Isaiah Day 161 - The Rock and the Pit
51:1 “Listen to Me, you who
follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
For I called him alone,
And blessed him and increased him.”
3 For the Lord will comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
Dark times in Judah and for the
foreseeable future it will only get worse. To be faithful in the midst of
faithlessness is a double burden. The lawless despise you and the consequences
of their evil is felt and suffered by everyone. It is to these faithful ones
that God is now speaking. He asks them to do two specific things. First look to
the rock from which they were hewn or cut. This can be a reference to no one
but God Himself. He is our Creator and we were made in His image.
Then He asks them to look into
the hole of the pit from which they were dug. That's quite a contrast. As if
anticipating some confusion He specifies that they should look to Abraham and
Sarah. We were created as a "chip off the old Block" but then we fell
into a pit, a deep pit.
Abraham was born to a pagan, idol
worshipping father. Hardly the image of the Rock from which humanity was cut.
Instead it was a deep pit. From that deep pit God called to Abraham. His life
journey from that point forward is a picture of what it looks like to climb
from the pit of sin. He was a liar and manipulator. He was self-obsessed and
like Sinatra his life song was "I did it my way". In spite of all
that God kept calling, kept shaping, kept working.
We are to look to the Rock from
which we were cut. This reveals our true heritage, our true identity. We are
also to look into and remember the pit from which we were dug. Both serve an
important purpose. If we lose sight of the Rock we have no idea where we are
headed back to. If we forget the pit God rescued us and others from we may do
one of two things. One is fall into despair that God can't bring us back to
Himself. As my favourite author wrote, "...we have no need to fear the
future unless we forget His leading in our past history..." This includes
not only our personal history but the histories of others who have gone before
us like Abraham. The second danger if we lose sight of the pit from which we
were dug is that we may return to it like a dog returns to it's vomit.
We who are seeking after God must
ever keep those two pictures in view, especially when times are dark and
difficult. God is faithful but it doesn't always feel like He is. 25 years
Abraham and Sarah lived in a childless darkness after God promised them a
child. Decades Joseph spent ripped from his family and enslaved in Egypt.
Only their offspring would live
to see the deliverance from Babylon that God promised through Isaiah to these
faithful ones in dark Judah.
Two thousand years we have lived
in darkness since Jesus declared "Let not your heart be troubled... I will
come again and receive you to Myself..."
The Rock and the Pit. Thanks to
God I'm not the mess I was and thanks to God I won't stay the mess I am. He who
promised is faithful...
Isaiah Day 162 - Is the Future Bright or Dark?
51:3 For the Lord will comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
4 “Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
As a light of the peoples.
5 My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
And My arms will judge the peoples;
The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And on My arm they will trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be abolished.
God is planning a bright future.
That's the good news. He prepared the foundation with His own Son. The
invitation into this bright future is extremely inclusive "Whosoever will
let him come..." "Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out..."
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."
Yet in the midst of this bright
chapter of encouragement and promises there is a dark blot. "The earth
will grow old like a good garment and those who dwell in it will die in like
manner..." What is that about?
In Genesis 19 there is a story of
a rescue mission orchestrated by God that went far beyond even Abraham's hopes.
Two angels went into dark Sodom to rescue the willing. They started at the home
of Lot, the most faithful man there, but it turned out only he, his wife, and
two of their children were willing to leave. They were given only one
directive: "Don't look back..." Lot's wife did look back and she
died; she turned into a pillar of salt.
Have you ever wondered why a
pillar of salt? She could have just dropped dead. She could have spontaneously
combusted. She could have been struck by an errant fireball from the doomed
city. The possibilities are endless really so again, why a pillar of salt?
Sodom was located on the edge of the Dead Sea, the lowest point of dry land on
planet Earth, well below sea level. The sea is well known for it's high salt
content, so salty that nothing can live in it.
Do you see it now? God turned her
into a representation of the very place she couldn't bear to leave. He gave her
her wish, respected her choice and let her remain where her heart was.
So it will be when Jesus makes
good on His promise and returns to take us home. He will only come for the
willing. It will be an epic rescue mission but no one will be forced. The
waiting will leave with Him and the rest will remain to "go down with the
ship". Where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.
The key to the dark prophecy is
the phrase "those who dwell in it". We never say people live in
earth. We say they live on it. Isaiah is pointing to those who have become one
with this kingdom that Satan started in Eden. They don't want to leave. They
want to continue to live the value system of Satan, every person for
themselves, survival of the fittest, follow your desires wherever they take you
etc... with no consideration for the impact on others. They want Sodom and they
will get what they want because God is love and the most basic ingredient in
love is freedom.
So will the day Jesus keeps His
promise be a bright day or a dark one? Both. It just depends what each person
chose during this gift of time we call life.
Isaiah Day 163 - Faith or Fear?
51:7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people in whose heart is My law:
Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart,
And wounded the serpent?
10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
13 And you forget the Lord your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16 And I have put My words in your mouth;
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
Wow I must admit I spent a lot of
time on a rabbit trail that didn't lead anywhere conclusive this morning but
was enlightening to a degree. It did underscore the problem with translations.
Before I get into that let's focus on the meat of our passage today and if you
are a nerd like me you can continue on at the end to see what my rabbit trail
was all about.
Today's message is for the
faithful. It is to those who still believe against all odds in times of
gathering and almost choking darkness. Judah was in that place but in spite of
the tidal wave of evil there were some who still believed. The great prophet
Jeremiah was yet to come and live through the invasion of Babylon. He would be
hated by his own but unwaveringly faithful. The evil of the time did not harden
him either for he was known as the weeping prophet and a hard heart can't weep.
We also know of the faithfulness of Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah
(more commonly known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - the Babylonian names
Nebuchadnezzar gave them).
Our passage today is a warning
and encouragement to the faithful. It is a kind of recalibration if you will,
an admonition to check their perspective.
Here is the reality - the
greatest threat to faith is fear. Over the years I have had church members,
beautiful, loving, God serving people who have asked me not to talk about
prophecy. The reason? Too scary.
While it is true that there can
be (and often has been in some circles) an unhealthy fixation on the "end
times", we must not turn from God's Word on these matters out of fear. If
God is telling us, there is a reason and we can be certain that reason is
deeply rooted in His love for us.
Evil men have always used fear to
manipulate people. It is still happening and it always will. I once read that
what evil men can't obtain by persuasion they will obtain by force. When Jesus
was here the religious leaders tried to protect their turf and their interests
by threats and fear. Anyone who was found out to be a follower of the crazy
Galilean would be kicked from their synagogue and refused access to the temple
(John 9). These tactics are all fear based. Go through history and you will
find fear tactics in every dark time employed to manipulate and control the
masses. Often it is said that these dark times were religious movements and if
we could get rid of religion we would be fine. This ignores the regimes that
were not religious but intensely evil. Evil men use religion because it is
effective. Evil men use religion because it instills a deeper fear than
anything else. Some historians claim that the church ran the kings of Europe
for so long because the kings could only end this life, but the church controlled
eternity.
So what is God's message to the
faithful who are in danger of giving in to fear? Remember history. Remember
that God is far greater than the power of any evil monarch, dictator, or
villain of any kind. He made the earth. He made a highway through the sea for
the Israelites. Pharoahs who instilled fear are all long gone but He remains.
From the very beginning He promised the time and influence of the
dragon(serpent) was limited.
Why do we focus so much on the
passing power for the evil ones and so little on the eternal greatness of our
God. He was there before evil began and He will still be Good when evil is no
more. We really have nothing to fear but fear itself and remember that faith
and fear can't occupy the same space at the same time. When fear attempts to
grip you, remember who our God is, rehearse what He has done, and go forward
into the future confident that Light and Love will prevail over the darkness -
Love Wins.
