D 5-9, Isaiah 1-31: The Vineyard and The Branch; Oracles and Rocks; Potter's clay and broken pots

A fair bit of ground to cover, having been away for a while. Would like to write more, but it's a busy week this week, so a few thoughts and meditations will suffice for now.

I won't go into the background much, as that is covered well in the link I put up earlier. http://nabataea.net/isaiah.html . Good to help with a perspective of the historical setting.

Isaiah is rich with both prophecies of judgement and warning and exhorting the people to come back to God. Yet when Isaiah was called we see clearly that much of what he was saying would not be understood by the people - God conceals the truth from people who reject Him, because they reject Him and do not wish to receive it. A bit like Proverbs with the pearls before swine, the thought repeated in Matthew 7 - the full truth of the mysteries of God is holy and should be respected, not opened to abuse to those who reject God out of hand. To those who receive the truth, to them is revealed more truth, and understanding by His Spirit.

There are a number of pictures in Isaiah, an I have been thinking about a few.

Israel is seen as a vineyard - a vine in the care of the Lord, Who protects it and cares for it. We also see Him removing those protections when the vine is unfruitful - not living in obedience to His Word, nor being a witness and blessing to the nations but rather copying the evil around them. Yet God became one with us, raising up a Branch, Who is truly righteous and both taught and lived out perfectly a life without sin. When He comes again, He will rule and bring true peace to all. It is a nice picture of Christ, to see Him as first the vinedresser, and then willingly becoming part of the vine of Israel - the only truly good branch that bore good fruit. The picture provides a good background for Christ talking about Himself as the true vine in John 15.

There are a series of oracles, especially against the foreign nations around Israel. What struck me was the sadness that accompanied each one, and the detailed nature of the desolation that comes upon them. Often the devastation is linked with their rejection of God or reliance on idols or themselves. Laying two verses beside each other, I saw a link between the reliance on rocks - written in amongst oracles to Damascus and Jerusalem, each speaks to Israel following a similar theme:

Isaiah 22:16  What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? 

Isaiah 17:10  Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 

Israel (and Judah) relied on their own strength, making their own rock, but would not rely upon the Rock that does not fail.

Finally, I want to consider the picture of the Potter and His clay: We see God's right to create us with such a design as He desires, and for whatever purpose He desires - Rejecting Him and trying to go our own way may result in the pot being smashed as worthless for anything - but if we trust ourselves to His care He will mould us and form us in accordance with His purposes that we might be useful.

(Isaiah 29:16)  Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

(Isaiah 30:14)  And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

There are so many connections and references to the New Testament, and I didn't catch them all as I went through, but did certainly appreciate the ones I did notice, for instance the 'stone the builders rejected' in Ch 28 - the reference in 1 Peter to Isaiah 8 (doing a Bible study on 1 Peter at the moment at church) - The reference of our Lord to Isaiah 29:13 about the difference between lip and heart worship. All beautiful to meditate upon!

D 4, Hosea: Indefatiguable Love

Hosea is a remarkable for the picture of God's love not only described from visions or preached to the people, but lived out in the life of a prophet directed by God to exemplify His relationship with Israel.

The time is clearly marked in the beginning of the chapter by mention of the kings that reigned during the prophecy, putting him in the group of contemporaries Isaiah, Amos, and Jonah as we noticed in when considering Amos. So the prophecies that describe Israel as an unjust and idolatrous generation in Amos, are describing the same group of people present that Hosea witnesses to.

The videos linked you were a nice respectful portrayal of events as they might occur in a modern setting. I did like the way they depicted the events without speaking - allowing the actions to speak for themselves.


