Isaiah 44

This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

We call this a revival...

All of human history is a litany of ups and downs. Sometimes we are obedient to God...other times we aren't. In spite of how we feel, it's important to remember our eternal relationship with God does not depend on us...it depends on Him. His love for is is so great that He has already determined the outcome.

Our future has already been written...probably to protect us from ourselves...

So, even though God says "all who make idols will be put to shame", we are promised a different outcome because we are not part of this world. We are part of a special people...called apart from this world...awaiting our final destination.

God says "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”Picture yourself standing at a train station...and the train is coming. You don't belong at the station. It's not our home. It's only a staging point for our next great ride...our return home. And...can you imagine what the ride will be like when the Holy Spirit is poured out in all it's fullness?

I'll tell you what it will look like. It will look like the mother of all family reunions. Everybody will be on that train...even the questionable cousins who constantly embarrassed us. Even the ones we thought walked away for good,  But...we'll no longer look down our noses at any of them. Instead, we will "sing for joy, for the Lord has done this; for the Lord has redeemed Jacob".

When that time comes we should be prepared. It won't necessarily look like we expect. Remember how God hardened Pharaoh's heart in order to prove Himself? Pharaoh probably had no idea he was being used. But...that's how God operates. You see God uses people...any people He desires...to accomplish His goals. After all, Jehovah is the God who said of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please".

Or, Osama Bin Laden...or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi...or Ali Khamenei. These guys aren't "off the reservation". They're just a bunch of reprobates waiting for a call from God. Can we believe they are God's servants? Or, will we say "they've lost their minds" when some day they stand up and accomplish all that Jehovah pleases?

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 43

But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Where Chapter 42 discusses the coming of a Messiah, and what that will look like,  this chapter tells Israel what the Messiah plans to do. He will redeem and deliver them. Jesus Christ is Israel's only savior. And He will not be thwarted in this endeavor. He says  Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— This is going to be a universal redemption. Nobody who is called by Christ's name will be left out.

He will then gather all the nations together, invite them to bring their gods, and explain themselves. "Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” Unfortunately, there are no gods other than Jehovah. There is no adequate explanation for following a god that doesn't exist.

But...we do it all the time, don't we?

The great preacher D. L. Moody said...way back in the 19th century...You don't have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you make most of is your god. Whatever you love more than God is your idol...A man may make a god of himself, of a child, of a mother, of some precious gift that God has bestowed upon him. He may forget the Giver and let his heart go out in adoration toward the gift...Many make a god of pleasure; that is what their hearts are set on...Others take fashion as their god. They give their time and thought to dress. They fear what others will think of them...With many it is the god of money. We haven't got through worshiping the golden calf yet. If a man will sell his principles for gold, isn't he making it a god? 

The person who does not worship the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will find a god to worship. It is in our spiritual DNA. As Voltaire said, "If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent one." You see, it's not even possible to be an atheist. The atheist means only that he does not believe the God of the Bible but...if you pay attention...he will reveal to you the god of his own making. 
 
God then tells Israel they are called to testify to primacy of Jehovah. That's all they are supposed to do...be a witness to the heathen nations...and they couldn't get it right. God says “Yet you have not called on me or wearied yourselves serving me. Though I have not burdened you...but you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses". This has all the potential for God saying "I'm fed up...I'm done with you" But, guess what? God doesn't do that. God says  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland...to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise".

Where is all this taking us? God is telling us we have one simple task: Proclaim the exclusivity and primacy of Jehovah. The real proclamation is an obedient life. That's it. As St. Francis said, we might even use words now and then. Its the task in front of us but bear in mind, its only a TDY until God gathers us to Himself. Then...we rest!

Maybe we weren't such great witnesses yesterday. I know...none of us does this very well but God is telling us “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 42

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness".

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I like this prophesy concerning the Messiah. He will "bring justice to the nations" but, "He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out". Normally, we tend to believe bringing justice requires a bit of heavy-handedness. You know, putting the "fear of God" into people.

When we look back we see Christ  was never heavy handed. He was kind and patient. But, of course, He didn't come the first time to bring justice. He came to bring grace and mercy. I'm curious when I hear friends suggest Christ's second coming will show us a remarkably different personality. He will be aggressive. He will be uncompromising. He will be vengeful. After all, that's what it takes to properly mete out justice.

 We know He  "will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth" but...what would it look like if the same Jesus who comes again could manage to render perfect justice but do it in a kind and gentle manner? We have a clue in the 6th and 7th verses. “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

God calls all humanity in righteousness...which means His reasons and desires for calling us are perfect and holy...not self-serving. He has no "ulterior" motive other than to live in loving relationship with us. In order to accomplish this He has to "open our eyes"...help us see Him for who He is and ourselves for who we are...unworthy. This was accomplished by establishing a covenant that freed us from the power of sin ("if we confess our sins he is fiathful and just to forgive our sins"). We can now focus on the love and grace of God rather than on our own unworthiness.

