13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you,
not able to heal your sores.
There wasn't a lot that stood out to me this morning. There was a couple of small things.
1. The name Ephraim was ringing bells in the back of my head as I was reading the chapter. Remember him from the Ephraim and Mennasah (sp) fame? These are the 2 sons of Joseph that Jacob blessed. Well, even a blessed person (or lineage) can lose their way. That's what we are reading here. We see that the people have lost their way. Its a reminder to me that I need to be ever repentence to God, and continue to seek him. Everyday re-dedicating myself to him.
2. The verse above me stuck out telling me to take my issues to the only place that is capable of effecting my situation. Going to Doctors for a cold is ok, and going to the grocery store for food is good,.....but it ALL is a blessing from God. I just had a long talk with the boys this weekend about how we treat our stuff. The minute you start to think of it all as yours, that's when you get into trouble. I need to remember to pray to God with all my issues and my concerns. Ultimately, he is the only one that is powerful enough to do something about it. (even if he is working thru other secondary sources)
tp out
15 Then I will return to my lair
ReplyDeleteuntil they have borne their guilt
and seek my face—
in their misery
they will earnestly seek me.”
Good take. I had a similar thought about seeking out the dr. to fix illness. Until they seek my face caught my attention. Like you said we need to repent, seeking him to put it out there for him to wipe clean for us any and all sins we have committed. its not like he doesn't know what we have done anyway, but he expects us to own up to it and ask for his forgiveness which he has promised to give.
knut