Some interpretive comments about the first chapter: Though it says that Hosea married a prostitute, both as a picture of Israel and in accordance with the truth that God will never ask us to sin, we can observe that Hosea's wife is described as a prostitute because the immorality she would show was known by God and revealed to Hosea beforehand, not because of what she was when they married - it is against God's character to marry someone actively in an immoral lifestyle.
Secondly, I was curious about the comment that the blood of Jezreel would be avenged/visited upon the house of Jehu (the line of kings reigning at the time). Now the story in 2 Kings 9 shows that Jehu was appointed of God to overthrow the king's family (who lived in Jezreel) - but later we learn that Jehu followed the idolatry of the previous kings, and seemed more concerned with his own aggrandisement. It is generally believed, and makes sense to me, that this comment is about God punishing Jehu's line for the way that Jezreel was overthrown, and the departure from God - not the fact that they were overthrown/killed.

We see in Hosea a love that does not give up. Metaphorically, his wife spits in his face. She rejects him, and gives him every cause to break the marriage. She ignores the fact that her husband is taking care of her even when she is rejecting him, and continually pursues her own desires. Despite the fact that her choices leave her destitute, ashamed, and hurt, she still seeks them rather than her husband in whose care she prospered. Even when he buys her back - he is her husband, he should not need to buy her time like as a prostitute, but he does anyway to remove her from that scene. How much this sounds alike to how people ignore God, and take Him for granted, pursuing their own desires, the fancies of people around them, and ignore the walls of thorns God puts up to lovingly try to prevent them going down that path. I wish it wasn't true of me, but in some aspects certainly it does apply - praise God that He continually is merciful in drawing me back to Himself and hedging up the way to prevent me straying far!

Throughout the book, the theme of whoredom (prostitution/sexual immorality) and idolatry is intertwined. Not only in the example of the adultery of Hosea's wife, but we see the idolatry of Israel described  vividly with their sacrifices to other gods and the prostitution of the women in service to these 'gods'. Sex was considered in the ancient world, and still today in some circles to bring one closer to the god - hence the many 'temple prostitutes' seen in these sort of contexts. A lot of 'new age' philosophy follows similar lines, but in many ways this society's fascination with sexual freedom and excellence is equally idolatry.

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 

(Hos 6:6-7)

Here is the key to the passage - part of God's direct words to Israel and Judah. Also interesting to note that Hosea seems to speak equally to both nations - unlike some prophets that focus on Judah or Israel predominantly.

In the latter chapters we see God dealing with Israel not only as a wayward and adulterous wife, but also as a child under His care that requires chastisement. His care and desire to give good things and hold back the punishment and judgement come through again and again. Oh how great is the patience and long-suffering of God!

We see Israel and Judah seek help from other nations, rather than looking to God Who seeks to help them. 

O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? 

(Hos 13:9-10)

O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. 

(Hos 14:1-2)

 Thought I would finish with a hymn that was on my heart while reading this:

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

O Love that wilt not let me go

D 4, Hosea

Reading the book of Hosea in the ESV version of the bible, a mixture of thoughts and feelings arose across the story. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute, made him name his children names that seemly undesirable (‘Lo-ruhama, which means No Mercy’ and ‘Lo-ammi, which means Not my people’). God had order Hosea to call her back, even after deserting him and sleeping with other men ( and also after receiving the punishment she deserved), and to love her ten folds as much as he had love her before.

After reading through previous books of the bible on prophecy (Jonah, Joel and Amos), there always is a similar pattern( some may call it structure) of how prophecies were written. There always seems to be a structure of punishment and judgment, and God’s promise of greater goodness and positive end for those who repent and follow.

The book of Hosea had shown similarities to this pattern as well. The book of Hosea remind me of some really deep theme, mercy and forgiveness, compassion and unconditional love. Mercy for the prostitute who doesn't deserve to be forgiven after committing sins of adultery, compassion of a Father who took pity on the suffering of what the prostitute had gone through in her suffering, and the unconditional love God show by making Hosea reaching out to his wife even after the sins she committed, and love her even more than before. As I read and reflect upon the passage, I realized how great God’s love is to his people, and that he’ll not forsake us, no matter what we had done in the past.

How great thou art, oh Lord.

