment in this Land of Oblivion and those that hunger and thirst for the undiscovered country where He dwells. He showed us the way to get there.

Prayer: God thank You for showing us the way to overcome the calamities that we may experience here on earth while we are waiting for the time when we will join You.

Posted in Christianity, Covenant, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Isaiah, Jesus, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, Satan, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, Jesus, water | 1 Comment

Left Without House or Harbor

Posted on September 29, 2015 by wamplerp

A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them. Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched. On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations. Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.” When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre. Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island. Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands? Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth. Till your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor. The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed. He said, “No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed! “Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.” Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin. Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed! At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: “Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.” At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord ; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord , for abundant food and fine clothes. – Isaiah 23:1-18

God turns His attention to the City of Tyre in this passage. I had to do some research into the geographic context of this passage. I must say after spending considerable time looking at maps and reading bible dictionary entries it does not seem much more clear than when I started. The geographic location of Tarshish is not clear, but could be near present day Spain. The location of the city of Tyre is apparently more clear and near present day Lebanon in the middle east. It was apparently a rock promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. A port city with excellent access the the “ships of Tarshish” which were large sea going vessels that could ply the Mediterranean.

The City of Tyre clearly relied on its port and harbor for its livelihood. So for God to say that the homes and harbor would be lost would be tantamount to saying that the city is lost. Both Sidon and Tyre seem to be thriving port cities surviving on trade from the Nile Delta and beyond. They are self-sufficient and do not seem to need to rely upon God.

The prophecy then predicts that these great cities will be humbled. The City of Tyre will “be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life.” At the end of this “exile” from the eyes of the world the city will regain its place in the region and “will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.” But the difference will be that Tyre will devote the profit and riches to God. The proceeds of the city’s trade will be “set apart for the Lord ; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord”.

This is an interesting passage with what appears to be multiple layers of meaning. I think there is a general warning here about relying on the riches and wealth of this world for fulfillment and happiness. Success and the fruit of our labors are not in themselves bad. It is the value and position that material things hold in our lives that God wants us to be careful about. If we come to rely on our trade at the expense of a reliance on God then we must divest ourselves of these things until we can achieve a proper perspective.

Prayer: God help us to keep our material wealth and worldly success in proper perspective.

Posted in Discernment, Isaiah, Obedience, The Earthly Realm, wealth, Wisdom | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, water | 2 Comments

Lesser Vessels

Posted on September 28, 2015 by wamplerp

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty. This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna the palace administrator: What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock? “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there the chariots you were so proud of will become a disgrace to your master’s house. I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position. “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars. “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken. – Isaiah 22:12-25

Today’s passage is somewhat a continuation of the story from yesterday about the Valley of Vision – Jerusalem. In this passage God is calling on the people of Israel to mourn as He mourned for the loss of Jerusalem. The people are called on to “weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth”. What they actually do is celebrate and party in the midst of their hopelessness. There is “joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”

I confess I had no idea that the quote “Let us eat and drink, “for tomorrow we die!” came from the bible. I always thought it was from Shakespeare or some other secular source. It reveals a level of desperation that is hard to comprehend. These people have not only given up on God, but they have given up on themselves. They do not think that anything they do will make any difference to the outcome of this siege. God does not appreciate their lack of faith. He essentially tells them that His patience has limits and at some point He will “take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country”.

This imagery is quite vivid. I picture God taking these humans and shaping them back into the clay from which they were formed, dust to dust and ashes to ashes. I am not sure what God means by “large country”. Perhaps it is just another way of saying they will be scattered as a people far and wide throughout the earth. God seems to be describing disinheritance. The people of God no longer acknowledge God so He is no longer going to acknowledge them.

The passage then takes a more confusing turn when it describes “my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah”. Apparently Eliakim was a member of King Hezekiah’s household. Details of King Hezekiah’s rule are recounted in 2 kings. King Hezekiah died after giving the Babylonians a tour of His palace in Jerusalem. Perhaps this reference to his rule is a reminder of the wayward ways of the people of Jerusalem. Whoever this man Eliakim was he had much in common with another radical who would come later, Jesus.

I do not know whether this verse is a prophetic “reflection of Him“, but it does provide interesting insights into what a coming Messiah could look like: “I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.” If we take this as at least an accurate reflection of the coming Messiah then as a contemporary follower of the way of Jesus I consider myself to be included in this list of “offspring and offshoots”. I tend to think of myself as a “lesser vessel”, although I think God sees all of us as amazing containers for His Spirit.

