The Bible Addresses the Controversies of the Day! 2 Timothy 3:16.

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25.

Which is better: to do what seems right to you, or to follow the leadership of a King who has given us 66 books of guidance?

If God had given us a single page, the Ten Commandments, for example, and nothing more, then perhaps we would have to make a lot of hard decisions, often doing “that which was right in our own eyes.” But God has given us 66 books, as many as two thousand pages in some English editions. There is no need for every man to do that which is right in his own eyes. We have the written word.

I try to avoid arguments online. It’s not worth it. It’s pointless, right? But I kicked the hornet’s nest today…

My friend Cam posted information about the growing use of MAiD, or “Medical Assistance in Dying.” In short, some thirteen U.S. states now allow medical patients facing the end of their lives to choose between hospice care and MAiD. Hospice is the more traditional practice: dying patients are made comfortable with pain relief while they and their families wait for the patient to “pass” naturally. Patients average two to three weeks in hospice care.

MAiD is different, providing that a legally competent patient whom doctors believe will die within six months is given a medication by his physician which the patient must then administer to himself when ready (some details vary by state). That medication (often including propofol or other powerful sedatives) will end the patient’s life through a painless process that can take a few minutes or several hours.

Because a close family friend chose to end his life via MAiD only last week, I was particularly interested in this online conversation. Everyone talking about it was raving about what a beautiful experience MAiD could be. (Yes, they literally called it “beautiful.”)

I brought up a dissenting view:

“A family member in Oregon chose MAiD last week. After swallowing the oral meds, he lingered nearly twelve hours. His decision was difficult and controversial. Not only did the deceased insist on controlling the circumstances of his departure, but he also forbade family from telling anyone that he took his own life. We were instructed to say he died of congestive heart failure.

“Because hospice uses medicine to relieve pain, it seems the only benefit of MAiD is that it allows the dying to control the circumstances of his departure. That is, to have a tidy ending today rather than living with illness for a few more months.

“I’m not convinced a neatly scheduled exit outweighs thousands of years of Christian tradition vesting God with sovereignty over life and death.”

As you might imagine, my comments were not well-received. Cam and his friends were mostly polite (though they did call me judgmental). But here’s what was particularly intriguing: the two who responded to my comments began by making reference to their resumes:

“As a woman who is an ordained minister myself and has been a hospice chaplain for many years ….” Then Cam—whom I know well—thought it important to remind me that he is “ordained clergy in the Presbyterian tradition.”

The thing is, I do not enjoy conflict–particularly online conflict. It can seem pointless and even counterproductive. So I decided to limit myself to one comment and one reply comment. I was not going to spend the whole day hashing and re-hashing this. This is a great strategy for online arguments: two quick comments. And it’s okay to let the other person have the last word. Particularly when that person posted the original article. Give them that respect on their page.[1]

Here is part of my reply to the replies I received:

“I do not doubt your compassion. And I certainly do not doubt God’s compassion.

But truth is a greater consideration than compassion. If you can point me to a scriptural defense of this practice, I would be curious to read it.”

Guess what?

The two ministers did not cite one Bible verse.

They wrote lengthy replies about God’s compassion and the challenges of medical ethics and end-of-life decisions (topics I had already admitted can be baffling). But when faced with the Church’s thousands of years of history AGAINST something like MAiD, these two trained and licensed members of the clergy gave me only this:

“My experience and understanding of God go beyond a single scripture. It is the all-encompassing love of God that leads me to my understanding of His mercy, love, and grace … this is why my understanding of the Word … extends beyond a single scripture reference.”

Do you see the problem here? When confronted with a controversial new medical practice, a practice both members of the clergy claimed to have witnessed often in their work, neither could offer me any Biblical counsel.

I mean, sure, they talked about God’s love. And they reminded me that God is compassionate. Absolutely. I said as much myself. But we also know this compassionate God allows His children to suffer many difficult things, and unpleasant deaths are the norm, not the exception. So God’s compassion for the hurting cannot alone be a basis for taking God out of the picture by taking one’s own life.

Don’t get me wrong. Those facing end-of-life decisions often suffer tremendously. I am compassionate. As I told them, my own father suffered with Alzheimer’s and then a broken hip. He was in pain and lacked the mental clarity to understand that pain or handle it with the wisdom and perspective that had always guided his life. In fact, that broken hip did lead to his demise some two months later. My father suffered. But his suffering was reduced significantly by the pain-relieving medications administered to him as a part of hospice care.

Scripture supports the use of medication for pain relief, Proverbs 31:6-7. And if hospice care can remove pain, what justification is there for using medication to cause death? Christians have always believed God to be sovereign over life and death. His children have felt strongly about this since before the time of Christ. Before adopting the opposite view, I need to see a scripture to support it.

Am I to toss out the question of sovereignty without even opening my Bible?

Can’t one of these ordained, seminary-trained members of the cloth point me to a scripture to justify a practice the church has long considered murder?

I don’t mean to be harsh—and again, I do not judge. There is no subject more perplexing than medical ethics; I have always said that. These are hard questions, and I respect patients and families no matter what decision they reach. If I were asked to be present during the use of MAiD, I would be there. I could offer comfort without fear that my presence condones or “blesses” a choice about which I have doubts. I may even come to agree with MAiD at some point in the future. God could show me something—in the SCRIPTURE—and I would change my view.

