Last month Israel made a preemptive strike against Damascus in order to
keep Syrian missiles and chemical weapons out of the hands of two opposition
groups: Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, both
bent on the destruction of Israel.
Risking international censure, Israel took action because Syria
has the third largest chemical weapons stockpile in the world and 100,000
missiles. And if and when Assad falls, either Hezbollah or al
Qaeda will gain possession of them.
Even now, if Assad survives, he has vowed retaliation if Israel strikes
again. And since Tel Aviv is within reach, Israel’s response will need to be massive, if not total.
The prophet Isaiah predicted Damascus would be
laid waste and never again inhabited (Isaiah 17). Many biblical scholars of eschatology
believe that since Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the
world, and has never been destroyed, Isaiah's prophecy remains to be
fulfilled. And you and I may be witnesses to this event, another sign of the times.
Last month, U.S. employers added only one-third the number of jobs needed, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8.2%. A normal unemployment rate is about 5 or 6%. It's beginning to look like 8.2% is the "new normal."
A downturn in prosperity is a change that is beyond our control. And nobody likes ‘out-of-control’ changes—they unhinge our plans and upset our ordered lives! But let’s be honest. Were it not for these divine challenges to our well-constructed lives, we would grow entirely independent of God.
David said, “Because they have no changes, they fear not God” (Ps. 55:19): an apt description for our nation, so confident of success that fear of God is ridiculed. So to keep us from that, God shakes things up (Heb. 13:26). And our first reaction is usually frustration! Thus, Isaiah says, "What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you're doing it wrong'” (45:9). Since we are living in a time of greater change than any time in human history, I think we will have to get used to these shake-ups. It looks like ‘out-of-our-control’ is the “new normal.”
The recent slaughter of women and children by pro-Syrian government forces has captured world attention. Even the suggestion that Greece will leave the European Union, default on its loans, and produce an economic freefall has everyone anxiously eyeing the stock market. Worried atomic energy monitors are taking a hard look at Iran. And here at home, Americans are fretfully looking for a leader.
During one particularly hard time in Israel, Isaiah rebuked them: “Do not anxiously look around” (41:10). Jesus said the days before the Rapture would be anxious ones—just like now. And people are certainly looking around anxiously. “When all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near” (Luke 21:28). Unlike the earth dwellers who are anxiously looking around, we should be expectantly looking up.
Somewhat paradoxically, even though Jesus said no one knows the day or hour of His return, He told us to be looking for it. “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night...[but] you must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come in the clouds when least expected” (Matt. 24:30, 43). The world is a mess! We can either look around anxiously or look up expectantly.
The Holidays are upon us—today begins the December countdown of shopping days to Christmas. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have already surpassed even the most optimistic expectations; economists are predicting a banner year for retailers. (I wonder how much of these sales were on credit cards?)
Considering that 83% of Americans remain anxious about the world economy, and that the world is fraught with more political ‘hot spots’ than any time in recent memory (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Syria), it appears that Americans may be trying to spend their way out of the doldrums and into a Christmas spirit— to quote the American maxim, “when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.”
Some things never change! Three millennia ago, Isaiah chided the people for spending their money on that which does not satisfy (Is. 55:2). And Solomon (the richest man alive at the time) concluded, “Give me neither poverty nor riches. Give me just enough to satisfy my needs” (Prov. 30:8). Though I doubt that such a philosophy would be heralded by retailers, it would certainly bring more peace on earth.
By this time next week, we will know whether or not Congress and the President have reached an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. One government policy expert gives it a 50/50 chance. My opinion: the debt will be raised. In the parlance of our president, we will kick the can down the road for the next generation to deal with. Why do I think that? Because it is human nature to do so. We have become skilled procrastinators, expert evaders. We distract ourselves with present prosperity, pastimes, and pleasures. ‘I’ll deal with this someday,’ we say, ‘but not today.’
One of the better kings of Judah, Hezekiah, is famous for such folly. After proving poor judgment by showing off all his treasures to wily Babylonian emissaries (whose armies would later return to pillage the nation’s riches), the prophet Isaiah reprimanded him, 'The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,' says the LORD. 'Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon's king. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "This message you have given me from the LORD is good." For the king was thinking, "At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime." (Isa 39:6-8) And thus, Hezekiah was content to kick the can down the road.
Three times in Isaiah 53:7 it says that Jesus was silent: “He did not open His mouth...” As believers, we must know how to open our mouths wide and shout to the Lord at times when we praise and thank Him. We must also know how to keep our mouths shut when we are insulted, criticized and slandered. Jesus knew how to praise His Father and He also knew how to be silent.
Unfortunately it is the other way round with many Christians. They are silent when it comes to shouting God’s praises in the meetings. But they do know how to shout and defend themselves when someone accuses them or hurts them. But that is the characteristic of an upside-down world, and Christians must be different.
The preceding is an excerpt from Zac Poonen’s Word for the Week “The Word of the Cross” that I wanted to share: it struck a chord with me, and hope it will with you too. I am all too quick to want to explain myself when I think I am being misunderstood. But that can prevent me from hearing what the Lord may be wanting to speak to me. Unlike Jesus who had done nothing wrong to defend, I do. And I need to stop and consider that before speaking. We must be slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19).
Altha and I live very near the “Caltrain” railroad tracks. To say that dozens of commuter trains blaring their horns as they pass by every work day (and less often on nights and weekends) makes for disagreeable background noise would be an understatement. But over the years we have learned NOT to pay attention to the noisy trains. There’s nothing wrong with our ears; but by way of practice, we have “dulled” them to the intrusive sounds.
The writer of Hebrews warns the Jewish believers they had become “dull of hearing” (5:11). What does “dull of hearing” mean. It means they were practiced in not paying attention! The opposite of “dull” is sharp—our human faculties are sharpened by using and practicing them, like any discipline.
How can we prevent our hearing from becoming dull? How do we sharpen our listening skills? The obvious answer is: by paying attention. Even as Altha and I have learned to ignore the sounds of trains, Christians can practice ignoring the voice of the Holy Spirit. Sharpening your listening skills must be cultivated. It must be deliberate and consistent. The writer admonishes these Hebrew Christians to pay much closer attention to the things they heard. (2:1)
And finally, speaking through Isaiah, Jesus says: “The Lord wakens my ear morning by morning, to listen like one being taught; He has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient…” (Is. 50:4-5). In other words, even Jesus disciplined himself to listen and pay attention.If you are not hearing the Lord, maybe you're not listening!
Isaiah says: “We are the clay, [God is] the potter” (Is. 64:8). Do you feel sometimes like you are just a lump of clay? As you die to your own rights, surrendering your will to His, you will be increasingly grateful that you are clay in the Divine Potter’s loving hands.
At times, it means being thrown hard on the Potter’s wheel. Sometimes it means being pressed or even pounded under the hand of God. Sometimes it means being firmly held while the wheel turns. That reshaping and forming goes on and on, according to the Potter’s plan. The clay doesn’t shape itself, like some self-improvement program, saying, “Please bless the object I am about to become as I shape my life.” The clay is clay; it becomes what the Potter wants it to be.
God is making and shaping you for His purposes and for His pleasure. Maybe the hardest thing for you to accept right now is that at this moment he is shaping you to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making? (Isaiah 45:9).
