Isaiah Day 23 - Offer Rejected
7:10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz,
saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God;
ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a
small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God
also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse
the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to
refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken
by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of
Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not
come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”
18
And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19
They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.
20
In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor,
With those from beyond the River,[c]with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.
21
It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22
So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.
23
It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
It will be for briers and thorns.
24
With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.
25
And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.
Remember the context from
yesterday. Syria and Israel (the northern ten tribes that split off after
Solomon died) have made a military alliance and are coming against Judah. Ahaz
is terrified. Isaiah comes to encourage him with a promise from God that they
won't succeed. Ahaz does not believe the promise. Now Isaiah goes a step
further and tells Ahaz to ask God for a sign that will confirm the validity of the
promise. Again he refuses.
Isaiah goes another step further
and basically says "Since you won't ask for a sign, here is what the sign
will be."
A virgin (young maiden) will give
birth to a son. His name will be Immanuel (God is with us). Before the boy is
old enough to choose right from wrong the two kings you fear will be brought to
nothing (Syria and Israel) and instead you will be under the yoke of the King
of Assyria.
You probably recognize the verses
about the virgin giving birth. We'll talk about that tomorrow. For now it's
important to know that to save himself from the kings God promised wouldn't
harm him anyway Ahaz made a deal with the king of Assyria and bondage God
foretold Ahaz actually brought upon himself simply because he refused to
believe God.
Is it possible that our refusal
to trust God and our obsessive self-preservation tactics are actually hurting
rather than helping us? We'll dig deep tomorrow but think about it. What
trouble have you gotten into just by not trusting God to keep His word?
Isaiah Day 24 - Important Things To Know
7:13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a
small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God
also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse
the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to
refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken
by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of
Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not
come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”
As discussed yesterday Isaiah
7:14 is a familiar verse to us. Matthew quotes it to confirm that the birth of
Jesus fulfills this prophecy. Mary was the virgin and Jesus the miracle child.
This creates questions. How can a prophecy dealing with a nearly immediate
situation in Isaiah's time be thrown 700ish years into the future and applied
to another situation? Is that valid? Matthew says yes. Can we safely trust
him?
There are two things you need to
know to understand this. First is a reality Jesus Himself taught in John 5:39.
In rebuking the religious leaders He said "You study the Scriptures
diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life, but these
testify of Me."
The Scriptures at that point were
what we call the Old Testament. That's all they had. They used them as a
textbook/formula guide. They thought that if they could deduce from them
exactly what God wanted from them and deliver it, then they would get what they
wanted from Him. Jesus insisted they were missing it entirely. He taught that
from the moment in Genesis 3 when Someone was promised to come and crush the
serpents head, it was pointing to Himself. He was the animal killed to provide
clothes for Adam and Eve. He is our wedding garment, our cloak of sinless
perfection. He was the Lamb offered by Abel in chapter 4. Cain was rejected the
moment he substituted the Lamb (Jesus) for vegetables (his own works/goodness).
Jesus was the ark of safety in Genesis 6. He was the Seed promised to and
through Abraham through Whom all nations would be blessed. On and on through
the Old Testament story it whispers and sometimes shouts "Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus!!!"
What Jesus was saying is that
every story, event, conflict, rescue, and key character was a foreshadowing of
Himself. That in a sense the immediate situation was in a sense secondary to
the greater Story.
Here's the second thing you need
to know. Many prophecies had a dual application. They dealt with the immediate
(in this case the plight of King Ahaz and Judah) and the greater Story (the
birth of Jesus to a virgin and one of His names - Immanuel, God With Us). A
familiar example of one prophecy pointing to two different times and places is
Matthew 24. The disciples asked about the destruction of the temple and the end
of the world assuming they would be one event. Jesus gave one prophecy that
pointed to two different events separated by thousands of years. The temple was
destroyed about 40 years later in 70 A.D. and we are still waiting for Jesus to
return. One prophecy with two applications.
So Isaiah 7:14 is no problem. It
is a local event pointing to a child from Isaiah's time and also a prophecy
pointing to Jesus. Matthew understood. He understood Jesus is the Story and all
stories written in Scripture in some way point to Him. This is the first
obvious one in Isaiah but it won't be the last. See you tomorrow :)
Isaiah Day 25 - Faithful Witnesses
8:1 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll,
and write on it with a man’s pen concerning
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful
witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.
Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; 4 for before the child shall have knowledge to
cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria
will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
Here's a summary of the events
from a commentary:
"It was during this national
crisis that Isaiah’s second son was born as prophesied as a sign to Ahaz and
Judah. Before the boy was conceived God had Isaiah draw up a legal document
with the four words of his future son’s name, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah
8:1–2). The name literally means “Speed-spoil-hasten-plunder” or “Swift to the
spoil, quick to the plunder.” God’s message to Ahaz was that both of Judah’s
enemies would be defeated and plundered. Judah would be saved. The document
containing the name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz symbolized a property deed
transferring the wealth of Damascus and Israel to the king of Assyria.
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, Isaiah’s
future son, named with the same four words of the document, revealed the time
frame of Israel’s and Syria’s defeat: sometime between the conception of
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz to “before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My
mother’” (Isaiah 8:3–4). That is, Judah would be saved before
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz reached age 2, a total of less than three years, counting
the child’s time in the womb.
The prophecy was fulfilled in 732
BC when both Syria and Israel were conquered by Assyria. A decade later Assyria
removed Israel’s wealth and many of her people, obliterating their national
identity. Those Israelites who remained in the land intermarried with a variety
of foreign occupiers sent by their conquerors (2 Kings 17:24), eventually
giving rise to the despised race of Samaritans (see John 4:9; 8:48).”
I believe it's important to
understand history. It helps to see where the animosity between Judah and
Samaria began. Were we born into that mess we would likely have been drawn into
the same toxic thinking.
That being said, what jumped out
at me today some might consider off topic but the Bible includes it and I have
lived it, so here it goes:
Isaiah wanted to make sure that
the prophecy Ahaz refused to believe was written down accurately ahead of time
so that Ahaz and the people would see that God knows the end from the
beginning. In order to accomplish this it says he needed faithful witnesses to
record it. Not just witnesses, faithful witnesses.
If you have ever served on a
board of any kind you know that one person has the task of recording the
significant decisions etc... made by the board at every meeting. Those records
become "minutes" and before the next meeting can take place those
minutes must be reviewed and approved as an accurate account of the previous
meeting. The reason for this is a sad one. Those who record the minutes have
been known to "modify" or record the meeting details in a way that
supports their agenda and/or views. The reviewing of the minutes is a way to
help prevent false minutes from being recorded.
I'm thankful that with Jesus I
don't have to double check His Words. I'm thankful He never changes. I'm
thankful He never goes back on His Word and keeps all His promises. As one who
claims to follow Him it is my prayer that I will have the integrity and
strength of character to be more than a witness. I want to be a faithful
witness.
Isaiah Day 26 - Names
8:3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a
son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; 4 for before the child shall have knowledge to
cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of
Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
This baby was Isaiah's own son.
He now has two children we have been told about. The first Shear-Jashub which
means "The remnant shall return" and now Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz which
means "Hurry to the spoils".
So not only is Isaiah preaching
and writing down by the hand of faithful witnesses events that are soon to take
place, but his own children are preaching every time someone speaks their
names.
This is not new in Scripture by
the way. Names often carry significant meaning. Both Noah's grandfather and
father had names that pointed to and proclaimed the coming flood, showing that
God was making events known generations in advance, before He ever told Noah to
build a boat.
In previous blogs we have covered
the name change of Jacob to Isreal, where his first name described his
character (underhanded) and his new name his change in character (overcomer).
Isaiah's own name is a message also "Yahweh(God) is salvation".
What about the multiple names of
Jesus? Jesus means "Jehovah Saves", very similar to Isaiah's name and
identical to the name Joshua. Joshua brought the people into Canaan and Jesus
will bring us into heaven, saving us from this broken world.
Immanuel means "God Is With
Us".
He is also our King, Judge, High
Priest, Mediator, Advocate, Shepherd, Door, Bread, Water, Light, Father, I Am,
Elder Brother, Servant, Lion, Lamb etc... and each name or title designates one
of His many roles. Just as I am a Father, son, husband, uncle, pastor, teacher
etc... So Jesus is not just many things to us but all things to us and to
convey this without lengthy explanations God wraps it all up in names. Track
the names in the Bible and you will be tracking the unfolding Story.
Just look at these three names in
the Book of Isaiah: Yahweh is salvation, "A remnant will return" and
"rush to the spoils."
This whole world will be
plundered and ravaged by sin and it's deadly effects but Yahweh will save and a
remnant will return. :)
Isaiah Day 27 - Conspiracy Theories
8:5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:
6
“Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
7
Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of the River,[b] strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8
He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
9
“Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10
Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.”
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and
instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12
“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13
The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14
He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15
And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
16
Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17
And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18
Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
God's folding of the future of
Israel and Judah continues with the repeated prediction that Rezin and Ramaliah
(Syria and Israel) will fall and Assyria will destroy them and invade Judah.
