Love & Hope to the Discouraged PT-2 (Isaiah 49:24-26; 50:1-3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/9/2013 8:21 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus: Love & Hope to the discouraged PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Isaiah 49:24-26; 550:1-3

            Message of the verses:  We began this section yesterday and hope to finish it in today’s SD as we look at the last two sub-points today.

            A courageous warrior (24-26):  “24 "Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?" 25 Surely, thus says the LORD, "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. 26 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

            We have mentioned in earlier SD’s that in the OT times nations had many gods and because they had many gods when they conquered another nation they felt that the gods of that conquered nation was weak and so they would take the idols from them and put them into the temple of their gods.  This surely was not the case for the nation of Israel even though Babylon would take certain things from the temple of God and carry them off to Babylon believing that their gods were better than the God of Israel.  God had a purpose for the captivity of His people, Israel, and He would bring them back from Babylon and He would cause the defeat of the Babylonians for He is in charge of everything.

            A constant Lover (Isaiah 50:1-3):  “1 Thus says the LORD, "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2 “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst. 3 “I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering.’”

            We see a lot of evidence that Israel was the wife of Jehovah in the OT. We see this in Isaiah 54:4-5; 62:1-5; Jer. 2:1-3; 3:1-11; Hosea 2; Ezekiel 16.  In Exodus 19-20 we see the marriage covenant that God had with Israel at Mt. Sinai, however we also see much evidence that Israel played the harlot and thus violated the covenant that they had with the Lord.  However the Lord did not forsake His people even though they were unfaithful to Him.

            We see in verse one that God had divorced the Northern Kingdom as they were assimilated by the Assyrians "And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.’”  (Jer. 3:8)  However the Lord would not divorce Judah, and we must remember that when the nation of Israel split into two parts that it was because of the false religion set up in the Northern Kingdom that many of the people from there would leave and go to the South where the Lord was worshiped in the right way, so there are not lost tribes of Israel as some would contend today.  The Lord would bring His Messiah from the tribe of Judah and so it was the Southern Kingdom that would return from their captivity in Babylon because of the love that God had for her.

            We see another picture in this paragraph, and that is of a poor parent selling their children into servitude as seen also in 2 Kings 4:1-7 and also Nehemiah 5:1-5.  It was not God who sold His people, but they had sold themselves because of their sins.  We can read in the history and prophets that God had called them back but they would not return to Him for they loved their sinful lives more than they loved the Lord. 

            How could the people of Israel say that the Lord had forsaken them when we have seen that the Lord is a passionate mother, a courageous warrior, and a constant lover?  God is faithful to His children even when they are not faithful to Him:  “11 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13).”  God is faithful to chasten His children when they rebel as seen in Hebrews 12:1-11, and His is also faithful to forgive when we repent as seen in 1 John 1:9.

            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on this section with these words:  “The Servant’s message to the Gentiles was one of hope and blessing.  He would deal with His people so that they, in turn, could bring God’s blessing to the Gentiles.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The section in 2 Timothy above says that if we deny the Lord He will deny us, but He will always remain faithful to His children, for “He cannot deny Himself.”  God has called His children and given them eternal life through Christ Jesus and Jesus said that no one is powerful enough to snatch them out of His hand even His children who sin they cannot be taken out of His hand or else it would go against what He promised them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to study the “Exchange” Bible Study and pray that the Lord will make divine appointments for me so that I can tell the good news of the Gospel.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, but the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, though the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, self-control, and in your self-control, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his sins.  10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble, 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Handwriting and ordinances” (Colossians 2:14). “Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross Col. 2:14 in the NASB).”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where was Jesus raised?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/9/2013 9:12 AM

Love & Hope to the Discouraged PT-1 (Isaiah 49:14-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/8/2013 11:02 AM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  Love and Hope to the Discouraged

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Isaiah 49:14-50:3

            Message of the verses: “The Compassionate Mother”   “14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me." 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you.

    “18 "Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live," declares the LORD, "You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. 19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land-Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. 20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ’The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’ 21 “Then you will say in your heart, ’Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?’" 22 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23 “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

    “A Courageous Warrior”“24 "Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?" 25 Surely, thus says the LORD, "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. 26 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

    “A Constant Lover”  “1 Thus says the LORD, "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2 “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst. 3 “I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering.’”

