Month: June 2024

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 19.25
25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.

Reflection: Enemies Becoming One People
By John Tillman

Isaiah’s prophecy says the mighty nation will become weak. The wise nation will become foolish. The powerful nation will become enslaved. The hopeful nation will sink into despair. But then, that same humiliated nation will turn its face to God and cry out against its oppressors. Then God will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, defend them, and send a savior to rescue them!

If this sounds familiar, the surprise is the identity of the nation. The nation that will be punished, forgiven, saved, and restored is not Israel or Judah. It’s Egypt.

In Exodus, Moses asked Pharaoh to let “his people,” the Israelites, go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God. But in Isaiah’s prophecy, the Egyptians will offer sacrifices and make and keep vows to the Lord. The Lord will make the Egyptians his people alongside Israel and Israel’s other great enemy, Assyria.

God makes former enemies one with his own people.

Some people talk loud and proud about Jesus’ commands to love “one another” or to love “others.” But when Jesus says, “Love your enemies” and “Do good to those that hate you,” they struggle to muster an “amen.”

Christ’s commands to love our enemies have always been controversial and difficult teachings, but in today’s no-holds-barred cultural conflicts, they seem impossible.

When you even talk about loving your enemies, you can be called a traitor. “Don’t you understand how dangerous they are? You are enabling them! Look what they’ve done!”

God knows all this. It’s hard to imagine enemies more dangerous or harder to love than Assyria and Egypt. And yet, loving enemies is God’s plan for the world and his will for our lives.

Level one is loving enemies at a distance. (Prayer and care) Level two is mourning enemies’ losses and sheltering them in their suffering. (Empathy and service) The final level is becoming “one people” with enemies under God. (Integration and unity)

Where are you on this scale? 

Do you struggle to love the outsider? The foreigner? The sinner? The ideologue? The liberal? The conservative? Can you imagine being “one people” with them? It’s hard. Everyone you struggle to love is someone God desires to bring into his family just like he brought in you.

You don’t have to violate scripture to show love. But not showing love would be a violation. Let God’s love stretch your imagination, your heart, and your witness. 

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him. — Psalm 34.8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 19-20 (Listen 4:49)
Acts 7 (Listen 8:49)

​This Weekend’s Readings
Isaiah 21 (Listen 2:32) Acts 8 (Listen 5:10)
Isaiah 22 (Listen 3:53) Acts 9 (Listen 6:05)

Read more about Mourning and Loving Enemies
God mourned the suffering of these enemies of Israel and commanded Jerusalem to be a sanctuary for Moabite refugees.

Mourning and Loving Enemies

Read more about Grief for the Guilty
We proclaim God to be just, does compassion and mercy end there? Mercy and justice can burn equally in one’s heart.

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/grief-for-the-guilty

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 16:6-7, 11
6 We have heard of Moab’s pride—
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.

11 My heart laments for Moab like a harp,
    my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.

Reflection: Grief for the Guilty
By Erin Newton

God created the world with great potential. All things were declared “good,” but people were called to cultivate the land and bring about its fullness. Moab was once a picturesque land of green vineyards, refreshing waters, and bountiful harvests.

It all came to an end. Vines were trampled. Water dried up. The destruction of cities and devastation of their resources was likely due to the invasion of the Assyrians. When Isaiah described the wailing of the people, he reflected on the loss of these signs of blessed abundance.

It is a tragic scene that began in Isaiah 15:3, “In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.” The men cried out. Fugitives wept. Their lamentation echoed to the borders.

Somewhere amid this tragedy, there was a glimpse of hope in the house of David. But something happened, the verse turns to a reminder of the pride and arrogance of Moab. It reads as if help had been offered through the God of Judah but hastily rejected. Despite their turmoil, Moab would not turn to the God who saves. “When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail” (v. 12).

We might read this and perform a simple mathematical equation: A + B = C. They could have found hope in Judah but rejected God, so their destruction is just. While we proclaim God to be perfectly just, does our compassion and mercy end there?

What struck me about this chapter was the pivot in verse 11—the wailing now comes from the speaker. (Who is the me? Commentaries vary between saying it is the Lord who grieves, and others say it is the prophet. It’s safe to say that either voice conveys the godly characteristic of divine mercy.)

Mercy and justice can burn equally in one’s heart. You can look at tragedies and see ways in which people suffer from self-inflicted wounds through arrogance, pride, self-reliance, and the rejection of God. You can look and still your heart rends in grief. The deep bowels of your soul can cry out in lament. Why? Because we see the goodness God created in each person, we see the potential for blessed abundance, and yet through rejection of God’s gift of hope—all is destroyed.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. — Psalm 31.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 16 (Listen 2:32)
Acts 5 (Listen 6:49)

Read more about No Such Thing as God Forsaken
Like Isaiah’s audience, we may be tempted to shout  “amens” when our “enemies” are condemned.

No Such Thing as God Forsaken

Read more about Prayer for Enemies
Some may think it strange to pray for one who seems irredeemable; one who rejects any criticism and leans on pride. But this is just the kind of person David prays for.

Prayer for Enemies

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 15.5
 5 My heart cries out over Moab; 
her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, 
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. 
They go up the hill to Luhith, 
weeping as they go; 
on the road to Horonaim 
they lament their destruction.

Reflection: Mourning and Loving Enemies
By John Tillman

Moab was Israel’s enemy. God brought judgment on Moab, yet mourned for their suffering.

