Category: Isaiah

Doom to Bloom, God’s desired way for Us

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The book of Isaiah is filled with prophesies pointing the people of Judah to their near future along with the distant future. The amazing thing about these is we can see many of them already fulfilled in their history and in Christ’s coming. Along with these are prophesies that are still future to us. We can see God keeps His promises, and we can look forward with hope to the future outlined for us in scripture.

In today’s passage from Isaiah 5 we have a series of ‘Woes’ delivered by Isaiah to the people of Israel. He gives God’s the charges against them and the result of their disobedience. The Message translation uses the word doom which I think aptly describes their problems.

5:8 Doom to you who buy up all the houses
    and grab all the land for yourselves—
Evicting the old owners,
    posting no trespassing signs,

5:11 Doom to those who get up early
    and start drinking booze before breakfast,
Who stay up all hours of the night
    drinking themselves into a stupor.

5:18 Doom to you who use lies to sell evil,

5:20 Doom to you who call evil good
    and good evil,
Who put darkness in place of light
    and light in place of darkness,
Who substitute bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!

5:21 Doom to you who think you’re so smart,
    who hold such a high opinion of yourselves!

These warnings were given about 100 years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon. If we look at each one- these same accusations could be leveled against people in our day. Sin is sin – it has not changed over the centuries. What has changed is the ‘fix’ for our sinful condition. Jesus came to bring light, hope and redemption for our sin sick souls. We do not have to settle for treating others poorly, being addicted, wallowing in evil and lies, doing evil instead of good and over thinking ourselves! Jesus came to save us from our sins and call us to repentance. He came to provide a way for us to rid ourselves of these sinful habits and replace them with justice, mercy and hope. Christ is the Holy one, the Only one, who can Save us. Cling to that truth and place your hope in Him. God keeps His promises and we’ll see his plan of redemption unfold in the next chapters as we receive prophesy after prophecy about Messiah, our Savior.

I love the words of Micah 6:8 which stand in contrast to these woes in Isaiah 5. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
  And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
 and to walk humbly with your God.” These words and actions lead to life, hope and blessings from God. God wants so much more for us than the Woe’s of the world.

Linda

Awed by Almighty God

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Isaiah began his ministry with a dramatic call from God. He was commissioned by God to be his authentic voice to a people who had fallen into sinful ways. They had abandoned the worship of the one true God for worthless wooden and stone idols. They had traded the powerful for the impotent and the majestic creator for poles or statues made by man. The scene of Isaiah’s vision is recorded in Isaiah Chapter 6 verses 1-8

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

What hits you first in this heavenly scene? I was struck by the other worldly creatures that were flying around proclaiming the holiness of Almighty God. They covered their faces with their wings as they could not even look upon the glory of God. Perhaps the feet were covered as the feet touch the ground and might be considered dirty. Seraphim are not mentioned elsewhere in scripture so we can assume they are heavenly creatures tasked with honoring holy God. Can you even imagine the sound of their voices that were loud enough to shake the rafters! Smoke has been associated with God’s presence when he appeared to the Israelites at Mt Sinai, Exodus 19:18 “All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire.” Fire is also associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit and baptism by Jesus, Matthew 3:11b “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” The other image that assailed me was the fact that the train of God’s robe filled the temple. It must be massive and He needs no one or nothing to help Him manage it. He has it under control and the majesty of this swirling robe fills my mind as a majesty and wonder.

When Isaiah first took this all in, the first thing he realized was his own sinfulness. Being confronted by the purity of Holy God illuminates all areas of darkness within us. The Seraphs realized his dilemma, being sinful in God’s presence was not allowed, and immediately took action. One appeared with a burning coal to take care of the problem of Isaiah’s sin. The coal touching his lips cleansed him and took away his sin leaving him forgiven and free from guilt. We can only imagine how clean and pure Isaiah must have felt and how privileged to be alive in the presence of Almighty God. Once sin was gone, God spoke to Isaiah and presented his mission request. He did not order Isaiah to go but asked if he would be willing to go. God created Isaiah with free will and God wanted him to desire to follow Him. Isaiah would need the resolve of his own will to preserve in his God given mission. God knew the times ahead would be difficult and God needed him willing and fully engaged.

How are you feeling as Lent begins? Are you ready and willing to engage in a soul-filled journey of self-reflection? Are you looking to see God more clearly, repent more fully and believe in Him more completely? Take a lesson from Isaiah as we begin this journey. Look to God, see your sinfulness in his presence and release it to Him. Accept his full cleansing and open your heart and mind to what God is calling you to do. It might be in your home, workplace, church or community. May your response be the same as Isaiah, “Here I am Lord! Send me!” He will give you what you need to see it through just as he did Isaiah.

Linda

Let this NOT be you! Have a clean heart before God!

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Isaiah begins in the first chapter listing Judah’s sins against God. What were they doing that was so offensive to Holy God? Here are a few specifics the Lord gives to Isaiah:

Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!
    This is what the Lord says:
“The children I raised and cared for
    have rebelled against me. REBELLION against God who has lovingly cared for them.

4 Oh, what a sinful nation they are—
    loaded down with a burden of guilt.
They are evil people,
    corrupt children who have rejected the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel
    and turned their backs on him. They have regarded God with contempt, scorn and turned away from Him.

12 When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false. Their worship was filled with ceremony but not sincerity.
    I want no more of your pious meetings. Their offerings and special celebrations were meaningless.

In what ways do your sins mirror those of the people of Judah? Are you rebelling against God and denying your faith? Are you treating God with contempt or scorning His ways? Are you just going about the motions of worship? Are you seeking to bargain with God and offer meaningless actions to Him? Let your heart be clean before Him and confess your sins. He desires to create a clean heart within you.