What interests me about this controversy is not who controls life and death, or medical ethics, or even questions of God’s sovereignty. Instead, I am just blown away by the fact that two people who felt it necessary to point out that they were ordained clergy were UNABLE to point to anything in the Bible that could help them persuade me that this MAiD or “Doctor-Assisted Suicide” was a right decision rather than something the Catholic church (for one) historically considered a sin that would damn the soul to hell.

Not one Bible verse.

Here is one of the problems of our modern age summed up: we believe deeply in empathy and compassion. But our compassion is unmoored. It has been cut loose from the anchor of truth and is adrift on a rolling sea of feelings. Without scriptural truth to anchor our lives, we are lost. We are at sea. How can anyone make a good decision? Do what feels right? Do what feels compassionate?

I’m sorry. I believe that integrity and character are tied to TRUTH. And truth is tied to scripture.

If you cannot use scripture to defend your choices, then either your choices are wrong or your knowledge of scripture is poor.

For members of the clergy to endorse—without scripture—a practice that so radically breaks with church tradition is a case of the blind leading the blind. We should not make our most serious decisions without consulting scripture. That is not serving the Gospel. It is shooting from the hip. You are putting on your robes and your collar and doing whatever feels right, not what the scripture counsels.

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” Psalm 119:105.

“Plans fail for lack of guidance, but with many counselors they succeed” Proverbs 15:22.

Dear God, give us wisdom when we face the increasingly difficult questions of medical ethics and end-of-life decisions. Lead us to a SCRIPTURAL basis for the answers we need. Teach us to love Your word more every day.

AΩ.

[1] Another great strategy when you find yourself disagreeing online is to sum up your thoughts, say your piece, end with “have a good day” or whatever, and then make a “permanent” exit by choosing not to be notified of future comments. On Facebook, click on “Turn off notifications about this post.” Just let people say what they want. Let them have the last word. The entire conversation will be forgotten in a week anyway.

  • Proverbs 31:6-7: “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more” (KJV). “Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, And wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty And no longer remember his trouble” (AMP). “Strong drink is given to the terminally ill, who are suffering at the brink of death” (Passion Translation). “Use wine and beer only as sedatives, to kill the pain and dull the ache Of the terminally ill, for whom life is a living death” (Message).

People are Not Simple. Genesis 33:4.

We like to think of people in simple terms: villains and heroes. Good guys and bad guys. But people rarely make it that easy to categorize them. First impressions will guide you, but once you get to know people, contradictions arise. One of my favorite villains is a character in THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Initially, he is an evil Nazi leader, wielding a tremendous amount of power. He tortures and kills without regret. But then his son develops a disease that makes him, in the eyes of the Nazi regime, a defective, a “useless eater.” Suddenly this powerful Nazi officer has to confront the horrors of the Socialist party he serves—and viewers discover that this evil man loves his son, loves his family, and carries secret regrets and questions. Almost immediately, the evil Nazi officer becomes a sympathetic character, and his story becomes more interesting. Why is it interesting? Because of growth. The characters—even ostensibly purely evil characters—have to grow. The book-turned-TV-series is like that: several of the most evil characters eventually become if not entirely sympathetic, at least much more human. They GROW. It is fascinating.

The Bible often shows both sides of the people within its pages. Why? Because these people GROW. King David is the greatest king Israel would ever know, a genius on the battlefield, and a worshipper who wrote half the lyrics in the book of Psalms—and it is hard to imagine a person in the Bible who failed worse than he did. But after his colossal failure, David grows.

And consider Esau, the brother of Jacob. We often dismiss Esau. The author of Hebrews condemns him, warning us not to be “unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal” Hebrews 12:16. But there is more to the story. Esau certainly acted rashly on the day he sold his birthright to his always-scheming brother. But it was Jacob who later dressed as Esau and deceived their father Isaac so that Jacob could add Esau’s blessing to the stolen birthright. (Maybe it’s the older brother in me, but I think Jacob’s was the greater sin.) This time Esau recognized the gravity of what was taken from him and quietly vowed to kill Jacob, a promise which sent the heel-grabber running for his life. (Significantly, there is no record Esau ever acted on his threat.)

Years later, God told Jacob it was time to go home. He set out with his huge family and thousands of animals, and almost immediately was told that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. Four hundred men? That’s a battalion! Esau was ready for war. Jacob set aside hundreds of sheep, goats, and camels, and put them in the front of the caravan as a gift to his estranged twin brother. Then he spread out his belongings and his wives and children, hoping Esau might have a change of heart and not kill everyone.

“Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. [Benjamin was not yet born.] Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” Genesis 33:1-4.

Then after Esau met Jacob’s wives and children, he asked about the caravan of herds.

“‘What do you mean by all this company which I met?’

And he said, ‘These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.’

But Esau said, ‘I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself’” Genesis 33:8-9.

Is this the same man who swore to kill Jacob as soon as their father Isaac was dead, see Genesis 27:41? Is this the same unholy man who “despised his birthright”?

