Isaiah Day 126 – God’s Last Resort
43:22 “But you have not called
upon Me, O Jacob;
And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
26 Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be acquitted.
27 Your first father sinned,
And your mediators have transgressed against Me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
I will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches.
Not the most uplifting words are
they? Jacob represents those who do not yet believe. They are still the
underhanded ones, going it alone, seeking their own advancement, etc... Israel
represents those who are overcomers. They at some point came to the end of
themselves. They exhausted their own resources. They grabbed onto God in faith
and declared "I won't let go until you bless me, heal me, rescue me from
myself."
However here the overcomers are
weary, weary of Him. The world refuses Him. His church is weary of Him. Could
there be a more bleak portrait? Could there be a more accurate picture of our
times? Atheism's ranks are increasing. Christianity is shrinking and what
remains appears lifeless and powerless. The church seems to be turning to
politics and government more fervently than they are seeking God. Why?
The answer comes quickly in this
passage. We aren't invested in Him. Our attentions and affections are
elsewhere. We think about Him when things go wrong and other than that don't
think about Him much at all. We make sacrifices to buy things but do we make
equal or greater sacrifices to lift the fallen? To ease the burdens of the
oppressed? Are we His hands and feet or are we tying His hands and tripping up
His movement? Are we giving atheists cause to believe or more evidence for the
hypocritical futility of "faith"?
What is God's response to a
church weary of Him? He will disconnect Himself from the spiritual leaders and
allow us all to feel the emptiness of our rejection of Him.
How far have we fallen away from
Jesus? The most successful/influential TV Evangelist in America - Kenneth
Copeland - recently went on TV to justify his need of a multi-million dollar
private jet and private air strip because "we can't travel in a long tube
full of demons".
It's strange because Jesus
traveled across a sea in a storm in the night to find a man full of demons so
he could set him free. He left the perfect luxuries of Heaven to live on a ball
covered in demons 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Jesus doesn't give us over to our
choices because He hates us or has given up on us. He is hoping the reality
check will once again have us holding on to Him and crying "I won't let go
until..."
Isaiah Day 127 - But...
44 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
We left off yesterday with God
apparently withdrawing Himself from Judah but how long did it last? Every
warning, every correction, every act of discipline, or even withdrawal is
bathed in promises both before and after. Are we clear on the message? God
loves us relentlessly but our sin, rebellion, self-obsession, oppression of the
weak among us, and shameless injustice can't remain. He not only loves us as we
are but loves us too much to leave us in our mess.
Thirsty for better? Longing for
more? Don't worry. His tap never runs dry. Are the issues too deep to heal in
your generation? That's not a problem. God sees the big picture. Not only was
he looking down the road to Babylon where young men like Daniel stood up and
said "Excuse me, I'm still His" and young women like Esther stood for
the right even in the face of death. God was looking further. He saw young men
and women in every generation standing tall. That's what Jeshurun means. It's a
poetic name for Israel that means to stand tall or stand upright. When everyone
else was bowing to save themselves Shadrach and his companions stood tall. In
1517 Martin Luther stood tall. In the 1960's Martin Luther King Jr stood tall.
In every generation in-between and beyond God said His Spirit would not leave
us. His refreshing waters would satisfy all who called on Him.
Grab Him. Hold on. Tell Him
"I won't let go until you make me stand tall too."
Isaiah Day 128 - He Speaks
44:6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?"
Indeed there is no other Rock;
I know not one.
Do you see a theme emerging from
Isaiah besides the mess Judah is in and God's plans and promises to deliver
them?
There is a consistent and
persistent revealing of God Himself. The people are confused. Idolatry is
prevalent and with that comes many conflicting and mixed up ideas of who God
actually is and what He is actually like. In order to help them see Himself
more clearly He focuses on three aspects of Himself that clearly set Him apart
from all other "gods". I put gods in quotation marks because the only
place they actually exist is in their imagination.
First God presents Himself not
only as the ever present one, past - present - future, but the One who declares
the future from the past. No one else can do that. Skeptics will always try and
avoid this reality or grab onto some obscure prophecy that isn't perhaps we'll
understood yet while never admitting to the fact the Bible has accurately
unveiled the rise and fall of the great empires of history and that following
the same pattern in the book of Revelation we see the world accurately
unfolding around us just as it is described/predicted. God simply asks
"Who but Me can do this?"
Secondly is the theme of
redeeming, rescuing, saving. Way back in chapter 18 after it was well
established that Judah was in a mess God invited "Come let us reason
together" says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be
white as snow..." His plans for us are to rescue us from ourselves and
make us good, fair, just, and kind.
Thirdly is the consistent
"Don't be afraid". Paganism is fear based. All false religions are
fear based. Corrupt Christianity is fear based. Purgatory, an ever burning
ceaseless suffering in hell fire, a warped view of God's judgement, all these
and more are examples of turning good news into bad news. It is dragging
paganism and idolatry into Christianity and calling them one and the same.
