Isaiah 17:7-11New International Readers Version (NIRV) 7 In days to come, men will look to their Maker for help. They will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. 8 They won’t trust in the altars they made with their own hands. They won’t pay any attention to the poles they used to worship the goddess Asherah. And they won’t depend on the incense altars they made with their own fingers. 9 At that time the strong cities in Israel will be deserted. They will be as they were when the Israelites drove the Canaanites out of them. They will be like places that are taken over by bushes and weeds. The whole land will become dry and empty. 10 Israel, you have forgotten God, who saves you. You have not remembered the Rock, who keeps you safe. You might set out the finest plants. You might plant vines from other lands. 11 The plants might start to grow on the day you set them out. The vines might begin to bud on the morning you plant them. But even if they do, there won’t be any harvest. Instead, there will be sickness and pain that won’t go away. Jul 26, 2014 The Work Of Our Hands By Julie Ackerman Link Read: Isaiah 17:7-11 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, . . . the harvest will be a heap of ruins. —Isaiah 17:10–11 Spring had just turned into summer and crops were beginning to produce fruit as our train rolled across the fertile landscape of West Michigan’s shoreline. Strawberries had ripened, and people were kneeling in the morning dew to pick the sweet fruit. Blueberry bushes were soaking up sunshine from the sky and nutrients from the earth. After passing field after field of ripening fruit, we came to a rusty pile of abandoned metal. The harsh image of orange scrap metal poking out of the earth was a sharp contrast to the soft greens of growing crops. The metal produces nothing. Fruit, on the other hand, grows, ripens, and nourishes hungry humans. The contrast between the fruit and the metal reminds me of God’s prophecies against ancient cities like Damascus (Isa. 17:1,11). He says, “Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, . . . the harvest will be a heap of ruins” (Isa. 17:10-11). This prophecy serves as a contemporary warning about the danger and futility of thinking we can produce anything on our own. Apart from God, the work of our hands will become a pile of ruins. But when we join with God in the work of His hands, God multiplies our effort and provides spiritual nourishment for many. Lord, I want to be a part of what You are doing in Your world. Apart from You, my work is nothing. Lead me, fill me, use me. Nourish others through me. “Without Me you can do nothing.” —Jesus (John 15:5)
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 15:41:16 +0000
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