Isaiah 32:1-8 – Let King Jesus reign through us

A prophetic message generally has two timeframes. On one hand, it has to do with the immediate context when the message was first given. On the other, it also has a fulfillment sometime in the future. Here we see the message of Isaiah 32 having both the elements. Firstly, speaking to the immediate context, Isaiah was probably referring to King Hezekiah whose peaceful reign followed the wicked reign of his father Ahaz. Hezekiah also had to contend with Assyria and King Sennacherib. Secondly, this prophecy also refers to the ultimate Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, who would come to reign in justice and peace.

Hezekiah as we know was the son of King Ahaz. What was positive about him was that he did not take on his father’s character. He was a good king in the sight of God and had sought to honor Him during his reign. He had several religious reforms during his time. He had the priests open the temple which his father Ahaz closed. Hezekiah also removed the idols and their altars that were encouraged by his father. He was instrumental in having true sacrifices to God instituted and true worship installed. Hezekiah also had the temple rededicated to the Lord and encouraged generous giving to the Lord.

So verses 1-4 in some sense described his rule. There was a contrast between his reign and that of his predecessor. He brought measures of renewal to the people who had to endure stress prior to his reign. During his time those who were once spiritually insensitive experienced spiritual light and were given an understanding of the truth of God. In verses, 5-8, fools and the nobles were distinguished. Fools could be identified from the nonsense they spilled out and the way they treated the unfortunate. They could be clearly spotted from the devious ways they went about doing things. On the other hand, the noble would also be clearly identified. These would come up with purposeful plans to help, encourage, and build up the needy, and would stick with their plans till they were fulfilled.

We also know that Jesus the Messiah with His reign will bring about justice, righteousness, and peace. His people will experience transformation and be given insight into the truth which they can understand and obey. In His kingdom, no fool will have a place. His people will not be easily deceived. His noble ministers will be identified from the things they say and nobly conduct their lives, and discharge their duties.

As Christians who have acknowledged Jesus Christ the Messiah, we are truly His privileged people. We now come under His righteous and just rule. He has become our shelter and refuge from the storm and tempest of life. In Him, we find spiritual refreshment, given spiritual insight, and are being progressively transformed. Now as His enlisted nobles, we must act and live rightly for HIs glory!

 

Isaiah 31:4-9 – Trust God no matter what

In the first three verses of Isaiah 31, the prophet showed reasons why Judah should trust God and not Egypt in the face of Assyria’s threat. Unlike God, the Egyptians were mere men, and the horses were mere animals. Whereas their covenant God, being supernatural, had the final power and authority that none could withstand. So in verse 4, Isaiah revealed to the people of Judah what God showed him He would do and what would be the outcome.

The Almighty would be waging war on Mount Zion. Using the image of a lion or a young that growls over its prey, Isaiah showed that God would be as determined to guard over Jerusalem. Nothing could deter Him from what He was about to do. He would not be perturbed by noises coming from the shepherds that would try to deter Him. Then in verse 5, using the image of a mother bird, God was seen caring for His children. Like the mother bird which loves her young, God’s love for the people would be seen in His resolve to protect and deliver them from dangers. He would not allow them to be destroyed.   

 

In the light of what God would do for His people, Isaiah then called for them to repent and return to God in verse 6. That would mean that they had to renounce their idolatry. God asserted that in His dealings with them, all idols would be discarded anyway. Thus repentance and discarding the idols would be a clear indication that they had chosen to trust in God and His promises.  

 

In the closing two verses of this chapter, Isaiah showed how the Assyrians would fall by God’s sword. This was an indication that their defeat would be the work of God. Isaiah even saw the whole of Assyria in panic. The “rock” could mean the king, the strength of the army, or even the idols the Assyrian trusted. They would all be in panic mode when God dealt with them. Verse 9 tells us that on Zion and Jerusalem the enemy was scheduled for destruction. They would meet their doom where God’s wrath would be dished out to them.

 

Using the metaphor of a lion, God is depicted here as strong and powerful and determined to protect His people. He would come to their rescue in times of danger. Then in the image of a mother bird, we see that God is not only loving but also caring. How privileged are His children! God wants to protect us because He loves and cares for us. He does expect us to repent if we have not trusted in Him fully. And if we truly trust Him, we must abandon ourselves totally to Him and no longer rely on our own devices. Trusting God is a transforming experience. Abandon all to Him and let Him deal with your fear and hesitation. He is our refuge and strength and a very present help in times of trouble!

 

Isaiah 31:1-3 – Set our heart and affection on God

In the previous chapter, Isaiah had spoken about Judah seeking the help of Egypt against the threat of Assyria. Here the prophet once again pronounced misery for the people who would trust the Egyptians more than they would God. As far as God was concerned, their move to seek Egypt’s help to deal with the nation’s plight was a major mistake. In their anguish, they were not thinking straight. So here God through Isaiah strongly denounced the way they tried to solve their national crisis. In verses 1-3, Isaiah showed them why it was foolish of them to turn to the Egyptians and not to God.