Isaiah adds that if it was not for the mercy of God there would have been devastation like Sodom and Gomorrah. God tires of their sinfulness and admonishes them to ‘straighten up and fly right’ so to speak in verses 16-17.

16 Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.
17 Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows

These straight forward verses lay out how God desires that we are to relate to Him and act towards others. Just like Isaiah in Chapter 6 had to be clean and have his sins forgiven to come before Holy God, so it is with us. To be in a relationship with God, to do God’s work and show His love to others we need to be clean! The only way to do that is through Jesus. Just as Jesus cleansed the leper in Matthew 8:3 “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Jesus’ touch will clean your willing heart and erase your sins. Christ is the Holy one, the Only one, who can Save us. Seek his touch and repent of your sins. Remember this from Lamentations 3:22 and be encouraged. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.”

Each day is a new day with the Lord. He will forgive you and help you start anew with Him. Enjoy this wonderful song by Michael W Smith about the heart of worship. May you worship be sincere and uplift you into the very presence of God.

Linda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPC22XHc8tQ

Isaiah, the Man who Saw it All

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As we begin our journey through Isaiah, I want to talk about the man, Isaiah, so we can better understand who he was and the struggles he faced as God’s spokesperson/messenger. Isaiah 1:1 “These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.” Isaiah was the son of Amoz not to be confused with the prophet Amos. It is thought that he was related to King Amaziah who was his uncle. Isaiah often had easy access to the palace and the kings so his ‘royal’ status would have helped him navigate the royal maze of things. Considering his message from God that Judah was sinning and needed to repent, he might not have been the most popular fellow in the palace. He served God during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manasseh. They reigned in Judah from 792-642 B.C. He began his ministry in the year King Uzziah died according to Isaiah 6:1 and continue for 58 years. He was married and had 2 sons which the Lord named. It is thought that he is the prophet referenced in Hebrews 11:37 “Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.” He was thought to have been sawed in half by King Manasseh.

Isaiah came with a message of repentance as Judah had been sinning against God and definitely not walking by the 10 Commandments. They had fallen into idolatry and followed practices of the nations around them. Kings Uzziah and Jotham sought to follow the Lord but still allowed the high places and idols to remain. King Ahaz went into complete idolatry and wickedness during his reign of 16 years. Hezekiah was a godly man and sought to rid Judah of the high places with idols and bring the people back to worshiping God. He did have his moments though and Isaiah was right there seeking to point him back to the Lord. Manasseh was the final king under which Isaiah prophesied and he was totally evil. He erected idols to Baal and put up Asherah poles. He practiced sorcery, astrology, and divination. He even sacrificed his own sons to the gods. He did much to provoke the Lord’s anger during his 55 on the throne. It is no wonder that Isaiah message of God’s anger over their sin and their need to repent before Holy God was not welcomed in the palace and the nation. He foretold of their deportation to Babylon as well as the coming of a Messiah that would redeem all mankind. His messages gave hope to the later exiled Jews as they suffered in Babylon and to us as we await the return of King Jesus.

As you accept the ashes on your forehead today and look forward to a time of repentance leading up to Holy Week and Easter, may you prayerfully consider the messages Isaiah in regard to your own sin. May you look and feel his messages of hope as he speaks of the magnificence of Holy God, the only one who can save us. May the prophesies in his book lead you to a deeper faith in Jesus and His mission. Christ is the Holy one, the Only one, who can Save us.

Looking forward to this journey and what God will teach me.

Linda

You can read about these king in 2 Kings 15-21. The story goes between the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom was taken into exile by Assyria during Hezekiah’s reign leaving only the people of Judah. After one more good king, Josiah, the rest of the kings lead Judah back into idolatry and they are deported to Babylon in 3 phases ending with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. You can read about this in 2 Kings 22-25.

Getting Ready for Lent 2023, Come join me on a journey into Isaiah

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As I approach the Lenten Season and prepare my heart, I have been in prayer about what direction God has for my writing. In the past I have done short books in the New Testament, Psalm passages, Attributes of God, provisions I have in Christ, etc. This year God has laid on my heart to dive into the book of Isaiah. I have loved the poetic nature of Isaiah since first studying it with Bible Study Fellowship in about 2005. A lot of it seems very difficult to understand and filled with judgement, yet it remains one of my favorites as it constantly reminds me of God’s power, might and love. There are promises to claim from this wonderful book and you gain a glimpse of God not seen elsewhere in regard to God’s person and His Son. It is filled with prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ when he was on earth and more looking towards His future return. It is a book of hope that can and does speak to us today.

Here are some fun facts I learned recently:

The Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 Chapters.

Isaiah is easily divided into 2 sections like the Old and New Testaments. Chapters 1-39 are about the coming judgement for sin and the anticipation of the hope that is coming in Christ (like the Old Testament message) and 40-66 tells us of the coming Christ and his kingdom (like the New Testament). The first section has 39 chapters like the Old Testament has 39 books and the second section has 27 chapters like the 27 books of the New Testament.

The book of Isaiah is often referred to as the gospel of the Old Testament as its message shows us the coming gospel message and its messenger, Jesus Christ.

Chapter 1:18-20 gives us a glimpse into God’s heart and His provision of hope. He desires that we come to Him for cleansing and renewal. He then warns us that without intervention from the Holy One of Israel, God Almighty, we will be perish. Christ is the Holy one, the Only one, who can Save us.

“Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool.
19 If you will only obey me,
    you will have plenty to eat.
20 But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
    you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Isn’t that what Lent is all about? It is a time for humbling ourselves before Almighty, Holy God with a repentant heart. Seeking Him and what He has for us, redemption, and cleansing which we cannot obtain on our own.

As we look towards Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season may you anticipate a message from God for your heart from Isaiah.

Linda