Today’s scripture: Isaiah 34:1-17 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
“When my sword has drunk it’s fill in the heavens, lo, it will descend upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed to judgement.”
This passage in Isaiah isn’t exactly light reading for a relaxing afternoon! It flows with fire and brimstone, carnage and destruction! This is not where I usually like to spend my meditation time. But several readings had me pausing on verse 4. When God says:
“All the hosts of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll.”
the language definitely grabs my attention; I have heard this phraseology elsewhere. This is apocalyptic language that speaks to epic destruction!
Have you ever tried to weed thistle? Just pulling the greenery actually compounds the problem. Every significant rootlet left behind sends up new growth. Superficial efforts produce more thistle, not less. To be effective, the entire root system must be destroyed to the point beyond recovery. That is the analogy for the process being outlined here. The attack is first on the spiritual roots of the nation of Edom in the heavens; followed by physical devastation in the visible world.
Healthy roots are essential for healthy plants. Think of all the civilizations that had disappeared until modern archaeology restored our awareness of them. While they rose and prospered, their vision of who they were acted in tune with the world about them. When their direction became disjointed with the essential factors that founded their well-being, social fabric started to shred and crumble. The more severe the delusion, the more profound the devastation. I am led to recall a similar sentiment from Greek history: “Whom the gods would destroy, they first drive mad.”
I would aver that it is not weapons and armies that topple civilizations, although they often play a great role in the latter destructive moments. It is a severe loss of clear direction, an erosion of the proper boundaries and spiritual focus needed to keep a way of life stable; it is a failure of vision amid the challenges that the world can produce. In native American cultures, the description for many things we call evil is a term that translates best as “unbalanced” or “bent out of shape”. It gives a label for behavior that is crazy to the point of inflicting undeserved harm on others or even self-destruction.
Vitality is energy, which can be aimed toward growth, or poured into destruction. It will flow and feed on it effects as it goes. The plant will reflect the root that feeds it. What roots do I draw on?
Thought for the day: Thank you, Lord, for the capacity to look within for the sources of my thoughts and actions. Help me root out the unhealthy and nurture that which sustains! Guide our nation to sound choices in the upcoming elections!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.