Come join us in our Bible study. Currently we are going through the book of Isaiah and we quite often wander off topic to discuss issues of Faith, Love and Salvation. You can find us at South Grove, a Senior Living facility, in Grove City MN. We are in the Blue Bird room, off the Gym and you can access that from the West side doors, which are open to the public. We start at 10AM with coffee and pastries. All are welcome!
Opening Prayer
The Lesson for today, Wednesday August 14, 2019
Today in Isaiah, we start out with a series of Woes as we often do in Isaiah. There was a lot of iniquity in the people of Judah and the surrounding tribes and nations. You could say the people were all but overwhelmed with sin. And the Lord brought prophets of the people to bring attention to that fact. And many times, the people choose to ignore the prophets and when they became too strident in their denunciation, killed the prophets. Jesus in Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!
These very people, whom God brought out of slavery in Egypt, whose heart of the Pharaoh he hardened, so that Pharaoh and all of Egypt might see the mighty glory of our God. The culmination of that was the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh and his army. These Jews, these ingrate Jews, asked Aaron to make them a golden calf after they thought Moses had been gone too long. A golden calf, a false god to worship, because God had not done anything for them in the last hour or so. You might say, “but wait, God had not given them the 10 Commandments yet, they didn’t know.” God had been a flaming cloud, leading them out of Egypt since right after the first Passover.
Exodus 13:21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
The earliest scripture reference to idolatry is in Exodus 20:3-6 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
However, since Moses was God’s mouthpiece, I am pretty sure it was mentioned early on that worshipping anything other than God was not to be entertained.
And this brings us to our current woe being issued by Isaiah. Idolatry was rampant in the Northern tribes and had been big in Judah during Ahaz’s time. Now we are in the reign of King Hezekiah, who was reported to have done right in the eyes of the Lord.
This brings us to Chapter 28 and it’s a Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah. The scripture speaks of this tribe of Ephraim, named after the second son of Joseph. Joseph as we remember, was the son of Jacob, who was the son of Issac, who was the son of Abraham who was righteous before the Lord and the Lord told Abraham that he would make a great nation from his loins. Abraham (then Abram) chuckled as he was very old. I’m trying to make you see what I see when I think of this. This story, that arcs through time, is incredible in that many of the things it talks about are relevant to this day. The Faith of a few key people comes down through the centuries and relentlessly points to the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And after He is crucified and rose again, now the Holy Spirit comes in to the Apostles and from them, into the believers. We have 19 generations from Adam to Abraham. And from there 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to Exile. The Exile we are referring to is the Babylonian Exile of Judah. From Exile to Jesus is another 14 generations. We know this because it’s told to us in
Matt 1:17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
The Bible is thought of by many people to be a confusing jumble of old people doing strange things, some parables and a really scary ending. If you look at this as the living word of God, this book becomes a story of his Grace, Mercy and Love. It is His story of how he teaches the people of the Bible, in their everyday sin filled lives, how he loves them, wants them to be His people and is willing to send his only begotten Son to die on a cross for them and us to have eternal salvation. Of course the people rebelled, because he loved us enough to give us free will. His hand is offered to each one of us. It is a Big Story and the more you read the Bible, the more you will understand the story. I love history and I can see some of these scenes played out in my mind’s eye. Like the story of Joseph being sold into captivity by his brothers because he was his father’s favorite. The people of Joseph’s son, Ephraim, mentioned specifically in Isaiah 28, have fallen prey to pride, conceit, drunkenness but most importantly, the sin of idolatry. And as we have seen, this has long been the history of God’s people of which we are a part.
Romans 11:17-24 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. 19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” 20 Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. 21 For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. 22 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.
Once again, part of the story of how God’s Grace, Mercy and Love will bring His chosen people back to him in the book of Revelation. Just a remnant will be there when Christ comes to rule the Earth.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
In this case I believe the dragon to be satan and the woman to be the Church. Just another part of the story.
Isaiah 29 is a Woe to David’s City which is of course Jerusalem. Isaiah is aware that all his preaching to the authorities is to no avail.
Isaiah 30 is a Woe to the Obstinate Nation. Isaiah finds out that the palace is in favor of an alliance with Egypt. Trusting in Egypt rather than God for defense and Salvation.
Isaiah 31 is a Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt. The Princes of Judah were attracted to the prospect of reinforcing the cavalry of Judah with Egytian horses and chariots.
Isaiah says in Isaiah 36:9 “with an Egyptian contingent. Isaiah once more condemns this as trusting in an “arm of flesh “instead of in the “Holy One of Israel.”
All God wants is to Trust him and they can’t seem to find that in themselves. Are we the same way? Do we have Faith that God will provide “Our Daily Bread” like it says in the Lord’s Prayer.
Do we have Faith that God will not give you a challenge in life that is too big to handle? Do we consult with God on a daily basis? Why would our Father want to give the gifts we so eagerly ask for to someone he doesn’t know? Someone that never talks to Him.
Your life can be filled with Faith in our Lord, or it can be filled with all that flesh can offer you, with no assurances of Mercy and Grace that our Father is so willing to Bless you with. When is the last time Mercy and Grace were shown to you by people? I am not saying it doesn’t happen, cause there are good Christians out there doing the work of the Lord. But generally, it’s gonna cost you something. The ways of the flesh will not save you. Only Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 32 The Kingdom of Righteousness. It speaks of Our Savior being a shelter from the wind and a warning to The Women of Jerusalem and their complacency among other things.
Isaiah 33 In my Bible the heading is Distress and Help. You can guess who those are in distress and who is offering His hand as help. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Isaiah 34 Judgment Against the Nations
Let’s read this one together
1 Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
he will give them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
their dead bodies will stink;
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
like withered leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,
the people I have totally destroyed.
6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.
Their land will be drenched with blood,
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.
From generation to generation it will lie desolate;
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;
the great owl and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom
the measuring line of chaos
and the plumb line of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes will vanish away.
13 Thorns will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.
She will become a haunt for jackals,
a home for owls.
14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas,
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;
there also the falcons will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth that has given the order,
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.
I will stop our trolling through the chapters of Isaiah at this point, not because I like doom and gloom. No, it’s because I understand this chapter better than the others. This could be of the time Isaiah is living in. There is a whole lot of Judgement to go around and will be for the foreseeable future.
In my mind this is reference to Revelation and the tribulations that will come about. In chapters 6 through 19 in Revelation. We won’t go there now, because we have just a bit of that very same thing in this chapter of Isaiah. I did check with J. Vernon McGee and he agrees with my assessment. Or rather I should say, I am happy that I found something that J. Vernon McGee had already proclaimed and my idea lines up with his.
The Lord is angry at all nations. How could he not be. The USA has all but kicked God out of our schools. North America and Europe profess to claiming to be Christians, but very few go to Church. According to Pew Research, 91% of Europeans claim to be Christian, however only 22% say they go to Church regularly. That would make the majority of them non practicing Christians, whatever that means. In the USA, the percentage of people claiming to be Christians is 70.6%. We are either more honest or there are more oddball religions in the US than Europe. And the same low number was noted for actually attending Church.
The upshot is, if you have read the Bible and particularly the New Testament where Jesus is speaking, you’ve got to know God is not going to be happy with this lackluster effort to live as he wants us to live. It truly is a narrow path and most of your friends and neighbors will be walking their way to eternal damnation. Do something about it now, before it is too late.
Let us close with this:
Psalms 27:4 One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.