Turning to Egypt was not God’s plan for them. In seeking an alliance with Egypt, they failed to consider their faithful God in their plan. And by not factoring God in their plan they had demonstrated how myopic they were. How could the wisdom of Egypt be compared with the wisdom of God? Didn’t they know the finality of God’s authority? What about God’s compelling power and undeniable justice? Obviously, Judah did not think of all these when they chose to lean on Egypt. Their myopia was seen in how they had focused on the many strong horses and chariots Egypt had. They did not consider the Holy One of Israel in their plight and did not seek the help of Yahweh, their covenant God.  

 

Their alliance was doomed to fail from the start. Humanly, this might have seemed like a good option. To have another nation’s help would naturally argue that one would have a back-up force. They failed to see that the Egyptians were mere men, and their horses were mere physical animals. These were unlike the supernatural God with supernatural power. God allowed the threat of Assyria with the aim to get them to think about returning to Him. Obviously, they could not see God’s hand in all their experiences. They could never resist God and His plan for them. In the end both Judah and Egypt were staring down at failure because they were unwittingly resisting God’s plan.  

 

Judah’s problem rests in their focus. They were not focusing on God but on their plight. That resulted in them being distracted, and led to shallow thinking, and inevitably wrong decisions. If their minds were on God and how He had brought them through the many tough oppositions, they would probably have acted very differently. Their experience is a lesson for us. Like Paul said in Colossians 3:1-2, we are admonished to  “…keep seeking the things above, … and to set our mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  We must set our minds, hearts, and affection on God and cultivate a heavenly perspective. One thing we can constantly do is to follow what the Psalmist said in Psalm 119:148, “My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.” Or as Eugene Peterson puts it, “I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering your promise.” We must focus on God and ponder on Him and His Word.  Be constant in our reflection and not only once in a while.

Isaiah 30:27-33 – God alone is absolutely dependable

In Isaiah 30:27-33, the prophet described God’s promised deliverance for Judah. He said that God would do so with a clear demonstration of power on their behalf. In anger, He would rise up to deal with the Assyrians, the oppressor of His people. His judgment on Assyria would be seen in different ways. He would deal with them like a consuming fire from His tongue. Then His breath would be like a flood of water that would sift them, much like separating grains of stones and sands. Then they, the enemy, would be led away with harness like an animal being led off with bits and bridle.

Meanwhile, verses 29-30 describe the celebration of God’s people as He defeated the enemy on their behalf. They would rejoice that at last, their enemy had received their just dessert. Verse 30 makes it unmistakably certain that it was the Lord with His authority that had defeated their enemy. It was God who let loose His final blow on them. Every blow that God would inflict on the enemy would be like music to His people, for they would understand that God was fighting on their behalf.

The final place assigned for the king of Assyria was Topheth. This was a place in the valley of the son of Hinnom, located somewhere south of Jerusalem. It was here that human sacrifices were offered to the god Melek. II Kings 16:3 tells us that it was here Ahaz made his sons pass through the fire for Moloch. Something that had greatly offended God. This place had become a symbol of abomination to the Lord. This was the place Isaiah said God had prepared for the king of Assyria. And soon God would start the fire to consume his corpse.

One clear lesson from Isaiah 30 is this: to be victorious, we need to make God our main ally in life. No one can be as totally dependable as God. People we run with make good circle but poor centre. You will realize that if you put your focus on them, you have placed your focus wrongly. Take the word from the wise Psalmist who said, “It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in men.” (Psalm 118:8).

Isaiah 30:23-26 – Love and discipline are inseparable

God in Isaiah 3-:18 told Judah that instead of His continual displeasure He would be patient and compassionate to them. He then went on in verses 19-22 to tell them He would be their teacher, provide them with clear direction, and bring about an end to their sufferings. He assured them that they would be able to hear His voice behind them saying, “This is the way, walk in them.” Now in verses 23-26, He assured them of prosperity and healing of their afflictions. Their well being could be seen in the healing of the natural resources, their produce, and even their animals.

In verse 23 we see the promise of rain so that their crops could grow and produce, and their yield would be plentiful. Then their livestock would graze freely in the vast land and be well fed. God even promised that the natural landscape would be advantageous for them. There would be streams on every mountain. Using words like “slaughter” and “tower fall”, Isaiah wanted to show them that just as sure and intense was the enemy’s attack, so also would their victory be just as sure, as terrific, and as triumphant.

Verse 26 draws for us a picture of the wonderful effect of God’s grace. The intensity of the brilliance of the light was to show the marvel of God’s healing effect. While His discipline would leave many devastated, bruised and injured, the healing would help them experience His great love through the discipline.

Reflecting on these verses point us to Hebrews 12:10. It tells us that God disciplines us so that we may share His holiness. And also in Hebrews 12:11, He promises that “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” God only has the best installed for us. He will do what it takes to bring us there, for we know that “Those whom God loves, He disciplines….”.

Isaiah 30:19-22 – Don’t test the patience of God

Despite His people’s sinfulness, God would wait patiently for them to come to the end of themselves. God knew that at some point His people would come to the end of their resources. This is the patience of God. The prophet reiterated it in Isaiah 30:18 saying,

“Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.”

