Do you know what, I am loving this whole Creation to Christ in 147 days thing. For the first time I am beginning to appreciate the different bits of the Bible actually in the context as it is written, rather than looking at the verses in isolation.
In the last week or so some of the OT prophecy has stood out to me and it has added extra "wow factor" when I have seen the prophecies as part of the bigger picture. So when we read Micah 5:1-5, just as the exile was happening the message I got was: when the "poo" (slightly edited as this is a church blog!) hits the fan, God has a bigger plan. An amazing loving plan. Even when all the baddies had come to take Israel and Judah into exile, God's purpose all along was always to send Jesus to shepherd his flock. Wow.
And today I have been reading Isaiah 40:1-5 a passage that I have read like 50 million times, and thought of it in context. I think this might be towards the end of the exile. One of my friends describes the exile as being like "70 years on the naughty step" after which Israel went back to God for love and cuddles! I love that analogy as God's purpose was love all along. Hurrah!
Isaiah 40:1-5 Comfort, comfort my people,Isn't it great, whether we feel like we have been on the naughty step, or whether the "poo" has hit the proverbial fan, that God's intention is to speak tenderly to us. I have been challenged, amongst all the poo on the naughty step to take time to listen to God's tender words.
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
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