Knight In Shining Armor

            say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; for your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:4)

          To render judgment,

          To do battle,

          For vengeance and,

          For divine retribution.

          That’s the “big, bad God” way to read the last three days' worth of reasons He would (and will) come. But the end of today’s passage gives us that second reason again. Will He come to render judgment on you, or for you? Will He do battle against you, or for you? Will He come for vengeance on you, or for you? Will He take divine retribution against you, or for you?

          I know it’s easy in our fast-paced world to pick up on the pattern of the sentences in the last paragraph and skip them because you know what they say, but please go back and read them. Read them slowly. Read them aloud. Savor them, especially those pesky little prepositions: on, against, and for.

          Perhaps you aren’t like me – but given the popularity of certain literary genres, I suspect you are. There are times when I would dearly love a knight in shining armor (even if the armor is figurative) to come along. Sometimes, it’s that the problems aren’t the sort that I can solve. Sometimes, I don’t want to solve them even though I want them solved (pick your pet sin.) Sometimes, I’m just tired, or there are too many issues all at once. Sometimes, I just want to feel important enough to someone… anyone that they would bother. Sometimes, I’m jealous. The reasons aren’t all good, or even valid, but sometimes, we’d like someone to wreak a little vengeance and divine retribution for us.

          He came and will come again, to do that, if we are on His side.