4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. 5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim. 6 Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, 11 though you make them grow on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
REFLECTION:
The coalition of Syria and Israel, formed to resist Assyria, was doomed to fail. Damascus, the capital of Syria, would fall, leaving Israel exposed to the brutal invader. Stripped of national pride and glory, destitute, and starving, “Men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel” (v.7).
What we are likely to see as a disaster can often be used by God for some greater good. Is this your experience? Recall the incident and how God brought the great good out of your disaster.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
REFLECTION:
Isaiah stressed that the Messiah as the only real hope for Israel. In what way is the reign of Jesus Christ the only real hope for people suffering in the world today? How does His rule serve as a model for how believers ought to respond now towards the poor, the homeless, and the hungry?
Refugees from destruction and violence must often seek safety away from their homelands. Do you know of refugees in your city? How could you help them in a new land? How can you offer them shelter? Can people be refugees from things other than war? Decide what you can do as a family, as a cell group, or any other group of people, to help a refugee family. Make plans for doing what you decide.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone. 2 He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon,
to the high places to weep;
over Nebo and over Medeba
Moab wails.
On every head is baldness;
every beard is shorn; 3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles. 5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction; 6 the waters of Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows. 8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dibon are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
REFLECTION:
Moab is a country that has been a perpetual enemy of Israel since the days of the Exodus. Yet, all of sudden, they were faced with devastation. All the major cities became ruin, there were weeping all over the place. Even when they fled to foreign lands, their enemies still pursued them.
Think of the political chaos and war in the world. Identify one country that you have known or read about. When you hear the oppression and suffering people of that country/area experience due to these situations, what do you feel? How do you think God responds to such misery?
Pray for people in that country/area. Ask for God’s deliverance that people will live in freedom and peace; and have opportunities to hear the good news of Messiah God.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
