Thursday, March 29, 2007
Isaiah 14:1-2
As he made this comment, I immediately thought of Isaiah 13. Why was such horrendous judgment from God poured out on Babylon? Because they were prideful. Look through scripture and what it talks about Babylon and you will quickly find this to be the case. (Daniel is another good book to learn about this empire and city.)
The first two verse of chapter 14, further explain why God's judgment was so harsh. He saw his people being mistreated and had compassion on them. "For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel..." (v.1, ESV). I find this mind boggling that God can be so angry (as we see in chapter 13), and at the same time full of compassion and love (chapter 14). As it says in James 4:6, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (ESV).
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Isaiah 13
I am tired this morning and feeling the need to read something encouraging and uplifting, something that would inspire me and give me hope as I face the day. That is what I wanted to read and hear in my quiet time before God. Instead I read chapter 13 of Isaiah--the complete opposite of what I was hoping for.
But this chapter is in the Bible and so I must trust and believe that God can still speak to me and teach me despite the seemingly depressing content. This is what I have taken from the chapter:
The LORD is a very mighty and powerful god. He is a god to be feared. He is the God and is not to be taken lightly.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Isaiah 12
'I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
'Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation'" (vv1-2, ESV).
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Isaiah 11
Once again, God uses the image of a child. I am not exactly sure why this is, but from a literary perspective, this image represents simplicity and innocence. In Matthew Christ said that he would use the simple to shame the wise. He also explained that to get into heaven you would have to become like a child. When he feed the five thousand, he used the bread and fish belonging to a boy, (and mostly likely a young boy). There is beauty in children, for all there clumsiness and grossness as snot runs from their nose to edge of their mouth and around corner of it, there is a beauty and dependence about them that is so telling to how we are with God. And I guess, just like as a parent can't stay mad at their kids, so God can't stay mad at his either. And when he displays his power and victory, joy can only radiate from the face of his children, whether they're his chosen or his adopted. So let's just praise the Lord today. Amen?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Isaiah 10:20-34
Today, let us not forget that God is the all powerful god of the universe with whom we should be afraid, but let us also not forget that this God is also gentle an loving, particularly to his own people, his own children. Let's turn not turn away from him, but to him at all times.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Isaiah 10:5-19
Sometimes I read the Bible and wonder why I serve and follow God. There are aspects about his character that I don’t particularly enjoy or find comforting. But to not read those passages or to pretend that not so pleasing side of God doesn’t exist, would be to remain in ignorance of God, his Word, and the world around us.
The main point I have gathered this morning is that we need to be careful about proclaiming personal success. Our success, whether you have a personal relationship with God or not, comes from him. And to claim all the glory for yourself is a very dangerous thing. “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!” (v.13, ESV). God gave the king of
God is an awesome and powerful god who gives us success. We are nothing without him. Not only does God deserve respect, but he also deserves all the glory. In fact, the LORD of the Universe is the only one who deserves any glory. If there is anything I need to remember today, I think it is that.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Isaiah 9:8-10:4
I don’t know why I felt such peace and rest. I just collapsed into his arms and wanted to stay there. And oh how gentle, but also how strong, his arms are. I’m tired of fighting him, of trying to do things on my own, with my own feeble strength.
I guess, as I read this passage, I see the power God has and I find it easier to give everything up to him than to try to do it myself. And maybe that is exactly where God wants me. As the famous hymn says, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Isaiah 9:2-7
One of the most beautiful and most powerful images, I think, is when something dark and evil is juxtaposed with tenderness and innocence. Take, for example, the scene from the movie The Untouchables, when Costner's character goes to the train station to pick up a key witness. It's a scene of gore, of death and killing. But right in the middle is a little baby in a stroller, ignorant to what is happening around him. And at the same time all the shooting and killing is going on, Costner is trying to save the baby. It makes for a very beautiful and powerful scence, one of my favorites.
And in Isaiah 9, the same thing is done. Verses 4-5 are dark verses speaking of God's judgement and wrath, ending with a very vivid picture of fire and burning and death. And the very next verse (or line) begins, "For to us a child is born"(v.6, ESV).
In the midst of all this fighting and killing, death and darkness, there is a light of hope and peace by way of an innocent child, Jesus Christ.
And as I look at the world today, the fighting and bombings in the middle east and in other places, the murders, and the blatant disregard for other people, there remains that same hope. "... and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (v.6, ESV).
Monday, March 19, 2007
Isaiah 8:18-9:1
Verse 2, of chapter 9, is similar in that I do not quite understand it. "But in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations." How is this to be read, or interpreted? The rest of of the world, i.e. Europe, North and South America, Australia, etc.? Or is it a direct reference to Galilee, from whence Christ came?
Questions are good I guess, they keep you in check so that you don't became a know it all. They keep to studying so that you can learn. But sometimes questions can be so frustrating, especially when the answer is not easily acquired. But God has his reasons for not revealing certain things to us. And this is yet another small insight into his character.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Isaiah 8:16-17
"I will...hope in the LORD." Where do you put your hope? Do you put it in things that will not last? Do you put it in people who will let you down? In feelings that will come and go? In objects that will break and will have to be replaced? Or do you hope in the only constant in an ever changing world? The only Rock who not just was in the beginning, but who was the beginning; the One who created the universe with just a spoken word? Remeber, God is THE all powerful Creator who has everything in control. Nothing made was not made by him (John 1) and nothing happens with out his approval. The Great I Am is more than the only one we can fully and unreservedly place all our hope in. He is the only one worthy of having hope placed in him. Isaiah knew this well.
