Sermon Snippet – The Steady Stream of God’s Goodness
INTRODUCTION – We have a small steam that runs behind the parsonage. It is a pretty spot and attracts a variety of wildlife. As I contemplated its simple beauty this week, I was drawn to Isaiah 8:5-8. The background of this passage is the refusal of the people of Judah to rejoice in God’s provision and protection (“the waters of Shiloah that go softly” – verse 6). Instead, they sought help from a foreign leader (“the waters of the river, strong and many” – verse 7). The message of this poetic prophecy is profound.
1. THE STEADY STREAM OF GOD’S GOODNESS
The people of Isaiah’s day would have been familiar with his geographical references. “The waters of Shiloah that go softly” flowed from a spring into a reservoir within the capital city of Jerusalem. It was a stable source of life-sustaining water, a necessity for any city or individual home and a rich blessing in the arid Middle East. The point of this imagery is that God had always provided for His people and should be trusted. We, like sheep, have been led by the Good Shepherd to a safe place of refreshment: “He leadeth me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2b). Provision and peace He has graciously granted us. Proverbs 5:15 uses the symbolism of available fresh water to exhort us to satisfaction in our current relationships: “Drink water out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.” The context of the entire chapter is the sanctity of marriage, and it is appropriate to extend this principle of fidelity and loyalty to all of our relationships, especially our relationship with God. He is ever faithful and merits a faithful response from each of us.
2. WE ARE WRECKED BY THE RAGING RIVER OF THE WORLD
“The river” (usually capitalized in newer translations) refers to the Euphrates and is a symbol for the Assyrian Empire. An alliance with the Assyrians should have been immediately rejected, for the Assyrians were an especially vicious and cruel people, an unreliable ally. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” the pragmatists amongst us would confidently assert. No, desperate times call for God and His help. The picture of a flooding Euphrates River (verses 7-8) changes the water imagery to one of destruction and death. The world system that opposes God is showy and even spectacular, but it never offers salvation. If we had more time today, we would study the Scripture’s use of “flood” and see that it is used negatively in numerous different contexts. The point is that this world does not have our best interests at heart; in fact, it has no heart and is at war with our hearts.
CONCLUSION – In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus, God the Son, spoke a parable about the wise man and the foolish man and the need for salvation through faith in Jesus. Christians are not exempt from the onslaughts of life, but here we are today, still standing and still headed for heaven. Our Lord will keep us and refresh us, and He will kindly employ us as conduits of His blessing. I think of “The Old Tin Cup,” the song that Linwood sang so effectively for so many years. As that Gospel song prays, may we become vessels of the steady stream of God’s goodness.