To those in Zion and Jerusalem who expectantly waited for God, He would not disappoint them. He promised not to hide Himself from them any longer. His promise to them was that He would hear and answer their cry so that they no longer had to be sad. More than that, He would become their teacher. They would be able to hear a clear direction and be guided in the right way. They would hear God telling them specifically, “This is the way, walk in it.” Hearing and heeding the word of the Lord would bring about some decisive actions of honouring Him. They would get rid of their idols and have nothing to do with them.

These few verses reveal how patient God truly had been with His people. While He had the power to bring everything to a swift end at the snap of His fingers, yet He chose to patiently wait. It takes great power to exercise such patience. God’s kindness and patience should lead us to repentance. While God is patient, it does not mean that we should test it. Testing the Lord’s patience is a reflection of doubt. In fact, it finds its root in unbelief. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Like Enoch, let us live to please Him by trusting Him absolutely and following Him wholeheartedly.

Isaiah 30:15-18 – Our sure victory is in reliance and not alliance

Judah thought that through alliance with Egypt they could overcome Assyria, but the Lord firmly told them that their victory would not be found in the alliance but in their reliance on Him. This is the sure word of the Holy One of Israel. The word of the Lord to Judah was that their sure victory would be through repentance and rest. It would not be found in military campaigns but in turning to trust Him. It would be found in resting and staying quietly confident in God.

However, Judah was not willing to yield themselves to the Lord. Instead of trusting the Lord, they would rather rely on their own strength and the swift horses of Egypt. They believed that they could get away faster with swift horses. Isaiah told them that they would find their pursuer just as swift. The prophet went on further to describe their defeat. So petrified would they be that one man from the enemy camp would be enough to cause a thousand Judeans to flee. They would end up like a staff striped of the flag, a sign of their defeat.

Meanwhile, Isaiah assured Judah that instead of crushing them God was more willing to be gracious. He would patiently show His compassion on them. If they truly repent and turn to trust Him, it was not too late to experience His deliverance.

A passage like this leaves us wondering why Judah chose to remain so defiant despite the generous offer of the gracious God. Why would they turn down such a great offer? Man’s heart is the seat of his personality. That is where our emotions, thoughts, and even our faith and belief originate. It is important that we ensure that we have a pliable heart before God so that we would not resist His best intention for us. That is why we must take seriously the instruction of Proverbs 4:23. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Let us be sure to trust the Lord with all our heart. Therein is our strength!

Isaiah 30 – Don’t take God or His Word for granted

In the face of Judah’s distrust, despite his spirited call to them to place their complete trust in God, Isaiah then minced no words and implored them strongly on behalf of God. He warned them of the consequence of their stubborn stance. Two negative attitudes were obviously evident among the people of Judah. Firstly, they had stoutly refused to trust and lean on God, and secondly, they insisted on being self-deluded by buying into deception. Hence, the consequence they were about to experience would be inevitable. Isn’t this so evident in our walk with God? When we insist on not trusting God, and prefer living in self-delusion, the consequence would be unavoidable. 

In these verses, Isaiah outlined to Judah the consequence of their actions. He told them that they would experience a collapsed wall. What did Isaiah mean? He was talking about the failure of the alliance to take effect. The pact between Judah and Egypt was like a weak wall that was about to collapse. Their arrangement would disintegrate suddenly, and everything would soon come to naught in an instant.   Isaiah went on further to emphasize the utter ruin of the collapsed wall. It would be like the utter shattering of a clay pot. So thorough would be the smash that not a single piece of fragments would be adequate for any useful purpose. None of the potsherd shattered would be large enough to contain fire from the hearth nor water from the cistern. Isaiah’s point was clear: divine consequence was inevitable and total ruin would be their experience.

Here we are reminded of Psalm 81:11-12. In these two verses, we sense how God felt and catch a glimpse of how God would deal with His rebellious people. Because Israel whom He had rescued from Egypt refused to listen to His voice nor obey Him, so He said, “So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.” The refusal to trust God and a rejection of His words are signs of downright rebellion. These attitudes reflect how one values the great God. These are not small things in God’s estimate. To Him, they are downright sin. God could not overlook nor view such attitudes lightly, neither would He leave them alone without dealing with them. Such wilful defiance always invites a consequence. Whenever we adopt such contemptuous attitudes, we show how little we value our awesome God. As people who love God, we should take this passage as God’s proposition to rightly honor Him and to give Him our complete trust and devotion and obey His Word absolutely. That is how we should always respond to our awesome God!  

Isaiah 30:8-11 – Self-centredness impedes spiritual growth

In no uncertain terms, Isaiah made known that approaching Egypt for help to deal with the threat of Assyria was a poor choice on Judah’s part. Isaiah was sure that all the trouble and effort to secure Egypt’s help would be futile. It would all be a worthless cause. Egypt would be of no profit to Judah. So sure was the prophet that he told them to record on a tablet or inscribe in a scroll, a message as a witness and future reference of how Egypt had failed to help them. Though we are not clear what the message was, it would remind them of how Egypt, likened to Rahab the mystical powerful creature was rendered powerless and did nothing to help Judah.  