Moab was not an enemy because of who they were but because of what they did. Moab had close family ties to Israel. They descended from Abraham’s nephew, Lot. They had even closer ties to the Davidic kings. Ruth, the Moabitess, was David’s great-grandmother.

Despite being relatives, the Moabites were judged for multiple reasons. Throughout their history, they violently oppressed Israel when they were vulnerable. They also led Israel to sinful idolatry and worship practices that included sexual acts and human sacrifice.

A few examples include Balak, king of Moab, who recruited the false prophet, Balaam, to entice Israel to sin, (Numbers 31.16; Revelation 2.14) Eglon, king of Moab who ruled over Israel for 18 years until he was killed by Ehud, (Judges 3.13-14, 20-21) and a Moabite king who, when threatened by an Israelite attack, sacrificed his first-born son on the wall of his city begging his god to turn back Israel. (2 Kings 3.26-27)
Those led into sin included Solomon, who built a temple to Chemosh, the Moabite deity after building the Lord’s temple. (1 Kings 11.7)

Very few of us will ever face enemies of our faith that threaten us with physical or military violence. Very few will ever face true religious persecution for our faith. But how many of us are looking to the power of the state to enforce our beliefs rather than the power of the gospel to spread them?

Very few of us will be tempted to build a literal temple to a false god next to our churches. But how many of us have temples in our hearts devoted to worldly beliefs, politics, or ideas? What altars are in our hearts?

The Moabites were a real danger to the Israelites, both physically/militarily and religiously/ideologically. Yet, they were also family. God mourned the suffering of these violent and vitriolic enemies of Israel and commanded Jerusalem to be a sanctuary for Moabite refugees. (Isaiah 16.4)

It is dangerous to call other humans “enemies” even if they are truly dangerous. Paul says our enemies are not flesh and blood. It is better that we remember that we were formerly enemies of God, reconciled in Jesus. If God did this for the Moabites and Jesus does this for us, how can we do anything less for those we think of as enemies?

Let us mourn our enemies’ situation and shelter them in their suffering.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of the ram’s horn.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is king of all the earth; sing praises with all your skill.
God reigns over the nation; God sits upon his holy throne. — Psalm 47.5-8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 15 (Listen 1:34)
Acts 4 (Listen 5:15)

Read more about Solomon’s Cheating Heart
Solomon was a temple builder but he did not only build temples for Yaweh. He built temples for the very gods that Israel has been warned about.

Solomon’s Cheating Heart

Read more about Supporting Our Work
Please consider becoming a donor. Support ad-free content that brings biblical devotionals to inboxes across the world.

Supporting our Work

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 14.3, 26-27
3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: 
How the oppressor has come to an end! 
How his fury has ended! 

26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; 
this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? 
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? 

Reflection: Taunting Ourselves
By John Tillman

God promises those who suffer under oppression that one day he will turn the tables and they will taunt those who harmed them.

Isaiah taunts specific oppressors such as Babylon, Assyria, and the Philistines. God expands these taunts to include the whole world—any nation taking up the spirit of Babylon. There are still nations of this kind today and some of us may live in them. We should be careful not to take up Isaiah’s taunts too quickly—we may end up taunting ourselves.

Babylon considered itself the ultimate pinnacle of human achievement. They felt they deserved to wield ultimate power because of their ultimate enlightenment. They considered themselves the light of the world and a provider of peace. Babylonian exceptionalism was part of their core belief system.

Babylon’s utopian self-concept was a lie. Their definition of peace was murdering anyone who resisted them. Their definition of achievement was enslaving the smartest people from other nations and re-educating them to serve the empire. Their definition of light was snuffing out the gods of other nations and absorbing them.

In the Bible, Babylon is both a literal kingdom and a figurative representation of all human opposition to God. When God said, “I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” he wasn’t speaking literally of human offspring. He spoke of nations who would follow the spirit of Babylon, to succeed her, ascend her throne, and continue her prideful destruction of the weak. 

Babylon’s highest value is ultimate autonomy and unrestricted freedom—at least for the powerful. Many pursue ultimate autonomy today as well. The dirty little secret of ultimate autonomy is that it only exists for those willing to take it by force or those privileged enough to have it handed to them.

The spirit of Babylon is not only adopted by nations or people groups. Individuals adopt it too. Has the spirit of Babylon taken over any part of our hearts?

Babylon disdains God’s demands for righteousness and justice.
Babylon rejects God’s definitions of sin and holiness.
Babylon honors the brutal and brutalizes the gentle.
Babylon protects the powerful rather than the weak. 
Babylon uses freedom to harm others.

One day we will taunt Babylon, but first, we must come out from among her. Let us root out Babylon’s influences in our own lives and hearts.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Wait upon the Lord and keep his way; he will raise you up to possess the land, and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
I went by, and behold, they were not there; I searched for them, but they could not be found.
Mark those who are honest; observe the upright; for there is a future for the peaceable.
Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; the future of the wicked is cut off.
But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The Lord will help them and rescue them; he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in him. — Psalm 37.36-42

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 14 (Listen 5:04)
Acts 3 (Listen 3:33)

Read more about Waiting at the Beautiful Gate
Jesus didn’t give us the Holy Spirit for warm, fuzzy feelings in our sanctuaries. The Holy Spirit is given to us to heal

Waiting at the Beautiful Gate — Readers’ Choice

Read more about The Fall of a Superpower
Babylon embraced idolatry and morality that was contrary to the law of God…it’s important to realize we share in the same sinful nature

The Fall of a Superpower