I think not. Esau has changed. If he were after revenge, he clearly has the manpower to take it with his 400-man army. If he were after the riches of his lost inheritance, he would not have turned down Jacob’s gift of herds and herds of animals. But all of that is gone. Gone is the selfishness, the bitterness, the vow for revenge. Gone is the lazy desire for easy money, the lack of perspective that would value a bowl of soup as much as an inheritance. Esau has grown up and acquired wisdom.

Look again at the way he greets Jacob:

“But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” Genesis 33:4.

That reminds me of another Bible passage:

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” Luke 15:20.

Jesus, the Master Teacher and storyteller, created the parable of the Prodigal Son. And, like any great writer, He wove familiar elements into the new tale, some of them seemingly taken from the story of Jacob and Esau: two rich brothers fight over an inheritance, both display childishness and selfishness, but the story is resolved with forgiveness, reconciliation, and love. Jesus’s audience would have known the story of Jacob and Esau so well, that I believe they would have recognized the tune as Jesus wove familiar notes into a new song.

Many find it easy to dismiss Esau for his one act of supreme short-sightedness. But he deserves another chance. This is a man who forgave a tremendous violation, who embraced the brother he once planned to murder. Esau embraced him and the two men wept. That makes Esau a hero in my book. Not a simple man. Not a perfect man. But a man who overcame some youthful failures to become a better person. Esau grew. Esau learned how to forgive. Because he did so, his life not only reminds us of the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but also of our Father in Heaven whom the prodigal’s father symbolizes.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Sons of God” Matthew 5:9.

AΩ.

Judgment in Context. Isaiah 47.

Have you ever walked into the room when a friend is halfway through a movie or television show? It is easy to draw conclusions based on a quick glance. But if you do not know the history—the context—your conclusions will be wrong. For example, there are several scenes in Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS films that might induce sympathy for Smeagol/Gollum. If you do not know the context, you could walk in the room and think this poor creature has suffered unjustly. But Smeagol suffers for his own choices—many of them bad choices. He has lived a life of selfishness, motivated by greedy addiction to the One Ring, which he calls “my precious.”

Similarly, you can open Isaiah 47 and feel sorry for the beautiful princess whose suffering is depicted in such great detail. Readers find themselves watching a once-beautiful woman suffer abuse. It is easy to feel sorry for her when you hear how she is treated:

“Sit on the ground. You will no longer be called tender and delicate. Take millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil. Strip off the skirt. Uncover your leg. Your nakedness will be uncovered, your shame will be exposed … Loss of children and widowhood will come upon you in a single day … Evil will overtake you which you will not know how to charm away. Disaster will fall on you … There is no one to save you” Isaiah 47:1-3,9,11,15.

Oh, this poor, miserable creature, suffering at the cruel hand of fate! But no, not fate. It is God who has set His judgment upon this woman. It seems cruel and sad. Vindictive, even. This is the sort of passage skeptics point to when they want to dismiss God as a cruel, angry god of wrath, hurling thunderbolts at the disobedient, as though He were no better than the completely human Greek god, Zeus. But God is not a human. In fact, it is for that very reason that God does not indulge His wrath recklessly (as we do).

“I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger … For I am God and not man. The Holy One in the midst of thee” Hosea 11:9.

God is patient.

“God is patient toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of repentance” 2 Peter 3:9.

Nor is this woman suffering unjustly. The woman of Isaiah 47 is a symbol of the evil nation of Babylon.[1] This woman is evil personified. God has prepared an indictment, a list of criminal charges, if you will:

Babylon has showed His people no mercy.

She was cruel to the elderly.

She was given to pleasure.

She trusted in her sorceries, her charms, and her enchantments.

She was so confident in her witchcraft and astrologers that she proudly proclaimed, ‘I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’

She even made herself an equal with God, announcing, “I AM, and there is none else beside me” Isaiah 47:10.

When we read of God’s wrath, we must consider the context.

What may at first appear a cruel circumstance often turns out to be the long-delayed wrath of a patient and holy God.

When we read of God’s wrath, we must consider God’s heart.

God has a heart of love, of kindness, of goodness. He wants to forgive and bless those many of us would give up on.

“God is love” 1 John 4:8.

God possesses wrath. But God says that He IS love. He defines Himself by His love. It is His very nature.

Dear God, teach us to read the context, to understand Your word by reading the rest of Your word. And give us a better sense of Your heart. May each of us know the “breadth and length and height and depth” of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge Ephesians 3:18-19.

AΩ.

[1] This vivid symbol of Babylon the Great as an evil queen is also used in—better remembered from—Revelation 18.

Cormac McCarthy and Wrath and Hope. Isaiah 34.

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007 was awarded to Cormac McCarthy for his apocalyptic novel THE ROAD. The dark novel tells the story of a gray, ashen world following some world-destroying disaster that is never explained.


When I read the story of God’s wrath in the 34th chapter of Isaiah, I was reminded of McCarthy’s book. Allow me to paraphrase:

Come and listen, everyone. Hear the news. The wrath of the Lord sits heavily on all nations. On your nation. He will destroy your army. The dead will be piled high, stinking to the heavens. The mountains will be soaked in blood. The sky will be rolled up as a scroll. The stars will be gone. The moon? Gone.

