Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! – Isaiah 10:5

Today's Scripture Reading (March 22, 2023): Isaiah 10

Stuff happens. It is one of the realities of life. And the Bible is clear that not everything is a judgment against us. This idea that "stuff happens" is the main theme of the story of Job, a righteous man who suffers a series of disasters. The preacher in Ecclesiastes phrases the idea this way; "If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth" (Ecclesiastes 11:3). It doesn't matter whether you deserve the rain or not or even whether you have had too much or not, when the clouds are full, the rain falls.

Many years ago, I was living in a small rural town when the area went through an extensive period of drought. To be completely upfront, the town was located in what was essentially a converted desert. As a result, many farmers and ranchers had invested in irrigation technology. But during this year, the drought was so bad that even with irrigation, those who worked the land just didn't have enough moisture to keep everything running. As a result, one Sunday evening, the town gathered in a park at the center of the town to hold a prayer meeting. We were going to ask God for rain. I remember talking to an older lady who had attended the meeting with an umbrella in her hand. If God were going to answer our prayers, she would be ready for the rain to fall as she made her way back home.

While some might believe it is a coincidence, the result of the prayer meeting was that rain returned to the area. But the rain didn't just fall on the people who attended the prayer meeting in the park. Everyone received the rain, whether or not they believed in the power of prayer. A good friend suggested we have a second prayer meeting thanking God for the rain, but unfortunately, no one was interested in that prayer service. I guess they felt that we had received what we wanted, and there was no need for a meeting to say thanks. A year later, I sat with my friend, watching the rain still fall, when he remarked, "I told them that we needed to say thank you." The rain, a good thing a year earlier, had become a source of suffering as the creeks overflowed their banks and the land flooded.

Isaiah preached against Syria, Israel, and Judah, stating that God would use Assyria as a weapon against them because of their sin. But the comment begs a second question; Isn't Assyria also sinful, maybe even worse than the smaller nations? And God, speaking through Isaiah, doesn't argue against that idea. Assyria was evil. As a result, the Assyrians would simultaneously be the weapon in the hand of God to chastise the nations, as well as a nation that would eventually be disciplined herself. And they would be given their own chance to repent, but if they refused, someone else would take their place; in the case of Assyria, Babylon would become the weapon in the hands of God. But in this moment, Assyria was a storm that was about to rain down on the nations. And the only question that Isaiah was asking was "Is there any reason for God to stop the rain."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11