Year 3, Day 13: Isaiah 29

Ariel

As we look at Isaiah 29, let me clarify this name Ariel.  Symbolically, this is a name for Jerusalem.  The name Ariel literally means “lion of God” (or lioness, depending on usage).  The context of the first verse tells us that Ariel is the city that David besieged.  The word for besieged in Hebrew can also mean encamped or settled.  We also know that David (and the Messianic line that comes from David) is called the Lion of Judah.  Thus, it makes sense to think of the city that David besieged and then made his own capitol would also be called the Lioness of God.  (The word lioness is used because cities in antiquity were feminine in name.)  Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Ariel is a symbolic name of Jerusalem and it is used specifically to bring about images of and connections to David.

What do we hear about Ariel?  Ariel will be besieged itself.  Ariel will have towers built against it and siege works raised up.  The city will be made low.  Their supposed might will turn into a ghost.  They will be humbled.  Like an arrogant child who confronts an authority figure that is more powerful than the child’s own arrogance, Ariel will be brought to its knees.

Salvation

However, this is not the end of the chapter – far from it!  The Lord promises that the multitude that rises against Ariel will eventually be made like dust.  The promise of ruthless behavior will fall away like chaff in the wind.  Suddenly the Lord will come upon them and they will know their salvation.  The hunger and thirst of the enemies of God will go unsatisfied when the Lord comes against them to spare Jerusalem.

Salvation Missed

But, unfortunately as soon as we have words of God’s salvation we have a return to reality.  Even though the people of Jerusalem will see God miraculously deal with the Assyrian threat, the people will return to life as normal without hardly batting an eyelash.  Rather than take the opportunity to repent and humble themselves while recognizing how close they were to destruction, Isaiah tells them that they will be blind to the Lord’s work and stagger.

What a horrible reflection on reality.  These people will be besieged.  They will see the glory of the Lord literally rescue them from the teeth of destruction.  They will come so close to be destroyed and they will be spared!  Yet they are so wrapped up in their own greatness and their own desires that they won’t even recognize the hand of the Lord in their midst.  If ever there is a warning for those who follow after them, this is it.  If ever there is a reason to pause and ask ourselves if we are in touch with what God is doing in our life, this is it.

What is the cause of such behavior?  Look at verses 13-16.  When we get into the habit of going through the motions (drawing near the Lord in lip service but not in heart) but we don’t actually mean it, then we are in danger.  Or perhaps we turn things upside down.  Rather than seeing ourselves as the clay in the hand of The Potter we see ourselves as the potter.  When we forget our place, we are prone to missing God’s hand in our life.

Salvation Received By The Unexpected

Now look at verse 19.  The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord.  The poor shall exult in the Lord.  There will come a time when people will humble themselves before God.  There will come a time when people will remember their place.  Then we will have nothing to fear.  Then we will have sight enough to see the work of the hands of the Lord.

But there is even more to this chapter.  Being meek and humble before the Lord is just the beginning.  Seeing the work of the Lord’s hand is great, but it is not the end.  The end is bringing glory to God’s name.  The end is standing in awe of God’s glory and bringing praise to His name.  That’s the end.  That’s the good life.  That’s the sweet spot.  That’s where I want to be.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own life.  It’s so easy to miss what God is doing.  It’s so easy to get things turned upside down.  But the sweet life is remembering my place and my role in God’s agenda.  Humbleness is the goal so that it is God’s name that is praised.

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Year 3, Day 12: Isaiah 28

The Problem With Leaders

Isaiah 28 begins a multiple-chapter section against the leadership of the Hebrew people.  God has told Isaiah to warn the people – especially the leadership – to repent and come back and do things God’s way.  However, the leaders have yet to listen.  They have yet to respond.  Therefore, Isaiah begins several chapters of warnings specifically against the leadership.  If God’s general warning to the people won’t help the leadership change, perhaps narrowing the scope of the warning would produce a different result.

What do we hear about the Hebrew leadership?  First of all, we hear again and again a comparison to drunkenness.  There are two reasons for this.  First, there is the literal reason.  Among the leaders and high society, drinking – especially wine – is common.  So is drunkenness.  We know among ancient leaders that drinking beyond the point of enjoyment and into the point of drunkenness was a serious problem. 

However, there is a symbolic reason as well.  Drunkenness is a traditional symbol of bad judgment.  Think about what drinking does.  With a little alcohol, the edge is taken off.  When more and more alcohol is imbibed the ability to make good decisions is more and more impaired.

This is really what Isaiah is getting at in the first half of this chapter.  Wisdom is given to the leaders, but they don’t hear it.  Sound advice from the Lord is distributed, but it is not heeded.  No doubt Isaiah does feel like he is trying to reason and argue with drunks.  They discard sensibility and believe far too much in their own abilities.  The Hebrew leaders are so infatuated with their choices and their lifestyle that they have lost the ability to know when they’ve had too much and when they need to rely on people with a more sober perspective.

I love the imagery specific to verses 7 and 8.  Here we have a picture of the leaders and prophets at a banquet, drunk.  Yet, they think they can give sound advice.  They stumble around, reeling in their ability to see visions and give sound advice.  The Lord tells Isaiah to compare it to vomit.  They are so intoxicated with their own desires and their own ways that they don’t realize how bad the advice is.

Checks And Balances

I believe this is why accountability and checks and balances are such an important aspect to our faith.  When one person or a small group of people get too much power or are considered to be immutable they end up giving bad advice and are no longer capable of recognizing wisdom.  When we lose sight of our fallibility because we no longer have accountability we take on many characteristics of a person who has become drunk.

Judgment

Then we turn to a pronouncement of judgment.  Isaiah declares to the leaders that they have made a bargain with death.  They have embraced Sheol – the place of the dead – rather than embracing God.  In fact, by rejecting God and turning away from His ways they have literally chosen death over salvation.  They will receive the consequences of their choices.  The Assyrians will come through the land and take no prisoners.