The comparison between Eliakim and Jesus gets a little more murky and muddled toward the end of the passage when this “peg driven into the firm place will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down”. On one level this could be compared to the death of Jesus on the cross. His earthly ministry and mission was “sheared off” when he was crucified. Certainly His disciples felt as though they were “cut down” after His death. It was not until the resurrection that they realized that Jesus was still with them and would be always through the Holy Spirit that He placed into us “lesser vessels”.

Prayer: God thank You for loving us and sharing Your spirit with us lesser vessels.

Posted in Christianity, Covenant, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Isaiah, Jesus, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Clay pot, Daily devotional, Jesus, water | 2 Comments

The Valley of Vision

Posted on September 27, 2015 by wamplerp

A prophecy against the Valley of Vision: What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle. All your leaders have fled together; they have been captured without using the bow. All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away. Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.” The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains. Elam takes up the quiver, with her charioteers and horses; Kir uncovers the shield. Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates. The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah, and you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest. You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.- Isaiah 22:1-11

This passage is directed at the “City of David“, Jerusalem…The valley of vision. God is posing an important question to the people of Jerusalem, He asks them: “What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry?” God is asking something that He has asked the Israelites many times before, what is keeping you from Me?

The passage is describing a people that has surrendered and fled “while the enemy was still far away”. They did not loose a battle. They just seem to have lost their nerve and given up on themselves and on God. This is apparently very hard on God who weeps bitterly for the loss of His people. The choices of the Israelites lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. It is lost to invaders — the “choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates”.

God removed the defenses of Judah and instead of turning to God to be their defender they turned to the Palace of the Forest. This may be a reference to the palace of Solomon described in 1 Kings 5:1-9. King Solomon and the people of Jerusalem during his reign relied on riches and earthly things to make their nation great rather than God. The people of Judah are making the same mistake here. When the people of Jerusalem saw the walls crumble and fall they “stored up water in the Lower Pool”. A reference to the water reservoir within the city walls to provide water during a siege. It also sounds like they are sacrificing their own buildings and homes to rebuild the wall for protection.

The crux of the problem is clearly stated in the final sentence: “you built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.” God is reminding the people of Jerusalem that He is the Great Cistern and they need to look to Him for water and protection rather than walls, reservoirs, and earthly leaders.

There is an important message here for all those who would follow God. When faced with crumbling walls, attacking foes, or a difficult road we should look first to the one who wants to carry us like a son or daughter rather than spend our time and energy storing up water in reservoirs and building walls. If we put our trust in these earthly protections we will be disappointed, but if we place our trust in God He will provide what we need, although not always what we want.

Prayer: God when we experience hard times and life is difficult help us to seek first your protection and provision.

Posted in Christian Community, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Conflict, Faith, Following God, Free Will, Isaiah, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, discernment, faith | 4 Comments

Bring Water for the Thirsty

Posted on September 26, 2015 by wamplerp

A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle. This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord , the God of Israel, has spoken. – Isaiah 21:13-17

I continue to find the book of Isaiah challenging to understand and navigate on my float through water references in the bible. I have been pondering and praying about this — trying to figure out why this particular book is harder than even books like Leviticus or numbers. I remain somewhat perplexed but here is what I have figured out so far. It seems that many of the prophecies of Isaiah are referencing very specific people and geographic regions.

Much of the information about these people and places is difficult to find and subject to interpretation. This imparts a certain level of murkiness to the stories and prophecies. This fuzziness is combined with what appears to be multi-layered meanings to many passages that have been interpreted to transcend time and space. For example, the references to Immanuel and the lamb in past passages. I will press on through Isaiah and perhaps I will come to more easily navigable water down river.

This passage continues a series of prophecies about people groups who will be affected by their failure to follow or acknowledge God. In this passage the subject of wrath and rescue is Arabia, pretty much the region of the Arabian peninsula. The caravans of the Dedanites were apparently nomadic people that moved around in the desert near an oasis called Dedan which presumably had water.

Basically this verse is directing the Dedanites, and those who live in the region, to accept and care for refugees fleeing the conflict to the west. They are to share the water and food that has been entrusted to them. Apparently “Kedar” is synonymous with Arabia and consists of the scattered “sons of Ishmael”. So as I read it this would refer to most of the modern-day people we collectively call Arabs.