For those of us who are believers our eyes were opened when we believed the death and resurrection of  God's Son was sufficient to redeem us. As we know, there are countless folks who have no interest in that covenant of grace and mercy...they don't believe they need either.

I suggest the when God returns to establish justice it won't look anything like ISIS. I suggest is will be a gentle...but piercing...iteration of the truth. The only sword He will lift will be the sword of the Spirit. It will cut to the "joint and marrow" of every human heart and we will all know our transgressions. And, just like Israel, when we see finally see the truth we will say Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned?. None of us will say "I don't deserve this punishment".

My point is simple. Why do many of us proclaim the truths of Christ in a manner that looks more like ISIS than the Lamb? We are often judgmental, mean-spirited and arrogant. We demand the worlld

Our arrogance is counter to the personality of Christ. His presence is sufficient to open people's eyes. We prefer to use a baseball bat. And to think...His presence is in us today. That's really the only tool we should need to win people to Christ.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 41

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

God rules everywhere...

More so... the nations of the earth recognize it. To be sure, they don't necessarily understand it's Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but...they intuit a controlling power.

 

Think about it for a moment. Centuries ago it was common to understand all kings served at the whim of God. The king was responsible to serve God's people faithfully. Some did it better than others.

 

When the "Age of Enlightenment" arrived the gods of the age became science and reason. Less mystical but every bit as controlling.

 

Today, our cosmic god seems to be "Climate." Not very personal but just as transcendent as any other god. As goes the climate...goes mankind. Global warming is one of our theological tenets. And the mantra?

 

"It's not nice to fool Mother Nature..."

 

So...they all know about god(s). they simply don't know "God". Except for Israel. Isaiah says

“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We should memorize Isaiah 41:10...for a couple of reasons.

We, in the Body of Christ, like to view OT references to Israel as prophetic statements about the NT Church. As a general rule this is solid hermeneutics. And, it allows us to believe that God is always on our side and is always prepared to "strengthen and uphold" us. Very encouraging...

Just as important is the truth that this makes Israel special among all nations. God says Do not fear; I will help you. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. " Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them". So, when we think about Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, ISIS...all bent on destroying Israel...what is their probability of success? EXACTLY! There is no other nation that has received a territorial promise like this. While we, as the Church, have to view all these promises primarily as having spiritual fulfillment, Israel gets to look at secure borders.

I"m not surprised that Israel still lives in fear. This is the problem with promises: We're never sure until they are delivered. So Prime Minister Netanyahu fears, along with his people, for the future of Israel in spite of a very personal promise.

I wish I could say "have a little faith!" Of course...as soon as I do so...I'd have to look in the mirror and shout the same words to the person looking back at me.

You see...the climate god can do little but react to the dangers of greenhouse gases. We, however, are special. We acknowledge a God who actually intervenes in human history and manages things. We call Him the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He's the God who "will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys". Who will "turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs".   Who will "put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive...set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,  so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it".

And, while God does all this for us, He's not as magnanimous with the rest of His creation. He says  “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable". I'm sure they have good arguments to make: God...we didn't pollute..we drove electric cars! we recycled! They all are meaningless.

As Joshua once said..."Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".

Live boldly out there today...

 

Isaiah 40

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (40:31)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This third part of Isaiah looks further forward (then the first two sections), and to greater things. The captivity in Babylon, and their deliverance out of that,are here foretold. Before God sent his people into captivity he furnished them with precious promises for their support and comfort in their trouble. We may well imagine how much it helped to encourage them by the rivers of Babylon.  Much of this next secion is an introduction to Christ and gospel grace we know today. In fact, it seems to be a summary of the entire New Testament. "The voice of one crying in the wilderness’’ ch. 40:3 ), and concludes with that which concludes the book of the Revelation, "The new heavens and the new earth,’’ ch. 66:22 ).

So, here we go...

Immediately the words are familiar. They come straight out of Handel's Messiah. Or, to be exact, Handel took his words straight from Isaiah. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins". Israel did countless things wrong. Some of the transgression were even very ugly. Yet, God has chosen Israel as His people. This simply means that regardless of how far she strays...God will always pursue her.And God intends that Israel be comforted by this promise.

But, God's pursuit is not without consequence...

It's not always comfortable.We know God disciplines those whom He loves. I'm reminded of Tevya, the Dairyman in "Fiddler on the Roof".  As he surveys the hardness of his life he speaks to God. "I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"

This seems to be the story of God's chosen. We never see the pain as part of the process of redemption. We feel the pain of discipline and we want to get away. When, in fact, we ought to move closer to God. So...God simply moves closer to us....So close, in fact, that we will experience "God with us". Isaiah says A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God".