Now if you want to know about the
nerdy rabbit trail I went down this morning, message me and I'll tell you. :)
Isaiah Day 164 - He Is, He Was, He Is to Come
51:11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
13 And you forget the Lord your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16 And I have put My words in your mouth;
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
Fear and faith can't occupy the
same space and according to our God we spend far too much time being fearful.
To cure this condition that should not be, He points both backwards, and
forwards, and at the present moment. Seems fitting since He declares many times
that He is the One who Is (present), who Was (past), and who Is to Come
(future). Looking back He declares "I made the heavens and the earth."
Looking at the present He asks "Where is your oppressor?"
Then in response to our obsession
with running around trying to save ourselves from danger, from hunger, from
captivity, and from death, He points backwards again and says "I'm the One
who made a highway through the sea when both captivity and perhaps death were
imminent.
Then He comes back to the present
and says "I have put my Word in your mouth. I have covered you with the
shadow of My hand..."
And now He launches into the
future: "...so that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the
earth and declare "You are My people".
Wait... Didn't He already create
the heavens and the earth? Yes He did and we handed them over to Satan. He deceived
us and the earth and the heavens became polluted and began to die. Stephen
Hawking says this physical earth we live on is unsustainable. In this he agrees
with the God he denies. Hawking says our only hope is to find a new home. In
this he agrees with the God he denies. The only problem Hawking doesn't
acknowledge or deal with is that this earth is dying because of us and moving
us in our condition to a new planet will only buy some time and the pattern of
destruction would begin again. We are the sickness.
God has a better plan. He will
take those who believe Him, even the fearful ones. Did you catch that? God sees
past our fear. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.
He sees people who although at times terrified have set their feet towards the
Promised Land. They may be trembling at the edge of the water but they are
there nonetheless. They may lack faith within themselves but they have the
faith of Jesus. Shaky step after shaky step they are marching away from the
rebellion toward a new kingdom where justice and mercy dwell. God sees them. He
speaks His words of promise and hope into them. He covers them with the shadow
of His hand. This company of believing ones are the foundation of new heavens
and a new earth. The old will pass away and He will create new ones. Better
than Hawking's plan, these heavens and new earth will never hear the cry of
oppression for the oppressors will never enter them. No captors will ever reach
this new home. Injustice will never rise up again for no heart seeks a higher
place or sees himself as better than anyone else.
He will do this even for the
fearful ones, because He sees their desire to trust and obey the one great law
that governs this Kingdom - Love.
Love Wins.
Isaiah Day 165 - God's Cup of Fury
51:17 Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of His fury;
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling,
And drained it out.
18 There is no one to guide her
Among all the sons she has brought forth;
Nor is there any who takes her by the hand
Among all the sons she has brought up.
19 These two things have come to you;
Who will be sorry for you?—
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—
By whom will I comfort you?
20 Your sons have fainted,
They lie at the head of all the streets,
Like an antelope in a net;
They are full of the fury of theLord,
The rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk but not with wine.
22 Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
Yesterday I was standing in a
barn that open to the west wind. The main corridor of the barn ran east/west
and the wind was blowing straight through because both ends of the corridor
were open. It was literally a wind tunnel. With significant struggle working
against the wind that was pressing the door hard against the end wall of the
barn I was able to slide it shut. Suddenly the wind tunnel was a shelter. The
wind had no access to us no matter how hard or cold it blew.
The Bible speaks about the cup of
God's fury/wrath/anger. Sometimes it sounds like God has a bad temper and when
we push Him far enough He blows His top and beats us around for a while until
His anger is spent and then He stops. We think this way because it's how we
are. We may even have suffered under a parent or spouse or boss who behaves in
this Jekyll and Hyde manner. We live it and we project these experiences on to
God and assume He behaves like we do.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. Remember the story in Luke that we call the story of the prodigal son?
Dad has two boys. The older one is loyal and responsible but the younger wants
out. He asks his father for his inheritance early, in cash, and takes off for
greener pastures. The fun doesn't last and he ends up humiliated, hungry, and
broke in a pig pen wishing he was as well fed as they are. Snap that picture.
Keep it in your mind - a Jewish boy jealous of pigs. That is the cup of God's
fury/wrath/anger. "But wait!" you say, "God didn't do
anything!"
You are exactly right. The cup of
God's fury is when He does nothing to shelter us from the consequences of our
stubbornly rebellious choices. The winds of consequence howl and God doesn't
slide the barn door shut to protect us from the biting winds we brought on
ourselves. He isn't angry like we get angry. He isn't irrational and flailing.
He simply turns away in sadness because we didn't want Him any more.
Love respects and He won't return
until we return. "Return to Me and I will return to you" says the
Lord.
God is our strong tower but we
aren't locked in. We can leave the safety of His arms and the protective shadow
of His hand whenever we choose. Choose wisely. Love wins but it never forces.
Isaiah Day 166 - Be Glad God Isn't Santa Claus
51:22 Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
Did you know the word 'satan'
means 'accuser'? Did you know that in the book of Revelation the devil is fully
exposed, referenced by all the various names and symbols that refer to him? Did
you know that one of those names is "the accuser of the brethren" and
that he makes accusations against us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
Did you know that Santa Claus,
obviously a fictional character, is portrayed as one who has a list and is
checking it twice, to find out who is naughty and who is nice? Did you know
parents fall into the trap of using that to try and control their children's
behaviour through fear in the weeks leading up to Christmas? Do you realize
that this picture/scenario is far more reflective of Satan's government than it
is of God's government?
First of all there is no naughty
and nice list because heaven is a perfect place untouched by pride, greed,
lust, hatred, etc... That being the case we are all on the "naughty"
list. Satan makes it his business to point that out in every possible way he can
find. When we point out the faults of others, implying by so doing that we are
perfect or at least better, we are a tool in the hand of the accuser of the
brethren.
Now let's get to the good news.
Did you notice in our two verses above that Jesus plays a very different role
than the accuser of the brethren does? Did you see that He too is pleading our
case but in a very different way? God has one objective and one objective only,
and that is to get us Home. He is not the least bit interested in what Satan is
saying. He well knows we are in a mess but that does not concern Him. What
concerns Him is how to get us out of the mess.
Remember yesterday we referenced
the story in Luke 15 of the prodigal son? A father had two sons and the younger
wanted a different life. He wanted freedom. He wanted his inheritance early so
he could choose his own destiny. His father could have refused the request.
After all an inheritance is usually not given until the death of the one who
holds the wealth, and besides, the father could have chosen to cut him out of
the will entirely and given him no money to waste, then or ever.
However, the father (who
represents God in the story) gives him his full inheritance and sets him free.
Why? Because the Father's only objective is to have his boy Home, not just
physically but in every sense, not as a resentful, unwilling
"prisoner", but as a willing son who desires to be nowhere else. The
Father knows the only chance for that to happen is to let him go and so as
painful as it was, he did it.
We know how it ends. The son
regrets his choices and the mess he has made and longs for home. So bad is his
situation that now he would be happy to just be a servant in his father's
house. He heads back with a speech all rehearsed. "Father I am not worthy
to be your son..." Whose voice is that in our head? Who tells us we can't
go back? Who uses our mistakes and bad choices as fuel to fire the idea we are
hopeless?
That's right, the accuser of the
brethren. Who then speaks hope into that darkness in our minds? Who says
"It doesn't have to stay this way. You can go back. You can go
home!"?
Jesus does. He pleads our case.
He isn't trying to convince God to take us back for they are One. In fact they
are both pleading. Isaiah says the LORD God is pleading. He pleads the cause of
His people. He is pleading with us. We are the ones who need to be convinced
that Love can win. That boy sat among the pigs destitute and then it says he
came to his senses, he had the first true, rational, straight, correct thought
he had had in a long time and with that flash of clarity the first thought that
came was "My Father..."
When he got to his Dad, his Dad
who cane running to embrace him, he began his rehearsed speech but he never
finished it. Dad wasn't concerned with where he had been, he was concerned with
where he was headed and they were headed Home.
