All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. – Isaiah 34:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 7, 2013): Isaiah 34

Mars and Venus are strange planets. They both share the distinction as probably being the only other planets in our solar system that might have been able (at least at one time) to support life. But both planets suffered planet wide disasters. It is these planetary disasters that stop scientists in their tracks when they consider the future of the planet on which we live. The question that they want to ask is – “Is it possible that the earth is due for a planetary collapse such as has already happened to our closest neighbors in our Solar System?

For Venus, the planetary disaster was a naturally occurring but rampant Green-House Effect. If you wonder why some people get a little excited about the Green-House Effect that we seem to be inviting into our neighborhood, it is because we have a very clear example of what a Green-House effect can do to a planet living right next door. The Green-House Effect makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system. The average temperature on Venus is 462 C (or 863 F). Compare that temperature with Mercury, which at its hottest point in the middle of the day at the equator of the planet reaches only 427 C (or 800 F) - but at Mercury’s poles the temperature never exceeds -93 C (or -136 F). What makes Venus hot is its atmosphere and the Green-House effect that the planet has suffered from. In every other way, Venus is very much like Earth, but an ecological disaster keeps Venus from being able to support life.

Mars is different. There is evidence that at one point the planet had an atmosphere and may have even had water running over the surface of the planet. But both are long gone. With Mars, the problem seems to have been a massive collision – as wells as many smaller collisions - with other objects in space. The surface of the Red Planet is battered, but it also appears to be hanging upside down in space – that is that the planet spins in the opposite direction of all of the rest of the planetary bodies. And one of the theories for this peculiarity of Mars is that the planet has been hit so hard that there is a chunk of the planet missing and that the collision flipped the planet over. The result is a planet wide disaster that has forever changed the face of Mars forever.

So as scientists ponder our future, they see both of these planetary disasters as being the very real dangers that lurk in our future. Both of the circumstances that caused the death of Venus and Mars are very real possibilities for Earth. It is enough to keep some people up at night.

This passage in Isaiah has been interpreted very literally as an end time prophecy – or a “this is how our planet will end.” It is not a prophecy of what specifically might happen in the last days, but when the last day for the earth finally comes, it will be a global catastrophe that ends our time on the earth. The image that Isaiah wants to leave us with is that in the last day, the stars will dissolve from the sky. The prophecy is global in its scope. In other words, it is not just my stars that are going to disappear, it is our stars that will leave the sky. According to Isaiah, in that day, the final judgment of the earth will be made clear to everyone. And as has already happened to both Venus and Mars, in that day the Earth will no longer be able to support life.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 35

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us. – Isaiah 33:22

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 6, 2013): Isaiah 33

In Western Culture, we have come to believe that a separation of power is necessary for our culture to function properly. Maybe the most common expression of this is that the people who give the laws are not the people who serve as judge over the law. In Canada, where I reside, right now we are going through a very public controversy over Senate expenses. Three prominent Senators have been recently censured and suspended from the Senate without pay as a result of what has been perceived as a mishandling of expense claims. (Just a note for those of you outside of Canada. In Canada, the Senate is an appointed body rather than an elected body. So Canadian Senators never have to confront the public in a vote the way that they do in the United States.) But there are rules with regard to which Senatorial expenses are eligible for submission to the government for reimbursement. In this case, it is believed that these three senators had violated these rules. All three Senators have denied having broken these Senate rules.

But this is also where this process breaks down. I started by saying that in Western Culture we believe in the separation of power. So we believe that we have a body that makes the rules (in Canada this would be the Parliament and the Senate), a body that enforces the law (again in Canada this would be the Police Department, including but not restricted to the RCMP), and a body that judges those who have possibly broken the law (the court system). Separate people fulfill separate functions with regard to the law. The reason for the separation is that it would seem to be impossible for any of us to be objective on any subject. But with these Senators, the Senate had created the law, it is unclear how much of this situation had been investigated by the RCMP before the Senate judged the Senators and issued the penalty. For some, this is a positive – the Senate has learned to judge itself (or more commonly termed “police itself.” But the Senate cannot be objective. The reality is that three Senators have been denied the right to have an independent judge sit over the case and declare them either innocent or guilty, but maybe more importantly, the Canadian Senatorial system has avoided a very public scrutiny into the ways that it carries out its own affairs. And I really think that is why the Senate moved to censure – they did not want the public scrutiny that would result if they had not taken action against the Senators. As a result, the entire system did not operate the way that it was designed.