What a metaphor. A highway....straight toward us...just in case we're inclined to wonder if God will ever find us. He already has His GPS calibrated.  He has told his messengers "lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” The chapter is full and rich. It's worthy of reading several times back to back...just to absorb the goodness of God. But, it doesn't change our reality: Life is difficult. Life is painful...for those of us who belong to God. It's not easier just because we know the trouble is often our own fault.

I leave you with this: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (40:31). Why? Because when the object of our hope arrives our trouble will be over. Our sins will be paid in full.

For Israel it's still a promise. For you and I, it is a historical fact...revealed in in Christ. He'd like us to cuddle up close so He can comfort us.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 39

“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This chapter in Hezekaih's life is a disappointment for me.

After Hezekaih was healed, King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent messengers with greetings and a gift to Hezekiah. He had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and was now well. Hezekiah received the messengers warmly. He took them on a tour of his royal precincts, proudly showing them all his treasures: silver, gold, spices, expensive oils, all his weapons—everything out on display. There was nothing in his house or kingdom that Hezekiah didn’t show them.

Just a little bit of pride...in spite of the fact that he promised to walk humbly all his days.

When Isaiah asked about the visitors Hezekiah said "Oh, they were some folks from a long way off...Babylon. I showed them everything I have."

Have you heard the term reconnoiter? These weren't just ordinary visitors. Isaiah  knew this and said " now listen to this Message from God: I have to warn you, the time is coming when everything in this palace, along with everything your ancestors accumulated before you, will be hauled off to Babylon. God says that there will be nothing left. Nothing. And not only your things but your sons. Some of your sons will be taken into exile, ending up as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Do you know what bothers me most? It's Hezekiah's response. He said “Good. If God says so, it’s good.” Within himself he was thinking, “But surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I’ll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live.” This is Hezekiah at his worst. He doesn't seem to care that his foolishness will result in the destruction of Judah. It will all happen after he dies.

"I've got mine..."

I confess, in my own life, I commonly lose spiritual steam shortly after God has blessed me. I don't like that about myself. And I'm not much different than Hezekiah. I rarely wonder how my conduct will affect my children and grandchildren. Mostly, I'm concerned that my life will be peaceful and stable.

It might be good to remember God's words to Hezekiah...time is coming when everything in this palace, along with everything your ancestors accumulated before you, will be hauled off to Babylon.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 38

Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah and, facing the wall, prayed to God: “God, please, I beg you: Remember how I’ve lived my life. I’ve lived faithfully in your presence, lived out of a heart that was totally yours. You’ve seen how I’ve lived, the good that I have done.” And Hezekiah wept as he prayed—painful tears.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm curious about Hezekiah...and about God as well.

After the most amazing victory, Hezekiah got sick. In fact, Isaiah visited him and said, “God says, ‘Prepare your affairs and your family. This is it: You’re going to die. You’re not going to get well.’”

What was God thinking?

Moreover, after such a beautiful and blessed life...by his own admission...why would Hezekiah weep so painfully over his coming death? Did he think he should live forever? In his 53 years Hezekiah witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by Assyrian in c. 720 BC and was king of Judah, at the age of 25, during the invasion and siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BC. Hezekiah enacted sweeping religious reforms, including a strict mandate for the sole worship of Yahweh and a prohibition on venerating other deities within the Temple in Jerusalem.

None of us ever gets to experience that kind of opulent life. But, I guess, even the most blessed of us aren't keen on giving it all up. But, aren't we, as people of faith, taught to face our eternal reward with little bit more dignity?

None of this matters because God told Isaiah, “Go and speak with Hezekiah. Give him this Message from me, God, the God of your ancestor David: ‘I’ve heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll add fifteen years to your life. And I’ll save both you and this city from the king of Assyria. I have my hand on this city.

Tradition and the Talmud teach us his sickness may have come about over a couple of issues: A dispute with Isaiah over his pride or his refusal to marry and have children. (2 Kings 20). Whether true, or not, It's a reminder that even "good people" aren't perfect and God is in the business of getting our attention.

Mind you, God did this without any specific appeal from Hezekiah. Hezekiah was lying on his bed feeling sorry for himself. Even so, God must have loved Hezekiah to be so gracious. He gave him fifteen more years...knowing Hezekiah wouldn't necessarily measure up to his promise that he would "walk humbly all [his] years" .

We serve the same God, you know.
 God didn't "need" Hezekiah. Nor, does he "need" us. This doesn't mean he doesnt "want" us. And, those God wants...God loves.

Live boldly out there today...