Category: Book of Isaiah

Human Strength

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah2 Comments

In Isaiah 31, Judah was trusting in Egypt because they were very strong. They had human strength. Still today we are tempted to put our hope in human strength.

We put our hope in political power. We think that if we just get the right people into office, we can fix our country. But what happens when they fail to accomplish what they promised? Human strength can fail. Are we trusting in political power or the one true God?

We put our hope in military power. We think that if we are strong enough, we will be safe. But what happens when terrorists fly planes into buildings? What happens when the strongest military in the world can’t stop fanatical rebel groups? Human strength can fail. Are we trusting in military power or the one true God?

We put our hope in our own effort to build the church. We think that if we can just work hard enough, make the right plans, have the right methods, adopt the latest strategy or program, that our church will really take off. But God is the one who draws people to Himself. God is the one who changes lives. God is the one who brings growth in the Christian life. Are we trusting in our own efforts or in the one true God?

We put our hope in our own strength, our own ability. But human strength will fail. We are often weak. And yet God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Are we trusting in our own strength or in the one true God?

It is not that political power or military might or our effort or our ability are wrong, but they are the wrong place to put our hope. God calls us to put our hope in Him.

Are you trusting in human strength or in the one true God?

Numbers

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 31, Judah was trusting in Egypt because they had a large army. They had the numbers to maybe defeat the Assyrians. Still today we are tempted to put our hope in numbers.

We put our hope in polls. We want to be in the majority. But what happens when we find that we are in the minority? Christians quickly are becoming the minority when it comes to Biblical morality. Does that bother us? Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?

We put our hope in big numbers. Big churches are impressive. Small churches are, well, just small. And yet throughout the Bible and church history, God often does great things with just a few, or even one. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?

We put our hope in the numbers in our bank account. If the number is big, there is a sense of security. If the number is small, there is a sense of anxiety. And yet God can take care of us regardless of what is in our bank accounts. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?

We put our hope in the number of friends we have – both real and pretend (think Facebook). We can become obsessed with how popular we are. How many people are liking my post? And yet our significance has nothing to do with our popularity. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?

It is not that being in the majority or having a big church or having lots of money or friends is a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with numbers; it is just the wrong place to put our hope. God calls us to find our hope in Him.

Are you trusting in numbers or in the one true God?

Where Is Your Allegiance?

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 30, Judah had turned away from God. They didn’t want to hear God’s instruction (v9). They didn’t want to be confronted with the Holy One of Israel (v11). They wanted to hear smooth things (v10).

Sounds much like today. People don’t want to hear about God’s commands. They don’t want to think about a Holy God to whom they are accountable. They want to hear smooth things, pleasant words. They want to hear about love. Not a holy love or a real love, but a fawning love, a doting love. They want to think that God is happy with them and just winks at their sin.

What about you? Is there a sin that you are excusing? That you don’t want to be confronted with, convicted of? Is there an area of your life where you have turned away from God? Given your allegiance to sin?

God calls us to return to him (v15). He calls us to repent of our sins and follow Him. He wants us to follow his direction (v21). He wants us to give our full allegiance to Him.

So where is your allegiance today?

Where Is Your Trust?

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 30, Judah is trusting in Egypt to save them from the Assyrian army. But Egypt “cannot profit them” (v5). Egypt’s help is “worthless and empty” (v7).

Still today, people trust in empty things. Some trust in other gods. Many trust in their wealth, or their success, or their job, or their health, or their friends, or the government. And yet all of these can fail – prove empty like Egypt.

God called Judah, and he calls us, to trust in Him. He is the “LORD God” (v15) – the one true God. He is the “Holy One” (v15) – beyond us and greater – able to help us. He is the “Holy One of Israel” (v15) – he entered into a relationship with Israel. He cared about them and wanted to help them. And he has entered into a relationship with us and wants to help us.

And so he calls us to rest in Him, to be still before Him, and trust Him (v15). And in this trust we find strength in the midst of the trials and struggles of life (v15). We don’t need to freak out, but rest quietly in Him, looking to Him for what we need.

He calls us to wait expectantly for Him (v18). He calls us to cry out to Him with the assurance that he will answer, and that he will be with us (v19-20). He calls us to listen to Him for guidance through life (v21). He calls us to look to Him in all things – to trust Him.

We can trust in empty things or we can trust in our God. Where is your trust today?