- on behalf of Emily Khong -

Day 27-30 "Lovey Dovey"

For the past week I have read through the New Testament (excluding 3/4 of the gospels) with my class. We watched, listened, and read through together and privately multiple books at a time, bringing each book to discussion. I found it to be an incredible experience. Because we were reading books continuously through, we started seeing the bigger picture connecting together through the New Testament, and themes that we never before picked up. So it came to reading Song of Songs, I simply couldn’t stop to blog after each couple chapters.

Honestly, reading through Song of Songs was quite mind-boggling. I read through the descriptions, bewildered at the extreme descriptions, debating whether there was a meaning to what I was reading, a purpose, a plot, a moral, or a theme. After talking to a couple friends and reading through a commentary book on Song of Songs, I found out that there are indeed many different perspectives on this book.

Song of Songs almost seems to be a random book, without really a message or even a mention of God. Some suggest that it should be read historically, as a portrayal of the main characters as it really was. Others hypothesize that it suggests the future, describing Jesus’ love relationship with the Church, “His Bride”, and also others suggest it describes the present, the relationship between man and woman. There are also some who hypothesize that Solomon actually did not write the book, it isn’t about him, or there is a love triangle between him, the Shulamite girl, and a shepherd boy. But regardless of all the theories, I think that it is important to appreciate the book for its poetic worth (though much of the play of words is not translated into English). It is a book that addresses themes of Love, physical attraction, intimacy, fear of loss, loneliness, loyalty, jealousy, and self-consciousness. Though slightly awkward to read, it is a great book appreciating the creation of God in the beauty of man and women, and the unification of two as one.

On a side track, In terms of my own feelings regarding this book, I found that it was quite a timely read. I previously watched many Korean dramas and love fairytales that explode butterflies in my tummy. Ups and downs, jealousy and tension, frustration and sadness, but love that conquers all. Often I have faced self-consciousness and slight envy. When will I get my love story? Almost 2 decades of my life, and I have not yet tasted romance. When I was a little girl, my grandmother always told me to pray for a good husband. I have always since then imagined that God was preparing a prince charming for me. But now I am reminded yet again that the perfect love story is already mine. Jesus is preparing Me for Him. I found it very interesting, that in my first few days of Bible School this term, one of my respected lecturers from my bible school told me he had prayed for me not to get a boyfriend yet, that I wouldn’t be distracted. I was honestly surprised; why would he pray for such a thing? Is he jinxing me? I found it completely random and slightly confusing. But weeks later I understood. Relationships can often become distracting, and take away your focus from God as first. God taught me many things I’d have never learnt if I had been impatient and did things my way. Physical attraction can be intoxicating, and can take your focus away from approaching the other person without wrong intention, genuinely seeking to understand him or her as a person of purity and character. Also, it distracts yourself from being a person of selfless character, emphasizing more on attracting others by charm.

So often our view of love today is tainted by the world. We are so desperate for relationship that sometimes we are willing to compromise. But love, although is chemistry to a certain degree, is also majorly learnt. We learn to be selfless, we learn to sacrifice; we learn to be loyal; we learn to understand; we learn to love. And I think it’s the same for any relationship, even our relationship with Jesus. How does this relate to Song of Songs? Not too sure, but I think it brought me back to yearning for romance, for one person to be passionately in love with. Romance, passion, beauty, was all designed by God our creator. Love is a blessing, a gift from God. Human beings are so beautifully designed, and man and woman were crafted to assist, unite, and complete each other in Christ, as seen when God created the first couple, Adam and Eve. But Christ is the ultimate perfection. With Him, we are complete. A quote I saw recently on my friend’s status update was “Imagine a man so focused on God that the only reason he looks up to see you is because he heard God say, “That’s her”. That struck something in me. If I try to attract someone with my own means, the only guy will be attracted to me for the wrong reasons, and I wouldn’t even want that! But if I focus on God and being the person that he wants me to be, then if a guy comes alongside my journey of seeking God, then yay! But as for now, I look down at the two rings on both my ring fingers, one with my baptism date (12-12-12) inside and the other representing my promise of purity. A commitment to patience. And I realize, that I have more than enough, because I have Jesus.

