Knowing God - Isaiah 58:14

(from Pastor)

I will cause thee to ride

upon the high places of earth

Isaiah 58:14

Those are God's words to us. And to be honest, I don't know what they mean. Does "ride upon the high places of earth" mean that God wants to fly on a 747, hike the Himalayas , or enjoy plenty of high and happy celebrations?

Maybe.

But before urging you to book a plane flight to Tibet , I thought I'd look at translations and context other than the old King James! The general context of this passage is worship. Generations in Israel had ignored true worship -- a vital relationship with God. As much as anything, that eventually led to Judah 's fall. The specific context, verses 13-14, is the need for Sabbath observance. Isaiah says, "13 Keep the Sabbath day holy ... 14 then the Lord will be your delight ... [and] ...

+ ... you will "ride upon the high places of earth" ... (King James)

+ ... you will be "honored all over the world ..." (Good News)

+ ... you will be "give[n] control over the most important places in the land ..." (New International Readers)

+ ... you will be "give[n] great honor ..." (New Living)

+ ... you will be "lift[ed] up above the high places of the earth ..." (Douay-Rheims)

+ ... you will be "carr[ied] to the high places above the earth ..." (New Century)

I like the last two. Earthly honors will eventually fail. (Why? Because we'll all eventually die.) But I want to be "lift[ed] above the high places of the earth" and "carr[ied]" to heaven!

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants to "earn his wings"

and fly higher with God

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the first part of the verse, 'you will find joy in the Lord' and ... I love to spin.  (I already KNOW I am weird.)  I also love to swing.  One of my favorite carnival rides is the swing where your go in a circle.  It is a moment of joy for me to carried above the ground on that ride.  Dangling my feet. Laughing out loud. Feeling the wind on my face and in my hair.  The ride always ends way to soon.  


BUT (see - it still pops up)


God will carry us above the high places.  Can't you picture it? Held secure in his arms, feeling the wind in your face, swinging your feet because you can, laughing out loud for the sheer joy.  And this ride won't end.  But you have to keep v13 in mind... Keep the Sabbath holy... That is something we all need to figure out how to do.