Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 51:9-10 (NIV)
“Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?”
Isaiah 51:9-10 (MSG)
“Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God! Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago. Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab, dispatch the old chaos-dragon? And didn’t you once dry up the sea, the powerful waters of the deep, And then made the bottom of the ocean a road for the redeemed to walk across?”
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“Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]? Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a pathway for the redeemed to cross over?” -AMPLIFIED
“Here, the faithful believer calls out to the LORD, looking to Him for salvation. They know of God’s great works in the past (Awake as in ancient days) but ask God to act on their behalf now. Curiously, though it is phrased this way (and rightfully so), it is really more of a wakeup call to faith for the believer than an attempt to wake up God.” ~David Guzik
Yesterday’s text addressed that pesky moth, a symbol of death. God told Israel not to fear their captors, for they would be destroyed by the moth and worm. But His people, Israel, would experience His promised salvation and mercy forever. Adonai said to Israel:
“They are nothing for you to fear, for the moth will eat them up like a shirt and the worm will consume them like wool, but my righteousness will last forever and my salvation from generation to generation.” -Isaiah 51:8 (The Passion Translation)
Today’s text seems to shift gears a bit. Instead of God speaking, we find the people of Israel crying out to God, to “Wake up”. Once again, we find them feeling abandoned, and they need to be reminded of His presence in their lives. Israel cries out:
“Get up, power of God! Rise up and strengthen Yourself, arm of God. Get up and do like in the olden days, when You saved Your special people—Like when You cut Rahab, that dragon-monster of chaos, in two. And remember when You made the sea dry up and the waters of the deep retreated for Moses and company; then You laid down a road right through for the people You saved to cross over?” -(VOICE)
Twice we find Israel imploring God to “Wake Up” or “Awake”. The double imperative emphasizes and stresses the urgency that they were feeling. They were concerned that He does not realize the dire straits they are in. Possibly they felt that what He had told them was too good to be true. Then again, maybe they felt that their God had abandoned them, leaving them completely on their own in Babylon. Whatever was, they attempted to move Him to action. (They wanted God to do something, and they wanted Him to do it NOW!)
They then began to remind Him of things that He had done for their people in the past, in the OLD DAYS. They began reminding God, with Egypt’s example, which is depicted as a dragon, Rahab, a monster of mythic character. They reminded Him of how He smashed and pierced that dragon in short order long ago, could He not do it again?
NOTE: Rahab in Hebrew is “Rahav”, it means pride, insolence, and arrogant, as well as wide and spacious.
Israel asks:
“Remember when…you took down prideful Egypt, Lord? Was that not You? Was it not You who made a path through the sea to rescue the redeemed? Can you not do that for us again?”
“Awake, O Lord! Rise up and robe yourself with strength. Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile. Are you not the same today, the mighty God who dried up the sea, making a path right through it for your ransomed ones?” -(TLB)
“The Israelites cried out for God to act for them. He had done so in their past history, but they needed His help now.” ~Thomas Constable
Israel needed to remind themselves of some of the basic lessons their people had learned in the past. Namely, that their help always comes from the Lord. Psalm 121, one of the songs of ascent sung on their way to Jerusalem to worship the Lord emphasizes this truth. Psalm 121 reminds us that God is our ever-present help.
“I look up at the vast size of the mountains—from where will my help come in times of trouble?
The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains will send the help I need. He holds you firmly in place; He will not let you fall. He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep. What a relief! The One who watches over Israel never leaves for rest or sleep. The Eternal keeps you safe, so close to Him that His shadow is a cooling shade to you.
Neither bright light of sun nor dim light of moon will harm you. The Eternal will keep you safe
from all of life’s evils, From your first breath to the last breath you breathe, from this day and forever.” -Psalm 121 (VOICE)
The Sons of Korah also wrote a song about God being our protection and our strength, a tested and proven help in times of trouble. The song is entitled God Protects His People. The Sons of Korah wrote:
“God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble.
So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes, or the mountains fall into the sea,
even if the oceans roar and foam, or the mountains shake at the raging sea. Selah There is a river that brings joy to the city of God, the holy place where God Most High lives.
God is in that city, and so it will not be shaken. God will help her at dawn.
Nations tremble and kingdoms shake. God shouts and the earth crumbles. The Lord All-Powerful is with us; the God of Jacob is our defender. Selah Come and see what the Lord has done, the amazing things he has done on the earth.
He stops wars everywhere on the earth. He breaks all bows and spears and burns up the chariots with fire.
God says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be praised in all the nations; I will be praised throughout the earth.” The Lord All-Powerful is with us; the God of Jacob is our defender. Selah” -Psalm 46 (New Century Version)
“God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present.” ~Thomas Merton
My friend, remember, He is Emmanuel, God with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Let us stop relying on our feelings, we may not “feel” God near, but know that He is near. He has not forgotten us, and nothing takes Him by surprise. He is, in fact, always working on our behalf. You can trust Him.
“The circuitous paths that our lives seemingly take never catch God by surprise. He sees us. He is with us. Again, the Israelites’ wilderness experience demonstrates that it is seeing Him rightly, and recognizing that we are seen by Him, that saves us from ourselves and our circumstances.” ~Kari Cope
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, there are times when I feel alone, that you are not near. Please forgive me for every doubting you. You have promised to be my Emmanuel, God with me, always. Remind me to not trust my feelings, but to trust your promises. For your promises are tried and trusted. You have proven yourself to be trustworthy through the ages. And I know that I can always count on you to be my refuge, strength, and Helper. Lord, remind me, when I walk through those difficult times that you are near to me. Remind me that you are all I need, that I can trust You to bring me through the other side safely. Thank you, dear Lord, for Your nearness to me is my good.
Growing with God 