***

P.S.:  After seeing the picture on the blog page for the reading, my roommates and I started incorporating random dialogue from the book into our conversation, such as “the beautiful goats in your hair” or “lovey DOVEY EYES”.  We also thought it would be a funny and interesting activity to find all the descriptions of both the man and the woman in Song of Songs, and attempt to draw it out. Eyes that sparkle like doves beside springs of water, set in jewels, washed in milk, fawns, goats, young gazelles, fruit trees…. The list goes on. At the end of the day, we found that it helped us remember the book so much more, and with a humorous twist. So I hope you enjoy it too (sorry its black and white), and that you can decipher the references!

D 2-3, Amos: Transgression and punishment

The first thing I notice opening up the book of Amos is his 'humble' occupation - God uses all men, not just the ones born into high society, influential, or affluent positions. Sometimes/often He has a special job for people in an everyday job, because it is His power and words at work, and not our own.

The first two chapters of Amos go through the nations around Israel generally. We have references to the two kings reigning at the time, so we know where in history we are - and the known contemporaries Jonah, Hosea, and Isaiah, with possibly other prophets around also. So it was a time when there was a lot of warning and preaching to the people of both nations of Israel. Amos preached primarily to the people of Israel, so Judah (the second nation of Israel, with just two tribes out of 12) is grouped in witht eh other surrounding nations. It is interesting to note the emphasis on the transgressions and the idea that the judgement is not coming on a whim or as the result of one action, but on the back of many rejections of God. ('three transgressions and for four' is not an author accidentally writing down the wrong number, but deliberately emphasising the multitude of transgressions)

In terms of justice, both the surrounding nations and Israel seem to follow the same practices - despising the poor and 'selling them for food/silver/pair of sandals'. Chapter five deals with their abuse of judgements in the gates to exploit the poor and afflict the righteous. 'The gate' is where civil matters were decided in Israel back then - analogous to the courts today, where the warning is still relevant. Other countries are often well-known for corruption in the judicial system, and western culture often tries or pretends to minimise it, but there are still abuses of power that can occur within the system against the poor and righteous. There is also warning for the idle rich, who live in luxury and do not concern themselves with the suffering of the poor and oppressed. Again and again we are told to hate evil and seek good - in every area of life!

There are two warnings that stood out to me particularly, because they related more directly to God - the first was a warning not to desire the day of the Lord to come. It's not going to be a time of rejoicing, especially for the self-righteous who think God will be punishing everyone else. Even for the truly righteous, it is not rejoicing but sorrow that is the appropriate response to seeing the wrath of God poured out. The second was the warning that God would be silent. In an analogy from first aid training, it is a bit like shivering being a sign of cold, but the real danger is when the shivering stops, because the body stops fighting the cold - it is worn out, and the body temperature then plummets quickly. Likewise, God's warnings and judgement He brings to turn them back to Him are good, as they are a sign He is still being patient with them, trying to turn them back - but there will be a time when it becomes silent, and He does not speak, and then the evil may increase for a short time without the constraint, but will soon be judged.

In the end of all the judgement though, there is that promise that God will restore His people, and rebuild it. A hope and a light that the whole world is not overcome by evil, but God has saved a few for Himself!

D 1, Joel and Jonah: Judgement and Repentance

Considering the books of Jonah and Joel, we see both similarities and contrasts. In Jonah we learn more about the prophet than the judgement, and about the people's response. In Joel we see a vivid description of the judgement, but the response of the people is not seen (from other books we know that they ignored the warnings). Both preach judgement, one to Israel and one to foreigners - the nation that would conquer Israel (northern kingdom) later. Both teach that God is an upholder of righteousness, and that He would prefer people to repent that the judgement does not have to come

First considering Joel, as he prophesied earlier than Jonah:
Joel was a preacher to the northern tribes of Israel, probably around the time of Jehu or Joash, in a similar period to the prophet Elisha - although the time is not known with any certainty. The book does not itself give direct reference to a specific time we can pinpoint, possibly because the message does not need this - it is a message relevant for all times.