Whether or not you and I go Home
has zero to do with our past. The list Santa keeps is irrelevant to God. The
accusations Satan makes are of no consequence to Him. His only question is
"Do you want to come Home? I want you here desperately but not if you
don't want to be. If you want to stay in the street and let Satan run you over
again and again I won't stop you, but if you want to come Home no power in earth
or hell can stop us from being together forever. I only let you drink the cup
of your choosing in the hope that you would realize the original cup I had for
you was the best there is. That's all I want for you, the very best."
"Put the family ring back on
his hand. Put new sandals on his worn aching feet. Prepare the biggest party we
have ever had. My son has returned Home with his whole heart and nothing else
matters."
Isaiah Day 167 - Be Glad God
Isn't Santa Claus Part 2
51:22
Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His
people:
“See, I have taken out of your
hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 But I will put it into the
hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to you, (literally
to your soul)
‘Lie down, that we may walk over
you.’
And you have laid your body like
the ground,
And as the street, for those who
walk over.”
I'm really thankful I have had
the opportunity to learn some Greek and some Hebrew but if you have a Bible
with original language helps, it can really add to your reading of the Bible.
There is a note on verse 23 in my Bible that points out the fact that the word
'you' at the end of the second line, where I included it in brackets, actually
says 'your soul' in the original Hebrew.
Why is that significant? Because
as we touched on yesterday, the battle is for your soul, and the accusing Satan
does and the pleading God does is both for you and in you. Satan wants you to
believe you are hopeless. He wants you to lay down in defeat so he can
figuratively walk all over you. He uses the list of good and bad, of naughty
and nice to crush your spirit by reading the naughty things to you over and
over.
As a pastor I get to hear the
heart of people more often than most. There was once that I was called to the
bedside of a dying man I had never met. He was (I was told) pretty much
unresponsive but before that happened he had been asking for a pastor. When I
came into the room his wife spoke to him to let him know I was there. He didn't
speak but he did stir and reached out his hand. I took it in mine and the
moment he felt my hand touch his he grabbed it in a vice like grip and would
not let go. His wife couldn't believe it. Without words I got the message. He
was looking for hope. Later I discovered he had done some things that had given
the devil lots of ammo with which to accuse him; lots of things on the naughty
list to crush his soul.
Another time I was called to
visit a woman in a nursing home I had never met. They told me that until
recently she was perfectly fine but had become frantic and incoherent and when
she was making any sense she kept asking for an Adventist pastor. When I
arrived she was as they said, frantic, fitful, and mumbling. It was like she
was drowning or being crushed by something in her mind. The nurse got right in
her face and told her the Adventist pastor was here to see her and he couldn't
help her unless she calmed down. That settled her somewhat and the nurse left
us alone. I pulled in close to her and I could see the fear in her eyes. I
prayed and asked God to be with us as we visited and when I opened my eyes she
was a little more relaxed but far from ok. I asked her what was troubling her
so much and the garbage in her soul began to pour out.
She was a widow. She had been
married for many years and had children. To the outside world all was well.
However decades earlier unknown to her husband she had had an affair with a
woman. Now she was 95 years old and the accuser brought her sin and guilt back
on her like a flood and she was literally being run over and crushed from the
inside out.
I opened my Bible and began to
read, telling her gently that she could never change her past but this was the
truth about her situation. "If she confessed her sin He is faithful and
just to forgive her sin and to cleanse her from all unrighteousness. All is
all" I told her gently. "Come let us reason together" says the
Lord. "Let's talk it over, even though your sins are like scarlet they
will be white like snow" says the Lord. "All have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God but the gift of God is eternal life."
As I read each verse she sat
straighter and straighter. When I had come in she was all stooped over and in a
mess. When I left she was a completely different person. I have never
experienced anything like it before or since. A week later I called the home to
see how she was doing. The woman said "Pastor I don't know what you did or
said but thank you, she is her happy old self again."
All I did was answer the accuser
with the Truth of the good news. Sinful we are and the past can't be relived.