However, Isaiah does not stop the warning.  Isaiah tells them that the revelation of the judgment will be painful to watch.  In fact, verse 19 seems to indicate that it will be sheer terror.  When we get our own way, sometimes terror is indeed the result.

Imagine thinking that you are invincible.  Imagine thinking that you are so powerful that you don’t ever need to worry.  And then imagine watch an enemy come upon you and cut deep into the places you thought were safe.  Imagine watching as those things that you thought were safe in your life slowly be taken away.  Imagine watching your friends be dragged into slavery.  Imagine watching people die of starvation as an enemy of incredible size amasses outside the gates.  That’s what I would call sheer terror.

But this chapter still ends with a slim note of hope.  There is a call to hear the wisdom of the Lord.  There is excellence to behold from the Lord.  But as we hear all throughout this chapter, will they heed the call of the Lord and obey His wisdom?

For that matter, will we?  When we turn away from God and are in the error of our ways, are we willing to come back to the Lord?

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Year 3, Day 11: Isaiah 27

The Leviathan Interlude

Isaiah 27 starts off on a rather strange note.  We have a single verse from Isaiah about punishing Leviathan and slaying the dragon.  For anyone curious, yes, it does sound like the author of Revelation 13 was aware of this verse in Isaiah 27.  But what is the point of this verse?

In Ugaritic literature – that is, literature found in Ugarit, Syria – we have references to a many-headed serpent as the evil nemesis of creation.  Specifically, Leviathan was the enemy of “order” in creation.  In other words, Leviathan was about the task of spreading chaos among creation.  Leviathan is the one that tells creation to do whatever it pleases, when it pleases, and to not worry about following any kind of created order or design.

Of course, we should realize that the Ugaritic literature is not ultimately of the Hebrew or Christian faith – so I don’t mean to imply any kind of divine truth to the idea of the Leviathan.  However, Isaiah would have likely known of this symbol as well as its usage in Psalm 74:13-14.  It is not unthinkable for Isaiah to have borrowed this Ugaritic symbol of the opposition to a created order and put it in here to symbolically demonstrate that in the days of God’s righteous judgment God will put an end to chaos and finally establish His order in a permanent fashion.  For me, that is a pretty significant point to come out of this first verse.  When God says enough to this world and returns, the ever-present chaos that resists His order and design will be dealt with.  Amen!

Vineyard

As we move along in Isaiah 27, we get to another vineyard passage.  Remember the vineyard passage from Isaiah 5?  That passage talked about God’s frustration with His people.  That passage talked about the looming judgment.  That passage talked about the wrath of God in the coming judgment.  This vineyard passage is different.  This vineyard passage is post-judgment.  This is a passage in which the vineyard is not dug up and rejected but rather protected and celebrated.  This vineyard passage is a passage where God claims to be the keeper and He seems to relish the task!

What is the effect of the protection and care of God?  Look at verse 6.  When God is the one who cares, we fruit.  When God is the one who nourishes, we take root.  When God is our protector, we blossom.  Think of those images: taking root, blossoming, providing fruit.  Is there anything more that anyone of us could want as an epitaph?  If we get to the end of our life and people can say, “This person took root, blossomed, and gave fruit where God planted them,” would there be any higher praise? 

So how do we get there?  We live our life according to the Lord and abide within His protection.

The question is, how do we get even to that point?  Is not each of us born into sin?  Are our hearts not by default rebellious against God?  Do we not easily seek our own desires?  How do we move from the natural and original sin that rests within us to the wonderful relationship with God as our protector and nurturer?

These are the questions that are the heart of the rest of Isaiah 27.  Look at what Isaiah says.  By exile God contended with them.  With His fierce breath God removed them.  Because of the rebelliousness of the people in following false gods, God withheld compassion until they learned to return to Him.

Dealing With Consequences

The second half of Isaiah 27 really speaks truth into our pattern of life.  Most of the time, we get into a good relationship with God by suffering through the consequences of our sin.  Why do you think that Psalm 23 – Yea though I walk through the shadow of death, You are with me – is such a popular psalm?  We walk through the shadow of death every single time we err.  We walk through the shadow of death every single time that sin rears its ugly head in our life.  We recognize the closeness of God when we brush up against and have to deal with the consequences of our sinful nature.

We’re talking fundamentally about the ignorance of humanity versus the patience of God.  It is passages like the second half of Isaiah 27 that remind me to focus on the patience of God – and His mercy!  God has absolutely every right to abandon us to the grave, but He walks with us instead.  He calls us to Him even in the midst of our sinfulness.  He is indeed a great and mighty God.  He takes us and as He did with the Hebrew people He turns us from a vineyard that deserved to be abandoned and into a vineyard that is protected and loved and cherished.  Thanks be to God!

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Year 3, Day 10: Isaiah 26

The Response Of The Faithful

Now we turn to the reaction of the faithful in Isaiah 26.  Over the last two chapters we’ve heard about God’s judgment and the reaction of humanity.  God will judge the nations, and none will escape His judgment.  But the righteous will be gathered in His presence.  He will change us forever – casting away our shroud of sin and death.  So how do the faithful respond?

First, we give praise and glory to God.  Did you ever wonder why it is that whenever glory and praise is called for it is in the terms of a song?  Have you ever wondered why it is that we sing at church?  Singing should let out the joyfulness and the celebration that we have on the inside.  This is what should be happening every time we come into the presence of God.  We sing not to make a perfect noise but to make a joyful noise!

And what shall we sing about?  We shall sing that the righteous will have a home with God.  We shall sing that God will keep us at peace.  We shall sing of our trust in the Lord and how He has never let us down.  We shall sing about how He has humbled us and been able to bring us to a position of seeing and declaring His righteousness.

As we hit the section beginning with verse 7, we take a bit of a deeper path into Isaiah’s pronouncement on what being righteous entails.  What do the righteous ones that can enter into God’s presence actually accomplish?  How do the righteous behave?  What framework supports the life of the righteous one?