            Dr. Wiersbe begins his commentary by writing “The Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones’  (49:13, NIV).  So sing the people of God as they contemplate their future deliverance, but the people of the Captivity and those left in ‘the desolate inheritances’ are not so happy.  Instead of singing, they are complaining:  ‘The Lord has forsaken me.  And my Lord has forgotten me’ (v. 14, NKJV).

            “The Lord assures them of His love by comparing Himself to a compassionate mother (vv. 14-23), a courageous warrior (vv. 24-26), and a constant lover 50:1-3).”

            We will begin with the “compassionate mother.”  I know that when we think of God we mostly think of His Fatherhood, and think little of Him being like a mother, but Isaiah 66:13 says “"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.’”  So there is this aspect of God too.  What Isaiah is picturing here is a nursing child who is totally dependent upon his mother, and that is what Israel needed to be, but many times they went off on their own and thus got themselves into a lot of trouble. 

            The verses go on to show that God has written their names on His hands, which is somewhat different than the High Priest having their names as jewels on his shoulders and over his heart.  We see the word “inscribed” on His hands and that word means “to cut out, decree, inscribe, set, engrave, portray, govern.”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that this word also means “to cut into,” and this signifies it is permanence there.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes this section with these words, “Zion seems like a forsaken and barren mother, but she will be so blessed of God that there will be no room for her children!  They will be like beautiful bridal ornaments, not decrepit, refuges from captivity.  Once again, the prophet looked ahead to the end of the age when the Gentiles will honor Jehovah and Israel, and kings and queens will be babysitters for Israel’s children!”

            Lord willing we will look at the other two descriptions in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Once again I see the sovereignty of the Lord in this section along with His love, and also His omniscience.  It is wonderful to see the different attributes of the Lord as I read His Word, for this enables me to get to know Him better.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to help and guide me in decisions that I must make each day.

Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness love.  8 Now if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless or unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.  10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as longs as you practice these things you will never stumble, 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Because he was involved in many wars,” (1 Kings 5:3).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What did Christ blot out?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/8/2013 12:03 PM

            

Liberty to the Captives (Isaiah 49:8-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/7/2013 9:40 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus: Liberty to the Captives

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 49:8-13

            Message of the verses:  We will be looking at how God’s Servant explains His ministry as “liberty to the captive” in this SD.

            “8 Thus says the LORD, "In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; 9 Saying to those who are bound, ’Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ’Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. 10 “They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water. 11 “I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up. 12 “Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim." 13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.”

            Let us start this section by looking at Isaiah 42:6 which says “"I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations.”  This verse is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and it says that He is a covenant to the people and He is also a light to the nations, and this word “nations” is speaking of the non-Hebrew peoples or the Gentiles.  No back to our verses where we learn that “God’s Servant” (Jesus Christ) is also the “new Moses” for He will set His people free, and it is because that He is the “new Covenant” we know that this will happen to those who were in Babylon.  We know that Joshua led the people into the land after the death of Moses in order to claim their inheritance, and God will bring them back to their desolate inheritance as we see in verse 49:8.

            When we began this first main section a couple of days ago we remember that Dr. Wiersbe entitled it “The Servant and the Gentiles,” and so we may ask what does all this have to do with the Gentiles.  Well just think for a moment if the Jews did not go back to their land after being in captivity in Babylon for seventy years.  There would have been no Bethlehem, and there would have been no Jerusalem, and no temple, there would have been no Nazareth for Jesus to grow up in either.  Bethlehem was where Jesus was born and the temple was where He did a lot of His teaching and Jerusalem was where He died for our sins, so this was very important to the Gentiles and Jews alike that God sent His people back to their land.

            I have mentioned on many different occasions that when we read the books of the prophets that there is incorporated into some of the verses things that pertain to both the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ, and this section (verses 10-12), speaks of the glorious kingdom where the Jewish people will be called by the Lord to come from the ends of the earth and gather in the Promised Land.  This is also spoken of in Isaiah 14:1-31; 35:6; 40:11; and 43:19.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Knowing that Jesus Christ is God’s Covenant is very meaningful to me as I am assured that all the promises that He has made will come to past for He cannot lie. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I have been going to a conference entitled “The Exchange” which is based on 2 Cor. 5:21 which says “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  There is an exchange in this verse a very important exchange, an exchange that does not at all to the human mind seem fair at all and that exchange is that once a person is “born from above” (John chapter three) they are credited from God to have His righteousness as Christ took our sin in exchange for that. As I said this does not seem fair in our human minds.  I want very much to learn all that has been taught here and put it into practice so that the Lord will use me to tell others of the Good News of the Gospel so that people will become a part of the family of God.  Jesus gave to us what is called “The Great Commission,” and part of that is to tell others about how they can have a relationship with the Lord and once they have done that the next part is to disciple them to the truths of His Word.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.  10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things you will never stumble, 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Peter, Andrew, James and John.”  (Matthew 4:18-22)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Why was David not allowed to build a house for God?”