Joel describes the devastation of the suffering that the children of Israel have faced recently in very descriptive language. We who live in a land of plenty do not really understand what famine means in many ways - we see it on the news sometimes, but it is hard to know exactly what the people go through. He recounts the environmental devastation as a warning from God, a call to repentance, and warns that the time is coming when the judgement will come by war also, and bring even more devastation. We see the heart of the Lord in the latter half of chapter five - that longing for His people to come to Him, to return. The change in tone in verse 18 seems to indicate some turning back of the people - some pleading for help at least and realising their dependence on Him, hopefully some turned back out of genuine repentance and acknowledgement of God. In light of this, the Lord turns to bless His people both with food and protection from their enemies. He has control over the plants, the beasts, the rain, and the nations around.
The passage leads on into a discussion of future events - perhaps the repentance between v17 and v18 is also somewhat prophatic, foreshadowing a future time when many will turn back to the Lord and He will bless them in the Millennial kingdom. Certainly Peter indicated in Acts 2 that there was a partial fulfilment at Pentecost, but the full prophecy is still yet to be fulfilled in a coming day. How glorious will that day be, to see many turning again to their Lord and Saviour!
Joel finishes with describing the judgement of the nations. Not all will turn and repent - some will reject God and exploit and persecute the innocent, and especially His people - God will return the suffering they inflict upon their own heads.
These verses seem to be the cornerstone of Joel:

And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 

(Joe 2:11-13)

And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 

(Joe 2:26)

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. 

(Joe 3:16-17)

A good reminder to be sincere and realise our dependence upon Him when coming to the Lord - He is Great, Righteous, Gracious, and Merciful. Blessed be His Name!

Considering Jonah, I was contemplating how God uses everyone for His purposes  -  Jonah was unwilling to the point of running away, but not because he was scared of the people of Ninevah, but because He knew God well enough as a merciful and gracious God and he hated the people of Ninevah. He wanted the judgement to come upon them - he wanted to watch the judgement fall. There are many people today who seem to have this idea, though perhaps more subtly. There is a selfish concern for wanting the exclusive privilege for 'being right' and delight in seeing others suffer - but this is not the characteristic of a Christian. People like this may claim the name, but they have not experienced the love of God that reaches towards all, nor their own unworthiness before God. Yet God can still use them. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul, who said 

"What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."(Php 1:18)

(provided it is the true gospel that is preached, and not a false gospel, which Paul also warns about!!!!)

I am also reminded of stories where famous preachers have left 'Christianity' after preaching the gospel for many years, and denying that they believe it any longer. Having never truly believed and repented, they were still used of God for bringing about true repentance and faith in others - He uses both Christians and non-Christians to bring Him glory in different ways, but it is always His power and not ours that works. Of course this does not minimise our responsibility to follow His guidance - if He can work with an unwilling tool to His glory how much more a willing tool!

But ultimately, in Jonah we see the care and concern of God. He sees the innocent and the guilty in the city and He loves them - He holds off judgement long enough for a warning to go out, and in this case they respond fully - judgement is forestalled! How great a testimony to the glory of the Lord than the chief city of the leading world empire at that time all repenting in sackcloth and ashes before God! He cares for all - nations and individuals, and would have everyone everywhere come to repentance and knowledge of the truth. How are we - how am I - showing His concern for others?

D 2-3, Amos: A picture of Destruction

The book of Amos talks mainly about the destruction and punishment God will bestow upon the many countries around Israel. Some of the many forms of destruction involved sieges, fires and damage to building/property. Here is a picture of what I imagine the destruction might have looked like.

- on behalf of Emily Khong -