The first thing that we glean about righteousness is that the righteous wait for God. Righteousness comes from seeking and desiring the Lord’s will over our own will.  Righteousness comes when our spirit within us genuinely seeks out God.  When we are alone with our thoughts in the night, is it God with whom our thoughts are trying to connect?

The next characteristic that we discover about righteousness is that the righteous understand the connection between judgment and understanding.  The righteous know that in judgment we learn.  It is when we are being corrected that we learn the best.  It is when we make a mistake and feel the consequences of our actions that we learn the best lessons.  That isn’t to say that success doesn’t breed more success.  It means that in order for us to be successful we must learn the lessons that our earlier errors teach to us.  The righteous do not shy away from judgment.  The righteous embrace God’s judgment knowing that God always has something better for us on the other side of His judgment – even if it is in the life to come.  I personally love verse 10 where it says, “If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness.”

Finally, we learn that the righteous person strives for peace.  The righteous person strives for the peace that can only come from God.  We strive for peace between each other – although we acknowledge that it is a futile effort without God.  We strive for peace between us and God.  We strive for the peace that comes through and after death.  The righteous ones appreciate the path of bringing God’s peace to the world in whatever form they can.

The Way Is Seldom Easy

As we draw close to the end of this chapter we find another great confession of truth.  The course that God has for us to become righteous is not easy.  We will writhe as God works through our life to cast away the bad and retain the good.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 that our life will be as though passing through fire, and that which is built upon the foundation of Christ will stand while that which is not built upon Christ will perish.  Back in Isaiah, Isaiah uses the imagery of a woman in labor to describe how we will cry out to God as He purifies us.  We need to discern the truth in Isaiah 26:18.  We can accomplish no deliverance on our own.

We cannot save ourselves.  The best we can do and hope for is that we hide ourselves and not bring upon any more judgment than is necessary.  We turn to God in celebration of what He does in our life – even if those times of judgment are difficult to endure.  We must remember that God can work through all things to bring about His glory.  While this chapter initially begins in joy; we must understand that to arrive at the consummate joy of God we must first pass through judgment and correction.  It is a worthwhile trip, even if it doesn’t always seem that way.

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Year 2, Day 9: Isaiah 25

Perspective In The Midst of Judgment

In Isaiah 25, Isaiah looks forward to a perspective of a person who will have passed through the judgment of the Lord and come out alive on the other side.  Certainly such a person is faithful.  Certainly such a person is humble and repentant.  As we saw at the end of the last chapter, certainly such a person is capable of seeing the righteousness of God amidst a trying time.

Notice the main theme of the opening verses of chapter 25.  God is the redeemer of the poor.  God is the savior of the needy.  Those who are foreign to God fear Him.  God is a storm against the ruthless.

If we think about this passage with respect to what Isaiah is going through at the time that this passage is written, these qualities make sense.  Assyria has come upon Jerusalem and is setting up a siege against the city.  Israel and many of the countries around Judah have already been taken captive.  Most of Judah has fallen into Assyrian hands.  Captives have been dragged away.  No other nation has been able to understand the ruthlessness of the Assyrians.  Thus, Isaiah would focus on the rescue of the poor and the salvation of the needy.  He would focus on the fact that the brutality of the foreign nations would not be able to prevail against God.

Future Glory

Then we turn to one of my favorite passages.  I love using Isaiah 25:6-9, especially in the context of a funeral.  Here’s what we can learn from this passage.

First, notice that this prophecy is made for all peoples.  But here we need to be careful.  Just because the prophecy is made for all peoples doesn’t mean that all people will be there.  God gives the opportunity to all, but that does not mean that all receive Him. 

In any case, the first thing we need to realize is that even in Isaiah’s day there was a hope that faithfulness to God would spread among the Gentiles and around the whole world.  The Hebrew people may have been the people that God chose to bear His Word to the world, but God does not desire to keep Himself only among the Hebrew people.

Next, we can learn that Isaiah sees our time with God as a time of a great banquet.  Not only will there be plenty to sustain us, but it will be the best kind of sustenance.  It will be such a great restoration that the memory of a difficult past time and hard events won’t even be able to bring about a tear!

Contrast this thought with a people who know the reality of starvation as the Assyrians lay up a siege against them.  Can there be any wonder this image finds its way into this chapter?  God can sustain the faithful.

We also learn that God will swallow up the scourge that lies among us.  God will take care of the shroud of death.  Since death is the wage of sin; we can imply that God will also deal with sin.  We know from a New Testament perspective that He does deal with sin through Jesus Christ!  He will take away our reproach.  He will deal with it, not us.  He will be the answer, not us.  He will be the source of power, not us.

Our Role

In verse 9 we learn that our role is to wait for God.  If it is God who saves us – and I believe it is – then we must wait for Him to act.  God sets the agenda, we follow.  God plans salvation, we embrace it.  Our chief duty is to rejoice in His salvation when it comes to us.

The Enemies Of God

Lastly, we turn to the concluding verses of this chapter and we see that even then, God will have His enemies.  Moab – symbolic of the enemies of God – will attempt to spread out against God.  Moab will come against God, but God will put aside His pride.  God will bring down that in which His enemies find strength and protection.

What is the focus of these last verses?  What is it that God finds repulsive about His enemies?  Pride.  It is the pride of Moab that Isaiah tells us God will crush.  In fact, Isaiah tells us not just pride, but pompous pride.  One could also say that this word means haughtiness or arrogance.

In the end, in this chapter we can see the dynamics of both a proper relationship with God as well as the antithesis of relationship with God.  The proper relationship with God begins with us understanding our place and waiting for Him.  However, those who approach God with arrogance, pride, and haughtiness only ask to find punishment and destruction at His hand.  It really seems so simple.  The key to a good relationship with God begins in our humbleness before Him.

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Year 3, Day 8: Isaiah 24

Apocalypse

Isaiah 24 is often called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.”  It is easy to understand how it is that this description comes to be simply by reading the very first line of this chapter.  The Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate.  That sounds like an apocalypse to me.  In fact, this apocalypse is to be so thorough that every level of society will feel the effects of this apocalypse.  The slave, the master, the buyer, the seller, the maid, the mistress, the layman, the priest; all shall feel the effects of this judgment.

