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

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. – Isaiah 9:7

Today's Scripture Reading (March 21, 2023): Isaiah 9

It is hard to explain away the miracles of the Bible, but that has never stopped us from trying. Either that or we decide that the miracles were an impossibility and, therefore, they are fictional additions to the story contained within our Holy Book. I also must admit that sometimes I have theories on what might have happened. Having said that, I also am comfortable not knowing how or why things happened. I am very okay with letting the miracles be miracles.

One of my explanations on the “what really happened” side involves the falling walls of Jericho during the time of Joshua and Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land. And part of what I think happened was that the Exodus was not just an event but a steady process. It makes sense that Egypt had been leaking slaves long before Moses brought the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt. These slaves just disappeared, much like Moses did after he killed the Egyptian. These people walked away from Egypt, sometimes leaving the African nation alone and sometimes with their families. And these escaped slaves became the forerunners of Israel in Canaan. They told the story of these people who had been promised the land. They told tales of their God and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Canaan had already been expecting Israel for many years before they arrived.

When the Israelites finally arrived, there was great interest in what Israel would do next. So, God instructed Israel to make a spectacle of themselves. God leads Israel to go and march around Jericho’s city walls. Every day Israel came for their march and then left for the place where the nation was camped. And in my imagination, I see the people of Jericho coming out to see the nation they had heard about parade around their city walls. In my mind, it was likely a bit of a circus attitude, with lots of smiles and joking.

Of course, on the last day, Israel marched around the city seven times. With every lap, I can see more and more people gathering on the walls watching the free entertainment. And then, on the seventh time around the walls, Israel did something they had never done before. They let loose with a war cry. And I can see the people on the walls jumping with surprise. As a result of the shock, the combined weight of the people, combined with the audience’s automatic startle response, was simply too much for the wall. Then the walls came tumbling down.

Why bother with such a story? Sometimes my imagination needs to be taken out for a stroll. I have no idea if that is the way it happened, but I think it is a possibility. And if it did take place as I imagined, there were two moments. The first was when the people of Jericho were entertained by the people marching outside the wall. They probably looked forward to the entertainment of the day, watching the nation they had heard about, these former slaves that had escaped Egypt, parade around the city walls. The people were safe behind their walls, so Israel was no threat. But all that changed on the day that the walls came down. Then, the nation that had been entertainment became the city's rulers. And that is a meaningful distinction. What was at first nothing more than theater became a real disaster for the people.   

Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah argues, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” We live in a time when the Messiah might be a curiosity, maybe followed by the intrigued, but many people in our culture are just watching the show from the top of the wall. They think they are safe and insulated by their lives, and Jesus is someone we take from sometimes, but also someone who can be ignored when we don’t feel like taking him seriously. But Isaiah sees a time when the wall is going to fall. At that time, we will all be the subjects of the King who reigns forever on the throne of David, whether we want to be or not. On that day, everything changes.

Isaiah then speaks to those who doubt that this day will ever come when he says, “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Of this, we can be confident. God will do what he has said that he will do.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 10

So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, as reliable witnesses for me. – Isaiah 8:2

Today's Scripture Reading (March 20, 2023): Isaiah 8

Have you ever seen something and said, "I want that!" I have friends who like to watch home improvement shows, trying to gather ideas about things they want to renovate in their homes. And these shows are a great place to gather ideas, even if some improvements are widely impractical. Many years ago, my family rented a house, colloquially referred to now as "the big house," for our vacation. The house was big enough to accommodate my wife and me, my parents, our kids and their spouses, as well as the grandkids, all in one spot for a week and a half of our vacation. We had a great time and still have great memories of the time spent in "the big house."

The house also had several great features, which included a theater room, a pool, and great living spaces where we could gather to play games or even just talk with each other, and areas where we could go to grab some alone time so that we didn't feel that we were always in each other's way. But one of the features that I enjoyed was the en suite bathroom in the Primary Bedroom. It was spacious and had a dressing room attached, a great shower area, and a separate bathtub. And years later, if I ever had a chance to build a house to my specification, it would include an en suite that would approximate the one we had in "the big house."