What was the purpose of recording the message? Verse 9 said that in times to come when Egypt failed to deliver the promised help, it would attest to Judah’s faithlessness. It would remind them of Isaiah’s warning which they had failed to heed. As God’s seer, Isaiah was to provide accurate direction from the Lord, even when his message was unpleasant to the ear, he would speak them truthfully. But the people would rather have illusions, false prophecy, and pleasantries than accurate and truthful words from the Lord. They were so bent on hearing only positive words that they would even impede the prophet from telling the truth. There came a point when these faithless people even openly loathed hearing about the Holy One of Israel.

 

These four verses show us what self-centredness could do to people. It could cause one to become callous and insensitive to the truth of God. So bent on their own ways that the people of Judah were no longer capable of differentiating what’s truth and what’s pandering to the self. We need to know that truths are hard but needful words. While we want the comfortable words of the Lord, we must accept the uncomfortable words as well. It is comfortable to hear the invitation to find rest in Him when we are weary. But don’t forget that He also demands that we take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow after Him daily. We must be true to God and to ourselves so that we can progress with God unimpeded. We cannot choose to hear only what we want to hear from God’s word.

Isaiah 30:6-7 – Cling to God, no matter what

In the first five verses of Isaiah 30, Judah was warned of the folly of seeking the help of Egypt to deal with the threat from Assyria. Instead of placing confidence in their faithful God who had delivered them in the past, they chose to trust in a force that was spent and was far less superior. God warned His rebellious children concerning their foolish intention of going into an alliance with Egypt. In the following verses, Isaiah then elaborated on the warning God had given and gave added insight into the matter.

 

Isaiah told them how foolish it was for them to ferry their tributes to Egypt hoping to obtain their help. Here he envisaged caravans of donkeys and camels carrying treasures going through the Negev, the stretch of desert land south of Israel leading to Egypt. The journey, he stressed, would not be free from hazard. They would encounter ferocious animals such as the lion, lioness, viper, and flying serpent in the journey. These wild animals showed how hazardous their journey would be just to secure the help of Egypt. What was sad was that the perilous journey they undertook to secure the help of Egypt would not profit them. It would be a worthless exercise of futility.

 

In verse 7, Isaiah spoke about “Rahab that has been exterminated.” Who was the prophet referring to? The Rahab is not the harlot who hid the spies in the book of Joshua. This Rahab is referring to a mystical sea creature with power. Clearly, Isaiah was referring to Egypt as the creature whose power was removed. The implication was that Egypt would have no capacity to ensure their security. The tributes they sent to her would be of no benefit.  

 

God has no self-improvement plan for the flesh. If we try to advance God’s design for our life by pandering to our flesh, we will be woefully disappointed. There is no substitute for cultivating a passion to walk with God. Nothing can replace a careful searching out of God’s direction for our life and then walk the discovered journey obediently. There are no short-cuts to victorious living but to cling tenaciously to the Lord. We must stay rooted in Christ. He is the ONLY sure security!

 

 

Isaiah 30:1-5 – The hazard of misplaced confidence

Isaiah 30 opens with the Lord rebuking the people of Judah for carrying out a plan without consulting Him. They turned to Egypt for help to deal with the threat from Assyria. In turning to Egypt, the leaders of Judah must have thought that they had an astute plan. But to God, it was a betrayal. He called both the leaders and citizens rebellious children. The plan to go into an alliance with Egypt was a failure to trust God. He made it clear that this was neither His plan nor His intention for them to rely on the Egyptians. In fact, God told them that it was against His will. In so doing they had added to their sin. To turn and trust Egypt would mean that Judah had to pander to the demands of the Egyptians. To seal the alliance, it was expected that some sort of sacrifice would be made to Egypt’s gods. This was indeed a major compromise. This suggests that they failed to rely on God.

Foolishly they ignored God. So He told them that they had turned to Egypt without consulting Him and He detested it. This is an issue of trust. Hence what they had done would ensure their embarrassment. After all, the Egyptians were mere mortals and soon both the people of Judah and Egypt whom they sought for help would all come to naught. God assured them that their confidence in the Egyptians would turn into shame and humiliation.

 

How did Judah reach the point where they would turn to Egypt and not to God? How could they have such misplaced confidence to trust Egypt? They seemed to have forgotten what God did to the Egyptians to get them out of their bondage in Exodus. What a forgetful people! And we must never be forgetful people. But it can happen when we don’t pay attention to our relationship with God. When we don’t take time to be holy to speak often with the Lord, we can meander off the sacred path. Hear the Word of Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15,  ^“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” If we don’t study God’s Word, we will be led off to the wrong path!  

Isaiah 29:22-24 – To know God is to honor and worship Him alone

We are moral beings created by God with the capacity to make moral choices. It has always been God’s intention for us to know Him and experience freedom and liberty in Him. When we make the right decision, we experience what God has planned for us. However, having inherited Adam’s fallen nature, all mankind has the propensity to make decisions that would not be in alignment with God. When God called Abraham, and then Jacob, they and their posterity were His special people in the world. They were in a covenant relationship with Him.  