So if one takes this verse as applying to modern times it would be saying something rather revolutionary. Arabs should care for refugees that come from other people groups, including jews and gentiles. This would seem to be something that is not likely to happen. For example, it would mean that the Arabs would have welcomed the returning remnant after WWII instead of trying to destroy them. Of course, the Jews would have to be willing to accept this help from the Arabs which may also be challenging. How would the middle east look if both Arabs and Jews actually helped and cared for one another. Perhaps this occurs and I am ignorant of it, but it does not seem common.

So applying this passage to modern followers of Christ would probably mean caring for those we cannot imagine getting along with, let alone feeding and providing water. For example, serving and providing water to atheists or others with whom we have profound disagreements. A Sunday brunch with atheists? Jesus certainly called on his followers to practice this type of profound love for even their enemies. It sounds like God intended the same things for the Jews and Arabs in this passage.

Prayer: God help us to love and care for one another, especially those who we find it hard to love.

Posted in Christian Community, Christianity, Conflict, Covenant, Discernment, Faith, God's Love for Us, Isaiah, Jesus, reconciliation, religion, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, faith, Jesus, water | 5 Comments

Stinking Canals of Egypt

Posted on September 23, 2015 by wamplerp

A prophecy against Egypt: See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more. The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope. The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart. – Isaiah 19:1-10

The judgement of God finds it way to Egypt in this passage. Of course, this is not the first time Egypt has been subject to God’s wrath to get their attention. There was that Nile turning to blood incident and the subsequent hail storm. The fundamental problem back in Exodus was that the Egyptians saw the Nile River as their god. They seem to have the same problem in this passage.

God arrives “on a swift cloud”, I am not sure if the speed the cloud is moving has any deeper meaning, but I can tell you that if the clouds are moving that fast it can be very windy near the ground surface. I recently took a trip with my wife to a city north of where we live called Traverse City. The city is surrounded by a beautiful bay of Lake Michigan with crystal clear water.

The area experiences very high winds at times and we happened to be there during a time of high wind and waves on the bay. Apparently there is a rule of the sea that you can moor your boat in any bay that is connected to the ocean without paying any mooring fees so many boats were anchored off shore. The wind had switched direction rather suddenly in the night and two boats had pulled loose of their anchors and were beached on the shore being buffeted by waves and filling with sand. I suspect the owners of these boats were not happy to receive a phone call from the police department informing them that their sailboat was dancing in the trees along the shore.

The Egyptians are also not happy about the arrival of God. Family members and kingdoms will fight with one another. They will turn to their own dead for comfort and seek out the wisdom of spiritual leaders who are leading them away from God. They will be ruled by an evil king who does not care about them. The life blood of the Egyptians, the mighty Nile River, will dry up. All of the canals they have built to help them prosper and access water from the Nile River will become stagnant and stinky. Even the great Nile Delta at the mouth of the Nile River will be devastated by drought and failed crops. Their “god” the Nile River will fail them.

Egypt has always set the Nile up as their God and the one they look to for provision. In taking this away God has revealed the spiritual void that is present in the Egyptian’s lives. They try to fill this void with all manner of substitutes like spiritists and worship of the dead, but I suspect that none of these is truly satisfying the spiritual need they feel. But the Egyptians are unwilling to turn toward God and remain dejected and sick at heart by their condition.

I am not sure if there is deeper spiritual message here, but the predicament, spiritual neediness, is certainly something that many people in modern culture experience. People rely on money, relationships, new age philosophies, yoga, and all manner of spiritual substitutes to fill the spiritual void in their lives. I think in the end many of these people feel just as spiritually vacuous as the Egyptians did. They know something is missing from their lives, but they are often unable or unwilling to acknowledge that it is God that is missing.

Prayer: God help us to fill our spiritual needs through You rather than substitutes.

Posted in Christianity, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Following God, God's Love for Us, Isaiah, Life Together, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, Trusting God | Tagged bible, bible study, Christianity, Daily devotional, Egypt, Nile River, river, water | 1 Comment

The Land of Whirring Wings

Posted on September 22, 2015 by wamplerp

Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush, which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers. All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it. This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches. They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter. At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers— the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty. – Isaiah 18:1-7

Some have suggested that this passage is a prophetic reference to the United States of America, “sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water…a people tall and smooth-skinned…a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers”. Many of these attributes would certainly fit the present, and past, United States of America, but I think this is a reference to people crossing the Red Sea rather than the great sea to the west. Like many passages I have “floated past” in Isaiah this passage would seem to have many layers of meaning which may transcend time and space and speak to both past and present God followers.

