253. He was oppressed and afflicted: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

19 February 2022

The Lord has afflicted me

I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” Ruth 1:21

He was oppressed and afflicted,

    yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7

"Naomi (Classically /neɪˈoʊmaɪ, ˈneɪ.oʊmaɪ/,[1] colloquially /neɪˈoʊmi, ˈneɪ.oʊmi/;[2] Hebrew: נָעֳמִי‎, Modern: Naʻomī, Tiberian: Nā‘omī) is Ruth's mother-in-law in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Ruth. The etymology of her name is not certain, but it is possible that it means "good, pleasant, lovely, winsome."" From Wikipedia

Naomi went through severe affliction.

The Lord redeemed Naomi.

The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth 4:17

Jesus heals a woman who had been afflicted 18 years.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 

and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 

When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Luke 13:10-13

The woman praised God.

What Prophet Isaiah foretold about the Sin-Bearing Servant (NKJV), "He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors.

Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:12, 4).

Affliction is the way to come to God.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

    come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without cost.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 1, 8-9

So great is God's love for those who fear Him.

Psalm 103 

Of David.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

The Son of God was afflicted to remove our transgressions.

The Lord afflicted me.

Disaster struck, I had no stable employment for about 5 years at a time when my children were to start college. The capability to provide for my family that I thought all along was in me, was fake. My abilities counted to nothing.

Psalm 119

71 It was good for me to be afflicted

    so that I might learn your decrees.

Yes, it was good for me to be afflicted.

In my affliction, I came to put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I praise God, He did not give me over to death.

Psalm 118

18 The Lord has chastened me severely,

    but he has not given me over to death.

The Lord restored my life. I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done (Psalm 118:17). Amen.

""This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

    Who can speak of his descendants?

    For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 

Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:32-35). My Lord, my Redeemer, I thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross, in Jesus' name. Amen.

24 March 2018"

May you be blessed with God's Word.

Maraming salamat.