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Retired pastor

Daily Bible thoughts 712: Thursday 25th September 2014:

 Isaiah 40: 12-20

There is an incredible, exalted picture of God throughout the second half of Isaiah.

‘’Returning to the land and rebuilding the nation seemed impossible tasks to the exiles, so Isaiah invited them to behold the greatness of God. God is greater than every burden you bear and every challenge you face. Babylon was but a drop in the bucket to God! The world’s false gods can do nothing to hinder the working of your great God, so trust Him to see you through.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.476.

‘’This superb poem rebukes our small ideas and flagging faith…by its presentation of God…and…of a universe dwarfed by his presence. The goal of the passage is v.31, where human imaginings (18) and doubts (27) give way to the humble expectancy that is urged on us throughout the book.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.656.

In the remainder of chapter 40 Isaiah speaks about this incomparable God who is coming to rescue His people. He poses a series of rhetorical questions, designed to help God’s people trust in Him and wait patiently for Him. They need to know that He is able to do what He has promised. The description of God in (12-31) is reminiscent of God’s own words about Himself in Job chapters 38-41. ‘’God is bigger, greater, and more awesome than any human can imagine. ‘’Who can understand Him?’’ Isaiah asks. ‘’Who can teach Him?’’ ‘’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1038. Who of us has come close to doing any of the things God has done? These words humble us, even as they encourage our faith. ‘’Who could ever have told GOD what to do or taught him his business? What expert would he have gone to for advice, what school would he attend to learn justice? What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows, showed him how things work? The Message. ‘’Such a Creator hardly needs our impatient advice or shares our impotence.’’ Derek Kidner: p.656.

‘’Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window. Watch him sweep up the islands like so much dust off the floor! There aren’t enough trees in Lebanon nor enough animals in those vast forests to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship. All the nations add up to simply nothing before him – less than nothing is more like it. A minus.’’ (15-17) The Message. Isaiah saw that no amount of sacrifices could do justice to the greatness of God, even if all the firewood and animals of Lebanon were available. We can never worship Him adequately.

When you recognise how infinitely great God is, it also helps you to see how utterly ridiculous idolatry is (18-20). What lifeless idol, even when covered in gold, can compare with the living God? There seems to be a certain irony; a sarcastic touch of humour in the reference to idols being so helpless, they have to be constructed with wide bases so that they don’t ‘’topple’’ over! (20). It is of the very essence of an idol to be unstable. Our idols may appear to offer stability, but they cannot give it. As someone has pointed out, the idolater’s pathetic efforts are studied at length in Isaiah (see also 44:9-20; 46:1-7), and the wilfulness that causes the spiritual blindness is exposed in Romans 1:18-23.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to see you more clearly with every passing day.

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Daily Bible thoughts 711: Wednesday 24th September 2014:

 Isaiah 40:1-11

We ‘’emerge in 40:1 in a different world from Hezekiah’s, immersed in the situation foretold in 39:5-8,which he was so thankful to escape. Nothing is said of the intervening century and a half; we wake, so to speak, on the far side of the disaster, impatient for the end of captivity. In chs. 40-48 liberation is in the air; there is the persistent promise of a new exodus, with God at its head; there is the approach of a conqueror, eventually disclosed as Cyrus, to break Babylon open; there is also a new theme unfolding, to reveal the glory of the call to be a servant and a light to the nations. All this is expressed with a soaring, exultant eloquence, in a style heard only fitfully hitherto (cf. e.g. 35:1-10; 37:26-27), but now sustained so as to give its distinctive tone to the remaining chapters of the book.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.655

So Isaiah’s vision leaps ahead 150 years. The exile was coming to an end and the Jews were about to be led home to Jerusalem by the Lord Himself. Hence this word of double ‘’Comfort, comfort…’’ (1, 2). The people had been amply punished for their sins, and the time of chastening was about to end. We might say that the sentence had been served and it was time to leave the jail. The words ‘’Speak tenderly’’ were often used in contexts of reassurance. It literally means ‘’speak to the heart’’. ‘’Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of – forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.’’ The Message. The crisis, the pain, the heartache are all at an end. What a relief!

The Lord was about to defeat the Babylonians (by means of the Persian army) and lead His people back to Jerusalem. There is the idea of a second ‘exodus’ by means of the ‘’wilderness’’. God’s glory would be revealed in and through this liberation (3-5). One hundred and fifty years after these words were written they came to pass, but only in a preliminary way. The gospels show that the real fulfilment occurred when Jesus came into the world and began His ministry. John the Baptist was the ‘’voice of one calling in the desert’’, preparing the way for Christ (see Mark 1:1-5). Above, all the people of John’s day were called to prepare for the Messiah by repenting of their sins (Matthew 3:1-3). Still today repentance makes the ‘’rough ground…level’’ (4) and removes spiritual obstacles out of the way so that we can come to Jesus and be saved by Him. There is a sense in which (5) is still to happen in the fullest sense, when Jesus comes back to the earth.

