Passage Read: Isaiah 31-34
Meditation Verses: 33:14-16
Thought
It is sinners who say, "Who can dwell with this consuming fire?" It is those who refuse to submit to the Lord that see Him and fear Him as a frightful burning. In answer to their question, the Lord declares that it is those who do what is right and love righteousness who will dwell forever with the Lord. Those who love the Lord and listen to His voice and live according to His directives, they do not fear the Lord, but dwell with Him, enjoying His gracious and generous provision. They lack nothing and enjoy Him forever.
Application
Only the wicked need fear the Lord. His fire rages against them. They will suffer His eternal burning. But if they would repent and submit to the Lord, they would find everlasting peace and provision. The Lord would not seem cruel to them, but generous and gracious. The righteous delight in His presence; the wicked see only burning and flame. It is one and the same Lord. The only difference is one rejects the Lord's discipline and the other learns from it. As long as I listen to the Lord's instruction and live by it, I too will see the Lord as a delight, and have no need to fear His burning wrath.