However if we just let God speak and set aside our traditions and what we have
been taught and assumed was true we find God saying three things consistently.
1, I Am the God of all time.
History future is as known to Me as history past and I have revealed enough to
you so that you can trust Me. You won't find anyone else who can do that.
2, I want you back with Me.
Everything I have done, an doing, and will do is designed with that singular
goal in mind.
3, You don't need to be afraid. I
am for you, not against you. Even when fearful things happen remember I told
you about them ahead of time. It is all working together for your rescue.
Indeed there is no Other One.
Isaiah Day 129 - Complete Blindness
44:9 Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
That profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be ashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They do not know nor understand;
For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
19 And no one considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes;
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Is it coincidence that I have
come to these verses today? The context is God contrasting Himself with the
manmade idols prevalent in Judah and the surrounding nations. Stone, metal, and
wood become gods in the hands of a craftsmen, but are they?
Particular focus is given to the
one who carves his god from wood. Half becomes an idol he bows down to while
the other half becomes fuel for the fire so he can eat his supper.
Let's look at verses 18 and 19
again:
"They do not know nor understand;
For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
19 And no one considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”"
There is an expression that none
are so blind as those who will not see. Solomon wrote that there is a time for
everything under heaven. A time to laugh, and a time to cry. A time to plant
and a time to reap. There is also a time to remain silent and a time to speak.
Times were dark in Judah. It was
past time for silence or for gentle talking. God through Isaiah is laying it
all on the table. He laying light beside darkness in such bold and contrasting
terms that it is impossible to miss the difference.
Well almost impossible. Blindness
can't tell the difference. A blind friend of mine who was blind from birth was
"watching" (listening) to a Benny Hinn healing service. He knew
pretty quickly it was a scam. They called a woman who was blind from birth up
front for healing. When she was "healed" they asked her what she saw.
She said "I see a woman in a red dress". Impossible because a person
born blind has no idea or frame of reference to know what red is. Blindness
can't see even what it sees.
Blindness is a major theme in the
Gospels. Jesus spoke of it often. Particularly He used it in reference to the
religious leaders. It wasn't their eyesight He was referring to. It was their
ability to see truth. In their case they could see it, they just refused to
acknowledge what they saw. There are truly none so blind as those who will not
see.
The question is why would an
otherwise functional human being cut down a cedar and carve have the tree into
an idol and bow down to it? How could anyone be so foolish? Well if he were to
admit it wasn't a god what might be the implications?
Of the religious rulers of Jesus
day had admitted they were wrong and Jesus was the Messiah what would have been
the implications?
If an atheist admits how
completely ridiculous it is that something as hugely complex as nature just
happened by accident what are the implications?
If I admit I'm not the best
husband and my wife deserves to be treated better what are the implications?
If I admit there are people at
work under me who would do my job better than I can and I admit it, what are
the implications?
People argue against the obvious
truth not because they don't know they are wrong. They argue because they can't
face the implications that will be unleashed when the truth is admitted. Don't
believe for one second that the Israelites in the wilderness believed that
golden calf was a god. No they just needed something that would "lead
them" in the direction they wanted to go.
Now verse 18 says God did the
blinding. Did He? In a sense yes. He kept shining the light and every time we
refused to see it, we got more blind until finally we couldn't see at all.
I grew up in a family of arguers.
It's a disease. Arguing for the sake of arguing long after you know you are
wrong. I'm done arguing. I'm just going to keep praying for a heart willing to
see regardless of the implications and let others see or not see as they
choose. God calls it freedom.
Isaiah Day 130 - "Remember These..." - God
44:21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And glorified Himself in Israel.
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
And He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
Who stretches out the heavens all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
And makes their knowledge foolishness;
26 Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27 Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’
Think about this. Judah has not
yet been taken captive and God is already promising her deliverance and naming
her deliverer (Cyrus).
However what I received from
these verses today is short but meaningful. God is telling them (and us) that
there will be no failure on His side. All is being and will be done to secure
our rescue. Looking past Judah's immediate situation God is pointing to Jesus.
He was promised and He came. While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us. While
we screamed "Crucify Him!", He prayed "Forgive them".
The end of verse 22 is so
critical to understand. God can't save us by Himself because He forces no one.
The invitation stands. Everything is ready. We don't need to come seeking for
or hoping for, or begging for forgiveness. That's done. Jesus was the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the entire world.
All we need to do is choose Him,
trust Him, and walk with Him.
Often people won't forgive even
after we ask and do what we can to make the wrong right. Jesus forgave before
we ever asked. He forgave while we were still seeking His destruction.
Truly there is none like Him.
When He began with "Remember these..." He was telling them (and us)
to remember His promises. His door is ever open...
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