In (6-8) you find a contrast between the frailty of men who ‘’fall’’ (7a) and ‘’the word of our God’’ which ‘’stands for ever’’ (8). Something of that endurance is seen in the ‘staying-power’ of the book of Isaiah, and the fact that we are still studying it today, rejoicing in its truth, and marvelling over its fulfilments. Here Isaiah seems to hear another voice. No one can preach without first hearing the ‘’voice’’ above all voices. This voice tells him to tell the people that all men (and that would include the Assyrians and the Babylonians) have only a short time on earth. Their glory soon fades. But it is not so with God’s Word. The plans of even the mightiest empires cannot prevail against the Lord (see 1 Peter 1:23-25). Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will endure forever (Mark 13:31). So will those who obey His Word (1 John 2:17).

What a beautiful gospel we have of a mighty God and loving tender Saviour (10, 11). May we ‘’lift up’’ our voices without fear to declare the ‘’good tidings’’ (9)

Prayer: Help me to come out of hiding and boldly proclaim your truth to all.

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 710: Tuesday 23rd September 2014:

 Isaiah 39

The Bible is realistic about its heroes. Even the best of people, like Hezekiah, had ‘feet of clay’. We see this king as one of the best to sit on the throne of Judah. He trusted in the Lord. He led the people in God’s ways. But he wasn’t perfect. The short term thinking he showed in (8) is not commendable.

They say that a football team will be more vulnerable to a counter-attack goal after they have just scored. In the spiritual life, immediately after some ‘high’, or triumph or deliverance, you can be exposed. Following a victory, the soul can be tempted to put its feet up by the fire and relax with a nice glass of wine! This story teaches that you can never afford to drop your guard. You must never switch off. There is a repeated call in the New Testament to be ‘’alert’’. As someone said, the price of our safety is ‘’eternal vigilance.’’

Sometimes kindness can find your vulnerabilities more than outright antagonism (1). We are softened by niceness. Some people are very skilful at wearing the velvet glove which hides a curled fist. ‘’The faith of Hezekiah, proof against the heaviest blows, melts at the touch of flattery…and the world claims another victim by its friendship.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.655

Warren Wiersbe offers some helpful insights on this short chapter: ‘’This was the third test (2 Chron. 32:31), and the king failed miserably. What could not be accomplished through an army or an illness was accomplished through flattery. If Satan cannot succeed as a lion, then he comes as a serpent: ‘’Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful’’ (Prov.27:6).The king of Babylon wanted one thing: Judah’s cooperation in opposing the Assyrians. The enemy is a liar and uses every excuse to get entry into your life. It was foolish for Hezekiah to welcome them and show them the royal treasures, but pride took over and discernment disappeared…instead of repenting, Hezekiah felt relieved that the judgment would not come in his day. How shortsighted can a man of faith become! Had he no concern for the future of his people? ‘’With the Word’’, p.475.

Actually the Bible does not state that Merodach-Baladan wanted Hezekiah’s help to take on Assyria, but enough is known about the Babylonian king to imagine that he had plots hatching under the cover of this visit.

Someone said: ‘’Speak the kind truth’’. That may not always be comfortable truth, but it would be unkind to withhold it (Proverbs 26:28) Isaiah had to confront both Ahaz (chapter 7) and Hezekiah (chapter 39). It takes great courage to wound a friend, but we have to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and, at times, give wounds that heal.

.’’Be very careful to watch against ostentation and the pride from which it springs. The best antidote is the habit of looking from the gifts to the Giver, and to accustom yourself to the position of a steward of the benefits which have been done to you. Oh for more of the spirit of praise and thanksgiving, of adoring gratitude, of grateful love!…No doubt Hezekiah’s sad lapse is intended as a warning to us all. The minuteness with which it is recorded may be intended to impress on us the danger of coquetting with the Babylon around us. It is impossible to do so without becoming ultimately carried into captivity to its corruption.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.284.

Prayer: Lord give me eyes to see through all the glittering sham of deception, and turn my back on it.

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Daily Bible thoughts 709: Monday 22nd September 2014:

Isaiah 38

‘’If you are swept off your feet, it is time to get on your knees.’’ Frederick Beck.

