First Thought

נִשְׁאַ֥ר בָּעִ֖יר שַׁמָּ֑ה וּשְׁאִיָּ֖ה יֻכַּת־שָֽׁעַר׃

Desolation is left in the city; and the gate is battered to ruins. (Isaiah 24:12)

As people of God, we are sometimes faced with situations where we are tempted to ask, “How could He let this happen?” The people of Isaiah’s time who witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem indeed had similar questions. Most of the time, we can not provide a satisfactory answer. The only right choice is to relinquish any notion that we can control the situation and, like Job, trust in Him no matter what the outcome.

Figure 33.1: Zion Gate from the south. The pockmarks in the walls are remnants of the 1967 war to liberate the Old City. This time, the gate was battered but held! Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands