delightful plants?

"For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Therefore you plant delightful plants and set them with vine slips of a strange god. In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, and in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; but the harvest will be a heap in a day of sickness and incurable pain." Isaiah 17:10-11

Sobering prophecy, isn't it? And what does it mean for us? Let's break it down, phrase by phrase, to get to the heart of the matter:

• "you have forgotten the God of your salvation" : The sin that starts it all. This act will have a profound effect on the events described in the rest of the passage. In what areas of your life to you tend to "forget" God?
  
• "you plant delightful plants" : Often, we try to control what we will reap by choosing what to sow. We want what is pleasant and desirable, so we plant "delightful plants" instead of ones that might require some work (or worse, ones that might come with thorns or thistles). What "plants" are you choosing in your life, and what "plants" are you trying to avoid?
  
• "set with vine slips of a strange god" : Not only do we try to rely on our own judgments and abilities, we often call on the help of another ("strange god") rather than the help of God. What's worse, these "vine slips" we use to bolster our efforts will most likely corrupt what we've started. What we've planted will become our worst nightmare once harvested because of this corruption. Even though we've planted flowers, we will harvest weeds. What "vine slips" are you allowing to corrupt your garden?
  
• "you carefully fence it in" : This sounds like a last-ditch effort to really make sure we've got everything under control. Rather than trust God, we "carefully fence in" what we've planted in order to protect it from the elements. But by fencing in one area of our lives, we end up fencing every area in until we are completely blocked off from all that God has for us. We protect our plants, but at what cost? What areas of your life do you try to "fence in," and just what are you trying to protect yourself from?
  
• "you bring your seed to blossom" : At this point, everything seems to be going to plan. We've thought of everything we need, and everything appears to be in place for some delightful plants to grow. We see the results of our labor in some blossoms, but these provide a false sense of security and will most likely result in complacency. "Look at all that I've accomplished on my own. I don't need God's help with this. Looks like I can make it to harvest without Him." Do you ever catch yourself thinking these thoughts?
  
• "the harvest will be a heap..." : The inevitable occurs here. Our best-laid plans crumble before our very eyes, and the plants we reap bring sickness and pain. The word "heap" in this verse suggests that the harvest was barely gathered up before its effects (sickness and pain) hit those who harvested it. Rather than bundle the crop up and bring it elsewhere (whether it is the threshing floor, a press, a marketplace, or a storehouse), the workers have hastily abandoned it where it was reaped. While we were expecting abundance and prosperity from our plants, all we are left with is a messy heap of weeds, the pain of regret, and the consequences that come with not relying on the One who created us. Can you look back on your life and see a "heap" where there was supposed to be a harvest?

We've all had times like this. They may not have always resulted in "sickness and incurable pain," but they most likely caused pain to a degree. As mentioned in a previous post, God can use that pain to draw you back to Him. And if you ask for His wisdom and guidance in everything that you do, He will be faithful in providing a wonderful harvest when the time comes. Rely on Him.

Striking to heal

"The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them." Isaiah 19:22


I'm ashamed to point out the obvious...I haven't posted anything on this blog in two months. So much has happened during that time, from my sweet boy learning how to crawl, the internet in our house not working for weeks at a time, and on my part, a bout of just sheer apathy. However, the Lord is faithful, and even though I often leave Him waiting on our time together, He is always there when I return to Him.

The nineteenth chapter of Isaiah describes a prophecy regarding the great nation of Egypt. The prophet describes a time of great turmoil, where the inhabitants will turn against each other (verse 2) and will suffer under the rule of a cruel king (verse 4). Top that off with some plagues against nature (including the rivers drying up as described in verse 6 and the fields becoming desolate in verse 7), and the nation will really hit rock bottom. Because the wisest of men cannot explain what is happening to Egypt and how to overcome it (verse 12), the people are left to literally tremble in the wake of God's hand "which He is going to wave over them" (verse 16).

One might ask what the purpose of all this devastation might be. It seems to be a common theme in most of Isaiah's prophecies thus far, in fact. Shouldn't a loving God use love to call His people to Him? Surely that would have been enough to get Egypt's attention, right?

I'm thinking no. We're talking about Egypt here, one of the greatest empires in history. Because of its affluence and wealth, it would have been all too easy for Egypt's citizens to bask in the glow of their own pride. Sometimes God allows hardship to come upon His people in order to get them to the place where turning to Him is really the only option. C.S. Lewis described pain as God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world" (The Problem of Pain). At times it is simply the only means to get our attention.

Pain and hardship does have its purpose, though. Check out the rest of Isaiah 19, starting in verse 18. The tone of the prophecy shifts to a more promising end for the nation. It describes five Egyptian cities as "speaking the language of Canaan" and "swearing allegiance to the Lord of hosts." They will build an altar and cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors (verses 19 and 20), and then He will send the greatest Gift of all, His Son Jesus. God will "make Himself known to Egypt" through Jesus, and they will offer praise and sacrifice to Him in return (verse 21). He strikes Egypt in order to heal them. He allows them to have temporary pain and oppression, but then gives them Himself as the ultimate salve for their wounds.

Not only that, He adds Assyria and Israel in a three-fold blessing, saying "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance" (verse 25). Although Egypt was once prideful, worshiping idols and their own intellect, God will raise them up to be a nation of blessing and promise. He allows the nation to suffer for a time, but because of the spiritual longing of five cities, He will bring healing and restoration to their land.

Return to Him. Even if whatever you're going through seems to burn you inside and out, return to your Healer and He will allow beauty to rise out of the ashes.