Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
I have no idea what this means.
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Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
According to Isaiah God is the God who created the Smith who forms the weapons. God is the God who created the waster to destroy. This is the same God who is teaching the children of the afflicted in verse 13 and the God who promises us in verse 17 that no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.
This is not an empty promise, who knows better what these weapons are than the God who created the guy who makes these weapons and the God who created the guy who uses these weapons?
Yes, I agree with OBW that it would be nice if people would stop lying and play nice. But until that day comes, I'll take the Lord's promise. He will teach us and great will be our peace. We have been established in righteousness and oppression is far from us. And,
54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
The promise is not that they will not gather against us, the promise is that they shall fall. The promise is not that the gates of Hades will not try to imprison us, but rather that the gates of Hades will not prevail.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
It doesn't say that all things work together for good to them that teach the truth. Suppose you hate God, then you are not happy if God is glorified. If you love God, seeing God glorified is good. If you realize that your life, and death, are for a purpose, then being reviled, or vilified, or unrighteously treated, or despised, or despitefully used, or persecuted for Christ's name will work out for good.
Inuendo is like a bluff in poker. You are suggesting that you have an ace up your sleeve, but you haven't played it yet. If you call their bluff you expose their lie. Instead of walking away from the table, play the hand out. There is no reason to be provoked by someone bluffing, it is all part of the game. Do you think that someone who has built up everything they have by bluffing has any peace? When you itemize all of the oppression in the LRC you are giving the symptoms of something that is not established in righteousness. There is no peace, and as a result oppression is everywhere. Who taught them this? Surely not God. So then what about the other promises, God said that "surely they will gather against thee, but not of Me" this will no longer apply. They will expect and anticipate people gathering against them, hence the lack of peace and the oppression all around. This is why we can give thanks to God who created the Smith and the Waster. The day of judgement will come on them, and the waiting for that day to arrive is much worse than the judgement coming suddenly.