February 25, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of My wrath, you will never drink again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.” (Isaiah 51.21-23)

“‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 32.35)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

It is unfortunate that we fail to see how the desecration of generations by the absolution of responsibility to train them in the way they should go is actually harmful to ourselves. When Peter asked Jesus about the future fate of John the beloved disciple, Jesus responded, “What does it matter to you if I desire for him to remain alive until I return? What should matter to you is ‘Follow Me!’” I am not sure if Peter was attempting to deflect the previous conversation or not. In the previous conversation, according to the Gospel of John, Peter was told by Jesus that the day would come when he was old where he would have no control over where he would go nor what would happen to him. Some who read that verse (John 21.18-19) are more compelled to see a commentary on aging. It is a difficult reality when we observe someone whom we love age to the point that they have no ability to care for themselves. This might be one interpretation of the scenario in Isaiah as Jerusalem’s leadership had put themselves into a similar situation. They had so divorced themselves from future generations that there was no one to care for them. We can hear such prophesied commentary in the Ten Commandments, “Honor your mother and father so that in the days ahead it will go well with you in the land God is giving you.” (Exodus 20.12) Paul would write to the Church in Ephesus (which would soon after come under the leadership of the beloved Apostle John) “This is the first commandment with a promise.” (Ephesians 6.1) A lack of honor and respect of our “parents,” regardless of the application of the term, does not bode well for the future generations. The children’s disrespect or disregard, thinking only of themselves more than their parents, would result in a time when there would be no one to care for them in the older years in the land that God had given them. We know, of course, that the words given to Peter by Jesus at that point had less to do with Peter’s elder years and failing health. John provides the caveat, “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death Peter would glorify God with.” In other words, the day would come when Peter would so honor his “Heavenly Father” that he would lay down his life for the sake of the gospel which declared Jesus as the Christ. Such sacrifice would not be of his choosing (though he most certainly had a say in it asking to be crucified upside down so that it would not be like Jesus whom he loved and followed). If Peter had a choice, he might have desired to live out his days waiting for Christ’s return as seemingly had been promised John. It would not be so for Peter or his wife as they were martyred by Rome for the sake of the gospel.

In the days of Isaiah, Jerusalem was suffering greatly at the hands of her “persecutors.” Leadership, politically and religiously, had been removed and taken into exile. Walls were broken down leaving Jerusalem defenseless against all predators. Families were being assimilated into the cultures of their oppressors, Faith traditions were being silenced. As their past was being disassembled, so their future was being erased. The promise and the means of achieving that promise was fading into darkness and into silence. As the children of these generations were being raised without their true heritage, the mothers and fathers were being abandoned. Who would lead them in the way they were intended to go? Who would continue the legacy of faith which was one understanding of their “everlasting life”? And we have seen the artifacts of other nation, dynasties and cultures who now only grace the pages of history books. Their people and identities are the subject of archeological projects. They are kept alive by their failure to exist longer. What of Israel? For Isaiah, Israel’s hope remained in God alone. His promise to honor the covenant made with them through Abraham (was not the gift of grace a part of that covenant for Adam and Eve or the ark for Noah and his family, too) remained intact. His desire for them to walk with Him all the days of their lives and ford them to disciple future generations so they would walk with God as well was genuine. This is what was being revealed in the verses we reflect upon today. God would not let His people fade into darkness and silence. He would silence the oppressors and bring the very consequence they hoped to put upon Israel upon themselves. It would be a testimony of the conflict between good and evil, of God and those who desire to oppose Him as if they could be “god” themselves.

It is a word that we must heed as well, mighty ones of God, lest we fail to see and actuate the truth which God has declared for those who are His people, called by His name. He is with us! Are we with Him? Whether we are the martyred or the survivor, our task is the same as is the reward. We are called to honor and glorify God by being His witnesses to all people. We are promised to dwell with Him forever in the “land” that He has and is giving us.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness which we know is folly but righteous works which declare Your glory and further witness the truth that can set all who believe free from death. So may we live by the name of Jesus our Christ. AMEN.