Answer in our next SD

11/7/2013 10:30 AM

Light in the Darkness (Isaiah 49:1-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/5/2013 9:22 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: Light in the Darkness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 49:1-7

            Message of the verses:  We come to the tenth chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s book “Be Comforted” which is his commentary on the book of Isaiah.  He entitles this chapter “This is God’s Servant” and it covers chapters 49-52:12 of the book of Isaiah.  We must remember that the chapters and verses were manmade in the Bible and I have heard it said that the biggest mistake that was made in chapter divisions was in the book of Isaiah between chapters 52 and 53 so I suppose that is why he decided to end this chapter in the middle of chapter 52.  The first main point in his chapter, which we will begin to look at this morning, is entitled “The Servant and the Gentiles” which covers chapters 49:1-50:3. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following words for us to help us understand this chapter:  “These chapters present God’s Servant, Messiah, in three important relationships:  to the Gentile nations (49:1-50:3), to His Father (50:4-11), and to His people Israel (51:1-52:12).”  Next we read the following as a preview to the first main point “In this message, God’s Servant explains His ministry as bringing light in the darkness (Isa. 49:1-7), liberty to the captive (vv. 8-13), and love and hope to the discouraged (49:14-50:3).”

            Light in the darkness (49:1-7):  “1 Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me. 2  He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. 3 He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory." 4 But I said, "I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God." 5  And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), 6  He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."  7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, "Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.’”

            I was wondering as I read over this section why God’s Servant is called “Israel” in verse three and then I read the following from Warren Wiersbe:  “The Jewish nation was called to glorify God and be a light to the Gentiles, but they failed in their mission.  This is why Messiah is called ‘Israel’ in Isaiah 49:3.  He did the work that Israel was supposed to do.  Today the Church  is God’s light in the dark world (Acts 12:46-49).”  “46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For so the Lord has commanded us, ’I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’" 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.”  We will also look at Matthew 5:14-16 “14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

            It is possible that some may wonder what right did God’s Servant have to address the Gentile nations with such authority, but before His birth He was called by God to His ministry and a part of that ministry was to be a light to the Gentiles.  “"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”  This is written of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, and the following was written by Paul who was called by God “15  But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16  to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:15-16a).”

            Let us again take a look at verse four of our text:  “." 4 But I said, "I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God.”  We see here that there were times in the life of Jesus while upon this earth ministering that it looked like His work was done in vain, for He was ridiculed by the religious leaders who opposed Him for most of His ministry.  Many people did not understand Him either and so this too was a problem.  We see by this verse that it was God who gave Him success as He went about doing the will of His Father even though at times it was very difficult.  11/5/2013 10:05 AM  11/5/2013 5:54 PM

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire not to have to be like the children of Israel and to be faithful to the Lord in fulfilling the thing that He has chosen for me to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Do better at my class this evening.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10  Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11  for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “For Evermore” (Hebrews 728).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who were the first four disciples which Jesus called to follow Him.?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/5/2013 6:00 PM

The Jewish Remnant Delivered (Isaiah 48:1-22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/4/2013 10:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:  The Jewish Remnant Delivered

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Isaiah 48:1-22

            Message of the verses:  I realize that we are taking pretty large bites from the book of Isaiah, but I hope that what we are studying will be a benefit to all who read it, and that the Lord will use it to give strength to those who see the posts.

            “1  "Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness. 2  "For they call themselves after the holy city And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name. 3  "I declared the former things long ago And they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. 4  "Because I know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron sinew And your forehead bronze, 5  Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ’My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’ 6  "You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you new things from this time, Even hidden things which you have not known. 7  "They are created now and not long ago; And before today you have not heard them, So that you will not say, ’Behold, I knew them.’ 8  "You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; And you have been called a rebel from birth.

    9 ¶  "For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. 10  "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11  "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. 12  "Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. 13  "Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together. 14  "Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. 15  "I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

    16 ¶  "Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit." 17  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. 18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, And your offspring like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence." 20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this, Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, "The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob." 21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts. He made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock and the water gushed forth. 22 “There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD.

