Isaiah 8:6,7"Because this
people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over
Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore the Lord is about to bring against
them the mighty floodwaters of the River—the king of Assyria with all his
pomp."
This is a theme also mentioned later in Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance
and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but
you would have none of it." The waters of Shiloah were the same
mentioned John 9 as the Pool of Siloam where the blind man received
his sight. They were gentle flowing waters coming from subterranean caverns
and not even flowing every day but from time to time. In contrast to floodwaters
one is also reminded of Elijah's experience on Mount Horeb in 1Kings
19 that God was not in the powerful wind, nor the earthquake, nor the
fire, but in a gentle whisper. This speaks also of Jesus' rule over the
church where he says in Matthew 11:29"Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls." And Matthew 21:5
"Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and
riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’" God prefers
to rule over us in a gentle, humble manner and communicate as with a soft
whisper. But for this to be the case we must be cooperative. Else he will
rule with an iron rod and the gentle waters will become a flood. Perhaps
by challenging God and refusing to cooperate some hope to gain God's attention,
much like rebellious children. But given such an attitude the kind of attention
God will give them is not necessarily going to be pleasant. Rejecting what
God has provided is a rather dangerous thing.Rom 1:21,24
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts
were darkened. ... Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires
of their hearts" resulting in a flood of perversion and corruption.
And we should be careful not to take his kindness for granted. Rom 2:4,5
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and
patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing
up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous
judgment will be revealed."