As I meditate in the lovely writings
of the prophet, Isaiah, I find comfort. I am not
trying to teach the prophecies. I could not, even if I
wanted to. I am not a theologian-nor do I want to be. I
am a woman, wife, a mother, a grandmother--yea, even a
great grandmother. Mostly people do not pay too much
attention to what I think or write. But God has burdened
my heart to write a "blessing" a day from our
DAILY BIBLE READINGS. I long to receive just
that--A BLESSING. And, if you are blessed with
me, that is a double blessing for me!
Today, let us look at a beautiful
admonitiofrom Isaiah's pen. They are words directly
from the LORD'S mouth: "For thus saith the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel. . . " (Isaiah 30:15) Let me
tell you about the name of God here, THE LORD GOD.
It is called a Tet ra gram ma ton. Those are the
four consonants of the ancient Hebrew name for God. It
is variously transliterated JHVH, IHVH, JHWH, YHVH,
YHWH. This name of God is considered too sacred to
be spoken aloud! The word, Adonai (Lord) is
substituted for this name in utterance, and the vowels
of Adonai or Elohim (God) are inserted in
Hebrew texts, so that the modem reconstructions are
Yahweh, Jehovah, etc.
This is so beautiful! The name of
JEHOVAH was so precious that the Hebrews did not how
to pronounce it. They substituted other names like
"Lord" in its place. Jehovah's name here was not
pronounced. How HOLY was His name. Yet today, the name
of the Lord is taken in vain on every doorstep. People
think nothing of using His name as if it were a
punctuation mark in a sentence.
Just thinking about that HOLY NAME,
brings an awe, a hush, a silence. Isaiah wrote
"in returning and rest shall ye be saved .. " The
Israelites were floundering. They were in great
distress. They did not want to hear the strong
prophecies. They said, "Prophesy not unto us right
things, speak unto us smooth things. prophesy deceits"
(Isaiah 30:10). They did not want the straight
truth!
How we human beings need times of
"quietness"! Sometimes the hustle and bustle of
life is too much! It wears us down. It wars against our
souls. Sometimes our nervous system cannot stand
anymore. We must come apart and rest, or we will fall
apart without it! The human body can e only take so
much. We push ourselves or someone else pushes us until
we break!
"Quietness" restores confidence.
As I write, I am remembering a time when my husband and
I were in Michigan. We were visiting a certain pastor's
home. Their home was humble, but there was a "joy of
family" in that house! They had many children. Most
were adults and out of the nest. There were two left at
home that I remember. They were the last of the lot! How
they were loved! I was in need of "quietness." So
I found a little room in the attic welcoming me with
peace and silence. I remember it well. The
"peace," the "rest," the "quietness."
I needed it so! All that "quietness" brought a
sweet "confidence" to my weary soul!
The sad fact about this verse in
Isaiah 30: 15 is that Judah would not wait for the Lord.
GOD to work out their problem. They rushed ahead of
Him and said, "No, Nor we will flee upon horses.
. ."
Are you in a rush today? Do you have
unrest in your soul? Are you turning a deaf ear to
God's plea for you to wait on Him in quietness?
If so, stop today! There is a voice behind you speaking.
IT IS GOD’S VOICE! It is saying "This is the way,
walk ye in it!" (Isaiah 30:21)