Stir Up Your Heart

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Heart2 Comments

Yesterday we asked the question: where is your heart? Today we want to consider how we can stir up our heart for God. In Isaiah 29, God not only confronts the people with their heartless worship (v13), he goes on to tell them that he is going to a do a great wonder that will baffle the wisdom of men (v14). What is this great wonder? Isaiah never tells us. But Paul does.

In I Corinthians 1:18-19, Paul quotes this verse in reference to the cross. The cross is the great wonder that God would do that would baffle the wisdom of men. At the cross, God in the flesh dies for sinful humanity. At the cross, God’s mercy and judgment meet. At the cross, God shows the full extent of his love for us. And as we meditate on the cross, on his great love for us, our hearts are stirred up to love him in response. As we humbly kneel before the cross we “obtain fresh joy in the Lord” (Isaiah 29:19).

Verse 19 goes on to say that we will “exult in the Holy One of Israel.” He is holy, beyond us, glorious. As we meditate on his greatness, our fear of God transcends the mere command of men. Our fear of God becomes real; our worship becomes real. Our hearts are stirred up by his glory.

So let us draw near to God. Let us meditate on the cross and on his glory, and so stir up our hearts to beat for him.

Where Is Your Heart?

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Heart1 Comment

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men….
– Isaiah 29:13 (ESV)

We see here a spiritual deadness. Judah was just going through the religious motions. They were just following the religious traditions. And the problem was not that the traditions were dead. The problem was them. The problem was their hearts.

Our church celebrates the Lord’s Supper once a month. We have a Worship Service every Sunday at 11 a.m. Those are traditions. The issue is not the traditions, but the heart of the people as they come.

So where is your heart? Why do you gather with your church? Why do you minister? Is it just a habit (albeit a good one)? Is it just a tradition (again a good one)? Are you just going through the religious motions? Or do you gather with your church and serve others out of heart for God? Does your heart beat to worship God and serve others for Him?

Where is your heart?

What Will We Build Our Lives On?

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah1 Comment

Isaiah 28 raises an important question: What will we build our lives on? Will we build our lives on the shifting sands of self and the ways of our world, or on the sure foundation of God? He is our sure foundation in at least four ways:

He is our crown of glory (v1-6). The Northern Kingdom was building their lives on the glory of man. They were living for themselves, for pleasure, for beauty, for riches. Sounds much like today. But all those things will be cast down, trampled on, swallowed up. In contrast, the remnant will find the Lord of Hosts to be their crown of glory. God is truly glorious, and his glory will never fade away. And he makes us glorious as we become his people and build our lives on Him. So will you seek glory in yourself and the world or in our glorious God? He is our sure foundation. So seek him.

He is our rest for the weary (v7-13). God offered rest to Judah, but they would not listen. They sought their rest in drinking. And so it is today. Many seek their rest in alcohol, food, pleasure, entertainment, drugs, any place but God. But these are only distractions – they can’t provide true rest for the weary. So come to the Lord, and he will provide rest for your soul. He is a rest from the futile chasing after the things of the world because he is our glory, our satisfaction. He is a rest in the midst of the fears and trials of life because he is bigger and stronger. What is your fear? What trials are you facing? He invites you to rest in Him. He is our sure foundation. So rest in Him.

He is our stone of security (v14-22). Judah sought security from Assyria through an alliance with Egypt. But it was a covenant of death, a refuge of lies. Egypt was a bed too small to rest in, a blanket too small to comfort. Egypt could not provide security against Assyria. Still today people seek security in all the wrong places. They look for security in their wealth, their success, their job, their friends, their government. But like Egypt, all of these things can fail. Only God is big enough, powerful enough, to provide true security. Where Egypt failed, God succeeded. He is the one we should put our faith in. He is our sure foundation. So trust in Him.

Finally, he is our source of wisdom (v23-29). The farmer knows how to plow, sow, and harvest because God gives him wisdom. The Lord is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. And so we ought to listen to Him. But many other voices are chattering in our culture calling us to reject God, do our own thing, and find wisdom in ourselves. And many people follow these other voices to their own destruction. But God is the source of wisdom. He is our sure foundation. So listen to him.

God is our sure foundation so look to Him.

