Your grandmother knew best—it is always good to count your blessings.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the evil, the frustrating or simply the mundane. At such points, it is a smart thing to remind yourself again that this is our Father’s world and yes, difficulties exist, but so do the everyday blessings and graces of life. Counting our blessings helps put things in perspective—that does not remove the real struggles of life, but sometimes it can draw us closer to the Savior of all, our great Lord Jesus.
Remembering my blessings, it doesn’t take long to realize that I have been given many wonderful gifts in life. Sure, there have been difficulties, even traumatic ones, but overall, the blessings flow.
And, so, it is left to the imagination, not experience, to understand much of the biblical imagery of suffering, punishment, judgment and struggle. The Bible addresses much of the pain and difficulties of this life through metaphor, imagery and analogy. Using these tools the biblical authors are able to express the depth and seriousness of the brokenness of this world and the impact of that brokenness upon us. Our passage for worship this week, Isaiah 43, employs dramatic metaphors/images to communicate, and while I have limited experience of these difficulties, they are easy for the imagination to grasp.
Isaiah describes the trauma of suffering with the imagery of flood and fire. Now, I have never been seriously burnt nor in the middle of a flood, but my imagination can easily grasp the author’s point. In part that is because of the familiarity of these images in the Bible with judgment, wrath, punishment and the consequences of our sin. A few examples…
- Noah and the flood
- Hell and final judgment as a pit of unquenchable fire
- The fire of purification from sin, cleansing the dross
- Washing away of what is unclean
- The pillar of fire marking God’s protective presence
- The prophetic use of floods as impending judgment in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc.
- The burnt offerings (marking our sin) at the altar
- The fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
For Isaiah in chapter 43, the imagery of flood and fire are, however, just the background for his main message. Here, as throughout the Bible, judgment and suffering are not an end to themselves, but steps in the redemptive process that begins and ends with God and specifically with His people in His presence. Yes, the floods and fire occur, but God’s promise of His presence dominates. This week in worship, we will be celebrating that together. Join us!
In preparation for worship this week, read Isaiah 43, especially verses 1-3.
- “Jacob” and “Israel” are two names for the same people—those called by God—just as “created” and “formed” basically mean the same thing. What is Isaiah’s point in using both terms repeated as they are?
- The end of verse 1 has four ideas—but not four different ideas but basically the same thing. How does “fear not,” “redeemed,” “called” and “you are mine” all speak of the same experience? Why use four different terms? What is gained by the author by doing so?
- Water and fire are two images of judgment throughout the Bible. Can you come up with some examples where the Bible uses these images?
- God’s promise in the midst of suffering/trial is listed at the end of each line in verse 2. What are they, and how do they promise God’s blessings?
- The first part of verse 3 provides the basis or the reason why God does what He does for His people. What is that reason? How does that speak of our God?
By Henry Knapp