It's important to keep in mind that Judah is not in trouble because they are
small and weak or because Assyria is strong. If it were a matter of military
might only there never would have been a nation of Judah or Israel to begin
with. There source of strength and prosperity was never the sword. In fact when
David was having some military success and began to trust in horses and
soldiers God rebuked him for counting his fighting men. It was David who
learned his lesson and penned a Psalm that said "Some trust in horses and
some in chariots but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
(Psalm 20)
He also wrote: "
Psalm 118
8
It is better to trust in
the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9
It is better to trust in
the Lord
Than to put confidence in
princes.
There is a different kind of self-trust
that doesn't involve chariots or horses or princes and God tells Isaiah how to
deal with it. God tells Isaiah not to get involved in everything they call a
conspiracy. Note that there are conspiracies but most of what falls in that
category is a bunch of paranoid self-preservation theories. Don't follow the
rabbit trails. I did it for a bit many years ago and some of what I dug may
have even been true but not everything that is true is relevant.
It's important to remember that
we all have tendencies that will lead us away from putting our full confidence
in God. For some of us it is trusting leaders too much and depending on
"horses, chariots, and princes." Some feel as long as "their
guy" is in power all will be well and "the other guy" is in power
the sky will surely fall. Others don't trust government at all. They look for
evil and conspiracies wherever they can imagine one. This is the same trap of
self-obsession from another angle. One feels man/government is the answer and
the other feels man/anti-government is the answer. Both are looking to man and
mens ideas. Neither have their faith in God and what He is saying.
Typically these conspiracies lead
to fear over ideas and potential scenarios no regular person has any control
over anyway. Taken to the extreme it leads to building underground bunkers and
storing food and guns like squirrels hide nuts. And for what? If North Korea
goes nuclear on us will our stash see us through? Will fretting about it do
anyone any good?
Did Elijah need a bunker and a
stash of food and supplies to survive the drought in Israel? Was it careful
planning and rationing of supplies that fed the Israelites in the wilderness?
God is for us not against us.
Look how many times and ways He tried to reach Ahaz and help him. In the end
God gave him all the information he needed and kept His Word to the letter. If
He did all that for an evil stubborn king will He do less for us?
I'm growing tired of the
conspiracy theories in society and in the church. We will not be lost because
of women in leadership or because of the LGBT movement or because of Trump in
power or because the Lutheran Church is returning to the Pope. The illuminati
will be the down fall off no man. Every person who finds themselves against God
in the end will have gotten there by the same path. A refusal to trust
Him.
"Trust and obey, for there's
no other way to be happy in Jesus or in life, but to trust and obey."
Isaiah Day 28 - Hope In the Darkness
8:12
“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid
of their threats, nor be troubled.
13
The Lord of hosts, Him you shall
hallow; Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14
He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of
offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15
And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.”
16
Bind up the testimony, and seal the law among my disciples.
17
And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the
house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him.
18
Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given
me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and
wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their
God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the
living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall
happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king
and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and
see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven
into darkness.
There is no denying that there is
a lot of darkness, or doom and gloom in this passage. Israel and Judah are both
headed for trouble. The sad part is that it was all self-inflicted and
completely avoidable. If I go to my doctor and he looks me in the eye and says
"Dan if you don't change your diet, start a regular exercise program, and
lose weight you are headed for diabetes, a heart attack, stroke or worse."
is he to blame? If any of those things come to pass did he cause them? Should I
change doctors and find one who will have more positive things to say about me
and my future?
Look at Judah. Look at Israel.
Lots of religion but lots of ignoring the poor and vulnerable. Conspiracy
theories were abounding and increasing. People were professing to believe in
God but seeking the counsel of mediums and psychics. They trusted military
might far more than the God of Abraham and Moses. Does any of this sound
familiar?
Yet in the midst of all that
Isaiah and many others continued to cling to God. Their hope and trust was
firmly in Him. His law of love was sealed in them. Even as God was withdrawing
(being pushed out) of their nation they continued to seek Him.
What will we do in these times?
Be religious but ignore the truly needy? Chase after the latest conspiracy
websites and radio programs? Look for enemies and shadows everywhere while
ignoring the enemy within? Look for a political hero? Hope our military is
stronger than "theirs"? Go to psychics and mediums to get advice or
talk to our dead loved ones? Ignore His simple laws of compassion and curse Him
when our prosperity turns to dust?
Or will we be an Isaiah in the
darkness. Will we declare in spite of the doom and gloom around us that Yahweh
is still our Hope and Salvation?
