The ‘BEAUTY of NATURE’ points to the ‘CREATOR GOD’!
July 29 Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapters 40-42
The ‘BEAUTY of NATURE’ points to the ‘CREATOR GOD’!
"I will plant in the wilderness the
cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the
desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, that they may
see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord
has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it." (Isaiah
41:19-20)
For the
first time in the Book of Isaiah God referred to the nation Israel (the “descendants of Abraham”) as His “servant” (41:8-9). In the new act of
redemption, the Creator of heaven and earth (40:26; 42:5; 45:12, 18) will renew
everything for the sake of His people. In these passages, God promised Israel final victory over her two greatest foes
throughout history: other nations (41:11–16)
and the forces of nature in her own land
(41:17–20).
The prophet Isaiah
gives us a beautiful picture of God’s provision of water to abundantly supply
the needs of His people. God promises them rivers, fountains, and springs of
water. The abundant water supply would lead to the God’s planting of trees and
vegetation (35:1, 2) in the wilderness: the
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, fir, pine, and boxwood. These seven trees, all common to Syria and
Israel, symbolize the perfection of God’s
work on behalf of His people!
When we
apply this passage to our time and place, we can visualize the handiwork of God
in His creation, specifically the nature around us. The earth, which is the
pinnacle of God’s creation, is filled with signs that points to the Creator
God. Isaiah 41:19 describes the creative handiwork of God. The wonders of
individual plants are part of God’s handprint as described in different
passages of Scripture. In other places, we see the beauty and wonder of the rose (Isaiah 35:1), the lily (Matt. 6:28), and even a tiny plant that provided temporary
shade for Jonah (Jonah 4:6).
God has
colored nature with an unprecedented and unmatched display of beauty. They all
scream to us silently about the greatness of God who has created them all on the
third day (Gen. 1:11-13) by His spoken Word. Can we open our eyes to the beauty of nature today that is so evident
around us and praise God Almighty for
His creative wonders and His artistic masterpiece!
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world." (Psalms 19:1-4)