What do we learn from this opening section?  The message is similar to that of Paul.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are.  It doesn’t matter how religiously close to God you are.  It doesn’t matter if you own property or are owned as property.  Every single one of us has sinned.  Every single one of us deserves judgment.  Every single one of us comes under God’s wrath. 

Of course, we’ll get to grace; just not today.  For today, let’s stick with judgment and wrath.  Tomorrow we’ll have grace.

The next major section spawns off of the fact that destruction comes upon us because we are all guilty.  Notice that it says, “the earth lies defiled under its inhabitants, for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the covenants.”  The earth is defiled because of us.  We are clearly the ones who have sinned against God, and we have defiled this place that God has created for us.  Wine mourns – the vine laments!  Houses are shut up.  It is not the fault of creation that God will bring judgment, but creation will feel the effects of the judgment.  Oh, how contagious is our human sinfulness!

I’d like to skip over verses 14-16 for a moment because they seem out of place in this chapter.  So, let’s deal with the verses that follow and return to verses 14-16 later.

Reaction To Apocalypse

How will the human beings react?  How do human beings react any time a great calamity falls upon the earth?  For that record, how does all of creation react in times of calamity?  Is not the flight instinct the strongest in most if not all creatures?  Do you know many people or animals that run headlong into a forest fire – without life-saving equipment, of course?  Do you know many people or animals that voluntarily climb the highest hill in the middle of a thunderstorm?  Do we not run when we face something far more powerful than ourselves?

Isaiah tells us just as much.  In judgment, we will be caught in “a pit.”  Those who try to escape the pit will be caught in “a snare.”  There will be no escape.  God’s judgment upon creation will be thorough.

Judgment

Then we reach the climax of this chapter.  God will punish those who oppose Him.  It matters not whether they oppose Him in heaven or upon the earth.  Punishment will come upon those who oppose God.  After judgment, we hear that the Lord will reign in Jerusalem.  The Lord will reign not only over the inhabitants of the earth, but even over creation.  His glory will be before those who are faithful in Him. 

Thus ends the first chapter of Isaiah’s apocalypse.  Sin leads to judgment, judgment leads to punishment, and punishment points us to the reign of God.

Skipped Verses

Now we return back to the verses that I skipped.  Who are the few who would rejoice at such a time?  Go back and look at verse 6.  Verse 6 hints at the fact that there will be a small number of people who are left when God’s judgments come upon the earth.  Now look back to the end of this chapter.  God’s glory is before the old, aged, or perhaps we could translate as the “wise.”  Cleary there is a small push from Isaiah even in the midst of this chapter on judgment that there will be some who pass through the judgment.  There will be a remnant.  There will be the faithful.

That brings us to the skipped verses.  Who is it that can praise God in spite of what is happening around them?  Who is it that can still find a way to bring God glory even if life is crumbling around them?  Who is it that can still find a way to recognize God’s sovereignty even while the earth mourns over the time of trial that has come upon it?  Who indeed … but the faithful.  The faithful will know that all have sinned and we all deserve judgment.  The faithful recognize that we deserve punishment.  The faithful will be able to call God the Righteous One in spite of what happens to us.

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Year 3, Day 7: Isaiah 23

The Mediterranean

Isaiah 23 appears to be an oracle against Tyre, but in reality it is an oracle for the whole rest of the Mediterranean Sea and the surrounding region.  Some history would be beneficial to understanding this chapter.  The people of Tyre and the area were called Kenaani (a derivation of the word Canaanite).  This means that they are likely the descendants of the Canaanites and most scholars believe this to be true.  Of course, we know from history that Tyre was one of the major cities of the Phoenician people.  The Phoenicians are historically considered one of the first people to write, coming up with the alphabet that is the grandfather for many modern alphabets.  However, their greatest claim to fame was their ability to sail.  They were known as incredible traders and merchants throughout all of the Mediterranean and even points beyond.

This history really helps this chapter leap off of the pages.  As we read through this chapter we hear about other foreign ports mourning at the Assyrian conquest of the Phoenicians (people of Tyre, according to Isaiah).  Egypt mourns.  Tarshish mourns.  We know that the Egyptians were great exporters of fruits, grains, flax, papyrus, and just about anything else that they could grow in the fertile Nile Delta.  We know that Tarshish was a great exporter of silver, iron, tin, and lead (assuming, of course, that Tarshish is Tartessos, an ancient port city in southern Spain).  Whatever the case, these are two examples of a people who had grown to depend upon the Phoenicians for sea trade.  They depended on the Phoenicians to take their goods to places that needed them and bring them the things they needed from far off places.  Thus, when Assyria comes upon the Phoenicians and wreaks havoc upon them, much of the Mediterranean culture suffers.

For the record, the Assyrians did not destroy the Phoenicians, although they were the first to subdue them.  It is Alexander the Great who handles that task for the Greek nation.  Prior to Alexander getting his hands upon the Phoenicians but after the Assyrians do, Cyrus of the Persians conquered the city.  It is after the city falls into Persian rule that many of the Phoenician people go to Carthage.  So what did the Assyrians do to the Phoenicians besides subdue their cities?  The Assyrians restricted the trade of the Phoenicians.  They put limits on what the Phoenicians could accomplish.  In an attempt to keep the Mediterranean region weak so that it could not revolt, the Assyrians hampered the Phoenician ability to bridge the gap between nations who would need trade to rise into power.

Back To The Passage

What can we learn from this passage?  First, we can learn that as nations grow, they also become vulnerable.  As nations grow, they require things from surrounding areas in order to sustain their life.  Trade becomes a major force in world scene.  Economies become significant.  When outside influences come down on a regional (or global) economy, everybody suffers.  As nations grow and the world shrinks, what happens in one region is far more likely to have an impact upon the rest of the world.

