Isa 45.8-13

Psg: Isaiah 45:8-13 NET  (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/Is45.8)
Date: 4/13/12

Read

O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow,
and deliverance may sprout up along with it.
I, the Lord, create it.
One who argues with his creator is in grave danger,
one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter,
“What in the world are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!”
Danger awaits one who says to his father,
“What in the world are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?”
This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him,
concerning things to come:
“How dare you question me about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands!
I made the earth,
I created the people who live on it.
It was me – my hands stretched out the sky,
I give orders to all the heavenly lights.
It is me – I stir him up and commission him;
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord who commands armies.

Record

The clay should not say to the potter, "What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill."

Reflect

• Do I really trust that the Creator, my Creator, knows what he is doing? Do I question the goodness of his work?
• On the positive side, we must conclude that God does know what he is doing, his work lacks no skill, what he does is good, etc. He is trustworthy.
• We can also conclude that he is never not involved, as if the work "had no hands" (see the NET footnote on the literal Hebrew).
• Context: God is going to use Cyrus in order to discipline his people. Note that what God is doing so well may not be immediately pleasant (but we can't assume everything unpleasant is discipline!)
• When things are good, this verse doesn't really grab us. But when things are unpleasant, we question if God is good, or perhaps if we have been bad. Whether or not it is discipline, we can trust that what God is doing is good. We must also realize that God doesn't completely shield us from every effect of enemies.
• This does not preclude inquisitive wondering into God's plan.

Respond

• In what ways do I, the pottery, question you, the Potter, in this way? You are utterly trustworthy. What we my daily life near like if I never forgot this? How would I deal with situations? How would I treat people? How would I counsel them?