Whenever they connected with God, made the right decisions, and were obedient to God, He would guide them to fulfill His plan and purpose for them. For the times that they failed to connect with Him, they would make wrong decisions that would hurt God’s heart. Yet in His love for them, God would coax and deal gently with them at first. When they persisted in their obstinacy and insisted on acting wilfully against Him, they would force Him to discipline them to get them back on track.

 

In their case, we saw how God used their enemies and world powers such as Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon to get them to rethink their commitment. Ultimately God’s plan was for His people to enjoy the liberty and freedom of being His choice instrument when they chose to worship and serve Him. So here in the last three verses of chapter 29, Isaiah prophesied that Israel would ultimately know God with a renewed understanding of Him and to truly worship Him.  

 

Here Isaiah addressed Israel as the house of Jacob. Note that in his writings, Isaiah would use the term “the house of Jacob” to refer to Israel. In verse 22, the prophet referred to Abraham to remind Israel of their unique relationship with God. He wanted them to know that He had initiated to redeem Abraham and delivered him from his idolatry in the Ur of Chaldea. And as He had delivered Abraham, He now promised deliverance for Israel. He promised that their shame and fear would come to an end. They would finally be able to see the Lord and His power at work and recognize and sanctify His name. They would also acknowledge Him as the Holy One of Jacob, the Holy God of Israel. They would acknowledge Him as their God and have a clear understanding of God as they renew their worship of Him.  

 

Apart from journeying with God, no other venture in life can truly satisfy. This journey must be one that we rely on Him completely. Thankfully, He has given the Holy Spirit to enable us to walk in step with Him. When we truly know Him, we can never be satisfied with any other thing in life. We just want to worship Him alone. Let us have a renewed life and live in faithfulness to the one who alone deserves all that we are and can potentially become. We will honor, worship, and serve God alone.    

Isaiah 29:17-21 – God only has good intention for us

Truly, God’s anger does not last forever. He only wants His people to see His loving intention and get back on track. It has never been God’s intention to destroy. His discipline is always aimed at getting us, His people, to see our wrong, repent and turn from our waywardness and return to Him. To the people who are sensitive and respond to Him, he will restore them. To those who would spurn His kind overtures, consequence would await them. This, in essence, would be God’s way of dealing with His people.

 

In Isaiah 29:17, still asking a rhetorical question, the prophet saw something positive for the people of God resulting from His discipline. He saw a restoration of the fortune of the people. Here he foretold that in a short while God would restore their fortune. Known for its cedar trees, Lebanon would once again be fertile. It would become a thick forest again. And with the restoration, there would also come clarity of God’s message and intention. In earlier verses, the book of vision was sealed to them and even those who could read could not understand what they had read. But a day was dawning that even the blind and the deaf could understand God’s message, granted to them in a book. Verses 19-21 show that there would be correction in both the political and social arena. Wicked people including the ruthless, the scorners, and those who had caused the people to sin would be eliminated. There would also be a fair system of justice where the poor would be treated fairly. This would result because those rich people who once manipulated the people would be removed.

 

God always has a better end for His obedient people. This is what He said through the Prophet Jeremiah. ^“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” For people who are sensitive to the Lord’s dealings, here’s a comforting word from Psalm 30:5, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” What a glorious God we worship and serve!

Isaiah 29:15-16 – Under the watchful eye of God

Nothing is hidden from the eye of God. We saw this in the earlier verses. God can see through our insincerity and hypocrisy and He s detests them. Here in Isaiah 29:15-16, the prophet insisted that there was nothing His people could do to hide them from Him. No masquerade could ever prevent God from seeing our real intention and action.  

This was also David’s assertion in Psalm 139:7-12. He said,

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

The great king of Israel shows us that neither death, distance, nor darkness could ever prevent God from seeing us. His point is that God is all-seeing. David said that he could go to heaven or even make his bed in Sheol, God would still be there. In other words, death could not hide him from God. Then he discovered that there was no place on earth God could not see, no matter the distance. No boundary on earth is ever out of God’s reach. Then in Psalm 139:11-12, his point was that not even darkness could hide him from God. The Almighty can see through light and He can see through the darkness. Neither death, distance nor darkness can ever hide us from God.

In verse 16 Isaiah mockingly scoffed at man’s audacity of putting themselves on par with God. It was like the clay saying to the potter, we are on the same level. Such a view at best was puerile and infantile. The potter always has the freedom to do what he wants with the clay. So also God will always have the authority and liberty to determine what He wants to make out of the clay in His hand. Note that God is always superior to His creation. He alone determines what is best for us. Because He does!

Just two verses and we learn so much about God. Here are two things for our consideration in our daily walk. Our God is unequal in dominion. Hence, if we trust Him there is nothing that can overpower His workings in our lives. Secondly, He is unequal in His love, mercy, and care for us.  We are ever before His watchful eye. When we have a vibrant relationship with Him, He will see us through the toughest of circumstances. He will produce the best in us. It is wise to trust God completely.   

Isaiah 29:13-14 – God loves honesty, sincerity, and integrity

One thing God detests is deceit and insincerity. When we approach Him, He expects us to be sincere and wholly present. In these verses, God accused the people of approaching Him with their lips, but their hearts would be miles away. True worship must be offered in spirit and in truth, in sincerity, and in the right attitude. Jesus insists that when we pray, we should let our yes be yes and our no, no. He also insists that we should not come to God with vain repetitions that mean nothing to our hearts. God does not want us to only pay lip services but with no heart desire to fulfill what we say.

