06.29.09

Isaiah - Day 294

Posted in General | 14:18

Scripture:  Isaiah 16:2 (NIV):  Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon."

Thought:  To me, people in rebellion against God will at some point become directionless, confused and fearful.

Question:  Have I found my anchor in the Savior, Jesus Christ?

If Moab does not "send [sacrificial] lambs as tribute "to the King of Israel, (yesterday's verse/God's urged recommendation), then a disarray of their people will begin to become apparent.  When unwilling to bow to authority and abide in humility, a people puts its members at risk.  "Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest", the women of Moab have been displaced from their homes.  A break in the peaceful order has been interrupted by the spirit of rebellion.  The women are uncertain as to how to proceed, so they are "fluttering"--directionless and in confusion.  They gather "at the fords of the Arnon", a major river that flows east to west across their territory and into The Salt Sea (today's Dead Sea).

There "at the fords" they seek to cross the river as they, like their fellow countrymen, desire to escape the assault of the Assyrian persecutors.  And certainly they would try to flee:  the Assyrians were known to terrorize their victims with horrible consequences, including raping the women.  (See blog on Isaiah 15:4).

"...pushed from the nest..."  Who pushes baby birds from their nests?  Why, it is the parent bird!  It is the one who has authority--the nest-builder, if you please.  And so God Almighty, our Creator, The One Who has supreme authority over us all, is The One Who chooses to remove the Moabite women from their "comfort zone."  And why does God do this?  Ultimately, and even as the parent bird does, it is for the peoples' good.

What is life without the guiding rudder of God's authority over our lives?  Certainly He is our appropriate Master, is He not?  If He is dismissed, rebelled against, disobeyed or ignored, we will bear the consequences of the resulting chaos we invite.  What automobile can twist through country roads, speed down the highway, have its radio or wipers turned on, without its driver?  Likewise, what souls can function at all without their Designer, their Maker?

These "fluttering birds", Moabite women under attack, are a good illustration of the chaos and risk of life without God's holy protection.  A bird of prey may attack!  Away from their own "nest" they may become hopelessly lost!  As Matthew Henry states in his Commentary on Isaiah on this verse, "Those that will not yield to the fear of God shall be made to yield to the fear of everything else."

Prayer:  Great God, I long to be bound by only one, great fear, Lord--the fear of You!  Keep me, oh God, in Your salvation, that I need not fear anything else.  I pray against any spirit of rebellion that would seek to rise up in me against You.  Strengthen my devotion to You, Father, through the grace of Jesus Christ.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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