The description of “the land of whirring wings” is an interesting word picture. Apparently the Hebrew word translated as “whirring” could also mean buzzing. So it is not clear if this description is trying to conjure an insect buzzing or a bird flapping its wings. Either way, it brings to mind a creature frantically beating its wings, or some other appendage, to survive or stay aloft. This is not a bad description of the modern American culture. I often feel like our culture is way too fast — unable to slow down long enough to reflect on eternal things. I am guilty of “whirring wings” at times. My personality is sort of “full on or full off” so this blog has given me a reason to slow down and stop flapping for at least a short time most days. God has definitely met me in these times.

The “rivers of Cush” were apparently in what is now Sudan and Ethiopia on the west side of the Red Sea, south of Egypt. Included in the rivers of the land of Cush would be the Nile River. It sounds to me like the land to which the messengers of Cush are being sent is the land which is now Iraq and Iran, “a land divided by rivers”. Iraq is divided by the two large rivers the Euphrates and the Tigris which historically flooded, which may have given rise to some of the flood passages and Noah’s Flood. It is not clear to me who this people is, but I wonder if it is not a tribe of Israel that is being described here.

Then the passage gets a little more confusing – “All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.” This seems to be a reference to a coming event that will be known worldwide. This could certainly be a “reflection of Him“, a reference to the coming of Jesus which has come to be known throughout the world.

The murky and confusing metaphors continue with God saying “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” What an interesting bit of water imagery. It seems to be describing a God that is distant, yet present. A presence that we are sometimes unsure even exists, like a mirage on the desert. A “cloud of dew during the heat of harvest” is something that would be unlikely and out of place….hmmmm not a bad description of a young man from Nazareth named Jesus. The passage ends with a reference to these people from the “land divided by rivers” bringing gifts to the Lord. Could this be a prophetic reference to the “wise men from the East” (Matthew 2:1-2)? I do not know.

This passage is “funny water” to be sure and contains much that I am not sure I understand. It feels like it is open to many interpretations and meanings. I am pretty sure there are parts that I have missed and will return to at some point with increased understanding. Sort of like a stretch of river that you run through and realize that you could have taken a different line. No going back up the river now, but when I run this stretch of the river again perhaps I will choose a different line.

Prayer: God You know the meaning behind this passage. Help me to navigate this challenging part of the bible with discernment and understanding.

Posted in Christianity, Conflict, Covenant, Discernment, Following God, God's Love for Us, Isaiah, Jesus, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged bible, Christianity, Daily devotional, faith, Jesus, rafting, river, water | 3 Comments

Raging Like the Sea

Posted on September 21, 2015 by wamplerp

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain. Woe to the many nations that rage— they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar— they roar like the roaring of great waters! Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale. In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us. – Isaiah 17:10-14

This passage is directed at Damascus, in what is modern day Syria. It is interesting that we hear every day in the news about Syria and the refugee stream that emanates from there. In some ways the admonition that Damascus has “forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress” applies equally well today. The desperation of the Syrians is also similar, thus the exodus that is happening now.

“Woe to the many nations that rage — they rage like the raging sea”. This could be describing any number of modern day nations; Germany, Hungary, Croatia, and the United States that are trying to deal in a compassionate way with the influx of refugees. There are no easy solutions now and there were no easy solutions then. The people from Damascus were “driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale”. It sounds like they were dispersed widely and separated from the land they called home. That sounds eerily familiar.

I am struck by the first statement you have “forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress”. This speaks directly to all of us who try to faithfully follow God and invariably do so imperfectly. We are all flawed followers that sometimes forget who our savior is and where we are to anchor our lives — to the Rock, our fortress.

The take-home message for me is that no matter how hard we try to make our lives “successful” we will ultimately not succeed unless we remember the Savior and build our spiritual house on the Rock. We can “roar like surging waters” all we want, but I fear we come across to God more like the faint tinkle of a trickle.

Prayer: God thank you for being our Savior and Rock. Help us to run toward You rather than away from You.