God wants us to love and worship Him with all our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength. Here the people in Isaiah’s day failed the true test of worship. So they were chided for their irreverence and insincerity when they approached Him. They would come to God physically present but mentally absent. They would come based on ideas that man had taught and not on the unfolding of God’s revealed truths. Sarcastically, Isaiah said that God would deal with them wonderfully. In other words, God would use the foreign forces to discipline them. They were earlier told that the literate would find the book sealed and the illiterate would not be able to read it. So they all alike would stumble when it comes to divine revelation. Hence, true wisdom would dissipate among them and they would find it hard to understand what God would be doing.

Psalm 32:2 tells us that blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no deceit. God does not want us to project what is false when we come before Him. Jesus also said we must worship God in spirit and in truth. And in 1 Timothy 1:5 Paul suggests that the goal of godly instruction is to ensure that we have love which issues from “a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” We need to remember that nothing is hidden from the eyes of God with whom we will have to deal with. So learn to relate with God honestly, sincerely, and faithfully, for they will enable us to have a blessed life in Him.

Isaiah 29:9-12 – Be passionate for God

In Isaiah 29:9-10, the prophet turned to directly address the participants of the feast in Jerusalem, which he referred to earlier in verse 1. Those people did not seem to understand the seriousness and enormity of the discipline that they would be going through. They were largely nonchalant and unmoved by what was told them. When Isaiah said that “the LORD had poured over them a deep sleep”, it did not mean that God caused them to be indifferent. What he meant was that God had given up on them and allowed them to stay in their dispassionate state.      

God obviously had a plan for His people in Judah. He was understandably concerned with building them as a people He had called to Himself. While He would discipline them, His goal was to have a nation of restored people who would move in tandem with His plan and purpose for them. Here Isaiah lamented that God’s entire vision for His people had not been understood. The people who were literate were given the book of the vision but complained that the book was sealed. The illiterates were given the same book and told to read but they, unfortunately, were not able to read. What good would it do, when a  message is given and the people, both the literates and the illiterates, could not decrypt its meaning.

 

Like Judah then, we are the people of God. We are a privileged lot because He loves us. He will reveal His plan to us if we are sensitive to His leading. It would be sad when we, His privileged people, choose to live in a state of spiritual coma like the people in the day of Isaiah, and unable to decode His message to us. Isaiah 65:12 shows us the sorry state of the prophet’s audience when God said, “I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen. Instead, you did evil in My sight and chose that which I did not delight.” This is also a warning to us. As God’s beloved, let us not live in a state of spiritual coma. Let us make up our minds to stay connected to God and be sensitive to His leading and warning. Have a passion for God and for His Word!

Isaiah 29:5-8 – God alone is sovereign

In the first four verses of Isaiah 29, the prophet told Jerusalem that God would make her an altar where her people would be sacrificed. Though she was a city associated with David, she would not be spared. God would press ahead with this dealing even though they tried to placate the situation with their added feasts. She would soon be a city under siege, battled, and be brought low. However, the enemies that God had used to deal with Jerusalem would not get away without being dealt with too. He would in turn deal with them.

So in verses, 5-8 Isaiah describes what God would do to them. They would be scattered. Like fine dust or weightless chaff, they would be blown away suddenly. God would use natural forces such as storms, fire, and earthquakes to disband them. As sure as those enemies would attack Israel, God would also dissipate them like a dream, and they would abandon their attack. Isaiah’s point is this: while Jerusalem would be disciplined, she still had a part to play in God’s overall plan. Their enemies who would be used to discipline them would in turn be dealt with when they had completed their role.     

One thing is evidently clear. God is sovereign and anyone, even those who do not acknowledge His Lordship can be an instrument to perfect His children. Everyone, Christian or non-Christian alike, is at God’s disposal to be His instrument to fulfill His plan in the lives of His children. However, the instruments God uses should not think too highly of themselves and be too cocky. For, after all, they will merely be instruments in God’s hand to advance His plan. He alone holds the agenda for all His people even those who would not acknowledge Him. Be thankful when God chooses to use us for a task. Remember to stay humble and know that we are but only His instrument. But what a privilege when we are instruments of peace and good news!

Isaiah 29:1-4 – Stay true and remain accountable

Ariel translated means “lion of God.” The prophet called it the city where David once camped. He was certainly referencing the city of Jerusalem, a city associated with David, who made it the capital of Israel. This was the place David prominently operated from. But now Isaiah said that Jerusalem would be a city in despair because she would soon be a city under siege. God, Himself would bring about the distress and it would be a city in deep grieving and mourning. In fact, she would be made an altar of sacrifice. In a play of word, the “Ariel” that appears in the latter part of verse 2 meant an “altar hearth.” It was translated as “altar hearth” in Ezekiel 43:15. What Isaiah meant to say was that Jerusalem, the lion of God, would soon become an altar hearth, an altar of sacrifice.   