God will come through; he will show his face to the righteous, to his beloved children. But for a time, we may need to just wait for him and hope in him, just like Isaiah, with the confidence that God will come. Patience my friend, patience.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Isaiah 8:11-15
Yet another glimpse into the incredibly complex and amazing God. In the same breath, God says he will become a sancturay and a stone of offense, a stumbling rock, snare, and trap. (v. 14). How is it possible that God can be a place of safety and rest and at the same time cause people to stumble and fall and be caught in a snare? There is one word that can explain this: Calvery. Christ death and ressurection has caused wars and brutality and persecution while at the same time it saves lives and gives rest to the weary. The most beautiful and horrifying event in all of history, has been, to this point, Christ's work on the cross. And it will remain that way, I believe, until his second return and God pours out his judgement on the earth and wipes away all our tears.
But this passage not only gives us a glimpse into the the character of the Almighty, it intructs us on how we should act toward him. "You shall regard him as holy." That is not a suggestion. "Let him be your fear." This is advice, especially for gaining wisdom (see Proverbs 1:7). "Let him be your dread." This, too, is advice, but on how to respect him. God is no joking matter. He is real, and he is powerful. We should be in awe whenever we come into his presence. Those of us who have entered into a relationship with him, we have comfort and peace beyond measure. But those of you who have not yet turned thier lives over to him, have much to be afraid of, whether you realize it or not. Yet if you only turn to him and humbly surrender your life to him, he will have mercy on you and rescue you from total destruction.
"But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary..."
Friday, March 16, 2007
Isaiah 8:1-10
We are called to study God's word and "hide it in [our] heart[s] that [we] might not sin against [God]" (Psalm 119:11). But how can we do this if we don't understand it? Well, the simple answer is that God will make known to us, that which we need to know. But any avid student of God who is truly seeking after him, will undoubtedly have questions that they may never get an answer to. For anyone who thinks this is unfair, try looking at it this way: If we had no questions at all about God or his Word, then what would keep us from becoming equal to him? Only one person has ever actually sought to become equal to God. And we know what happened to the Archangel Lucifer (see Revelation 12). What gives us the right to be equal to THE Creator of the Universe? The only being who has always existed? Who never had a beginning, but was the beginning. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (ESV). He is the beginning and the end, not he has it. But questions though, good honest questions, whether we get an answer to them we understand or not, is good and healthy. It keeps us in check, from becoming to proud. That may be why sometimes God doesn't allow certain insights into his Word.
But back to the passage. Verses 9 and 10, when you look at the passage, are Isaiah's words. God stops speaking at the end of verse 8 (notice the end quotes). Verse 9 and 10 have no quotes. They are, rather, Isaiah's brief commentary, or exhortation, to whom ever will listen, concerning what God told him. His point is this: Not matter what you do, no matter what measures you take, no one can stand up against God. He has the power to crush any and everyone he pleases. Only by his sovereign mercy does he spare my own life, and yours. And Isaiah can speak this from personal experience (see chapter 6).
But notice how he ends the his commentary, and which I see these verses as an exhortation. "Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us" (v. 10, ESV). How encouraging is that. 'If God is for us, then who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). What then do we have to fear? Nothing. Let this then, give us boldness to face the trials. Let us live for him, "For God is with us."
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Isaiah 7:10-25
Verses 18 and 19 and are also quite beautiful. The Lord will whistle for the fly and the bee, and they will come. It is just another reminder of the ownership and command God has over this world. Everything, the flies, bees, winds, and waves (Matthew 8:23-27) are under his control, they all obey him. Nothing happens without his permission. And this is the same God that I have not just devoted my life too, but with whom I also have placed my complete trust. Why then, should I doubt? What is there that I should be afraid? For all things submit to his authority.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Isaiah 7:1-9
I wonder if I’ve ever been that scared. So sacred I have shaken “as the trees in a forest shake before the wind.” It was an abrupt halt that fully captured my attention and held it, right up to the “punch line,” the final statement that suddenly made me stop and think, that quieted and humbled my heart before the mighty King of the Universe. In the very words of God himself (v. 7), verse 9b reads: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (NIV).
Isaiah 6
For me, one of the most powerful passages in the Bible is Isaiah 6. As Isaiah sees the very God of the Universe in all his glory and splendor, the only thing he is able to do is fall prostate on the ground and cry out “Woe is me! I am ruined!” He is completely undone within himself and realizes death is the only solution to the whole situation. God of course has different plans. But almost every time I read this passage, I feel a sense of awe and fear, and in my own little, puny way, I almost feel like Isaiah felt. If there is one passage in the Bible that brings me before the all powerful King in utter humility and fear, I would have to say it is this chapter. That I am still living and that this God still has an assignment for me… Who am I to deserve such grace and honor? To have to Creator of the Universe say to me, "I have an important task for you to do…" I am humbled because I am nothing without him. Even the little I do have to give him, he gave to me first so that I could give it back to him. He knew that was the only way I could show my appreciation. He had to help me show my love and thankfulness to him! Oh how small I am and how little I have. And on the same scale, oh how GREAT God is! John Newton said it well, “all I know is that I’m a very great sinner and God is a very great Savior.” The only thing I can do on my own without God’s help is sin. Sin—doing anything without God’s help, even if the act is inherently good with good intentions. If it’s not done with God helping, it is sin. Oh how much I need him. And how humbled I am that he has chosen to use me simply because he wanted to: “The LORD does whatever pleases him…” (Psalm 135:6). Let us enter into the presence of the Lord today, humbly and reverently, with great fear. And in so doing, not only hear the voice of God, instructing us in how to live, but let him so radically change our lives that we will never be the same.
“‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!’
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” (ESV)