There is no fixing it. However God sent His Son, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the whole world. If we choose not to trust Him, He will let us have
our sins back and face the naughty list on our own, or we can walk into the
future and return Home as if we never ever made one mistake. The choice is
ours. Will we lay down in defeat and let the accuser walk all over us as he
spews the venom of our sins at our soul, or will we walk in the truth that God
loves us and has washed us and that we are as white as the freshly fallen snow?
God is pleading for you to trust Him. He has taken care of everything. There is
nothing to fear.
Isaiah Day 167 - Be Glad God
Isn't Santa Claus Part 2
51:22
Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His
people:
“See, I have taken out of your
hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 But I will put it into the
hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to you, (literally
to your soul)
‘Lie down, that we may walk over
you.’
And you have laid your body like
the ground,
And as the street, for those who
walk over.”
I'm really thankful I have had
the opportunity to learn some Greek and some Hebrew but if you have a Bible
with original language helps, it can really add to your reading of the Bible.
There is a note on verse 23 in my Bible that points out the fact that the word
'you' at the end of the second line, where I included it in brackets, actually
says 'your soul' in the original Hebrew.
Why is that significant? Because
as we touched on yesterday, the battle is for your soul, and the accusing Satan
does and the pleading God does is both for you and in you. Satan wants you to
believe you are hopeless. He wants you to lay down in defeat so he can
figuratively walk all over you. He uses the list of good and bad, of naughty
and nice to crush your spirit by reading the naughty things to you over and
over.
As a pastor I get to hear the
heart of people more often than most. There was once that I was called to the
bedside of a dying man I had never met. He was (I was told) pretty much
unresponsive but before that happened he had been asking for a pastor. When I
came into the room his wife spoke to him to let him know I was there. He didn't
speak but he did stir and reached out his hand. I took it in mine and the
moment he felt my hand touch his he grabbed it in a vice like grip and would
not let go. His wife couldn't believe it. Without words I got the message. He
was looking for hope. Later I discovered he had done some things that had given
the devil lots of ammo with which to accuse him; lots of things on the naughty
list to crush his soul.
Another time I was called to
visit a woman in a nursing home I had never met. They told me that until
recently she was perfectly fine but had become frantic and incoherent and when
she was making any sense she kept asking for an Adventist pastor. When I
arrived she was as they said, frantic, fitful, and mumbling. It was like she
was drowning or being crushed by something in her mind. The nurse got right in
her face and told her the Adventist pastor was here to see her and he couldn't
help her unless she calmed down. That settled her somewhat and the nurse left
us alone. I pulled in close to her and I could see the fear in her eyes. I
prayed and asked God to be with us as we visited and when I opened my eyes she
was a little more relaxed but far from ok. I asked her what was troubling her
so much and the garbage in her soul began to pour out.
She was a widow. She had been
married for many years and had children. To the outside world all was well.
However decades earlier unknown to her husband she had had an affair with a
woman. Now she was 95 years old and the accuser brought her sin and guilt back
on her like a flood and she was literally being run over and crushed from the
inside out.
I opened my Bible and began to
read, telling her gently that she could never change her past but this was the
truth about her situation. "If she confessed her sin He is faithful and
just to forgive her sin and to cleanse her from all unrighteousness. All is
all" I told her gently. "Come let us reason together" says the
Lord. "Let's talk it over, even though your sins are like scarlet they
will be white like snow" says the Lord. "All have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God but the gift of God is eternal life."
As I read each verse she sat
straighter and straighter. When I had come in she was all stooped over and in a
mess. When I left she was a completely different person. I have never
experienced anything like it before or since. A week later I called the home to
see how she was doing. The woman said "Pastor I don't know what you did or
said but thank you, she is her happy old self again."
All I did was answer the accuser
with the Truth of the good news. Sinful we are and the past can't be relived.
