Day 359 - Isaiah 44:1-23 & Proverbs 21

 Julie

Merry Christmas!! It would have been cool if the Christmas story is the one that we were reading today, but since it's not...

God tells Jacob that he is going to save Israel and the people will worship the name of the Lord. He reminds him that there is no other God, and then goes on to explain how idolatry works and why it doesn't make sense. Then God tells him that he is going to redeem Israel and forgive their transgressions.

There seems to be a lot of different suggestions or proverbs here that speak to different types of things that could do right and wrong and what the consequences would be. If we pursue righteousness we will find righteousness and honor. If we watch what we say we will avert trouble. There still doesn't seem to be a consistent theme other than continuation of right and wrong.

 

Michelle

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!  I was actually thinking the same thing about the Christmas story, would be great today.  But we did recently read about the coming of Jesus. 

This does sound like God is explaining why there should be NO idols over him.  I think this is also a reminder that we can unintentionally make idols for ourselves when we have too much focus on something or someone.  When we idolize things or people, we are basically breaking the command of God that there should be no other idols/gods before the Lord.  

Ok, I was reading and got lost in thought.  But the things that stood out to me are verse 21 which says, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor".  This is a great verse to highlight as it really sums up what we should be following.  There are 2 other verses that stood out and I am not sure why the wife ones keep coming into focus for me.  Maybe I am feeling argumentative or something but verses 9 and 19; "Better to live on a corner of a roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife", and "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife".  While I have not been the nagging type, there was a time when I was very confrontational and argumentative and have been feeling that lately, but have been biting my tongue.  Maybe that is why I have been clenching my teeth at night.  I don't really know why this has come up now as I haven't felt this way in a while.  I guess it's time to give whatever that is to God to deal with and set me straight.