Our reality is that we can’t be objective. As people, and as political entities, we need the checks and balances. In a democratic society, we need the public scrutiny that the Canadian Senate avoided in this case. But Isaiah reminds us that there is someone that is objective enough to be both the lawgiver and the judge. And because he is both the lawgiver and the judge – he is the only one who can save us. God gives the law. God is righteous, he understands right and wrong in a way that we probably never will know. But God is objective enough that he can also judge those under the law – which includes us. We still have a very clear idea of right and wrong. But Jesus says that he had come to fulfill the law – he had come to save. The reality of the biblical story is that we know we can never fulfill the requirements of the law – it is beyond our ability. And so the Messiah came and fulfilled the requirements of the law (he died on a cross), so that we can fulfill the righteousness of the lawgiver and the justice of the judge. And only through this action of the righteous lawgiver and the just judge can we ever truly be saved.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 34

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Struggling with God" from the series "Fall in ..." is now available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. – Isaiah 32:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 5, 2013): Isaiah 32

John Ashcroft’s singing of the song that he wrote - “Let the Eagle Soar” - at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in February 2002 made a list of top five Worst Political Advice compiled for The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos back in 2008. Ashcroft and the song ever since 2002 have been fodder for late night comedians, although “Let the Eagle Soar” is not the only song that Ashcroft has written. And more than the nature of the song itself, which is really about living a triumphant life, it seems to be the self-promoting nature of Ashcroft with the song that seems to be the problem. The impromptu concert at the Seminary left Stroumboulopoulos and others wondering where the political advisors were when this decision to sing was being made. Of course, late night comedians love to talk about anything John Ashcroft does because then they can also talk about Ashcroft’s distinction of being the only man to lose a Senate race to a dead man. The man, Governor Mel Carnahan, had died in a plane crash during the campaign, but because of election regulations in Missouri, both names remained on the Ballot on election night – and two weeks after Carnahan had died, he won a Missouri Senate seat 51% - 49%.

All of which raises a question. Why would anyone, let alone 51% of the electorate, vote for a dead man. In many ways it seems like a waste of vote – and for that many people to decide to vote, but vote in a way that actually would seem to waste the vote, is a little amazing. And the two events – the singing of the song at a Theological Seminary and the loss of a Senate Race to a dead man – may share a single cause. That is, both of these incidents may reveal a common problem. Both events appear to be acts of someone who refuses to listen to either his advisors or to the people who elect him into office. The symbolic message of the voters is a dead man will hear us and represent us better than you will. And deafness on the part of Ashcroft is the only way to describe the events that led to the 2002 song.

With Ashcroft, this is quite possible mere conjecture. But for Isaiah, this was exactly the reality of the politicians of his day. They were like dead men – their eyes no longer saw, and their ears no longer heard. The advisors that they gathered around them were ignored and the king and princes simply did whatever it was that they wanted to do.

For some, Isaiah is not speaking about just any king, but rather he is pointing directly at the day of the Messiah. The argument lies in the idea that Isaiah is talking about someone in the future – and there does not seem to be any king (although some have argued for Hezekiah) that fits the description. The opening of the eyes and ears of those in power speak of a day of justice, but also of compassion and mercy, which in many ways sums up the ministry of Jesus. And add to this that Jesus was the one who literally opened the eyes of the blind and opened the ears of the deaf and we have a fairly strong argument for this passage pertaining to the Messiah.

But whether or not this passage is Messianic, Isaiah is definitely is instructing his readers that a real leader is not someone who simply does as he want, but rather someone who has ears to hear and eyes to see – a leader is someone who values all of the people that surround them and all of the opinions, seeing the strength and truth in each person’s suggestion and being able to then tease out the direction that needs to be followed. It is never easy, and wimps need not apply. But it is necessary for anyone who wants to be a Christian leader.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 33

But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together. Isaiah 31:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 4, 2013): Isaiah 31

I think we have an unhealthy view of our medical professionals. It is not that we do not need doctors, or that we should not be thankful for the doctors and nurses in our lives. But throughout the length of my life I have met people that somehow have almost a supernatural belief in medical practitioners. We expect them to have the solution to all our ills. In fact, I recently heard one person express the opinion that if the doctors can’t fix you, then you must not be sick. (I recently had the same reaction with a computer that has now been replaced. I took it to a national chain store to have them diagnose the problem and was told that I was running too many programs on my computer. I computer friend then informed me that in computer lingo what I was really being told was that my ‘computer wasn’t running properly, but no one could figure out why.’) With doctors, an expectation of omnipotence is dangerous. Other people have even carried the view that if I have a health problem and a doctor does something to fix me, but my symptoms continue, then there must be malpractice involved.