            As I mentioned in a previous SD as we look at these chapters (40-48) we see that Isaiah is telling the people of Judah what will happen to them before it happens to them.  The first part of Isaiah’s book tells us mainly of what was happening to them at the time of the writing of the book, mostly about the Assyrians.  In chapter forty-eight we see that it is now time for the children of Israel to return to their land, but as we see in the book of Nehemiah, and also Ezra many of the people did not want to return.  Jeremiah told them to go into captivity and build a home and stay there, but they got to comfortable in their homes and just as Isaiah prophecies they do not want to come home.  This is a problem right now for the Jews for many of them do not want to return to Israel even though that is where they should be. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes God told them that they were hypocritical in using His name and identifying with His city but not obeying His will (Isa. 48:1-2).  They were stubborn (v. 4) and were not excited about the new things God was doing for them.”

            In verses 18-19 we learn that if the Jews would have obeyed the Lord that they would not have gone to Babylon, but since they disobeyed Him that is where He sent them.  The Babylonian captivity was like a furnace to refine Israel.  In verse 20 the Lord now tells them to go forth from Babylon and we also see this in Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6; 45 and Revelations 18:4. “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.”  This is still the cry of the Lord today for His Church.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The church that I attend is going through a course or a conference to help teach us an effective way of leading people to the Lord.  It is a 20 hour course and the person who is leading it preached yesterday morning and evening and one of the things that he said in the evening message fits into what we are learning form this chapter in Isaiah 48, the part that says that Israel was to comfortable in Babylon and did not want to leave when they could have.  This person goes to the Philippines each summer to spread the good news of the gospel and the Philippines used to be a place where demon activity happened a lot, but not so much anymore. He asked one of the men he associated with why he thought that this was true and the answer that he got was materialism.  I think that materialism is another way of describing people who are living comfortably, and this is what many of the Jews in Babylon were doing and why the refused to go back to their land.  It is a problem in the Church today and that is why we don’t evangelize like we use to.  There is a little saying that I have on our refrigerator that says “We are not humans going through a temporary experience.  We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember that I am a spiritual person going through a temporary human experience. 

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5  Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10  Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11  for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to the last Bible Question:  “Seven” (Exodus 13:6).

Today’s Bible Question:  “for how long is Christ consecrated as high priest?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/4/2013 12:15 PM

The City of Babylon Destroyed (Isaiah 47:1-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/3/2013 2:12 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The City Destroyed

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 47:1-15

            Message of the verses:  “1 "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate. 2 “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. 3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man." 4 Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. 5 “Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms. 6 “I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them, On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

    7 "Yet you said, ’I will be a queen forever.’ These things you did not consider Nor remember the outcome of them. 8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, ’I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.’ 9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. 10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ’No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, ’I am, and there is no one besides me.’ 11 “But evil will come on you Which you will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone; And destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. 12 “Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling. 13  "You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. 14 “Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before! 15  "So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Who have trafficked with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is none to save you.”

            Isaiah has been writing about the Babylonians in these recent chapters, and he continues in chapter 47, writing about the city being destroyed.  He mentions “one day” in verse nine and when you read Daniel chapter five you will see that that is exactly what happened, as Babylon was destroyed in one day even though from the human prospective one would never think that it could have been destroyed.

            Warren Wiersbe writes the following on these fifteen verses:  “Babylon, the proud queen, is now a humbled slave.  ‘I will continue forever—the eternal queen!’ she boasted (v. 7, NIV).  But in a moment, the judgment for her sins caught up with her; and she became a widow.  Neither her idols nor her occult practices (vv. 12-14) were able to warn her or prepare her for her destruction.  But God knew that Babylon would fall, because He planned it ages ago!  He called Cyrus, who swooped down on Babylon like a bird of prey.  Babylon showed no mercy to the Jews, and God judged them accordingly.”

