OUR DAILY BREAD : FIRE AND RAIN

[cimi]

September 27
Friday


FIRE AND RAIN

READ:
Isaiah 16:1-5
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In mercy the throne will
be established; and One
will sit on it in truth
... judging and
seeking justice and
hastening righteousness.
__Isaiah 16:5
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When a wildfire raged through the beautiful canyons near Colorado Springs, Colorado, it destroyed the habitat of all kinds of wildlife and hundreds of homes. People across the nation cried out to God, pleading with Him to send rain to douse the flames, put an end to the destruction, and give firefighters relief. Some people's prayers had an interesting condition attached to them. They asked God to show mercy and send rain without lightning, which they feared would start even more fires.

This reminds me of how we live in tension between things that save us and kill us. With fire, we cook our food and keep warm but in it we also can drown. Too much or too little of either is life-threatening.

We see the same principle at work spiritually. To thrive, civilizations need the seemingly opposite qualities of mercy and justice (Zech. 7:9). Jesus scolded the Pharisees for being sticklers about the law but neglecting these "weightier matters" (Matt. 23:23).

We may lean toward justice or mercy, but Jesus keeps them in perfect balance (Isa. 16:5;42:1-4). His death satisfies God's need for justice and our need for mercy. __Kulie Ackerman LInk

``````````````````````Father, for personal reasons I sometimes lean toward```````````````````
`````````````````````showing mercy, and sometimes I just want justice now.``````````````````
``````````````````````Teach me the balance as I look at Your character and```````````````````
`````````````````````````give me the wisdom I need in specific situations.`````````````````````
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God's justice and mercy met at the cross.

*********************Today's Bible Reading __ Isaiah 16:1-5***************************

1 Send the lamb to the
ruler of the land, from Sela
to the wilderness, to the
mount of the daughter of
Zion. 2 For it shall be as a
wandering bird thrown out
of the nest; so shall be the
daughters of Moab at the
fords of the Arnon.

3 "Take counsel, execute
judgment; make your
shadow like the night in
the middle of the day; hide
the outcasts, do not betray
him who escapes. 4 Let My
outcasts dwell with you, O
Moab; be a shelter to them
from the face of the
spoiler. For the extortioner
is at an end, devastation
ceases, the oppressors are
consumed out of the land.

5 In mercy the throne will
be established; and One
will sit on it in truth, in the
tabernacle of David,
judging and seeking justice
and hastening
righteousness."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Isaiah prophesied judgment against mighty nations such as Assyria,
Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Syria, and Egypt (Isa. 13-27) to show
Judah that Yahweh is not just God of the jews but of the whole
world (Isa. 37:16; 54:5). Judah needed to put her trust in God alone
and not foolishly rely on worldly powers to
save her. Isaiah warned Judah that just as God held these pagan
nations accountable and punished them for their sins, God would
also punish her if she refused to repent (Ida. 22:11-25). Isaiah 15:1-
16:14 is the judgment on Moab. Because of her overweening pride
(16:6), Isaiah prophesied that Moab would be destroyed by Assyria.