Links for today’s readings:
Jun 24 Read: Isaiah 23 Listen: (2:50) Read: Acts 10 Listen: (5:49)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 23:12–13
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,
Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians have made it
a place for desert creatures;
they raised up their siege towers,
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.
Reflection: Abandoned at Sea
By Erin Newton
Much like the world today, political alliances were the means of survival for nations in the ancient world. Breaches in agreements resulted in war. When vassal nations wanted to shake off the yoke of submission, they often allied together against the ruling kingdom. Today we have international peace treaties, and there are alliances like the United Nations, NATO, and OSEAN. The understanding is that these nations will help one another through military aid, trade, or simple peace.
But what happens when all your allies are destroyed?
This is the situation that is prophesied against Tyre. Isaiah’s proclamation shows Tyre (Sidon) standing alone. No matter where they look, no one is there to help. Cyprus provides no rest. Babylon is powerless.
The message is bleak. Tyre was the kingdom of the sea, known for its naval power and ability to navigate along the coast and excel in trade. In the ancient world, “the sea” is also a mythic force of chaos. To control the chaos was a token of power. Now they are disowned by the sea, according to Isaiah—“For the sea has spoken: ‘I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters’” (v. 4).
When we read this prophecy, we are invited to see ourselves in the place of Tyre. Our power might seem unshakeable, but Isaiah reminds us that all power will fall before the Lord. Even those we view as allies are not a match against God. So it challenges us to ensure our trust is planted in God alone. It cannot be weapons plus God.
We also read this prophecy resting in the hope that the powers that oppress others will be torn down before the Lord. We persevere with the hope in the future—a future of God’s kingdom on earth.
We finally read this prophecy as a detached community thousands of years after its relevant audience. We read this as a study of God’s faithfulness to his people. Knowing that God does not change, the prophet’s trust in the future can also be our trust in the future.
No matter how dire things look now, how powerful nations may attempt to portray themselves, we trust in a God who controls the seas. We must lay down all that gives us a sense of power, lest we become like the ruined nations in Isaiah.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Protect my life and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I have trusted in you. — Psalm 25.19
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Kingmakers Unmade
Theoretically, wealth is a neutral tool…But…as we shape our world with this tool, it is exceedingly rare that it does not also shape us.
Read more: Knocking on Heaven’s Door
During his regular practice of prayer, God’s message came to Cornelius.
Cornelius knocked and Heaven’s door opened.
