Assyria, which crushed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, also threatens the Southern Kingdom. But for the prophet it is clear: although Asshur has become the instrument of God's wrath against Israel, his days are numbered. Nevertheless Judah too is threatened with collapse, for failure to fulfill God's will, expressed in the Law, takes the people out of relationship with God. Trust in God becomes the criterion by which the Remnant will be chosen: the small part of the people that has preserved faith.

Trust will show itself with special force in the hour of trial, during the Assyrian military raids and the unrest in the kingdom. But those who believe in the Creator of heaven and earth know that He will not abandon His people. How terrible that the remnant will be so small! Yet in the end everything depends on each individual heart.

The water spoken of in the words of the Proverbs of Solomon becomes, in Christ's words, the water of life. The "strange fountain" is everything that captivates our heart and distracts our mind. Everything that keeps us from following Christ. Water washed every living thing from the face of the earth in the flood. And, as Isaiah says: "...the remnant of the house of Jacob will rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth." Can it be that only through upheavals of such scale can a person turn to God?

We know of cases when great grief or joy allowed a person to discover God in this world. But following Him, the daily labor, becomes inconvenient for us; we do not understand and do not see God. And weak in heart and will, we follow pleasures and entertainments that are pleasant but not useful for our soul. And all the more we assist evil works. All the more we are on the side of what will bring the world to the Second Coming.

But the Power and Glory of Christ have been revealed to us; He suffered for us, He took our sins upon Himself. And not to understand the price, not to see how the world around us changes if we strive to be with Christ, how much more joyful and full our own life becomes, this is our experience of the fall. Our experience of resisting Christ, unworthy and destructive.

The water spoken of in the words of the Proverbs of Solomon becomes, in Christ's words, the water of life. The "strange fountain" is everything that captivates our heart and distracts our mind. Everything that keeps us from following Christ. Water washed every living thing from the face of the earth in the flood. And, as Isaiah says: "...the remnant of the house of Jacob will rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth." Can it be that only through upheavals of such scale can a person turn to God?

We know of cases when great grief or joy allowed a person to discover God in this world. But following Him, the daily labor, becomes inconvenient for us; we do not understand and do not see God. And weak in heart and will, we follow pleasures and entertainments that are pleasant but not useful for our soul. And all the more we assist evil works. All the more we are on the side of what will bring the world to the Second Coming.

But the Power and Glory of Christ have been revealed to us; He suffered for us, He took our sins upon Himself. And not to understand the price, not to see how the world around us changes if we strive to be with Christ, how much more joyful and full our own life becomes, this is our experience of the fall. Our experience of resisting Christ, unworthy and destructive.