Today all three of our readings speak of the grace and mercy of God. We come to the end of Psalm 106, in which we have seen Israel’s wayward history and rebellion, and by extension, our own. Yesterday, in verses 34-39, we read that the Israelites “did not destroy the peoples in the land – as the LORD commanded them – but rather, they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs, even sacrificing their own children to demons” (verses 34-37). Why does God include this information here in this Psalm? He wants us to know that, apart from His intervention, we – like the Israelites – would be hopelessly bound up in our sins, and we would be helpless to free ourselves from this predicament. Sin “defiles” us, and it “desecrates the land” (verses 38-39). Fortunately for Israel and for us, "God took note of their distress when He heard their cry,” and He remembered His promise and His covenant with Abraham (verses 44-45). Thankfully, the Psalm concludes with the reminder that “out of His great love, God delivered them many times” (verses 43-45). How many times has He graciously delivered us? We dare not fail to “praise the LORD, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting." May we join the Psalmist in proclaiming “Praise the LORD and Amen!” (verse 48).
Here in Isaiah 27-28, our reading begins with “In that day,” which is a reference to the day of the LORD. In that day, “the LORD will punish the gliding and coiling serpent” – Israel’s enemies (verse 1). Then Isaiah reveals “a fruitful vineyard” (verses 2-3). In Isaiah 5, we saw a "vineyard that yielded only bad fruit” (cf., Isaiah 5:2), but this vineyard is flourishing – typical of Israel in the millennial kingdom – because the LORD Himself watches over His vineyard (verse 3). He doesn’t assign this task to someone else, but He “guards and waters” it. He offers us its peace and protection as a “refuge” (verse 5). “In days to come … Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit” (verse 6). In Isaiah 28, the prophet turns his attention to Ephraim – a title for Israel. Here, God strongly condemns drunkenness (verses 1-8); rules and regulations just for the sake of rules and regulations (verses 9-13); and scoffers who boast (verses 14-15). In verse 16, we see the promise of Christ’s coming: “See, I lay a stone in Zion … a precious cornerstone.” Isaiah concludes chapter 28 on a logical note of judgment, which is the LORD’s “strange work” (verse 21). It is a strange work because “the LORD Almighty is gracious - wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom” (verse 29), but He will punish those who “have entered into a covenant with death” (verse 15).
I am especially thankful for 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, which reveals more to us than we can actually understand. I am grateful for Paul’s candor and willingness to share about his “thorn in the flesh,” which enables us all to identify personally with the apostle. Precisely because we do not know what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, we can all identify therefore with his sufferings, for who among us has not experienced a similar affliction? Moreover, what is really important here is not the focus of Paul’s thorn, but that God’s grace is sufficient for us – His grace is made perfect within the framework of our weaknesses – which are reminders of our own sad predicament. This is how Paul could “boast in his weaknesses,” which made him dependent upon “Christ’s power” (verse 9). Even though we are children of God, we desperately need Him. When we are weak, then we are strong” (verse 10).
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