November 11 | Isaiah 3:12-26

pmann79
Nov 11
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Bummer

By Pam Mann

When I first saw the passage reference for today, I thought of the Isaiah 26:3 verse which is engraved on a steppingstone at the Mill Run columbarium. That verse speaks of perfect peace for the one

whose mind is stayed on God. Then, I got a double shock reading today’s passage which includes Isaiah 3:26 (not 26:3). Not only did I scramble the digits of the verse number, but also the words of Isaiah in this passage are quite the opposite of perfect peace. Today’s verses speak of rebuke, humiliation, and destruction. Bummer. This is bad news that can’t be glossed over because it’s the Word of God.

Ask me if I embrace the entire Word of God as my norm for faith and life and I will emphatically answer yes. But. This passage I’m not likely to memorize, am I? Give me Isaiah 26:3 instead. That one I’ve memorized.

To make matters worse, in chapter 3, Isaiah gives us a graphic picture of the haughty rebellious women in Zion. The ancient stinging details slam into us from across millennia and we can easily envision a modern version of them. As these defiant females strut before my mind’s eye, my heart cries out to God that I don’t want this flagrant godlessness to be who I am or who we are as a community. And I certainly do not want the merited judgment which God describes in the later verses.

This judgment, however, is reality. We can rearrange the deck chairs on the doomed Titanic as if we’re not on a sinking ship OR we can face reality. The reality is that, even though we have known the goodness of God, we still are sinners. We can and do behave like the wanton women of Isaiah 3. Therefore, we need to feel the weight of our depravity because it’s as real and right as gravity. There’s no escaping reality. And we cannot free ourselves!

Thank God we are not alone. Thank God that He really loves us. Thank God that He has made a way for us!

We have Isaiah 3:26 to keep us mindful of our need for rescue. And we have Isaiah 26:3 to lift our spirits because God has made a way for us. We do embrace the entirety of His Word as our source of life. Thanks be to God who rescues us from the darkest sin in our souls.

PRAYER

Save us, O God, from Isaiah 3 depravity and death. We acknowledge that this is Your Word. Let our spirits ponder how very lost we are without You. Let us know intensely our need for a Savior. And

thank You for Jesus, our saving Hope.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PAM MANN

I first joined UALC when my husband (then my fiancé) and I were college students involved in youth ministry. God has used UALC to nurture our family’s faith, even in our years outside the U.S. I’ve participated in UALC ministries with kids, art, prayer, exercise, ESL, and Bible teaching. I do all the fun church things.