Read
1 On that day, Leviathan,
the sea monster,
will squirm and try to escape,
but the Lord will kill him
with a cruel, sharp sword.
Protection and Forgiveness
The Lord said:
2At that time you must sing
about a fruitful vineyard.
3I, the Lord, will protect it
and always keep it watered.
I will guard it day and night
to keep it from harm.
4I am no longer angry.
But if it produces thorns,
I will go to war against it
and burn it to the ground.
5Yet if the vineyard depends
on me for protection,
it will become my friend
and be at peace with me.
6Someday Israel will take root
like a vine.
It will blossom and bear fruit
that covers the earth.
7I, the Lord, didn't punish and kill
the people of Israel
as fiercely as I punished
and killed their enemies.
8I carefully measured out
Israel's punishment
and sent the scorching heat
to chase them far away.
9There's only one way
that Israel's sin and guilt
can be completely forgiven:
They must crush the stones
of every pagan altar
and place of worship.
The Lord Will Bring
10Fortress cities are left
like a desert
where no one lives.
Cattle walk through the ruins,
stripping the trees bare.
11When broken branches
fall to the ground,
women pick them up
to feed the fire.
But these people are so stupid
that the God who created them
will show them no mercy.
12The time is coming when the Lord will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together. 13A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Reflect
The parallels in this oracle between God and his people are strikingly similar to those between a parent and a child. The warning is familiar. We can easily imagine a parent saying, “Things are going very well for you around here and could get even better. The only thing that could make things go off-track is for you to violate Family Rule #1 – Show Respect. As your parent, I’m here to protect and provide for you. Your job is to remember who I am and show respect through obedience.”
The inviolable Rule #1 for the people of Israel was similar. It was the First Commandment – “You shall have no other gods before me.” Yet the land was filled with altar stones, sacred poles and sun-pillars, all of it damning evidence that Rule #1 was being violated. Worship and allegiance were scattered across an array of unworthy directions. Things were not looking good in respect to the Law.
Rule #1 is the First Commandment because it sets everything else into alignment. It has primacy of place because it takes us to the Ultimate. Jesus declares that Rule #1 is still in force, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” (Matthew 22:37). But where are our hearts, souls and minds so often directed today? What is the ratio between our screen time versus our face time in front of the King of Kings? Perhaps we too have become so scattered that only our own time-out in Exile will gather us back into right thinking and a restored relationship.
Although much can be learned by stumbling through a trial and error process, often it’s at great cost. A wise person can learn from the mistakes of others, saving themselves much grief. May we be so wise.
Respond
Lord God – what foolish creatures we are. We’re so often blind to your blessings and so quick to spurn your promises. We settle for much less than second best when you could be our all. Rule #1 is truly in my best interest because it comes from you and takes me to you. Help me to see that.
Gary Drouillard
Gary is enjoying a post-career afterlife in South Surrey, BC. His greatest professional achievement was pioneering a 10-year mission to make it possible for Canadians to use their cellphones around the world. Today, as a feeble but fascinated student of intellectual history and early church formation, his days are filled with reading, viewing online courses, thinking, and occasionally writing along with involvement with various volunteer work. His life’s journey has been made possible and pleasurable only by the accompaniment of his lovely, long-suffering wife, Pamela, and his two “too good for me” daughters who are now embellished with amazing American husbands.