The bed is too short on which to
stretch out, and the blanket is too small (narrow) to wrap oneself
in. Isaiah 28:20
Well, I must admit that I have never
seen this scripture before, and the context is amazing...
I am a quilter, for those of you who
don't know this tidbit of info. I spend a great deal of time making
quilts for customers to fit their beds. There are beds of all shapes
and sizes. There are cribs, twin, full, queen, king, super king, California king, camper, cot, extended twin, and nappers. The frames
that hold them make as much difference in the size desired as the
measurements of the mattress. Do they want it to drop to the floor or
just cover the mattress to reveal the dust ruffle? Is it a water bed
or have solid-sided frames? The bed is meant to fit the person
sleeping in it, and the bedding is sized to cover the bed, and thus,
the person. I picture the Dr. Suess character in one of his books
(One Fish, Two Fish? It has been a few years since reading these to
my children) with his head sticking out one end and his feet the
other. We just cannot rest in a bed that is too short or too narrow.
We have a hard time sleeping when we have nothing to cover ourselves
with. Even with the cloth over the top of us, if the sides are not
covered, we still get chilly and can't rest. There is no sleep, and
we are miserable.
So why is the bed too short and the
blanket too narrow?
Judah is ruled by a bunch of drunks and they set up their own systems of rule while not being able to think
straight. Having never been drunk myself, I have had times when my
brain was so foggy from illness that I could not have made a decent
decision, let alone rule over someone. These guys (yes, they were
guys!) made a deal with death instead of living in the Life of God.
They thought that nothing could possibly go wrong, lying to
themselves and everyone else about the results of living the way they
thought were wise. God then sets out the Cornerstone passage...the
foundation of Jesus in the new testament...on which people can live
stable, secure lives. He compares their foundation with His and comes
up with their bed being short-sheeted! Who knew? God knows that
anything man-made will not cover us, warm us, and give us rest and a
good night's sleep. We will drink to dull the pain, not build the bed
long enough or weave the blanket wide enough...we will always be left
wanting for something, though we have no idea what...we wonder how
our measurements were that far off, but what true reasoning has a
drunk? Things become clearer when we drink of God's wisdom, sober up,
and see the lies for what they really are. We get the plans from the
Lord for the size of bed we need, the pattern for the quilting and
bedding that will best suit and cover that bed, and using those
measurements we will be satisfied. We don't have to stumble around
looking for the answers that are already there. We can sleep secure
in confidence that He is watching over us in love and not judgment.
He says those who believe will not be disturbed in heart and soul. We
won't be packing to run away from the coming danger, for He will not
send it our way. He will cover us in the midst of the day of
destruction and invite us to sit on the high ground while the waters
wash away the sinful in the valley below, kind of like Noah, but we
will be able to see the destruction that comes to those who believe
the lie. Noah was spared that...he found the carcasses of the dead, but didn't see them get washed away.
This may sound harsh, but the verses
before this say that He will give them His Word in the simplest of
terms...Word for Word, Line on Line. Not complicated, and not indecipherable. He will make His will so known that a child can
understand it, but the drunken, deceived mind cannot take it in. They
will get what they have chosen, though God pleads with them to sober
up, clean off the vomit, and come to their senses. Not a pretty
picture...but like those who minister on skid row, pleading with the
drunks to come in where it is clean and warm and safe and loving,
many laugh at them and continue in their squaller. They have no
perspective or reasoning to see the deplorable condition they are in.
The ministers see the potential all people have, even those in the
alleys, and yearn to help, and some do respond, but most do not
because they cannot believe that real life is available to them. They
stick with the deception that this is how life has to be for them.
And we weep for them, but cannot change their minds. We see, and they
don't, just as God sees us and what we can be, and we cannot. We find
it hard to imagine a life better, peaceful in the midst of the storm,
but He keeps appealing to us to see the reality of it. He offers us a
quilt made with love on a bed that is plenty big enough, firm and
stable, on which to rest our weary bones in comfort and safety.
And Lord knows, right now, just how
good that would feel for my aging, aching bones. I'm coming to rest
and hope you will join me...nighty night.
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