There is no fixing it. However God sent His Son, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the whole world. If we choose not to trust Him, He will let us have
our sins back and face the naughty list on our own, or we can walk into the
future and return Home as if we never ever made one mistake. The choice is
ours. Will we lay down in defeat and let the accuser walk all over us as he
spews the venom of our sins at our soul, or will we walk in the truth that God loves
us and has washed us and that we are as white as the freshly fallen snow? God
is pleading for you to trust Him. He has taken care of everything. There is
nothing to fear.
Isaiah Day 168 – Knowing Our Place
52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says the Lord:
“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed without money.”
4 For thus says the Lord God:
“My people went down at first
Into Egypt to dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
Make them wail,” says the Lord,
“And My name is blasphemed continually every day.
6 Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’”
If God told you to put on your
strength and get dressed in your best what would you do? It's an ironic thing
for God to say considering He already told Judah that all her righteousness was
like filthy rags. If our best is that bad what could He possibly be expecting
here?
He is expecting a dilemma. He is
creating an impossible scenario so that Judah can come to a profound
realization. She has no strength. Assyria owns her, Babylon is coming soon to
destroy her. What strength does she have to put on? Assyria charges them excessive
tribute for "protection" so how Judah make herself beautiful? They
have almost nothing left. The gold is gone. The silver too. With what will she
make herself presentable?
She can't and that is precisely
the point God is teaching them. He points back to Egypt when the fledgling
nation was hopelessly enslaved. They had no strength to gain freedom. They had
no money to buy freedom. They had no resources with which to make themselves
beautiful. From that destitute position God delivered them. Not only did He
physically free them but He made them rich in the process.
It required nothing from them but
the faith to follow. God did it. He did it all.
Perhaps sometimes you get the
false idea in your head that being a Christian is about being strong, getting
your act together, and making yourself beautiful. It is not. You are the clay,
not the Potter. He is the Restorer, not you. He will make you beautiful again.
He will give you more strength than you ever had on your best day before you
knew Him. He will do it in His time, in His way. He asks only that you follow
Him. It's in the following that we will become the men and women He designed
for us to be before we let Satan take over this planet.
When we give ourselves and our
filthy rags to Him and see what He does with them and with us, we will know
without a doubt that He is God.
Isaiah Day 169 - ***Good News!
52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
Have you picked up on anything
unusual through Isaiah so far? Let me ask you a question that may help my
question be a lot less vague: Is the book of Isaiah a bad news book or a good
news book?
It opens with God exposing the
true identity of Judah - selfish, oppressive, unjust, exploiters of the poor
etc... and soon headed for trouble, big trouble. Clearly it is a bad news book.
But have you noticed that the tide of the book has turned? Have you noticed
that there has been far more promises than warnings and far more good news
beyond the bad news than there was ever bad news in the first place?
Think about it. This chapter is
specifically addressed to those who still believe God, trust Him, and desire
His ways. For those people it is all good news even in the midst of darkness
and foreboding.
That being the case why is the
church so fearful? Why has so much ink been spilled about the ominous
"time of trouble" and "the last days"? Why have so many
preachers made a name for themselves or tried to peddling doom and gloom?
Isaiah is a genuine prophet. He is the real deal. His messages are straight
from God's heart, to his pen, to us. So what are we afraid of? Why do we fixate
on the bad and pass by the good as if it isn't even there?
Yes a time of trouble is coming
but we have the narrative all mixed up. A time of trouble came to the pre flood
world but where we're His people? Safe and dry. A time of trouble came to Egypt
but where were His people? Protected. Safe. Ultimately delivered. Did they
suffer some? Yes at the beginning. Will we pass through the time of trouble
completely unscathed? Probably not. Will we ultimately be protected, safe, and
in the end delivered? Absolutely.
What about the ominous seven last
plagues in the book of Revelation? They don't touch His people. Not at all. Not
one bit.
Am I saying there is far more
good news than bad? I'm not saying anything. I'm only pointing out what God has
already revealed. What has been will be again. The past is the future. Never in
the past has God abandoned His people. There have been dark times and there
will be one more before we go Home but He will be there. "Yes though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because You
are with me. Your staff and Your rod, they comfort me. You prepare a table for
me in the midst of my enemies... my cup runs over..." (Psalm 23)
Well fed and never thirsty in the
midst of trouble, in the darkness of death valley.
