Monday, November 3, 2008

My Own Charge

These verses came to me this morning as I was reading Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Eliot. Reading this book has made me reevaluate my female role in the universal realm of all society and in the personal realm of my own current and future family. I highly recommend it along with the many other works she has written. Please read Isaiah 58 today. I know the Lord will be faithful to bless you by the mighty words within it. Here, I have relayed my separated interpretation. It has very many quotes from the New Living Translation.

God starts in verse six to say,

"This is the kind of fasting I want:"

-Free those who are wrongly imprisoned. (v. 6)
-Lighten the burden of those who work for you. (v. 6)
-Let the oppressed go free. (v. 6)
-Remove the chains that bind people. (v. 6)
-Share your food with the hungry. (v. 7)
-Give shelter to the homeless. (v. 7)
-Give clothes to those who need them. (v. 7)
-Do not hide from relatives who need your help. (v. 7)
-Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors. (v. 9)
-Feed the hungry. (v. 10)
-Help those in trouble. (v. 10)
-Keep the Sabbath day holy. (v. 13)
-Speak of the Sabbath with delight. (v. 13)

What a charge for us. What a responsibility.

But the Lord is so balanced in every way. When He asks us to do huge things, He promises giant blessings in return.

-Your salvation will come like the dawn. (v. 8)
-Your wounds will quickly heal. (v. 8)
-Your godliness will lead you forward. (v. 8)
-The glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. (v. 8)
-When you call, the Lord will answer.... He will quickly reply. (v. 9)
-Your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. (v. 10)
-The Lord will guide you continually. (v. 11)
-The Lord will give you water when you are dry. (v. 11)
-The Lord will restore your strength. (v. 11)
-You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. (v. 11)
-The Lord will be your delight. (v. 14)
-The Lord will give you great honor. (v. 14)

1 comment:

Ashley Marie said...

Great reminder! - I love the New Living Translation, because it really makes the Bible real to me, as though Jesus were right here speaking directly to me, like someone here in American would speak right now. And the NLT does all this while keeping it accurate and is _not_ a paraphrase.

Thanks for your thoughts on the Isaiah passage here - I like your points you came up with for the different verses. Just wanted you to know that what you wrote really blessed my evening. :)

~Ashley~