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ISAIAH 8:1-9:21 | 2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10 | PSALM 55:1-23 | PROVERBS 23:4-5
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Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ continues. This is how the Messiah is to come and how he is to be known:
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
This is who the Messiah is. Only, not just to the Jewish people. When he comes, it will be for both Jew and non-Jew. It will be for every person.
Turning next to our continued reading of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, after having established his credentials, we find that Paul is speaking of exercising restraint in his “boasts” as a follower of Christ.
He says, 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations.
Paul speaks of the “thorn” in his flesh, presumably a chronic ailment that Paul learned to put up with. And regarding this, he says some of the most-oft quoted verses from this book: 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Next, we turn to our psalm for the day, and find excellent words of comforting advice from David, the psalmist. He says:
22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.
Finally, one verse in the book of Proverbs which offers food for thought by way of the implication embedded within it. The psalmist says this:
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.
Today being the anniversary of 9/11, these passages from Isaiah take on even more meaning. He and his people were facing issues not only of religious identity but also of national security. They were in very real danger of being wiped off the map (and basically were for a while during the Exile). Isaiah was giving them a way to face these threats: first of all, wake up and realize the danger, come together, avoid adopting the ways of your enemies, and most of all don’t lose hope. It’s even more interesting as this Roosevelt series approaches,thinking about this in light of American history and how FDR guided this country through two major crises with the same appeal to avoid succumbing to fear and despair.
Wow, someone packed a lot into that comment! Thank you for sharing as always!
Yes, today is 9/11. I remember thirteen years ago exactly where I was when I heard the news…
That PBS miniseries – is that today?! I have small group, and don’t you have football?! 🙂
In Chicago it starts on Sunday evening. Do you think it’s the same nationally?
I’m sorry, I thought you were referring to football, not PBS. Thanks for confirming the latter to be on Sunday. The former starts tonight – I think!
On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 9:52 AM, Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac wrote:
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