"Your bread and water shall be sure..." (Isaiah 33:16)
God is an ever present help in
trouble.
We are going Home. Jesus is
coming. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Trust Him. Always.
Isaiah Day 170 - Come Out of Her My People
52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
11 Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Several of you have been asking
me for a long while to work through the book of Revelation. That day will come
but we need to prepare for it. Stepping into that most timely book without
understanding the rest of Scripture is irresponsible at best. For those of you
looking forward to that journey, Isaiah is giving us a taste. He is looking way
down the corridor of time to events yet future.
Did God redeem(restore) Jerusalem
after Babylon destroyed it? Yes and no. What do I mean by that? They were able
to return home to the "Promised Land". They did rebuild. Do you know
what happened when they consecrated the rebuilt temple? The people wept because
it was so inferior to the temple of Solomon that it was replacing. So yes they
did return and there was a measure of restoration but never again would they
recover the glory of the past. The glory Isaiah is referring to here, a glory
and restoration that would be seen by the whole earth is yet future. It's
bigger than literal Jerusalem. It's bigger than rebuilding a temple. It's
bigger than rebuilding a nation. What Isaiah is referring to here is the
ultimate restoration of all of God's people and that stretches far beyond
literal Israel. Adam was not an Israelite. Neither was Noah. Not even Abraham
nor Isaac was an Israelite. Israel was the new name God gave to Jacob and the
Israelites were his descendants. Will God only restore the offspring of Jacob?
When God refers here and in so
many other places to "His people" it is not a reference to the
descendants of Jacob. It is not a reference to one blood line or even one group
of people. God created us all. He has no favourites. He is no respecter of
persons.
About 6 years ago we decided to
get a puppy. Our dog had been hit by a car and after going a long time without
one we started looking for a chocolate lab that wasn't purebred because mixed
breeds tend to be healthier. It wasn't long before we found a litter that was
exactly what we were looking for. The puppies were 3/4 lab and a quarter beagle
and looked like chocolate labs. How would we decide from a litter which puppy
to bring home? Which puppy was "our puppy"? Before we got there we
devised a plan. We would not choose a puppy. We would let a puppy choose us.
The one that seemed most drawn to us was the one we would take.
When we got in the home where
they were it was amazing. One little brown fur ball went straight to Tracey
immediately while the others all held back. We had our puppy. She chose us.
God is in love with every one of
you on a level we can't even comprehend. Our love and concept of it is so
twisted but His love is pure and deep. He made us. He knew us before we were
even born. He made us but He made us free. Free to choose to be His or to
choose our own way. They prodigal son we have been talking about was first his
father's by birth but in the end was his father's son by choice. These are the
ones God refers to as "His people". These are the ones who will
receive the promises because they chose to. God is waiting for us to come to
Him just like that little puppy choose Tracey and is now as much a part of our
family as the humans are. Now she has a name. Now she benefits from all the
provision of the household. The storms may howl outside but she is safe and
warm not by any effort on her part but simply because she chose us and all we
have is hers to enjoy.
We aren't dogs. We are children.
We are sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe. Our dad is the King
if we choose to have Him as our Father.
In Revelation 18 there is a call from
heaven "Babylon is fallen...Come out of her My people..."
It's the same call found here in
verse 11 - "Depart, depart! Go out from there and touch no unclean
thing..."
When the prodigal son came to his
senses and remembered his Father he went home. He left the pigs and the pigpen
behind. The far country that he dreamed of when he felt trapped at home was
left in his rearview mirror. It was a place for those who rejected the Father
but he wanted his father back. He fell in love with his dad. He came to
appreciate how truly good He was. He came to the realization that everything he
had been longing for in the far country was nothing compared to what he left
behind when he left his Dad.
Where are we in this scenario?
Are we with the Father? Are we running from Him? Are we starting to realize
it's time to turn back and head for Home?
He's waiting for us to decide if
we are His or not...
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