8 December 2010

Psalm 38; Isa. 6:1-13; 2 Thess. 1:1-12; John 7:53-8:11

It seems that this vision and encounter would be Isaiah chapter 1 instead of chapter 6. He has already been used as a prophet but now he sees that he is not clean himself. Lest the prophet get “too big for his britches” and let his own indignation with the people cause him pride, the Lord gives Isaiah a vision of His holiness sufficient to cause the prophet to see his own situation clearly. Now he is able to humbly identify with the sins of his own people, not stand aloof in self-righteousness. The word he is given has a promise, that it will be ineffective. Why would God call him to the office of prophet when his work would have little to no effect? The Lord never leaves Himself without a witness and He announces it in advance to the prophets so that the people will know He is faithful to His word.

How did they happen to catch this woman in the midst of adultery and where is the man with whom she was trysting? Why did they bring her straight to Jesus? Sounds like a set-up to me, both for her and for Jesus. If indeed it was a set-up then they all had a duty to have prevented it under the law. Was that their guilt of which Jesus spoke? There are many unanswered questions in the Bible and what Jesus wrote in the dust here is one of those that have perplexed everyone and yet John does not give us any indication that we can ascertain about what it was Jesus wrote. What we do know is that He forgave this woman and told her to sin no more. No one got away from this morning’s encounter with Jesus without dealing with sin.

Paul revels in the Thessalonians growth in the faith and their love for one another. He recognizes that they are under persecution and then delights in the fact that their persecutors are themselves suffering. It is interesting that Paul, himself formerly a persecutor of the church, now rejoices that God will judge those who oppose the movement of the church. Paul received mercy and revelation from God that what he opposed was God Himself in Jesus Christ. We cannot always know the future and those who currently stand against us may someday be with us, we have to live so that such reconciliation is possible, praying for our enemies and treating them as Jesus commanded, turning the other cheek.

For you, O LORD, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
For I said, "Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!"