The Sword of the Lord will drink its fill. The sword of God’s wrath will be bathed in blood. God will punish Edom, the symbol of the enemy of His people.

Can you imagine a world where the land is ash and the rivers flow with smoking hot tar? Then you can imagine Edom. The nation’s rivers will no longer run with water but with hot pitch. The dust of Edom will be turned to burning sulfur. The smoke of that burned land will rise forever, ashes drifting down like gray snow, poisoning the land.

The only life will be the desert owl and the screech owl. The raven will build a nest in the barren, burnt trees.

God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line—the yardstick—of chaos and destruction. God will size up Edom with the plumb line of desolation. Her royals will be reduced to nothing. Her rulers will be impoverished. The castles will be overrun with thornbushes. Nettles and brambles will overtake the forts and garrisons. The whole of Edom will be the desolate home of jackals, coyotes loping along, ribs poking through. The whole place will be a desert, suitable only for hyenas, owls, and a wild goat here and there. But families will persist, if only animal families. The owl will guard her eggs, feeding her young. The falcons will protect their mates. They will survive. Isaiah 34:1-16 (paraphrase).

“None of these will be missing. Not one will lack her mate” Isaiah 34:16.

Cormac McCarthy’s bleak novel is built on hope, believe it or not. It is the story of a father and a son on a journey to the coast. The two have a shopping cart, a few cans of food, and a pistol to protect them from raiding bands of marauders. But most importantly, they have each other. At its core, THE ROAD is a book about love. About family.

And so is Isaiah 34. Yes, God will exercise judgment. God will punish evil. But God is love. God is always motivated by love and compassion and holiness. And He will always preserve a remnant. God will always preserve life. Even animal life, as He did with Noah’s Ark and as He does for the owls and falcons of Isaiah 34.

“Not one will lack her mate” Isaiah 34:16.

Dear God, thank You for hope. There is always hope. Even when You exercise Your wrath, You remain a God of love and compassion and mercy and holiness and HOPE.

AΩ.

The People Reap What their Leaders Sow: Pray for Leaders with Integrity. Isaiah 32.

The integrity of leaders matters. Honesty matters. Yet, with every scandal, a politician somewhere will argue that what happened behind closed doors does not matter—sort of the “what happens in Vegas” defense.  

But when you are a leader, what you do always matters.

When President Clinton cheated on his wife with a White House intern 27 years younger than he, he had to answer questions about his behavior during nearly every day of 1998. His defense during more than twelve months of questioning from journalists, politicians, and the Special Counsel was, “I have to get back to the work of the American people.” He and his advocates—including numerous feminists—kept arguing:

“What a man does in his private life is a private affair. The president must get back to the business of running the country.”

These women sacrificed their credibility as feminists to defend one of the most powerful men in the world after he had an 18-month affair with an intern 27 years his junior. President Clinton, the leader of our nation, was wrong. The leaders of the feminist movement who defended the womanizer were also wrong. Just as the philanderers in every capitol city are wrong today—on both sides of the aisle.

When leaders dishonor their marriage vows, they hurt all of us. The private harm they do to their families is worse, of course. But the nation does not escape unscathed.

Actions have consequences. The actions of leaders have consequences for those who follow them.

Yet I remember the daily, nearly hourly arguments about the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. You could get caught up in it. It was not unpersuasive. Bill Clinton was charismatic, sincere, and charming, more Jack Kennedy than Richard Nixon. Clinton could look at the camera with just the right combination of sadness, contrition, and a glint of anger, and say in slow, measured tones: “this is a private matter for me … and my family … and my God. And now I’ve got to get back to the work of the American people” –and you wanted to believe him. You wanted to believe his gnostic arguments.

Because that’s what it was: Gnosticism.[1]

Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, the root of the English word knowledge. But there is more to this heresy than the notion that you are saved only when you find some secret knowledge. Modern Gnosticism focuses on the heretical belief that the physical body is unimportant, and therefore, what a man does with his physical body is of no consequence. Rather than paying attention to the physical body, Gnostics would advise you to focus on your heart. This modern iteration of an ancient cult has swept across America: the body does not matter; the only thing that matters is that you follow your heart. Of course, that is ridiculous.

God knew we were crafty, creative creatures, always looking for ways to get into trouble. “God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices” Ecclesiastes 7:29. To protect us, God gave us laws. Not hearts. Our hearts do not protect us. “The heart is deceitful above all things,” Jeremiah 17:9.

It is God’s law that protects us—the law and the prophets. God gave us His word—sixty-six books filled with wisdom and guidance.

When leaders break God’s laws, both the leaders and those they lead suffer the consequences. But when leaders obey God’s wisdom, both the leaders and those they lead reap the benefits.

The Prophet Isaiah praises leaders with integrity:

“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness
    and his princes will rule with justice.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
    and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

“Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be dim,
    and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The fearful heart will know and understand,
    and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear” Isaiah 32:1-4.