All of our attitudes toward the medical profession carry one thing in common – they expect the doctor to possess all the characteristics of God. We want our medical professionals to be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and infallible (never failing.) But that is an unreasonable expectation of anyone who is flesh and blood. And it is not just medical professionals that carry this expectation. Many of the prominent people of our culture (including pastors, although the misconduct of prominent pastors and priests in recent years has severely tarnished the reputation of the clergy) are expected to be perfect in the execution of their duty. It is not that we hold them in high regard, because our actions and attitudes betray us. We don’t necessarily like these people – but we expect them to be perfect in their decision making.

Isaiah continues his lament with regard to the Egyptians and he accuses Israel of this same attitude with regard to their Southern neighbours. They do not necessarily like the Egyptians, but they do seem to believe that their former slave lords are infallible. It might even be that this belief is dependent on the collective memory of the nation of that day when Egypt, at least when compared with the Israelite slaves, seemed to be omnipotent. In the midst of all of the evidence building up against the belief, Israel still seemed to believe that Egypt was the dominant power in the region. And so any hope that Israel had of survival was believed to be dependent on their alliance with this southern power.

The warning from Isaiah was that only God was omnipotent. Ultimately, both the rise and fall of nations were dependent on him. Any belief in the omnipotence of any created being or collections of created being was doomed to failure. In reality, only the Uncreated One could be all knowing, all powerful, ever present and never failing. Any others were only pretenders, and a faith in them could only result in our destruction and leave us in sorrow.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 32

… this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. – Isaiah 30:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 3, 2013): Isaiah 30

On September 9, 1513, James IV, the reigning King of Scotland, died on the battlefield during the Battle of Flodden Field. The battle was between the armies of the Kingdom of Scotland and the armies of the Kingdom of England. The death of James IV marks the last time that a king of any of the British nations would die on the battlefield. It also marks the tragic end to what most observers saw as the reign of a Great King.

But the reason behind the Battle of Flodden Field was also tragic. As the conflict that has become known as the Italian Wars started to engulf the other nations of Europe, England and France found themselves on different sides of the conflict. All of which created a problem for James – he had treaties with both England and France. So as Henry VIII of England declares war on France, it is probable that James believed that if he declared war on the young Henry VIII that it might stretch the forces of England to the point where the nation would not be able to carry out its conflict with either nation. But that was a misstep on the part of James. The result of James’ decision was the meeting of the two armies at Flodden Field. Both the English and Scottish accounts of the battle agree that James seemed determined to fight – according to some it seemed as if James wanted to rush into the fight. It was as if once the course was set, James could see no longer see any other option. Some historians have questioned the Scottish Monarch’s capabilities at military strategist. A competent king in many other areas, his ability to understand and wage war was most likely James IV Achilles heel.

Judah’s sin was that they had placed their military trust in Egypt instead of in God. Their hope was that their Egyptian alliance would produce a wall which would keep the nation safe. But Isaiah says that that the wall they had built was doomed to bulge and fall suddenly – much like a wall that has been weakened by the steady pressure of water. Not only would the wall that Judah had built not save them, but when it fell the disaster would be much worse than it would have been otherwise. Not only would Judah be crushed by their enemies, but they will also would end up being crushed by the wall that they had built to defend them.

But Judah’s main problem was that they couldn’t see any other options. In their estimation, depending on Egypt was their only choice. Just as James was unable to see any other alternative to the Battle of Flodden Field, Judah could not see any other option than to depend on Egypt for their defense – even though a dependence on Egypt was against the stated will of God. In both cases the lack of vision would prove to be fatal. Lack of vision usually is. There is always an alternative action that in our times of distress that we need to consider. But to find it, we often need to be able to pause and look for it – and believe that God has really made an alternative available to us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 31

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Touching God" from the message series "Fall In ..." is now available on the VantagePoint website. You can find it here.

Woe to you, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David settled! Add year to year and let your cycle of festivals go on. – Isaiah 29:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 2, 2013): Isaiah 29

Martin Luther King once said that “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a people who believe that they are doing what is right and moral without expending the energy to make sure. And it is probably true that most of us in one way or another fall into the area of King’s sincere ignorance. It is not that we do not believe, but we have never expended the energy to discover why it is that we believe.

