I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Today’s passage begins with one of my favorite “scenes” from the Bible. Isaiah had a vision of God seated on a throne in the Temple. Isaiah’s response was to express fear and despair because he knew that he was a sinful man in the presence of a holy God. In particular, he expresses concern about his filthy lips. In response, one of the seraphim in attendance to God flew to him with a burning coal taken from the altar and touched it to Isaiah’s lips. The seraphim told Isaiah that his sins had been removed by the touching of the coal to his lips and they were forgiven.
When Isaiah’s purification was completed he heard God call out, “Whom shall I send as my messenger? Whom shall I send?”
Isaiah replied, “Here I am. Send me.”
God gave Isaiah the message he was to deliver. The message to the people was that they would hear, but not understand. They would look, but not see. Isaiah was to tell the people that they would refuse to listen to God’s message and to see the signs He was giving them. If they were to truly listen and genuinely see what was happening, they would turn to God and be forgiven. However, they would not do so.
This passage starts by showing how we respond to finding ourselves in God’s presence if we are honest with ourselves. Isaiah responded in fear and despair. He knew that he was a sinful man whose mere presence placed a stain upon a holy God. God responds to Isaiah’s fear in a manner which would be unexpected if not for the revelation of the Bible. God sends one of His agents to purify Isaiah. The method of purification is symbolic in two ways. The first is that a burning coal touched to human lips would be expected to inflict great pain. As the seraphim approached Isaiah, he would have expected to experience a searing pain for an extended period of time (considering that he speaks moments after this, we conclude that the pain did not occur, or was fleeting). The second is that the heat of a burning coal would cauterised a wound and/or kill the infectious agents present where it touched. By applying a burning coal, the flow of sinful words would be stopped, the ability of the sin present on Isaiah’s lips to infect others would be eliminated.
Having purified and forgiven the sinner in His presence, a purification needed more for the sinner to feel able to be in God’s presence than for God to allow the sinner in His presence, God asks for someone to be His messenger. Having just been purified of his sins, Isaiah responds that since he is here, he is willing to go. We respond in the same way to God’s purifying us from our sins. If we have accepted the purification of our sins, we will find ourselves responding to God’s call for a messenger, not just by volunteering, but by enthusiastically volunteering. Isaiah’s response was not, “Well, if you’ve got no one else, I guess I could do it.” No, Isaiah’s response was “Ooh, Ooh, pick me! I’ll go! Send me! Let me do it!” All the while jumping up and down with his hand in the air. That is what happens to us when God purifies us of our sins, we want more than anything else in this world, or the next, to serve God however we can.
Paul says that he does not wish anyone to think him foolish, but since some apparently do think him foolish, he will indulge in some foolishness. He has been called a fool and others have boasted of how the believers should follow their teachings rather than Paul’s because of the credentials they have. Paul tells the Corinthians that whatever credentials these “super-apostles” (as Paul referred to them in yesterday’s passage) claim to have, he has it in spades. He is just as much a Hebrew, an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham as anyone. Paul goes on to tell them that he has worked harder and suffered more in service to Christ than any of these men would even claim, let alone have actually done. Paul makes all of these boasts almost under protest.
Paul taught through almost all of his writings that we should be humble and only boast of God’s working in and around us. Here he breaks from that. He does this because apparently teachers have arisen who are claiming great credentials and are claiming to have greater understanding of the Gospel than Paul. However, they are teaching things which are contrary to what Paul had taught. These were not people from among the disciples that had followed Jesus while He was preaching in Galilee and Judea.
In this passage Paul gives us a standard by which to measure people who claim to be speaking on behalf of God. First, he asks us to measure what they preach against what we have already learned. If it is consistent with what we already know, all well and good. If, however, it contradicts what we already believe regarding the Gospel, he provides us with standards by which to compare those who teach the competing doctrines. What kind of fruit does each preacher bear? Do they demonstrate concern for those in need? Have they suffered privation themselves in order to reach the lost? Paul continues this in tomorrow’s passage.
A psalm to remember when we face troubles and difficulties. If we put out trust in God and serve Him to the best of our ability, we can cry out to Him and know that this will be true for us:
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
He will recompense the evil to my foes;(NASB)
I will praise the Lord, for He will help me in times of trouble.
When invited to dine with the politically powerful, pay attention to what you are fed and who you are eating with. Do not let the food and entertainment distract you from what else is going on.