Wednesday, November 9: Isaiah 66- Humble, contrite, tremble.

And so this is how Isaiah concludes: a reminder of judgment and a word of hope. What is it that determines which is for whom?

My eyes lit on verse 2b: This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Another simple summary of what God desires (some day I should make a list of all these simple summaries I find in scripture). I spent time meditating on this single sentence.

I thought about the opening, This is the one I esteem. I don’t think I have ever contemplated God esteeming me or any person before. I looked up some definitions, “to regard highly or favorably,” “highly value” or “to regard with respect or admiration.” I thought about this.  If I or anyone lives this way, God highly values them and regards them favorably. That is quite a statement. So what does one have to do to have God esteem them?

Humble and contrite spirit… Being humble is to know our place, especially before God, to not think too highly of oneself.  Contrite is to understand our sense of guilt and have a desire to atone for ones’ sins. Together these emphasize that we know our place before God, recognizing God’s greatness and our smallness and dependency upon God’s grace and mercy.

Trembles at my word… As I ponder this, I see a person who stands before God in awe, amazed that God would speak to him or her. God’s Word spoken is treasured and commands obeyed. 

This person is esteemed by God. Oh, that I would live this way…

Oh, Lord, help me… help me to be humble and contrite. Help me to always put You first and to remember my place. You are the potter and I am the clay!

Lord, forgive my wanderings from Your way. I am dependent upon You for grace and forgiveness! Oh, Father God, thank you for speaking.  May Your Word be sweeter to me than honey, even honey from the comb! May I receive Your Word as air… something necessary for life itself. Oh, God, may I live a life that honors and gives You glory. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

 

 

A word about II Corinthians

Not much more than a year has passed since Paul's first letter. Paul has made his second visit to Corinth (his first visit established the church). This was an unpleasant visit.  False teachers, who were speaking against Paul, were swaying the church against Paul. So Paul sent Titus to Corinth to deal with these difficulties. When Titus returns to Paul he informs him that the majority of the Corinthians have had a change of heart, and returned to the true Gospel. That's when Second Corinthians is written.  Paul is expressing his thanksgiving, and encouraging those who are still listening to the false teachers to return to the true Gospel. This is one of Paul's more personal letters.  It lets us see how deeply he cares for and loves the churches.