Isaiah employs rich word pictures: leaders with integrity will be a shelter from the wind, and a refuge from the storm. They will be streams and shade in the desert.

In other words, upright leaders provide SHELTER for their people.

And then what happens? Those who see, see better. Those who hear, hear more clearly. The fearful will have wisdom and understanding, and the one who struggles to speak will speak clearly and fluently.

That is, leaders with integrity do not merely shelter those who follow them. They heal them, somehow. They make their lives better.

The character of politicians matters. Integrity matters. Morals are not a “private affair.”

Many members of my tribe, even my family, have defended the election of men of questionable character by saying, “we are not choosing a pastor.” They go on to argue that God used Nebuchadnezzar and King Cyrus to bless Israel.

But what God may have done with a pagan king through His all-wise Providence and Grace, does not change my responsibility to steward my vote in a way that I believe will bring God glory. I believe it is my responsibility to vote for leaders who will effectively enact a Biblical approach to governance (and yes, to be ‘effective,’ one must win). Whether such a choice fits neatly into one party or another or somewhere in between will be a matter for prayer and research.

But character merits consideration as well. Character is not merely a so-called “private matter.” Character, integrity, honesty, dare I say, virtue, should be considered. There are strategic decisions in politics. Sometimes the most deserving, even the most virtuous, may not be able defeat the candidate from the other party during the general election and thus, may not be the best choice in the primaries. There are many factors to consider in politics and I understand that.

But I want you to recognize this factor: character does matter.

When leaders break God’s laws, both the leaders and those they lead suffer the consequences.

But when leaders obey God’s wisdom, both the leaders and those they lead reap the benefits.

Dear God, give us leaders with integrity! Bring us leaders who will pursue justice, leaders You can use to shelter us and to heal us, like those of Isaiah 32:1-4.

AΩ

[1] For an excellent discussion of modern Gnosticism, consider this article published by the Gospel Coalition: https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ancient-heresy-driving-modern-identity/

Plant, Prune, and Bear Fruit. Isaiah 27.

Your ancestors were probably hunters. Hunters and gatherers, nomadic people forced to roam every day.[1] Many of the earliest people did not build houses because they could not afford to stay in one place. They had to be free to move with the harvests and the herds.

Farming changed all that. Someone invented plows and irrigation. Next came pruning and grafting and other techniques for making crops and fruit-bearing trees more productive. For the first time, food could be salted or pickled for preservation—and the city was born.

(There’s a non-sequitor: What did fruit-bearing trees bear? The City.)

Farming created the first food surpluses; for the first time a few members of each city could give up food-related activities and pursue other things: manufacturing, teaching, architecture, the arts, law and culture and more. Civilization owes its very existence to farming. There is a direct connection between farming and prosperity.[2]

Consequently, the Old Testament uses orchards and vineyards to symbolize productivity and riches. A man who bears fruit is productive. A nation that bears fruit is wealthy.

In Isaiah 27, God compares Israel to a vineyard and Himself to the farmer.

“Sing about My fruitful vineyard [Israel]:
    I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
    so that no one may harm it.
    I have no wrath.
If there were briars and thorns confronting me,
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire …

In days to come Jacob will take root,
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill all the world with fruit” Isaiah 27:2-6.

Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit, Isaiah 27:6.

Isn’t that a beautiful, rich picture? God’s people will bear fruit—and because of them, all the people of the world will eat. Can you imagine the tiny nation of Israel feeding the entire world? This passage may look to the New Jerusalem for its ultimate fulfillment, or perhaps it is fulfilled more obviously in Jesus, Israel’s Messiah. And yet, when you consider the contributions of the Jewish people in areas like law, medicine, the arts, the media, and nearly every academic field, it seems this small number of people[3] have indeed made a huge contribution to the world.

Some 700 years later Jesus borrowed the rich imagery from Isaiah 27 and employed it in a new way. No longer were God’s people instructed simply to bear fruit. Jesus told His followers to bear fruit by first remaining on the vine. Notice the way these verses echo the words of Isaiah:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that bears fruit he prunes so that it will bear more fruit … Remain in me, as I remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:1-5.

Isaiah’s message: God will prune Israel, causing the nation to bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit, Isaiah 27:6.

Jesus’s message: God will prune even His children who are bearing fruit so they will bear more fruit. But you must abide in the Vine. Every day you must choose to walk with Jesus in true obedience. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, John 15:5.

Dear God, teach us to bear fruit. I pray every day that I would bear fruit and store up treasure in Heaven. Help me to remember that “every branch that bears fruit” You will prune. When I suffer, remind me that I am being pruned so I can bear more fruit. Thank You for the shears.

AΩ.

[1] Interestingly, the people of Israel were not hunters. The law required them to eat only kosher animals, and to be kosher meant not only to be from a kosher species but also to be killed through kosher means. Such means could not be applied to wild animals. Thus, the meat-bearing animals consumed in ancient Israel were largely domestic, not so much hunted from nature as culled from the herd.

[2] Farming made place for the urban lives so many live today, lives in which farming never enters the mind. Farming gave birth to cities whose citizens have forgotten farming.