We can also learn two neat lessons from the end of this passage.  First, notice that there is a declaration of grace once more.  The Assyrian domination will not last forever.  There will be a hardship upon the land; but the hardship will be limited.  As we have seen with nearly all the other oracles – there is grace at the end of the oracle.  God’s wrath may come; but God’s grace outlasts His wrath.

The second lesson actually pertains to the note of grace that we find directed towards the Hebrew people.  Did you notice that as grace is directed towards the Phoenicians that it is said to be holy for the Lord?  Even though the trade of the Phoenicians is verbally painted like that of a prostitute going among the nations, God will be praised and blessed and it will actually be holy to the Lord.  How is this possible?

After the Assyrian domination of the land is finished, the Babylonians take over with respect to power.  The Babylonians were far less effective at managing the Phoenicians’ ability to trade and rebuild their commercial empire.  As the Phoenicians do rebuild, the Persians come on the scene and allow the Hebrews to return to Israel.  As they rebuild the city of Jerusalem and try to restore it to its past glory, many of the building supplies needed to rebuild Jerusalem come from Tyre, the Phoenicians, and their ability to trade.  The Lord’s remnant comes out of captivity at the discretion of the Persians only to find a ready trading partner right when they need them the most.

Isn’t the provision of the Lord awesome?

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Year 3, Day 6: Isaiah 22

A Lesson In History

Isaiah 22 continues the messages against Jerusalem.  By this point historically in the book of Isaiah, Sennacherib – king of Assyria – has put down the Babylonian threat.  His northern territory was secure.  All that was left was for him to come and deal with the western edge.  Israel had already fallen.  Hezekiah was leading a revolt from Jerusalem in Judah.  Sennacherib had already taken 46 towns in Judah and they were surrounding Jerusalem.  The city was going to be under siege soon.

The Valley of Visions – as Isaiah calls it – is likely Isaiah’s name for the Kidron Valley which is directly east of the city.  Isaiah watched as fugitives tried to come into Jerusalem for safety.  He watched as the Assyrians set up camp around the city.  In fact, Isaiah wasn’t alone.  Other people had come up to their rooftops to look out over the walls and look into the evidence of the destruction that the Assyrians brought with them.  The Assyrians dragged away any captives they could get their hands on.  There was much to see happening outside Jerusalem and much to mourn.

One of the ways that Assyrians were most brutal was in their relocation policy.  When they took over a land, they basically deported everyone and forced them to resettle in another part of their kingdom.  Then, they moved in people from another part of the kingdom to take possession of the land.  This way, they broke the spirit of the people they had just conquered and gave them little reason to rebel wherever they found themselves.  It’s not like they could continue to fight for their land.

A Neat Analogy

As we move into verses 5-8, we get a neat image.  Well, it’s not neat for Isaiah and his contemporaries, but it is neat for us.  We hear about the people of Elam and Kir – both provinces of Assyria east of the Assyrian homeland – joining the battle.  This symbolically tells the Hebrew people that the nations are gathering at the doors of Jerusalem for war.  This isn’t just the Hebrews vs. the Assyrians.  This is a small remnant of besieged people in Jerusalem vs. the Assyrians and their allies.  If one desired to stretch it a bit, one could make this into God vs. the powerful in the world.

Should Have, But Didn’t Necessarily Do So

In the verses that follow we see that the people should have repented.  They should have seen the enemy gathering and they should have turned to God.  They should have repented.  They should have “pulled out their beards” and wore sackcloth.  In their darkest hour, they should have turned to God.

However, they don’t.  They don’t rely upon God.  They try to manufacture their own salvation.  They rebuild the walls.  They build more cisterns.  They store up what food they can get their hands upon.  They think that they can outlast the Assyrian army amassing at their doors.  {I’ve always wondered about this tactic.  What people inside a city think they can outlast people outside the city with access to all the resources they need?}  Rather than turn to God, they lean upon their own strength.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t think the point of these scriptures is that we don’t need to prepare.  I don’t think that there is anything wrong with shoring up the walls and making sure they had access to good drinking water.  The problem isn’t that they prepared; the problem is that they prepared in the arrogance of their own strength.  God desires humbleness and the Jews gave Him arrogance.  God wants to be the center of our plans, the Hebrew people planned without Him.

Shebna

Then we turn to the prophecies regarding Shebna.  Shebna was at one point second in command in Jerusalem – only second to the king.  We don’t really know why Shebna is singled out, but contextually we can make some very educated guesses.  We just talked about how the Hebrew people did not trust in God and instead trusted in their own strength.  Perhaps Shebna was the one convincing them that they could do it.  Perhaps Shebna was opposing Isaiah’s cry for repentance back to God.  Perhaps Shebna was the advisor to King Hezekiah who was preventing Hezekiah from making a full repentance.

What happens to Shebna?  Isaiah tells us that he will be demoted and taken away to die in a large foreign land.  Elkiakim will rise up and take his place.  We also know from these words in Isaiah 22 that Eliakim is a devout man of God.  We do know from the account in 2 Kings 18 that Eliakim does rise and Shebna does fall.  We know that Hezekiah does come to repentance afterwards.

What is God up to?  If the nation will not repent when an enemy opposes them because the leadership focuses them elsewhere, then perhaps it is indeed time to change the leadership.  God deposes those leaders who are against Him and brings in a leader who will make repentance possible.

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Year 3, Day 5: Isaiah 21

An Interesting Debate

Isaiah 21 is a passage that has brought about a fair amount of debate.  The debate isn’t about the passage and its meaning, however.  The passage is clearly about the future destruction of Babylon.  That much is easy to determine.

The question is: which destruction of Babylon?  You see, Babylon was brought to its knees twice.  The Babylonians were the big threat prior to the coming of the Assyrians.  The Assyrians tamed the Babylonians and became the big power.  However, the Assyrians did not keep the Babylonians down.  The Babylonians (often called Neo-Babylonians at this point in history so as to avoid confusion) rise up again and bring the Assyrians down.  They reign for a little while until the Medio-Persian Empire comes on the scene.  The Persians take down Neo-Babylon and eventually provide for the release of some Jews to return to Jerusalem to restore the city.