Despite being a city associated with David, where religious feasts were celebrated on schedule, Isaiah maintained that she would not have immunity from the impending discipline of the Lord. And no matter how hard they tried to appease the Lord with their added feasts, nothing would quell the coming judgment. God would be setting up siege-works against it. Battle tower would be built against Jerusalem and she would be brought low. The city would be suppressed and humiliated. Her subdued and faint voice would rise from the dust of the ground but would hardly be heard.

 

God is no respecter of man. Even though Jerusalem was associated with the king after His own heart, God would still deal with her failure. This is a clear reminder that God expects us to be responsible and accountable. Just because we have a great past does not immunize us from discipline when we turn wayward. The surest way to progress is not to rest on our laurels but to stay truly obedient to the Lord. Stay abreast with Him!

Isaiah 28:23-29 – To be the best version of who we are

In this passage, Isaiah called on those indulgent people and scoffers he described in Isaiah 28:1-22 to pay attention and listen to what he had to say. Here he tells the parable of the farmer. He used the work of a farmer to show them what they should or should not do. The answer to both his rhetorical questions in verse 24 presupposes “no” for an answer. No farmer would plow continually without sowing. So he also would not continue to break up the ground and not start to plant. A farmer would not only concentrate on preparing the ground but also would start sowing or planting at some point. It would be foolish for him to till the ground continually and not sow after he had prepared the ground. In verses 25-26, Isaiah asked two more rhetorical questions to show that a wise farmer would carefully plant the right crops in the right place to ensure a maximum harvest. Isaiah’s point is this: even a farmer with godly wisdom knew when to till and sow at the right time to ensure maximum harvest, should not wise and godly leaders of Israel and Judah know what to do to guide the people?  

In verse 27 Isaiah shifted his thought to show that good farmers know what equipment to use to separate what they had harvested. They would not thresh dill with a threshing sledge, nor would they drive a cartwheel over cumin. If they used the wrong equipment to deal with the different crops, their harvest would be ruined. Instead, they would use a rod to separate dill and club for cumin. The right equipment would be used to ensure that the grain harvested would be preserved. Here, Isaiah wanted the people to know that the discipline of the LORD was never to destroy but to preserve them. He would use the right method and with the right proportion to deal with His people to ensure maximum effect. The leaders here were urged to take to heart the wise and wonderful counsel of the LORD.

God always has the best interest of His people at His heart. He disciplines us only to get us back on track and never to destroy us. Therefore bear in mind what Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Paul also tells us in Romans 8:28,  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Take heart and know that those whom God loves He disciplines. And because He loves us, He wants to ensure that we will become the best version of who we are. That’s the heart of our Loving Father!

Isaiah 28:14-22 - God is our sure security

The leadership of Judah would not take the warning of God seriously. The judgment of Israel, their northern brethren, should have been an adequate warning for them. Instead of processing what had happened to their northern relatives and made the necessary alignment to trust God, they chose to trust their own supposed ingenuity. They made a covenant with Egypt in the face of the impending attack by Assyria. Here Isaiah mockingly called their covenant with Egypt a covenant of death. In choosing not to turn to God but to Egypt, Judah preferred the deception of false security. They had unwittingly chosen the path of deception, thus deluding themselves.  

To show how grave a mistake Judah had made, Isaiah said that God would establish His presence in Zion so that those who trust in Him will find true security. He would be the solid rock of security. Trusting in Him would be the only proven, tested, and sure place of security. The deception of relying on Egypt could never provide the safety or security they sought. Their actions would be weighed with precise exactness. Through justice and righteousness, their deception and falsehood would be exposed. The words of verse 16 had been applied by the New Testament writers to refer to Christ Jesus the foundation of the true church. Justice and righteousness would be the standard of Christ. Truly in Christ alone can anyone find true security.   

 

Isaiah further explained that their trust in Egypt would come to naught. Their covenant with them would be rendered ineffective. Assyria would surely come and overtake and devastate them. Since they had chosen to make their bed hard, they would have to lie on it and live with the consequence of their delusion. Illustrating with the victory Israel had over the Philistines at Mount Perazim and  Valley of Gibeon with God’s help, Isaiah now shows that God would be on the side of the enemy. Their discipline at the hand of the enemy would strangely be an act of God. Isaiah warned them not to resist Assyria, for to do so would only increase their bond and make it even worse. The prophet’s point is this: true security rests in God alone.   

 

Misplaced confidence in life is hazardous. Our confidence should always rest in God. He never fails in a single promise that He has made. To be victorious in life’s journey, we need to know that apart from God there is no secure place. He is our sure bet to victory. We must place our hope and trust only in Him. He is worthy of our trust!

Isaiah 28:6-13 – Cultivate the spirit of discernment

In Isaiah 28:1-4, the prophet foretold of the devastation of Samaria, referring to her as the proud crown of drunken Ephraim. But the real crown according to Isaiah 28:5-6 would be the LORD Himself. That would be what the remnant would recognize Him to be, the crown of glory and the diadem of beauty. In talking about “the remnant of His people,” Isaiah was probably referring to Judah. Here he saw God giving a spirit of justice to the king of Judah, who would sit in judgment. And to his fighting men, God granted strength to enable them to resist the advancing forces at the gate.

