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Israel Refined for God’s Glory

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel,

and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD

and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.

2 For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel;

the LORD of hosts is his name.

3 “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;

then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

4 Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew

and your forehead brass,

5 I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass, I announced them to you,

lest you should say, My idol did them,

my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

 

When I was in my late 20s, I took my first accounting class. The terms “credit” and “debit” got all scrambled up in my head. Here, God clearly states that God wants the credit for acts God has planned and carried out. Seems simple, and yet I wonder how often I incorrectly assign credit, either to myself or perhaps to another person, just because that person is someone I like or admire. I hope I am past the days of thinking of “my lucky stars” as something to thank!

When considering things that I might errantly take credit for, I think of my strengths, or my gifts. When I am able to employ them successfully and I receive notice, I know that every time, every single time, I must return thanks. This doesn’t mean I always remember to do that. I sadly can find myself basking in a little glory before I express gratitude. I hate it when I am guilty of that. It doesn’t mean that I can’t feel wonderful for a second, it just means that I have to feel wonderful that God used me for good, and not that I did something good! I am reminded of the following Bible verse from Luke 17:10: “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, should say ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” That’s humbling, but humility is a worthy attribute.

I’ve said it before, but one way to really be able to give God credit is for us to step outside of our comfort zones and accept a challenge by agreeing to attempt a task that we know does not align with our personal strengths. Pray for success. And, if it comes, it's easy to assign God the credit.

Another thing that stands out to me about today’s verse is the analogy of the Israelites necks to “iron sinews.” I have heard the term “stiff necked” before, but I hadn’t thought about it much. One connotation is that a person with an iron sinew neck would not be able to turn his or her head, or look up, to see things that might be important. We could take that many directions (pun intended), but for today, let’s just have this simple lesson. When something good happens and we want to assign credit, let’s first look up and then look around to see who might be deserving.

Dear Jesus, you enable us to be members of your body, to do your work here on earth. Help us to daily remember Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And when we are successful, help us to promptly return thanks.

Juli Hampton

Ham10five@gmail.com

 

Prayer Concern - That our country would be a nation that honors God