Ahaz was an apostate king. He wanted nothing to do with the religion of his father and the rest of Judah. But that didn't mean that he wasn't spiritual. He just seemed to believe the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. And so he becomes a consumer of the spirituality of other nations. And on a trip to Damascus, Ahaz was impressed with an altar he had found there. As a result, he wrote down a description of the altar and sent it back to Jerusalem to the priesthood at the Temple. One priest, likely well positioned in Jerusalem, took it upon himself to build a copy of the Damascus altar. The priest's name was Uriah, and he finished the replica of the altar before Ahaz returned to Jerusalem. 

It seems likely that the Uriah that built the Damascene altar in Jerusalem is the same Uriah that Isaiah called to be a witness in Isaiah 8. If that is true, then Uriah and Zechariah mentioned here are both part of the establishment in Jerusalem. Therefore, they would have also been in opposition to Isaiah. So, we need to note that Isaiah was not calling those on his side as witnesses, but rather, his opponents. He wanted those who opposed him to have to stand up and admit that Isaiah's prophecy was true. And really, there are no more convincing witnesses than those who stand against us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. – Micah 7:18

Today's Scripture Reading (March 19, 2023): Micah 7

Name meanings can be fun to examine so that we can see how close our names match our character. The subject came up at a family dinner when we discussed the advantages of being a hard worker, which happens to be the meaning behind my granddaughter's name, Emilina. And with that, the discussion turned to other family names and origins.

My name, Garry, is an old English name that means "spear." Maybe I can apply the meaning of my name to my speaking and writing duties. My last name, Mullen, has a couple of meanings. Mullen is primarily a German name, that actually surprised me, and means "lives in or near a mill." So I am a "spear living near a mill" (which, incidentally, is not actually true). However, I am Irish and not German. So maybe the name meaning of my last name is better drawn from the English or Gaelic meaning. In that case, Mullen means "son of the bald one." Having said that, my Dad has a full head of hair in his eighties, so baldness is not arriving soon. My grandfather and great-grandfather also had hair all their lives. As a result, I am unsure how many generations I would have to go back through to find the "bald one" of whom I am a son. Apparently, I struggle to live up to any of my names.

As Micah closes his prophecy, he includes a section of Praise. He thanks God for being a God who is willing to pardon sin, actively forgiving the transgressions of those who go against his demands, and preserving a remnant that can receive all that God has promised to Israel. But in the process, Micah says something that we often miss. He reflects on the meaning of his name. The name "Micah" means "Who is like Yahweh." So, Micah, in his closing, paraphrases the meaning of his own name by asking, "Who is a God like you?"

Maybe it was Micah's way of putting his final stamp on the prophecy. But it would also serve as a pointer toward a time yet to come. Micah looked forward to a moment when the Lamb of God would be sacrificed for the world's sins so that forgiveness would not be just the expectation of the righteous remnant, but of all who repented of their sin and turned to walk toward God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 8

Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say." – Micah 6:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 18, 2023): Micah 6

Mountains are amazing features of nature. And while we now know where the passages are through most of the mountain ranges on the earth, I sometimes wonder what it was like to be the first explorer to confront these giants. How did you decide on how to proceed and where to go to get through the ranges? I love to read the stories of those early adventurers. How they sometimes found a natural hot spring and spent time in that area because of the warmth that was offered. If it were me, during a cold winter, it would take a lot to get me to want to leave the area of the spring and venture back out into the winter to finish the journey and search for a pass to take me to the other side of the range.

Mountains are the silent witnesses of history. They saw both the successes that took place on their magnificent slopes and all the tragedies. If only we had a way of seeing the things that the mountains have seen since their creation millennia ago.

Micah imagines God taking up his case against Israel in a court-like setting. In this setting, God would be the plaintiff, Israel the defendant, and mountains would take their positions as the witnesses to all that has happened. The mountains would know the truth because they had seen it all. No one could trick or persuade them of the lies Israel might want to sell. They had stood on the land from a time before Israel, and they would stand on it long after Israel had been ejected from the area. The mountains were unmoved by tragedy and celebration. They could not be bribed or blackmailed; they had watched the events happening around them and knew the truth of all that had happened around them.

