Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Look First to the Holy One of Israel – Isaiah 31:1
A Clay Jar
Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12 NIV)
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
Isaiah 31:1 NIV
who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.
In the time of the prophet Isaiah, Assyria was the primary threat the nation of Judah faced. Assyria had already conquered many of Judah’s neighbors to the north, and Judah was desperate to find allies who would enable her to stand against the Assyrian threat. And the most logical ally was Egypt, a powerful neighbor to their south.
But God warned Judah that it was a bad idea. The problem was not that they were looking to their defense. It was that they were looking in the wrong place. The first place they should have looked was to God, the Holy One of Israel.
God’s message through Isaiah is just as relevant for me today as it was for Judah many years ago. In whom, or what, is my trust? Do I trust my nation’s military to protect us from outside threats? Do I trust the local police force and security systems to protect my home and family? Am I trusting in a steady retirement check and robust economy to ensure the standard of living I have grown accustomed to? I have to answer yes to all of that and more.
But all of those are to no avail if my trust is not first and foremost in the Lord. All the other things I might trust in can let me down. But God never will. When I look to him first, I have no reason to fear what might happen in the world around me. I can trust that he will care for me even if I lose my retirement income, my house burns down, or my health deteriorates.
Put your hope and trust in God, looking to the Holy One of Israel. He will never let you down, even when all else fails.
Two Examples of Generosity – 2 Corinthians 8:9
A Clay Jar
Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12 NIV)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9 NET
In the second chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul encouraged the church at Corinth regarding an offering he was collecting. The Jerusalem church was in need, and this offering was to provide them with some relief. The church had earlier committed to participating in this offering, and now Paul was encouraging them to follow through on their earlier commitment.
The Generosity of the Macedonian Churches
He held up two examples as he urged them to be generous in the collection. The first was the churches of Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:1-5). These churches had little in the way of financial resources, but they gave what they had- even beyond what might be reasonably expected of them.
Jesus’ Example of Generosity
The second example of sacrificial giving that Paul held before them was Jesus. As God, he was rich. All of creation was his to do with as he chose. And he was rich in glory, honor, and power. But, as an act of his grace, he became poor for our sake.
In the incarnation, God, the Son, wrapped himself in flesh and became a man. He did not give up his divinity, but he became fully human in every way. And he chose to come, not as a powerful and highly respected ruler but as a helpless baby, born into humble circumstances, and destined to die a criminal’s death on a Roman cross.
Why? So that, through his poverty, I might become rich. Because of Jesus’ generosity in giving himself for me, I have a place in his kingdom as a child of God.
If the Macedonian example of generosity does not move me to generosity, then the generosity of Jesus should. How can I call him Lord, yet be unwilling to follow his example (Luke 6:46)?
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