Scripture Text (NRSV)
Isaiah 43:1-7
43:1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he
who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name, you are mine.
43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk
through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume
you.
43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your
Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for
you.
43:4 Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love
you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your
life.
43:5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring
from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
43:6 I will say to the north, "Give them up," and to the south, "Do
not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the
end of the earth--
43:7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my
glory, whom I formed and made."
Comments:
I. The Sovereignty Of God v.1 ". .time for every purpose under heaven.
."
II. The Specifics vv. 2-8
III. The Struggles Of Live vv. 9-11 A. Our involvement vv. 9-10 B. The
implications v.11
IV. The Special Grace From God vv. 12-13
Merry Christmas! (The twelve days are not yet finished - in my first
pastoral charge, people bid each other Merry Christmas whenever they
met someone during the twelve days. Trick for me, as I moved from
village to village, was remembering who all I had already seen....)
I was looking at the Whole People of God background notes, which focus
on the completeness symbolized in the 14 pairings (double 7), as well
as the pairing itself that indicates wholeness. My mind connects this
to yin-yang.... different culture, but do the concepts align?
Modern Western culture emphasizes either/or, not balance/and...
just thoughts.
have a good year and a good century.
peace
kent in Québec
I've always had trouble with some of the verses of this passage. "A
time for war ... a time for hate ... a time to tear down." I don't
think God ever wants us to tear someone down or to make war or cause
hatred. Some Christians have used these verses to justify hateful
deeds. Maybe these words aren't God's words at all; rather they are
the words of the teacher who is observing life and then tries to make
sense of it. The teacher's conclusion is that we are called to enjoy
life as much as possible, despite death, sorrow, and grieving. What
the teacher is saying is that life is a gift from God and that we
honour God by enjoying life to the fullest. Puritans had an entirely
different view, didn't they.
Rev Karen from Ontario
Rev Karen,
You Don't see God as tearing down- destructive. DOn't you read the
Bible? Old testement over and over states. Chosen people, Isreal I
gave you the Land, GO KILL EVERYONE, EVERYTHING! (THE BAN ) in other
words on the land. And Revelation which some don't even take
seriously, God Will Destroy 1/3 of water, 1/3 land, 1/3 people to this
and that until a remnant exist.
Now, God is God and He will do this as He sees fit. We may be
uncomfortable with that, but that doesn't mean a cleansing of the
earth won't happen!
Personally, in this day in time, as some Prophetic Preachers go with
supernatural touch to make waters bitter and so on... I think, it's
easy to see Bitter waters can happen with AL QUIEDA making a "dirty
Bomb" rendering fresh and sea water 1/3 unusuable. John saw it! But he
had to describe it so 1st century peoples could understand, How could
John fully appreciate a Holligram, a missile, a computer when they had
no electricity. If John did see 21st, 22nd 23rd century things, a
locust that kills- look at those funky army helicopters...
