As I put my Bible and commentary out on the patio and looked forward to my time of studying, I got excited about learning. But then I thought, “It’s not just learning new ideas that is important but what will I learn about God? What does God want to show me about Himself? He isn’t as much interested in me learning ideas as me becoming intimate with Him–knowing Him.”
From my reading of Isaiah so far and from every book of the Bible, God is saying, “I want relationship with you–to know me–and I’ll do whatever it takes to draw you to Me.” And as in the case of the prophet books, God is saying, “I need to discipline you in order to draw you to Me because you are seeking idols instead of Me.”
I found this as I read that day, “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand” (Is. 1:3 NASB). God longed for Israel to know and understand Himself.
In my commentary, it pointed out that in those days the ox was known for being submissive and a donkey was known for being stupid. God is saying that Israel is less submissive than an ox and more stupid than a donkey. Ouch! What a commentary for a group of people.
Oh, Lord, I don’t want to be like that. Help me to seek You as I study, not just insights or learning or facts or clever ideas. But Lord, I want to know and understand You. Please reveal Yourself to Me today.