Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 26-28.

Well, let’s see if I can write this so that it comes together the way I understand it in my head.  Isaiah writes that we should trust in the Lord forever because God is the eternal Rock.  Which reminds me of a conversation I had recently.  A friend of mine described a boulder he has in his lawn.  That boulder is there because when his house was built, the builders excavated it from where they put the foundation.  Ordinarily, the builders would have broken up a rock found like this, but this particular rock was extraordinarily hard so they chose not to make that effort.  The prophet was thinking of rocks like that one when he wrote this, rocks so hard that no one could break them up.  In this world, all rocks can be broken if we are willing to put in the effort and have the correct tools.  But not the eternal Rock which is God.  After telling us that we can rely on the eternal, unbreakable Rock which is God, Isaiah gives us another metaphor.  If we walk in God’s commands our path will be level and smooth.  Here I am reminded of the comparison between urban bicycle paths and mountain hiking trails.  Hiking trails are typically neither smooth nor level, with rocks that must be navigated around and rough patches, perhaps even fallen branches which must be climbed over.  Whereas, urban bicycle paths are typically smooth asphalt or cement following level ground.  These two aspects of relying on God, His unbreakable reliability and the ease of living according to His will, led the prophet to desire God.  If we truly understand what the prophet says here, we will likewise yearn for God and His righteousness such that we will agree that all we have accomplished was done by God for us.

So, that did not go quite where I thought it would.  Let’s see if I can wrestle it around to the rest of what I want to write about today.

If you are reading this, I imagine that, like me, you desire to put your trust in the Eternal Rock and walk the smooth paths of righteousness.  Yet, for all of my desire to do God’s will, one look at society around us and we realize that we have failed to bring God’s salvation to the earth, we have failed to bring people to the life offered by God.  And the prophet uses yet another metaphor, that of a fruitful vineyard, but one overrun with briers and thorns.  God will bring His fire against those briers and thorns, burning them up…unless they come to Him for refuge and make peace with Him.  Oh, let us make peace with Him so that we may offer that peace to those around us, those who think they have found a refuge in lies.  They claim they are doing what is right because they follow the rules to the letter, but not the spirit (let alone The Spirit).  In fact, they make new rules to follow…don’t use certain words because evil people used those words, don’t do certain things because evil people did those things.  They replace the rules which God put in place with these new rules and say that thus they can avoid sinning.  But God says that He will sweep away their refuge of lies.  God has built a refuge with the straight lines of justice and righteousness.  Let us shelter there and call those currently sheltering in the lies of this world to join us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.