Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2021 17:07:21 GMT -5
Desperate Solutions By: Tim Gustafson
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You did not . . . have regard for the One who planned it long ago.
Isaiah 22:11
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 22:8–13
In the late sixteenth century, William of Orange intentionally flooded much of his nation’s land. The Dutch monarch resorted to such a drastic measure in an attempt to drive out the invading Spaniards. It didn’t work, and a vast swath of prime farmland was lost to the sea. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” they say.
In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem turned to desperate measures when the Assyrian army threatened them. Creating a water storage system to endure the siege, the people also tore down houses to shore up the city walls. Such tactics may have been prudent, but they neglected the most important step. “You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool,” God said, “but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11).
We aren’t likely to encounter a literal army outside our homes today. “The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people,” said Oswald Chambers. Yet, such “batterings” are genuine threats. Thankfully, they also bring with them God’s invitation to turn to Him first for what we need.
When life’s irritations and interruptions come, will we see them as opportunities to turn to God? Or will we seek our own desperate solutions?
Reflect & Pray
What ordinary threats do you face today? What do you need to face them?
Today, loving God, I turn to You first with all of my challenges, large and small.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The reservoir built between the two walls for the water of the “Old Pool” (Isaiah 22:11) is most likely Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which can still be seen (and walked through) in Jerusalem today. Hezekiah had a tunnel dug under the old city of Jerusalem south of the Temple Mount. The tunnel connected the spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley on the east side of the city to the pool now known as the Pool of Siloam to the west. Its purpose was to bring water from that spring inside the city walls so that any besieging army wouldn’t be able to access water, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem would have water. It was a sound military strategy, and Isaiah doesn’t critique it. Instead, he critiques the priority of physical preparation over paying attention first to the spiritual. But Hezekiah later demonstrates a faith not evident in Isaiah 22 (see ch. 37). Con Campbell
Isaiah 22:8-13
King James Version
8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
Click here for the audio message
You did not . . . have regard for the One who planned it long ago.
Isaiah 22:11
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 22:8–13
In the late sixteenth century, William of Orange intentionally flooded much of his nation’s land. The Dutch monarch resorted to such a drastic measure in an attempt to drive out the invading Spaniards. It didn’t work, and a vast swath of prime farmland was lost to the sea. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” they say.
In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem turned to desperate measures when the Assyrian army threatened them. Creating a water storage system to endure the siege, the people also tore down houses to shore up the city walls. Such tactics may have been prudent, but they neglected the most important step. “You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool,” God said, “but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11).
We aren’t likely to encounter a literal army outside our homes today. “The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people,” said Oswald Chambers. Yet, such “batterings” are genuine threats. Thankfully, they also bring with them God’s invitation to turn to Him first for what we need.
When life’s irritations and interruptions come, will we see them as opportunities to turn to God? Or will we seek our own desperate solutions?
Reflect & Pray
What ordinary threats do you face today? What do you need to face them?
Today, loving God, I turn to You first with all of my challenges, large and small.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The reservoir built between the two walls for the water of the “Old Pool” (Isaiah 22:11) is most likely Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which can still be seen (and walked through) in Jerusalem today. Hezekiah had a tunnel dug under the old city of Jerusalem south of the Temple Mount. The tunnel connected the spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley on the east side of the city to the pool now known as the Pool of Siloam to the west. Its purpose was to bring water from that spring inside the city walls so that any besieging army wouldn’t be able to access water, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem would have water. It was a sound military strategy, and Isaiah doesn’t critique it. Instead, he critiques the priority of physical preparation over paying attention first to the spiritual. But Hezekiah later demonstrates a faith not evident in Isaiah 22 (see ch. 37). Con Campbell
Isaiah 22:8-13
King James Version
8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.