Isaiah Day 29 - In That Day...
8:19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and
wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their
God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the
living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.
21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall
happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king
and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth,
and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will
be driven into darkness.
Have you ever noticed that it's
most often the person in the wrong in any situation who gets angry at the
person who did nothing wrong? In traffic car A doesn't see car B and cuts them
off and when they see how close they were to having an accident they glare or
give the finger to the person they cut off. A student doesn't study or do their
homework and hates the teacher when they don't do well. A child is explained
the consequences of certain choices and then gets angry at mom or dad when they
make the choice and the consequences come.
Logical? Hardly yet it happens
all the time.
Now notice what Isaiah says. The
future will be dark. "God's people" will be seeking mediums and
looking to talk to the dead. When things get really bad those who were
oppressing the poor and marginalizing the vulnerable will be hungry themselves
and when the suffering reaches their door and their supper table they will
curse their king and their God.
They will throw a temper tantrum.
They will flip the bird at God. They will kick and scream and blame Him. Yet
didn't He warn them repeatedly. Didn't He chart a path that could have avoided
this darkness? So why are they angry? Why were they seeking mediums in the
first place?
The behaviour I'm about to
describe I hope never applies to you but as a leader and human being I have
seen it over and over. People come seeking advice. They are either considering
an unwise choice or are in the midst of unwise choices. They profess to want
counsel. You give it. They ignore it and pursue their unwise choices. In
addition they continue to look for people to give them counsel until they find
someone who will approve the choices they have made or want to make.
God had already laid out the
present and future. He called them on their hypocrisy and cruelty to the
disenfranchised. He warned them where it was all headed. He offered a brighter
alternative. They shut their ears. They closed their hearts and minds to Him.
Instead they went off to seek other counsel to see if they could find a way to
keep being self-obsessed religious hypocrites and avoid trouble. That's why
they went after mediums.
The trouble was going to come and
when it did Isaiah said they would blame God...
If any of this thinking and
behaviour seems uncomfortably familiar perhaps it's time to chart a different
course. Perhaps we should seek to follow the law and the Testimony. We have no
right to be angry at God unless we did our part and He never fulfilled His...
Isaiah Day 30 - Sanctuary Or...
8:12
“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13
The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14
He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15
And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
16
Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17
And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18
Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and
wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their
God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the
living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.
21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall
happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king
and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth,
and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will
be driven into darkness.
Technically we finished chapter 8
two days ago yet it keeps drawing me back. These verses are pivotal. They are a
message to those who claim to be His. Look specifically at verse 14. That word
"but" is there again. It's like a line in the Sand between two very
different things. In the midst of all the impending chaos God will be a
sanctuary to some but a rock of offense to others. Why? Is it because God has
favourites?
In Luke 21 the return of Jesus is
described. Luke writes that those who are waiting for Him will look up and see
the cloud, they will recognize it as the sign of His return and they will cry
out "This is our God! We have waited for Him and He will save us!"
They waited in the darkness. They believed when there appeared to be nothing
and no One to believe in. Like the true prophets of God hiding in caves during
the time of King Ahab these men and women held on to hope when it seemed
entirely hopeless. Now they see Him with their eyes. They hear the distant trumpets.
It's Him. It's really Him!
Meanwhile John paints a very
different scene in Revelation. He sees another group. They look up and see the
same cloud. They too recognize Who it is but there are no shouts of joy from
them. Instead they cry for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide
them from the face of Him who sits on the throne.
Again why? Does Jesus have
favourites?
Not according to both His Word
and His actions. When He was here He served the rich and poor, the Jews, and
the foreigners, men and women, the religious and the heathen. His hands of
healing and hope were extended to all.
Paul wrote that God is no
respecter of persons, that He has no favourites, and that with Him there is no
Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male or female. His invitation is simple:
"Whosoever will let him come... For God do loved the entire world that He
sent His Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have life
everlasting... and Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole
world."
Notice how this dark passage ends.
Those who did not make God their sanctuary are enraged! The first person to be
enraged in the Bible was Cain. Why? Because God wouldn't accept his fruits and
vegetables as an offering. Cain wanted to do his own thing, be his own man,
make his own way, and deny the grace of God represented in the lamb. His
self-obsession grew so deep and toxic that his fury lead him to kill his own
brother. He was a professed follower of God who was really worshipping himself.
God loved him. God reached out to him just as he reached out to king Ahaz. God
wanted to help him, heal him, and save him. Cain refused. Ahaz refused.
Make God your sanctuary.
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