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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, August 21, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Hebrew Poetic Style Bible Verse:Isaiah 51:16-19 "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk the cup of Jehovah's wrath at his hand. You have drunk the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it. There is nobody to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither are there any that take her by the hand, among all the sons that she has raised. These two things are befallen thee, and who shall moan for you? Desolation and destruction, famine and the sword; how can I comfort you? Your sons have fainted and lie in the streets, like antelopes in a net; they are full of the wrath of Jehovah, the rebuke of your God. " Message:
Isaiah uses a poetic form similar to that used in the Psalms. It consists of a statement followed by a response. Hebrew poets used this one-two rhetorical device in a number of ways. For example:
1) The response is often a restatement, usually with some variation: "There is nobody to guide her" . . . "neither are there any to take her by the hand.";
2) The response may answer a question posed in the verse;
Isaiah by Lorenzo Monaco
Isaiah
3) The response may explain the verse: "Your sons have fainted" . . . "they are full of the wrath of Jehovah.";
4) The response may give a second idea that is related to the first. This is common in Proverbs, where there may be a string of responses, e.g. "Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor."
5) The response may give a consequence of the verse, e.g. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.";
6) The response may give an opposite example, e.g. "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."
Often this form is nested, with statement/response verses forming a larger statement/response form between verses. Look at the first two verses of Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
The first verse is a statement, followed by a pair of variation responses ("nor stands .. . nor sits . . .") The second verse consists of a statement ("but his delight . . ."), then a response that repeats and elaborates the first statement ("and upon his law . . ."). Also, however, the first verse is a statement and the second verse is a response, a positive comparison to the negatively stated first verse. Verse one tells us something a blessed man does not do; the second verse answers with the contrary, showing us how the blessed man does act.
This technique of dualism is the heart of Hebrew poetry, and skill in its use is the mark of the poet's skill, much like rhyming the final word of a verse and following a specific rhythm (the form most familiar to us) became the sign of skill in English poetry of the 17th-19th centuries. To understand the ancient poetic form gives us an extra dimension of beauty and meaning when we read the Old Testament; instead of finding them odd or even ungainly, we can find the beauty hidden in them.
With this in mind, we can see the gracefulness in today's verses, even though we read them in translation: "There is nobody to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither are there any that take her by the hand, among all the sons that she has raised." Isaiah is not trying to bore us by saying the same thing twice. This is a beautiful and skillful song style, and the listener looked forward to the restatement of the theme.
Meditation : Prayer : Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord........Amen |
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