Since I’m on a roll, let’s just continue the history.  The Persians rule in the area for a while until the Greeks come on the scene.  The Greeks dominate the Persians and take over control of the region until the Romans come on the scene.  The Romans eventually conquer the region and hold it for quite some time.  In fact, the Roman Empire holds onto the land until the Muslim nations rise up and capture the land of Palestine during the decade beginning with 630 A.D.

Okay, back to the passage.  Since there are two separate destructions of the Babylon Empire as a world power, which one is Isaiah speaking about?  There are some who want to talk about the ultimate destruction of Babylon at the hands of the Persians.  That destruction happens in 539 B.C.  However, I don’t believe that this is the destruction to which Isaiah is speaking.  First, if we put this passage into context we hear this passage after just hearing about the other nations being dominated by Assyria.  Why would Isaiah switch topics and talk about the domination of Persia to come several centuries later?

I believe contextually speaking that this passage makes much more sense to read it in light of the Assyrian conquest of Babylon which ultimately happens in 702 B.C.  It is Assyria that is on Isaiah’s mind.  It is Assyria that is the main power on the scene.

Furthermore, when we hear about the destruction of the Babylonians at the hands of the Persians elsewhere in scripture, the Hebrew people are told that it will be a day of rejoicing.  The Babylonian destruction at the hands of the Persians is a high day for Hebrew people.  If we look at how Isaiah talks about the destruction of the Babylonians in this chapter we are told it is a terrible day.  It is a day of devastation.  Isaiah 21 is not about the Hebrew people finding relief because the Persians are coming for the Babylonians.  Isaiah 21 is about the fear that the Hebrew people should have because the ones who are coming for Babylon are also coming for them. 

Thematically, then, I feel it is more logical to read this passage as God’s warning the Hebrew people that the Babylonians will not be able to stand up and resist the Assyrians either.  They cannot even expect help to come from the mighty Babylonian empire.

Isaiah’s Response

Furthermore, let’s look a bit at Isaiah’s response to the oracle.  He is pained – in fact, he says that the oracle comes upon him as labor comes upon a pregnant woman.  Being a prophet is never easy.  Being a prophet implies bringing hard messages to people – messages that may not always bring about peace or joy.  Isaiah is troubled by the messages God asks him to bring; but Isaiah brings them anyway.

Dumah

As a part of this oracle we also have an oracle tied to Edom (Dumah).  Dumah may be a word play on the Hebrew word for Edom; but it is more likely a Hebrew translation for what the Assyrians called Edom: Udumu.  What will happen in Dumah?  What does the watcher in the watchtower see?  Nothing of note.  Edom will fall quietly and without note against the Assyrians.  In fact, by speaking of Edom according to the Assyrian name, Isaiah is sending a clear message that they are already lost.

Arabia

Then we have an oracle for Arabia.  The Arabian people were largely still tribal at this point.  They would be scattered and made into refugees by the Assyrians.  They will flee before the might of Assyria and will provide no source of help for the Hebrew people.

God has systematically given Isaiah an oracle about all the nations surrounding Jerusalem and the Hebrew lands.  None of them will be able to resist the Assyrian power.  There is no true help except the help that can come from the Lord.  That message is clear.  But will they listen?  Do we listen to the same message?

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Year 3, Day 4: Isaiah 19-20

Egypt

Isaiah 19 continues the oracles against foreign lands.  This time, we will focus on Egypt.  Remember that Egypt is the proverbial enemy of God.  It is Egypt that taught the Hebrew people to first love other gods.  It is Egypt to whom the Hebrew people of the period of the kings consistently tried to turn for help rather than putting their faith in God.  Throughout almost the whole of the scriptures, Egypt not only symbolizes a place of physical bondage but it also symbolizes a place of spiritual oppression and false hope.  It is in that context that we now turn to Isaiah 19-20.

The Lord Comes Swiftly

Notice the scathing attack that begins from the very first verse.  The Lord is coming swiftly and the idols of the Egyptians tremble.  They are powerless against the Lord.  The very heart of Egypt – their idolatry – will melt.  Egypt is powerless against the Lord.  Egypt’s gods are impotent against the Lord.  The age-old battle between God and Egypt is alive in Isaiah.  This time, God is coming to Egypt to bring judgment rather than to free His people from oppression.

Note also that the coming of the Lord upon Egypt is not merely an attack on the gods of people.  The coming of God is a demonstration of where true wisdom rests.  The counselors in Egypt will be confused.  The mediums and the necromancers will have no answer for their leaders or their people.  God is not just dealing with Egypt from the perspective of power; God is dealing with Egypt from the perspective of wisdom, insight, and counsel.  Likewise, see Isaiah 19:11-15.

As we turn to verses 5-10, notice that the next thing God promises to attack is nature.  The Nile will dry up.  What water remains will turn foul.  The fertile lands that Egypt depended upon as the Nile flooded its banks would become barren.  The gods of Egypt all had a hand in nature.  God’s domination over Egypt’s nature is another sign of His coming judgment upon them and their gods.

The economy will also suffer.  Fish will not be caught – implying that they cannot be sold, either.  Flax will not be able to be harvested.  Cotton will be unable to be woven.  Those who depend upon work for pay will grieve.  God’s judgment against Egypt will be thorough. 

It will be a spiritual and economic war.  The two most important dynamics of Egypt’s culture – religion and economy – will be assaulted by the Lord. 

A More Eternal Perspective

Moving into the section at the end of chapter 19, we have a passage that speaks about the Day of the Lord.  It seems as though Isaiah’s focus shifts from temporal perspective to an eternal one.  As Isaiah speaks about the battle against the gods of Egypt, he shifts focus to a time when the gods are officially defeated.  Isaiah speaks about a time when Egypt will worship God.  It seems at the end of this chapter that Isaiah is speaking even into our future – after the Messiah has come again and all people will be brought before God.