[3] As of this writing, the worldwide population of Jewish people is estimated at almost 16 million, roughly the population of Buenos Aires, Argentina, or Istanbul, Turkey. To put it another way, Jewish people account for two tenths of one percent of the world, or two people out of every 1,000.

Prophecies, Dreams, and Hope for the Remnant. Isaiah 17.

Bible Prophecy can read like a dream—you see elements that do not add up but clearly stand for something. There may be cause-and-effect problems. Words and scenes feel out of context. It can be baffling.

Bible prophecy is not written in the linear, logical fashion to which Western readers are accustomed. This is not a geometry proof nor a logical syllogism.

A plus B may not equal C.

Yet if you read prophecy loosely, analyzing it with the scrutiny you might apply to a dream, an understanding emerges. Read Bible prophecy as a series of pictures rather than a series of arguments. Unlike so much Biblical literature, prophecy does not build an argument brick-by-brick, stacking premise upon premise, persuading a reader to accept a conclusion. Instead, prophecy presents a series of pictures, and the conclusions take care of themselves.

Isaiah 17 prophecies destruction for Israel. The back story is that Israel and Damascus (Syria) had attacked Judah. For that, God will send Assyria to punish Israel and Damascus. Consider the following paraphrase of Isaiah 17. This series of pictures indicates exactly what the future holds for Israel:

Behold Damascus is wiped out. It shall be a ruinous heap. A pile of broken stones. And the glory of Jacob shall be made thin. The fatness of his rich flesh shall wax lean as a starving man—like one of his starving brothers he attacked in Judah. Israel’s reapers shall enter the fields to harvest, but find no grain to reap, Isaiah 17:1-4.

Yet God will not leave His people hopeless. A few gleaning grapes shall be left in the valley. They will shake the olive trees and find two or three olives in the uppermost boughs. Four or five of the outermost branches will remain fruitful. There will be something. Not nothing. And that day shall a man of Israel look to his Maker and his eyes shall have respect for the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 17:5-7.

Then I heard a loud voice from heaven condemn the nation that attacked Israel. ‘Woe to the Assyrian multitude! Woe to the numberless, countless crowds, the hundreds of thousands who make a noise like the noise of the seas, that make a rushing like the rushing of many waters. God shall rebuke them. They shall flee on the wind like tumbleweeds, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind,’ Isaiah 17:12-13.

When I first opened Isaiah 17, I read it several times unsure what it had to offer. Then I reviewed Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this chapter and the picture became clearer.

In sum: God will work justice on behalf of His people, Judah, even when it means punishing Israel. God will also save a remnant of Israel and provide food for them—food and hope. With God, there is always hope. Finally, God will punish the nation that attacked Israel, so that in all these nations, Judah, Israel, Syria, and Assyria, He will have glory.

Dear God, teach us how to read Your word. Fill us with a love for Your scripture! Give us the interest, the passion, and the TOOLS to figure it out!

AΩ.

Refugees & the Matthew Henry Commentary. Isaiah 15.

Image of a family of refugees seeking better times during the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Many traveled by car or bus, but this family was photographed walking with only an old wagon and a baby stroller. Yet, their plight is far better than some refugees—the nation was not at war, after all, and though the crops were failing, no one was being attacked.

Isaiah 15 is a short chapter, but not an easy one. How do you interpret a challenging bit of scripture? Look to the footnotes if your Bible has them. Study Bibles often do. Still lost? Consider a commentary. One of the most popular is the classic Matthew Henry Commentary, freely available online at the press of a button.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/isaiah/15.html

Let’s begin with the text. The nine verses of Isaiah 15 foretell the destruction of Israel’s cousin—and on-again, off-again enemy—Moab.

“In the night [the city] Ar of Moab is laid waste … in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste … Moab shall howl over Nebo and over Medeba … Everyone shall howl, weeping … Even the armed soldier shall cry out. His life shall be grievous to him. My heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee to Zoar … The waters shall be desolate, the hay withered away, the grass fails, there is no green thing. The abundance the people have collected and that which they have laid up shall they carry away” Isaiah 15:1-7.

This chapter prophecies a war that will bring destruction to the cities and fields of Moab. The cities will be laid waste and the fields will dry up and blow away. The people who survive will be weeping, howling, as they wrap all their earthly goods up in a blanket or a basket and wander the roads as refugees. This is a sight we see today during times of war. I can remember photos of refugees flooding out of such places as Bosnia, Somalia, Honduras, Rwanda, and Sudan. You might remember scenes of refugees on the road in movies such as Casablanca, Hotel Rwanda, and the memorable ending of Fiddler on the Roof. But what can we learn from this picture of suffering in Isaiah 15?

The study Bible I’ve been reading lately offers a single note for Isaiah 15, providing some historical context about Moab—a people descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot. For more information, I looked up the Matthew Henry Commentary online. Writing some 300 years ago, the Presbyterian Minister Matthew Henry provides food for thought:

Henry speaks of the multitude weeping, wailing, howling. The people of Moab who are not dead are awash in grief over their lost loved ones and the destruction of their homes.

The suffering is so all-encompassing, Henry notes that the only relief they might find is that encapsulated in the Latin expression, SOCIOS HABUISSE DOLORIS. In English this phrase translates to “It is a comfort for the miserable to have had companions in pain.” In other words, MISERY LOVES COMPANY.