In this court, God would state his case against Israel, and the mountains would speak the truth about what had happened. And Micah knew that the only response to God's accusations and the mountains' testimony was that Israel would stand condemned. As a result, wouldn't it be better to make the change now before they were dragged into this natural court?

It is a good question but one that we too often ignore. We hear the warnings but continue to allow our behavior to carry us further toward that court date, all because we don't want to make the change. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 7

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. – Micah 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (March 17, 2023): Micah 5

Life seldom turns out just as we planned it. We could never have predicted the twists and turns that our lives have taken, yet we have to find our way through anyway. I believe that what we do today sets up what we will have to do tomorrow, but not all of the conditions are under our control. We can save for tomorrow, but when we invest, we have no way of knowing what the markets will do or how much we will need when retirement finally arrives. I have had several friends who never planned on retirement; they stressed that they were planning to keep working until the day they died. But then health changes made working in their sixties impossible, let alone staying employed into their seventies and eighties. It is the one piece of advice that I try to give to anyone who asks. Start saving for your retirement in your twenties. If you can keep working and that is what you want to do, great. You can use the money for other things in your senior years, but if health issues force you to retire, you will have the ability to do just that because none of us know where the twists and turns of life will carry us.

I am not sure that Israel ever believed that they would be abandoned by their God, even though the prophets repeatedly came to them with precisely that message. The nation would return to God before God would ever decide to leave them. That moment of repentance might not be today, but soon. But Micah and the other prophets understood the truth; repentance was not coming, and God would have to do the unthinkable.

The first kingdom to fall would be Israel, barely fifteen years in the future from the time of Micah's prophecy. And then Judah would fall. It was a message that seemed to be carried by all of the prophets of this era. But the Prophets also bore a message of hope. God would seem to turn his back on the nations, but he would also bring them back. Micah said that that time would arrive "when she who is in labor bears a son." It is a fairly generic statement; after all, every day, women in labor give birth to sons.

Prophecy is often like that. It is easier to see the answer to the prophecy in reverse after it has been fulfilled. From our vantage point, we understand that the woman was Mary, and the son was Jesus of Nazareth. He would call the remnant and bring God's presence back to the nation. However, this Messiah would not come as a conquering hero but as a child born to a woman in labor. Micah said so. But that was also an unexpected plot twist that the people just couldn't understand.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 6

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. – Micah 4:3

Today's Scripture Reading (March 16, 2023): Micah 4

Two-hundred-and-eighty-six. The number is actually an important one. Since the beginning of recorded history, which we can set at somewhere around 1600 B.C.E., there have been 286 years that the world has been at peace. That's it, 286 years out of over 3600 years. In fact, while death due to international conflicts have gone down since the end of World War II, people have died in state-sponsored conflict every year since the end of that war. Peace on earth is actually a very rare event. Over the past 3600 years, more than 8000 peace treaties have been made and have been broken. The truth is that our reality more readily compares to the words of the Prophet Joel.

Proclaim this among the nations:
   Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
    Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
Beat your plowshares into swords
    and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
    "I am strong!"
Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
    and assemble there (Joel 3:10).

Joel reminds me of interviews I watched at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In those early days, when weapons were rare, the citizens of Ukraine were trying to make weapons and bombs out of whatever it was they had at hand. Boxes were filled with "Molotov Cocktails" ready to be thrown at the next passing Russian soldier. One man commented that his hunting rifle might not look like much, but he was good with it, and it would kill as many Russians as he could find bullets for it.

Micah has a different message. While war might be the natural state for those of us who make our lives on this planet, the day is coming when that will not be true. A time is coming when God will settle the disputes between the nations, and we will live in peace. There will no longer be a use for weapons, so we will change them into things that might be useful in our daily lives. What was once rare will become the natural state of our world. And I can't think of anything that could be more welcome to those who believe in peace and pray for its presence in our shared world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Micah 5