Notice that as we continue through that passage Isaiah even implies that Assyria and Egypt will both be brought together in the worship of the Lord.  Again we have a passage of grace following a passage of judgment as we have seen in the prior chapters.  Even Assyria – who overextends themselves and seeks for selfish glory greater than God’s plan – is invited to God’s presence.  Even Egypt – the bastion of false worship and false hope – is invited to God’s presence.  What a powerful statement of God’s power to say that the enemies of God will eventually turn into a people that shall bring glory to His name!

A Sign Is Given

As we turn to Isaiah 20, we leave the chapters with oracles against the nations behind us.  We hear a story where Isaiah is to go about the city naked and barefoot.  Of course, makes this one of the more memorable chapters in Isaiah. 

Before we talk about what this means, imagine the shame and disgrace that this would bring upon a Jew.  For a Jew, nakedness was something to be avoided – especially in public.  For a Jew to be naked in public was an almost unspeakable offense.

What is God’s point?  Isaiah’s behavior is a sign to the Egyptians and Cushites that if they get involved in God’s work, they will be captured and humiliated.  Perhaps even more importantly, God’s point to the Hebrew people is that there is going to be no help from a human source upon which they can depend.

So what can we learn from these chapters?  Well, God takes the worship of false gods as a pretty grievous offense.  Yet, if we are willing to humble ourselves before Him and repent, we can know salvation.  Of course, such salvation can come from no source but God alone.

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Year 3, Day 3: Isaiah 18

Cush

Isaiah 18 begins by talking about the people of Cush.  Cush was an ancient land that was a made up of portions of the modern countries of southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ethiopia.  They were a tall people.  They also apparently sent envoys to Israel asking for an alliance against the coming Assyrian threat.

Caution, Not Judgment

This oracle is not actually a prophecy against Cush.  All of the prior oracles were oracles speaking to the judgment of the prescribed nation.  But this chapter is different.  Rather than being an oracle of doom, it would appear that this chapter is an oracle of warning.

What is God’s advice to Cush through the words of Isaiah?  God tells Cush to go home.  God tells Cush to leave this region alone and not get involved with it.  God tells the Cushites to be careful, because the Assyrians are not a threat to them but rather a tool in God’s hand of judgment in the Hebrew part of the world.

In fact, this chapter is actually more of an oracle against the people of Canaan and the surrounding lands than it is an oracle against Cush.  God promises that His judgment upon the people would linger like a summer heat.  Like a dew in harvest His judgment would linger.  Cush would not want to be involved in this part of the world at this time.

Salvation

Yet, even in this oracle that speaks about judgment we have a passage about salvation.  Although God continues to speak about the judgment coming through the Assyrians, the truth is that the judgment will not take long.  God tells the Cushites – or more accurately, the Hebrew people as they listen to God’s advice to the Cushites – that like a farmer who cuts off the new growth before the harvest He will cut off Assyria.  As the lumberjack who clears away the spreading branches of a tree, so God will cut back Assyria.

God’s point is simple.  Judgment is coming.  The Hebrew people need to take notice.  The nations around the Hebrew lands also need to take notice.  The rest of the world would be wise to stay away.  But the time of judgment would pass.  God’s anger will not last forever.  There will come a time when those who oppress the Hebrew people and the nations around them would be left to the beasts of the earth.  The time will come when those who are to oppress the Hebrew people will be devoured themselves.

When this time comes – when the oppressors are themselves consumed – tribute will be given to the Lord.  Again we see the truth that we find all throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.  Judgment is not only for the purpose of doling out consequences.  Judgment is for the purpose of revealing God to people and turning people back to God.  In times of trial, people understand once more what is important in life.

Compassion

There’s one other point that I would like to make before leaving this chapter.  I’ve danced around this point earlier, but I want to make it quite clear.  We should be clear to see the compassion of God in this chapter.  In fact, we see two versions of compassion in Isaiah 18.  The biggest place of compassion is God’s desire to warn the Cushites to stay away from what God is doing in the land.  This is compassion; God does not want them to get involved with the outpouring of His wrath.

The second place of compassion is God’s reminder that the judgment that is coming will not be long.  Judgment will sting, but it will not destroy.  God’s wrath with tear down, but it will not irrevocably tear down.  Even among those who receive God’s judgment, there is the possibility to latch onto grace and be pulled through it to the salvation that exists on the other side.

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Year 3, Day 2: Isaiah 17

Damascus

In Isaiah 17 we have a prophecy against Damascus.  Damascus was the capitol city of Aram.  Aram was the name in the 8th – 10th centuries B.C. for what we now know of as Syria.  This nation should not be confused with Assyria.  Remember that only a few chapters back we had Isaiah’s prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel and Aram because they had joined up and threatened the southern kingdom of Judah.  This is why God links Damascus to Ephraim (Isaiah’s word for Israel) in v. 3.  That should set the context of this passage.

Ceasing To Exist

We start off with an incredible statement right at the very beginning.  Damascus will cease to be a city.  It will be leveled.  It will be destroyed to the point that flocks of grazing animals will find pasture within its walls.  What a horrible prediction.

Stop here for a minute and think about this.  How would it feel for you to hear someone say that in only a few years the town in which you currently live, know, and love would become desolate?  What would it mean for you to hear that your own beloved community would completely and totally cease to even be a city?  Can you feel the incredible oppression of these opening verses?  Can you feel the weight of the message that Isaiah carried from God?  Can you imagine how the people reacted to these words?

The Difficulty of Preaching To The Choir

Let’s run a little deeper in this passage.  Remember when we started these oracles a few days back I mentioned that these words were likely not heard by the individual countries – at least not directly from Isaiah.  The Hebrew people living around Isaiah heard these words.  Imagine being Isaiah and hearing the cheering of the Hebrew people as one of their enemies is pronounced as being ready to be judged. 

Yet, imagine mourning for those people because they do not recognize how their rebellion against God is affecting them – all while the people around you cheer on their destruction.  That’s what it means to be a prophet of the Lord.  Being a prophet doesn’t mean enjoying the defeat of your enemies.  Being a prophet means mourning over the judgment of your enemies while all the rest of the short-sighted people around you celebrate their doom.