Isaiah speaks directly to the city of Jerusalem in this passage and he calls the city “Ariel.” This is the only place in the entire Bible where Jerusalem is called Ariel, in fact, Ariel is only used as a word five times in the Bible. It is used four times in Isaiah 29 (twice in this single verse) to refer to Israel, and once in Ezra as the proper name of a priest. So it stands to reason if this passage is the only place where Jerusalem is called Ariel, there must be a point that Isaiah is trying to make.

Ariel means “Lion of God,” and its use by Isaiah is definitely sarcastic. The people believed that Jerusalem was meant to be a Lion with all that that description might entail. It was to exhibit a strength that others would fear. A Lion is a regal beast, and so Jerusalem was supposed to be the city of kings. And the citizens would have responded with pride to the description of their city as the Lion of God. But the truth was that Jerusalem had fallen asleep. While the people still held a lofty opinion the nature of their city, God no longer held the city with that kind of esteem. Pride had blinded the people of the reality – and they viewed the city as it once was, not as it currently existed. Isaiah seems to indicate that the people had actually lost track of time. Festival after festival had been celebrated, but as the festivals were added one on another, it became apparent to Isaiah that what once was considered a Holy Day, no wwas just a vacation – the people seemed more concerned with their own pleasure than with the Holy One that the festivals celebrated. They were sincere in their ignorance, but God was not amused. The Lion of God had decayed to the point where it no longer scared anyone.

We need to hear these words. Often we are pursuers of our own pleasure rather than either the will of God or the common good. We chase after the pleasure that we can obtain today without hardly a thought of the price it will cost us tomorrow. And when we are reminded of that, we simply roll over and try to go back to our dream – not really wanting to know the truth.

But our fantasy comes with a price and it is a price that someday we will have to pay. For Jerusalem, God was already setting the stage for the battle – Ariel would be destroyed and the people would be carried off into exile – that was the price for her fantasy. But Ariel did not want to listen, and so she didn’t until it was too late and Babylon was knocking at her door.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 30

So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. – Isaiah 28:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 1, 2013): Isaiah 28

After a recent political victory for his party, Justin Trudeau (the oldest son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau) stole a line from the Jack Layton’s (the late leader of the Canadian left wing NDP Party) death bed farewell to Canada. Jack Layton on his death bed wrote to Canada that “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.” So Trudeau, basking in the improved position of his political party told the waiting Press that on this night the Liberal Party (the party of both the elder and the younger Trudeau) proved that “Hope is stronger than fear.” The move was definitely an attempt to find a strength on which the federal Liberals can build on as they prepare to move into the future, but the words were close enough to Layton’s to draw ire from the NDP -  a political party that would like to believe that they are Canada’s political hope.

But the problem for both parties is that the good night for the Liberals had more to do with the misdeeds of the reigning Conservative party than it did in a renewed hope in the Liberal party. In a nation that is searching for hope from any of its political parties, it would seem that hope is the one thing that is lacking. Isaiah was speaking to a nation that needed to find some source of hope – and often they were looking to their political leaders in an effort to try to find it. And sometimes, during the reign of Isaiah, the nation’s leaders came through, but more often the leaders failed to provide the strength and hope that the people needed. So it is maybe not surprising that the Isaiah tells the nation that they are looking for hope in all the wrong places. Hope can only originate in God. Even if it is found in a political leader, it is only because the leader has found his hope in God.

So Isaiah speaks of the cornerstone, the strength that God has placed in Zion – God has placed hope in the political center of the nation. This passage of Isaiah has long been thought of as a Messianic text – a prophecy of the time of Christ. For in the days of Jesus, God placed his strength at the heart of the nation, even though the nation missed the moment. Only in the day of the Messiah can true hope and true strength be found. But it might not have been the Messiah that Isaiah was thinking about as he wrote the words.

It is possible that Isaiah had King Hezekiah in mind as he wrote the words. In the early days of Hezekiah, Hezekiah did indeed provide a strength and hope that Judah needed. And there is no doubt that Isaiah would have been pleased at the King that was serving Judah from the throne of the nation. But Hezekiah’s strength would be short lived. As the end of his reign neared, Hezekiah started to fail the God that he served. As his life continued, Hezekiah began to depend on his own strength instead of on the strength of God - a strength that he had counted on during the early days of his reign. Hezekiah forgot that strength and hope had never been located in him; he was just the one privileged enough to reflect the hope that came from God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 29