However, the sad reality was Judah did not learn from the failure of Samaria. Like the intoxicated Ephraim, the priests and prophets of Judah also indulged in the same drunken revelry. They would get drunk with wine and ministered through their drunken delusion.  So out of control were they that they would carouse themselves and cover their dining table with their filthy vomits. Instead of offering sound teaching, they were offering confused and muddled messages.

Verses 9-10 suggest that the opponents of Isaiah ridiculing the prophet. For they felt slighted by Isaiah who appeared to be treating them as immature children. Isaiah’s response to them was found in verses 11-13. Since they would not accept God’s promise of rest, He would deal with them through a foreign force and language. Isaiah warned them of the tough dealing they would have to go through in captivity.  

It will do us well to be receptive to God’s word and program for our lives. We must learn to be discerning. The experiences of others could be useful lessons from God to us. He could be using them to warn us against committing the same error. Being discerning helps us to understand what God is saying to us through different circumstances, as well as the ordinary moment of everyday living. Discernment helps us to make decisions that will draw us nearer to Him and not drive us further from Him.  So develop a discerning spirit and be open to God!

Isaiah 28:1-4 – The numbing effect of pride and over-indulgence

We are not even midway through this long prophetic book. So before we get lost in our journey, let us recap the drift of what Isaiah had said so far. In chapters 13-23, he had denounced the powerful forces of the earth. In chapter 24, he prophesied the destruction of the world. In chapters 25-27, he described the establishment of the future Kingdom of God and the glorious celebration that would accompany it.

Now in Isaiah 28, he returned to address the nation of Israel and Judah, by first warning of what would happen to the Northern Kingdom. We know that after Solomon, his inconsiderate son Rehoboam caused Israel to be divided. The Northern Kingdom comprising ten tribes of Israel had Samaria as its capital. It is often referred to as Israel or Ephraim in the Old Testament. The Southern Kingdom, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, had Jerusalem as its capital, is referred to as Judah.  

In Isaiah 28:1-4, the prophet turned to warn Ephraim of the impending attack that was coming. The pronouncement of “woe” was God’s warning of the impending disaster from the invasion of the Assyrians. Directing his message at Samaria, Isaiah called Samaria the proud crown. She was thus referred to because she was located on a hillside overlooking a fertile valley of lush thick foliage and brilliant flowers. Samaria was the crown of Ephraim. However, all this would soon be altered with the impending attack. Isaiah saw Ephraim as habitually drunk. This could be due to their self-indulgence. Their behavior left much to be desired and had made them totally oblivious of the coming catastrophe.  

Verse 2 clearly speaks of the coming invasion of the Assyrians which was part of God’s program for them.  The invading force would be to them a storm of hail and a tempest of destruction.  They would also be like a storm of mighty flowing water that God would release upon Ephraim. Their beauty would be devastated as the enemy force would come trampling over them. The beauty of Samaria was as alluring as the early fig that would appear before summer. It would arouse the appetite of the Assyrians who would leave the place devastated with nothing to show for.

Ephraim was so overly engrossed in self-pandering that they were insensitive to the impending dangers. Their malady was brought on by pride and self-indulgence. These are habits that would bring about a numbing effect. And when the whole nation is indulged, from leaders to citizens, the situation would be made worst. This is a warning for us in the church not to emulate the world. We must not allow pride and self-indulgence to cause us to lose our way in our spiritual journey. We must start aligning our lives and not wait till it becomes too late for us to act. Wise up, sober up, and live right for God!  

Isaiah 27:7-13 – Don’t ignore God’s gracious dealing

Earlier Israel, instead of producing justice and mercy, what she had produced was violent bloodshed. But God who loved His vineyard had to deal with her. He did it through foreign powers. However, God’s intention was not to destroy Israel but to bring her to her senses so that she could return to trust Him. The invasions of the foreign powers would purge the people of their wrongdoings and rid them of idolatry. The gods of their enemies, with whom they had adopted, would be destroyed and left devastated. God was dealing with the wrongdoings of His people. Wrongdoings always exact a price, so the invasion of the enemy was the price Israel had to pay. Verses 10-11 describe the city of Jerusalem after God had allowed the enemy to discipline His people. Isaiah describes her as a city that was left isolated, deserted, and abandoned. God temporarily lifted His mercy, and she was severely dealt with.

In verses 12-13, Isaiah returns to describe the graciousness of God. He would gather the people of Israel with a miracle the same as that experienced by the nation in the time of the Exodus. There would be a grand celebration like the Feast of Trumpets, to herald the people wherever they would be, to return to worship in Jerusalem. Israel had sinned and needed to be dealt with, but God being gracious would restore them.

In God’s reckoning, no one who sins against Him should expect to be left off scot-free. Sin always exacts a price and brings a consequence. God is gracious and knows that we are but made of clay. His desire is always to restore us. But it does not mean that He would allow us to take His grace for granted. Do not be like Esau who realized a tad too late, and found God unresponsive to his tears of regrets. So today, if we hear the voice of God, let us respond and make the needful change.