Back to Syria

Verse 4 gives us even less hope.  “The fat of his flesh will become lean.”  Imagine, if you will, a people who live such a comfortable life that they are “fat.”  By fat, I’m not talking physically but also emotionally, spiritually, and even psychologically.  Then imagine what would have to happen in their life so that they would become lean, emaciated, and on the brink of wasting away.  Imagine how hard a whole nation would have to fall for the kingdom to go from “fat” to “wasting away.”  Imagine what it would feel like for that “fat” country that knew an abundance of resources to suddenly find its resources gone, dried up, and no longer productive.  This is the point of verses 5-6.

What will be the natural consequence of such a fall?  This is actually a bit of a surprise here.  The people will realize the futility of placing their faith in such human created “fatness.”  They will stop looking upon the work of their own hands as a symbol of their greatness.  They will then see their Maker and understand what a relationship with God is truly about.  Only through the darkness of captivity and famine do we truly learn what to value in this life.  I hate that this is true about humanity, but it is.

The Power Of Judgment

At the end of this chapter we have a small reminder of the people that God is going to use to bring judgment upon Damascus (Aram/Syria).  The Assyrians are considered a mighty sea.  If anyone has ever stood on a beach as the tide comes in, you know the futility of trying to stand there.  You know the futility of trying to build a sandcastle as the tide is coming in.  With each passing rush the water rises higher and higher.  With each passing rush the water comes in, swirls about, and takes part of whatever is in its way.  Soon the sand castle is gone.  Soon the footprints we leave behind are washed away even with the rest of the sand.  Nothing can withstand the slow and steady power of the sea.

The same is true for the Assyrians.  When they come, they will be like the sea.  They will come and conquer everything in their path.  They will swarm about the nations and slowly knock them down and take them away.

Hope

However, all hope is not completely lost.  Even in the oracle for Damascus there is a ray of hope.  The armies of the Assyrians threaten for an evening, but by morning they will be gone.  Judgment will be swift and thorough, but also quick.  God does not enjoy making us suffer.  He simply wants us to see our consequences long enough to regain a true perspective on life and come back to Him.  Of course, sometimes it takes longer other times to regain that true perspective.

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Year 3, Day 1: Isaiah 16

Destruction Is Assured

Isaiah 16 continues the indictment against Moab.  In the opening verses, we see God’s advice to Moab against the coming onslaught at the hands of Assyria.  There is no way that Moab is going to be able to escape the coming turmoil.  Assyria will overrun Moab, of that there can be no doubt.

Salvation Is Found Among The Hebrews

So what is Moab to do?  The advice is quite simple.  They need to come to the Hebrew people – specifically to the place of the king of the Hebrew people.  God tells the people of Moab to turn to the “mount of the daughter of Zion.”  God tells the Moabites to turn to His people for safety.

The question is, why would God do this?  Is this a sign that God’s chosen people actually are better than the rest of the world?  Is it God’s people who will save them?

No.  Think back to what we learned yesterday.  The Moabites are kin to the Hebrew people.  They are the descendants of Lot.  God doesn’t really want these people to turn back to the Hebrew people; God actually wants the Moabites to turn back to Him.  How will they accomplish that feat?  How will they come back to God?  Again the answer is simple.  They should be able to learn about God from the people of God. 

It is not the Hebrew people that are great.  God wants the people of Moab to turn to the mount of the daughter of Zion because He is great.  It isn’t about the Hebrew people saving them, it is about relationship with God who can save them.

From a historical perspective this makes sense.  We know that Jerusalem would resist the Assyrians.  Actually, we know that God takes care of the Assyrians so that Jerusalem can resist them.  Since God knows he will enable Jerusalem to resist the Assyrians, it makes sense for God to call the people of Moab to Jerusalem.  If they want to survive the Assyrian onslaught, they need to humble themselves and come to Jerusalem.

Directive To The Hebrew People

In fact, to make his point, God then interrupts His message about Moab with a specific sub-message to His own Hebrew people.  He tells them to welcome the outcasts of Moab.  God tells His people to be a shelter to Moab.  God promises that if they obey His calling they will see a king on David’s throne who rules righteously.

The question is: what will Moab do?  Will Moab be able to humble themselves?  Will Moab be able to turn to God?

The Moabite Response

Verse 6 does not give us much hope at all.  In verse 6 we hear about the pride of the Moabites.  We hear about arrogance.  We hear about insolence.  None of these attributes gives us any kind of hope that the Moabites will listen to God’s advice.  Salvation from the Assyrian onslaught can be found, but it can only be found by humbleness and turning to God while confessing that they cannot solve their own problems.

Perhaps we’ve found another reason for Isaiah to be in such mourning in yesterday’s reading.  Unlike the three oracles that came before this one, with Moab there is an offer of salvation.  But Isaiah knows it will not be heeded.  Isaiah knows that there will be no repentance.

So what is the end result?  God tells of their destruction at the hands of the Assyrians.  Joy will be taken from their fields.  The land won’t fruit.  The people won’t be able to make the products from the land that they need.  In less than three years’ time their numbers will be cut down so that only a few remain in their once proud land.

After reading this passage, I can’t help but wonder something very real.  What is it that leads to the downfall of Moab?  Pride.  Insolence.  Arrogance.  They refuse to seek help from God.  But are those not some of the main traits of humanity?  Do we not brandish our arrogance, pride, and insolence towards God on a reasonably regular basis?  As I’ve passed through two years of reading God’s Word on a daily basis, time and time again I’ve heard our human pride and arrogance lifted up as that which keeps us from God more than anything else.  Since we are entering the year where we hear regularly from the Old Testament prophets, I fully expect to hear over and over about the dangers of human pride.  We should heed these words that Isaiah gives to Moab.  The world will devour us if we are unwilling to humble ourselves and turn to the salvation that God provides.

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