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“But now, O Lord,
You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). The Israelites do not have a good relationship with God at this time because most of them have ignored His instructions and have gone their own way. The remanent that is left need God now, but He is not happy with them. Through the prophet Isaiah, they try to present a self-serving picture so that God will help them. It appears they are attempting to repent—either sincerely or perhaps just giving lip service about their unworthiness and lack of devotion. They appear to be saying “Regardless of the past, we belong to you, and we now recognize you as the One who shapes us,” using the imagery of God as their potter. Wallowing in self-pity is never a pretty picture, but that is really what the Israelites appear to be doing. They want Him to get over His disgust with them and solve the bad situation they have created—after all, they are “the work of (His) hand.” Even today, God does not work that way. We can’t make decisions, religiously or morally, based on our own desires—get ourselves into a bad situation—and then run to God for resolution, claiming “We are the clay, and You our potter.” God wants to be our Potter all the time—not just when we are in trouble. Love, Joe “But now, O Lord,
You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). The Israelites do not have a good relationship with God at this time because most of them have ignored His instructions and have gone their own way. The remanent that is left need God now, but He is not happy with them. Through the prophet Isaiah, they try to present a self-serving picture so that God will help them. It appears they are attempting to repent—either sincerely or perhaps just giving lip service about their unworthiness and lack of devotion. They appear to be saying “Regardless of the past, we belong to you, and we now recognize you as the One who shapes us,” using the imagery of God as their potter. Wallowing in self-pity is never a pretty picture, but that is really what the Israelites appear to be doing. They want Him to get over His disgust with them and solve the bad situation they have created—after all, they are “the work of (His) hand.” Even today, God does not work that way. We can’t make decisions, religiously or morally, based on our own desires—get ourselves into a bad situation—and then run to God for resolution, claiming “We are the clay, and You our potter.” God wants to be our Potter all the time—not just when we are in trouble. Joe “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion,
“And trust in Mount Samaria, “Notable persons in the chief nation, “To whom the house of Israel comes!” (Amos 6:1). Prosperity has a tendency to boost a people’s pride and give them a confidence that can lead them away from God. That actually is what is happening in Israel at this time when Amos, a farmer-turned-prophet, comes along. It’s a time of prosperity, and business is booming; but the Israelites are allowing greed, selfishness, and injustice to infiltrate their ranks. This false sense of security is allowing hypocritical tendencies to replace true worship and devotion to God and His word. “Amos” means “burden”; thus, Amos is the “burden-bearer” for Israel. “Zion,” of course, is Jerusalem, considered the seat of all things religious. “Mount Samaria” is a neighboring peak and city—not a holy city, just an arrogant one that is the seat of much religious activity. Amos pronounces a “woe” against both places. The message is clear and profound, especially considering the prosperity we enjoy in our day: material blessings should never cloud our thinking and give us a false sense of security. Our time and devotion are to be directed toward God—we use our blessings to facilitate our responsibility to Him and not to draw us away from Him Love, Joe Second in a series of two about Daniel 3
“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who will deliver like this” (Daniel 3:28-29). “Amazed” is King Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction as he sees no harm come to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who have been placed in his “intensified” fiery furnace because they have refused to fall down and worship his golden image. “Impressed” is another descriptor for this king who has witnessed the great power of the God of Heaven in keeping these three from receiving any harm at all. To his credit, the king has done a complete “about face” from his position of extreme punishment for anyone who doesn’t follow his command. Not only does the king witness the power of God, but he passes another decree that elevates God over all idol gods that might be in the kingdom. The message is that we never know the level of influence we may have by standing staunch in our faith and by living our lives in such a way that we bring glory and recognition to God. Our influence will probably not reach the height that these three did, but we can still be a positive force for God by our unrelenting faithfulness. Love, Joe “Shadrack, Meshack, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up ” (Daniel 3:16-18). Having just been asked about which god would deliver them from the fiery furnace, these three responded with this forceful message of unrelenting faith in the God whom they served. The setting for this story is the Babylon Empire, a time after the three named in this passage, had gained favor with King Nebuchadnezzar—the king had built an image of himself and commanded the people to bow down before it. When these three refused, the king had them placed in the fiery furnace. In spite of extreme danger, these men refused to give in and turn against the God of heaven. Their faith, along with other outstanding people of God in scripture, stands front and center as an example for us. In spite of uncomfortable or even extreme circumstances, we must be determined never to turn against our God—we must Never Give Up our faith in Him. Love, Joe |
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