Yet this is almost a joke. Henry is saying these Moabites are suffering so horribly that the only comfort they have is the knowledge that they are not alone—and that is little comfort indeed.

None of the Moabites shall escape God’s judgment.

In fact, things are so bad, even the soldiers are discouraged.

“The armed soldier shall cry out. His life shall be grievous to him” Isaiah 15:4.

Matthew Henry comments that,

“Though they were bred soldiers, and were well armed, yet they shall cry out and shriek for fear, and every one of them shall have his life become grievous to him, though it is characteristic of a military life to delight in danger. See how easily God can dispirit the stoutest of men, and deprive a nation of benefit by those whom it most depended upon for strength and defense. The Moabites shall generally be so overwhelmed with grief that life itself shall be a burden to them. God can easily make weary of life those that are fondest of it.”

In the face of God’s judgment, even soldiers—those for whom the term ‘gung ho’ was coined—will lose their courage and eagerness for battle.

Henry then addresses the result of war: destruction, famine, and poverty:

“Famine is usually the sad effect of war. Look into the fields that were well watered, the fruitful meadows that yielded delightful prospects and more delightful products, and there all is eaten up, or carried off by the enemy’s foragers, and the remainder trodden to dirt by their horses. If an army encamp upon green fields, their greenness is soon gone. Look into the houses, and they are stripped too: The abundance of wealth that they had gotten with a great deal of art and industry, and that which they had laid up with a great deal of care and confidence, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.”

God’s judgment will bring destruction, famine, and poverty.

(Still from the 2023 film Io Capitano, telling the true story of refugees traveling from Senegal to Italy across the Sahara Desert.)

Finally, there is a word of hope. The passage describes refugees on the run, fugitives carrying all their possessions with them. But some of them will retreat to the city of Zoar, like their ancestor Lot did so long ago.* Lot fled the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and found himself in Zoar. Matthew Henry writes,

“The fugitives … shall carry the cry to Zoar, the city to which their ancestor Lot fled for shelter from Sodom’s flames and which was spared for his sake.”

Even in judgment, God often provides a place of refuge, a city of Zoar.

In sum, Isaiah 15 teaches these lessons:

  1. None of the Moabites shall escape God’s judgment.
  2. In the face of God’s judgment, even soldiers—those for whom the term ‘gung ho’ was coined—will lose their courage and eagerness for battle.
  3. God’s judgment will bring destruction, famine, and poverty.
  4. Even in judgment, God often provides a place of refuge, a city of Zoar.

As I said, much of the above was gleaned from the Matthew Henry Commentary, a six-volume commentary on the entire Bible. A Wikipedia entry describes the classic commentary this way: “Famous evangelical Protestant preachers used and heartily commended the work, such as John Wesley, George Whitefield and Charles Spurgeon, with Whitefield reading it through four times – the last time on his knees. Spurgeon stated, ‘Every minister ought to read it entirely and carefully through once at least.’”

Dear God, teach us to read well Your amazing words. Guide us to the aids we need, whether footnotes in a Study Bible, or commentaries like the extraordinary work of Matthew Henry. May we grow to know Your word better every day.

AΩ.

  • I have long known of a church named Zoar: Zoar Baptist Church in Central City (Baton Rouge), Louisiana. It was only while drafting these words that my curiosity finally got the best of me, and I texted my cousin. She informed me that yes, the church was named after the refuge city to which Lot fled when he ran from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

‘I Must Be Cruel Only to be Kind’: God is Kind to His Children and Cruel to Those Who Would Harm Them. Isaiah 13.

When I was a tiny boy, my father was tender and affectionate with me. My brother and I would run to grab him when he came in from work, and he would try to walk with one of us clinging to each leg. We would sit in his soft chair and he would gingerly sit on us, pretending not to know we were there. He would wrestle with us, the biggest man we knew, but he would use so much restraint. He was gentle and kind. We knew we were absolutely safe with him. Even when he punished us, he exercised great self-control.

But he was not so tender when he perceived a threat to his children. While we were walking through New York’s Central Park, a drug pusher tried to sell my dad dope and he swelled up like a blowfish, roaring at the man for daring to approach him while he was with his two little boys. Another time an adult neighbor of questionable mental health threatened to break the legs of my brother and me and my dad impressed upon the man that hurting his little boys was not in that man’s best interest. My father was a man of science, a Sunday school teacher and deacon who loved few things more than a good book. But like Atticus Finch when faced with a rabid dog, no one better harm his children.

God is the same.

He is kind and tender and affectionate. God is love. He says that about Himself in 1 John 4:8. But God is no pacifist. When His children are threatened, God is the most terrible, most warlike foe in the universe.

Why does that bother people? Why are some Christians uncomfortable with the idea of a God who is fearsome and terrible, capable of indescribable wrath? After all, that wrath is reserved for God’s enemies, not His children.

Did you think God was Mister Rogers? A soft-voiced gentleman in sneakers and sweaters? Fred Rogers created Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to use television to bring some kindness and peace to very small children. But Fred Rogers was a minister himself. He likely understood that while God is tender and comforting with His children, those who would harm His children will see another side of God altogether.