            That is a very sad commentary for the nation of Babylon, and for that matter, for any nation who does not recognize that the Lord who made the heavens and the earth is an all powerful who will not put up with sin for a long time.  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that we can learn from the 15^th chapter of the book of Genesis that God seems to have a container in heaven that collects the sins of a nation and when it is full God will bring about His wrath upon that nation.  God told Abraham in that 15^th chapter of Genesis that the reason that He had not destroyed the nations in the Promised Land was that 16 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.’”  This is Genesis 15:16. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I also believe that the Bible teaches that God will do the same for individuals, for once they come to the point where they have turned their backs on the Lord for so long that He will give up on them.  It is the job of me as a believer to tell others the good news of the Gospel so that they do not get to that point.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “37Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:37-38).  I pray Lord that I will be a willing worker in the fields of harvest, that you would send me out into the fields that are ready to be harvested and that You will give me the grace to tell others about Christ.  That you will give me a divine appointment.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-11

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10  Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Shekel.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “During the course of Passover, how many days were the children of Israel to eat unleavened bread?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/3/2013 2:44 PM

The False gods Disgraced (Isaiah 46:1-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/1/2013 9:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The False gods Disgraced

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Isaiah 46:1-13

            Message of the verses:  “1 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast. 2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity. 3  "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; 4  Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

    “5 "To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? 6 “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it. 7 “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress. 8 “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. 9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ’My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. 12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness. 13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.”

            One thing that we should keep in mind as we look at certain passages in the books of the prophets, and that is that a good deal of it is written in Hebrew poetry, and if we remember from our study in the book of Psalms that there are different kinds of Hebrew poetry.  The following is a quote from my Spiritual Diary from December 10^th 2012 that helps to explain Hebrew Poetry.  ““Hebrew poetry is based on ‘thought lines’ and not rhymes.  If the second line repeats the first line in different words, as in Psalm 24:1-3 (“The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?”)  If the second line contrasts with the first, as in Psalm 1:6 (“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”) and also Psalm 37:9, it is antithetic parallelism.  Psalm 19:7-9 (“7 ¶  The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple  8  The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.  9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.”) But when the second line completes the first, it is climatic parallelism (Psalm 29:1 “Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.”).  With iterative parallelism, the second line repeats the thought of the first as seen in Psalm 93, and in alternate parallelism, the lines carry the same thought as in (Psalm 103:8-13 “8  The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9  He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”).  You don’t bring these technical terms into the pulpit, but knowing what they mean can give you great help when you study.  To interpret Psalm 103:3 “3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;” as God’s promise to heal every sickness is to ignore the synonymous parallelism of the verse:  the forgiveness of sins is like the healing of disease (see Psalm 41:4). “4  As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.’”

            The entire 46^th chapter of Isaiah is written in Hebrew poetry.

            The god’s mentioned in verse one, Bel and Nebo are gods of the Babylonians as Bel was the sun and Nebo was his son.  Idols were prevalent in the OT times, and I am speaking of idols like mentioned in verse one.  Paul writes about idols in some of his NT letters and at one point says that there is no such thing as an idol, but idol worship seems to have started in Babel, which is where Babylon was and still is located.  Idol worship is some form of worshiping Satan.  In ancient Babylon, where God changed the languages the people were building Ziggurats, and these Ziggurats were the first astrological observatories where they began to chart the stars and planets, and this kind of stuff is still going on today.  This was done to tell one’s future and thus idol worship began as the Babylonians had names for different gods, and when different countries would conquer them then they would just change the names of their gods to fit their culture.  Back in the third chapter of Genesis God told Eve that the “Seed” would be of the woman, and thus in ancient times there would be a mother son cult having gods of different names, and this has actually continued in our own time.

Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you;And I will bear you and I will deliver you.         I want to mention that verse fours according to Dr. Wiersbe is the basis for a stanza of the familiar song “How Firm a Foundation,” but this song is not sung as much as it use to be and is omitted from many newer hymnals.  The Song’s lyrics are as follows: 

1. “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
   Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
   What more can He say than to you He hath said—
   To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2. “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
   For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
   I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
   Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
3. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
   The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
   For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
   And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
4. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
   My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
   The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
   Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

5.      “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

Isaiah 46:4 “Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.”

      To kind of sum this chapter up we see that there is a great deal of difference between our God and idols, for our God, the God of Heaven and Earth will never fail us, He will always be there to hear our prayers and as we think about it He will be with us from the womb to the tomb.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “How comforting it is to know that our God cares for us before we are born (Ps. 139:1-16), when we get old and each moment in between!”

      Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This section was uplifting to me lifted me up above the problems that are going on in my life at this time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Renew my trust in the Lord as He will care for me forever.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Abednego” (Daniel 3:13).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What was the principal Jewish weight by which others were regulated?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/1/2013 10:38 AM