Saturday 06 December 2008
- Bible Book:
- Isaiah
"The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the LORD binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow." (v.26)
Background
All this talk of patient waiting must have rung hollow withIsaiah's contemporaries, who were suffering from all kinds ofmiseries (exile, war and invasion by foreign overlords). Buttoday's passage is preceded by a verse in which the prophet setsout his most basic belief: "Therefore the LORD waits to be graciousto you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For theLORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him"(verse 18).
Once again Isaiah reminds us that the demand for justice is anessential condition of meaningful faith, so thatwaiting for God is actually a kind ofwaiting with God.
This time, the beefed-up natural order in the prophet's vision notonly includes abundant rain, heavy crops and well-fed animals, buteven the moon and sun will be enhanced. Once again through thisdramatic imagery he wants to emphasise that justice has cosmic, notlocal, significance. Indeed, at other times (
The Bible then is quite clear that not only our relationship withother people (personally and in society) but also our relationshipwith the rest of the natural order are accurate measures of ourrelationship with God.
To Ponder
Have you ever tired of waiting patiently forsomething to happen? Did that make you give up, or did it goad youinto action?
In what ways have you been a poor steward of thecreated order?