–A side that may look something like this paraphrase of the words of Isaiah:[1]

From distant mountains comes the noise of a crowd, a multitude of thousands upon thousands. The march of ten thousand boots stepping in time. You can hear the drums beating and the rattling of swords. Armies descend on the city from all sides. The Lord is calling the armies to battle. The soldiers come from far countries, from heaven itself. They were brought here by the Lord. These are the weapons of His anger and they will destroy the land.

Howl! Scream! Wail! For your destruction is at hand. Look! Your hands are too weak to grab a bow or point a rifle. Your heart is pounding so hard it will melt. You know the end is near.

And all the evil shall be afraid. Terrified. And pain will overtake them like a woman in labor. How will they fight while suffering labor pains? They will look at each other and be astonished. Amazed. What is happening? Their faces are on fire. Or is it the reflection of a fire that is coming? The orange glow of doom.

Behold, this is the Day of the Lord. This is the Lord’s Day. Pretty Sundays with Easter flowers and pressed white dresses, suits and bows and patent leather. You think that is the Lord’s Day? Well, so is this—the GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD. This is the Lord’s Day, the day is His and VENGEANCE is His. The time has come.

This day will be cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate. And He shall destroy the sinners, clearing them from the land. And the stars will go dark. The sun will not shine. The moon will drop away. Darkness will cover the land from one end to the other and God will speak His judgment:

“I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the powerful … I will shake the heavens and the earth from their place … And everyone that is found will be thrust through with the sword. Everyone will fall by the sword” Isaiah 13:11,13,15.

Dear God, You are so tender with us! You are so patient, so kind, so generous, so gracious. And eternally, unspeakably forgiving. Yet You protect us from our enemies. You defend us. You fight for us! You are so good to us. You execute judgment on Your enemies because You are HOLY. May we honor You with holy lives. May we worship You and adore You with intimacy and tenderness. But please fill us with the Fear of the Lord also. May we never lose sight of the affectionate love You have for us and the terrifying wrath reserved for Your enemies.

AΩ.

[1] A paraphrase of Isaiah 13:4-10.

Jesus is the Shelter Through Which We See God’s Glory. Isaiah 4.

Our dog Georgie recently delivered a litter of nine puppies! These are outdoor dogs whose mother had never seen the inside of a building. And then the temperature dropped to 18 degrees—no problem when you have heat lamps, space heaters,[1] and a cozy dog house on a covered, concrete porch.

But then the power went out.

Suddenly Georgie and her nine tiny, blind puppies found themselves indoors. It worked out well and the adorable puppies thrived, soon moving on to wonderful new homes.

Eighteen degrees is cold for Houston. The puppies were born in the dead of winter. But it never stays cold for long on the Texas Gulf Coast. By the time they were ten days old and opening their eyes (back on the front porch), it was clear they could not tolerate the noonday sun. I had to find ways to provide shade for the puppies during the brief hours when the sun shone in through the door in their dog house. No matter how cold it was at night, the afternoons seemed blazing.

As the puppies got older, they continued to prefer shade. They might chase each other around the yard for a few minutes, but soon all nine would conk out in the shade against  a tree or a fence. These little furballs could not take the bright sun—not even in February!

Few things on earth are as beautiful or universally beloved as the glory of a bright, sunshiny day. But as beautiful as it is, we need to be sheltered from the sun—through sunscreen, sunglasses, and sunshades of all kinds.

Isaiah says God will provide a tabernacle to shelter His people:

“There shall be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime to protect from the heat” Isaiah 4:6.

The Old Testament idea of a tabernacle is that of a tent or a small building—a shelter to provide shade during the heat of the day. But Isaiah is talking about a tabernacle to shelter God’s people from the heat of God’s glory. Does that make sense?

God’s glory is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and as beautiful as that is, He does not wish to consume us. God desires to warm His people, to bless us and reveal to us some of His beauty and His joy. But we must be sheltered from the fullness of God’s glory. (The people of Israel could not bear even to see the residue of God’s glory when it made the face of Moses shine after Moses spent forty days with God on Mount Sinai, Exodus 34:29-34.)

The New Testament expands on this idea in the most intriguing way. John writes that “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” John 1:14. As one commentator put it, “the glory canopy moved from desert tent to human life.”

Imagine that. God provides a tabernacle to shelter us so we may behold some small measure of His glory. Then God comes in the flesh; God becomes the glory tabernacle. Jesus comes to earth as the shelter through which we can see some of God’s glory without being burned up by it.

The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

Through Jesus, we can see something of God’s glory.

“The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth … No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” John 1:14,18.

Dear God, thank you for showing us some small measure of Your glory. Thank You for blessing us, for sheltering us, for allowing us to be warmed by Your glory, but never burned by Your all-consuming fire. May Jesus Christ be the incarnate God in our lives who reveals to us God’s glory and God’s truth, but shelters us under the covering of Your gentle, kind, loving heart.

AΩ.

[1] On the rare occasions I indulge the dogs with a space heater, I place it inside a large cage for safety and stability.