Something different from Solo by Eugene Peterson again today.
READ: Isaiah 27-28
MESSAGE: Read The Message interpretation of Isaiah 27:1-5 very slowly, letting your imagination play with the imagery in the verses. Picture everything vividly, as if you were a child reading a story with beautiful, lifelike illustrations.
Isaiah 27:1-5: At that time God will unsheathe his sword, his merciless, massive, mighty sword. He’ll punish the serpent Leviathan as it flees, the serpent Leviathan thrashing in flight. He’ll kill that old dragon that lives in the sea. At the same time a fine vineyard will appear. There’s something to sing about!
I, God, tend it. I keep it well watered. I keep careful watch over it so that no one can damage it. I’m not angry. I care. Even if it gives me thistles and thornbushes, I just pull them out and burn them up. Let that vine cling to me for safety, let it find good and whole life with me, let it hold on for a good and whole life.”
THINK: As you look at Isaiah 27:1-5, what do you notice about the way God interacts with “that old dragon”? With “that vine”? What is he like? Now put yourself in the scene. What part do you play? How do you feel?
PRAY: Picture God turning to you and inviting you to talk with him about what you are feeling and thinking. Does he ever seem angry to you, or uncaring? What’s it like for you to hear him say otherwise? Share with him your thoughts and feelings, and allow the conversation to unfold.
LIVE: Write about your experience of encountering the God who mercilessly kills the dragon, meanwhile mercifully letting the vine cling to him as it grows. Be sure to include what talking to him about this was like for you. What will you take away from this time?
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