The Proud Ways of Man

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Virtue of Humility

For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made. (Isaiah 2:6-8, ESV)

In this passage, we see the proud ways of man. These verses could be summed up with the words sung by Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” While the nations will one day gather to hear the Word of God (v2-4), Jacob proudly goes to the nations for their worldly wisdom (v6). While the nations will one day pursue and trust in God’s Word (v2-4), Jacob proudly pursues and trusts in material wealth and military power (v7). While the nations will one day own God as the one true God (v2-4), Jacob proudly worships idols, no-gods – the work of their own hands.

Jacob proudly refused to walk in the light of the Lord (v5), instead choosing to walk in the way of the nations. They proudly disobeyed God’s law which specifically forbid them to do the very things they were doing (see Deuteronomy 17:14-17, 18:9-14, etc.). They proudly chose to do it their own way.

Jacob’s proud ways were a proud declaration: “I am god. I am going to do whatever I want to do. I won’t bend the knee to God. I’m going to do it my way.” And so they sought to exalt themselves above God, above their Creator, above their King. They committed treason, rebellion against God.

Are there areas in our lives where we are proudly choosing to do it our own way? Are we doing life our way or God’s way? May God help us to forsake the proud ways of man, and boldly choose to do life God’s way.

Walk in Light of the Future

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

In Isaiah 2:1-4, we get an incredible vision of the future. Then in v5, he tells us to come and walk in the light of the Lord. Walk in light of what he is going to do.  The Lord has given us this future vision so that we might live differently. What God is doing in the future should impact how we live today. And so we ought to walk in the light of:

His Priority – In a world all about me, we say no, it is all about Him. I’m not the highest – God is. He is first; he is the priority in all things. I am to live my life seeking his honor, seeking his kingdom, seeking his will. Is God’s honor your highest priority? Is God’s kingdom your highest priority? Is God’s will your highest priority? Or are you living for your own honor, your own kingdom, your own will?

His Presence – His manifest presence isn’t here now as it will be then, but God is with us. In a world of trials and sorrow, we can walk in the light of his presence. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). In the midst of the struggles of life, are you holding onto the One who is with you every step of the way?

His Paths – In a world of many paths, religions, worldviews, and ideologies, we follow the path of the one true God. Our hearts should burn to learn God’s Word. Does yours? And we ought to strive to obey God’s Word, to walk in his paths. Do you?

His Peace – In a world filled with strife, we are to pursue peace. We ought to put down our swords and spears, our proud insistence that things go our own way. Instead we ought to pick up humility and gentleness and patience and love, striving for peaceful unity in Christ’s church (Ephesians 4:1-3). Are you?

As we consider the glorious future that awaits us, may God graciously help us to live in light of that future today.

Glimpses of the Future

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah1 Comment

In Isaiah 2:1-4, we get four glimpses into the future.

First, we see the Lord’s Priority. The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills (v2). The gods of the nations were thought to live in mountains, so to say that the mountain of the Lord would be highest, is to say that the Lord is the highest. He is lifted up above all the gods and religions of this world. The Lord will be recognized and exalted as the one true God. He will be first over all. He will have the priority. Imagine a world where God is lifted up as the number one priority in every heart, in every life, every day!

Second, we see God’s Presence. Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob (v3). The mountain of God and the house of God is where God dwells. It was understood that God dwelt in his temple, that his manifest presence was there. And we will one day dwell in this presence. We will dwell in the presence of God who is the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel. In his presence we will stand in awe of him. We will worship him as we see God’s people doing throughout the book of Revelation. Imagine a world where we are in the manifest presence of God worshiping in wonder and awe!

Third, we see the Lord’s Paths. And all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (v2-3). The nations will flow like a stream to Jerusalem to hear the Word of the Lord. People will want to hear His Word, and they will invite others to join them. There will be a hunger, a desire, to be taught by the Lord, and then to follow his teaching, to walk in his paths. Imagine a world where every heart burns to hear God’s Word and obey it faithfully, a world with no more sin!

Finally, we see the Lord’s Peace. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (v4). God will judge and decide disputes, and both parties will hear and follow his decrees. There will be no more war. Indeed the instruments of war will be turned into instruments of farming, suggesting prosperity, blessing, and plenty. Imagine a world with no wars, no civil wars, no hungry people displaced by wars, no tyranny, no terrorism, no crimes, no fear, no strife in the home or workplace – imagine true peace on earth!