Everyone who has received a doctor’s report with a deadly prognosis, especially in younger years, will be able to identify with Hezekiah’s agonised question (10). It’s not easy to hear that you are going to die, and especially not in the ‘’prime’’ of life. Hezekiah felt ‘mugged’ – that good years were being stolen from him. (All of this happened at a time when Hezekiah knew that the Assyrians were coming 6. It was trouble upon trouble for him.)

But some people facing death are brought back from the brink by God’s grace (38:1-8). I know some Christians think it is unbelieving to go to a doctor. I do not share their view. It seems to me that Hezekiah was healed through prayer (2-6) and medicine (21). Surely we are not to despise the benefits of knowledge God has given through scientific discovery? I believe our Christian attitude should include thanks to God for medical resources, respect for medical practitioners, and trust in God alone for healing. He may work through doctors. He often does. He may use medicine. The essential thing is to look to Him for your healing.

People who have come through a serious illness (or any other form of trial) and who sense that God has been with them in it, and brought them out of it, will regularly say something similar to King Hezekiah (17a). They wouldn’t want to go through it again; they are glad not to be in that trouble anymore; but they recognise the providential good in it (Romans 8:28).

I sometimes think about Hezekiah and wonder what it was like for him. At the beginning of the extra fifteen years (5) he must have felt relieved and elated. It probably seemed like a long time. It is quite a long time. But as the clock ran down how did he feel? I would like to think that he never lost a sense of gratitude that God blessed him with ‘time added on.’

‘’Hezekiah pictured death as going through a gate (v.10),taking down a tent (v.12), being cut from a loom and rolled up (v.12), and being attacked by a beast (v.13).But he clung to the Word of God (v.17) and gave praise to God for all He did (vv.16-20). Difficult experiences should give us a new appreciation for life and a new desire to live for the Lord.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p,474.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the things you’ve brought me through. As someone said, ‘’If I’d never had a problem, I’d never know that God can solve them. I’d never know what faith in God can do.’’

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Daily Bible Thoughts 708: Friday 19th September 2014.

Daily Bible thoughts 708: Friday 19th September 2014: Psalm 107:23-32

A few years ago, a ‘storm’ blew up unexpectedly in my circumstances. I attended a meeting with some people, and, if I didn’t expect it to be all ‘plain sailing’, I certainly wasn’t prepared for the ‘rough seas’ I encountered. I felt overwhelmed. The ‘waves’ seemed to tower above me. It was all so sudden, and I didn’t see it coming. The next morning I read the story of Jesus stilling the tempest. It is found in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25. Isn’t God’s timing perfect? This came about in the normal course of my daily readings. It mirrored my experience in which ‘’Without warning…’’ (Matthew 8:24) ‘’a furious storm came up…’’  Something of the hurt and the tears of that time have stayed with me. I couldn’t believe what happened. One moment we were in ‘sunshine’. The next it felt like my little ‘boat’ might be wrecked. The stilling of that storm didn’t happen too quickly, but what is important to say is that a great calm did eventually come. Like all of life’s storms, ‘’it came to pass.’’

‘’Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports. Out at sea you saw GOD in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean: With a word he called up the wind – an ocean storm, towering waves! You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats. You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn’t know which end was up. Then you called out to GOD in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time. He quieted the wind down to a whisper, put a muzzle on all the big waves. And you were so glad when the storm died down, and he led you safely back to harbour.’’ The Message.

‘’Seafaring is a perfect picture of our experience in this life: getting on with our lawful business (23) when, ‘out of a clear blue sky’, comes the storm that upsets all our calculations, destroys our cherished comforts, leaves us helpless in the grip of totally overmastering forces (25-27). Every storm is a summons to trust, for it is not a chance happening or a satanic ploy: it is his storm (25) and in due course the same hand that roused the storm will still it (29). Every storm is a call to prayer (28a) which will avail against even the mightiest opposing forces.’’ J.A.Motyer: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.558.

It is impossible to read these words in Psalm 107 and not think about the disciples in their fishing boat on Galilee. (Some commentators see a definite connection between John 6:21 and Psalm 107:30). I wonder if these Jewish disciples remembered the psalm and put two and two together. (Matthew 8:27)? Surely this man was more than a man? Wasn’t the clue to His identity in Psalm 107? This was no other than God Himself in human form.

Prayer: The seas of life can be very rough Lord. I love the sea, but at times I find it terrifying. I am glad you are with me ‘in the boat.’ Thank you for your presence, in Jesus’ Name.

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Daily Bible Thoughts 707: Thursday 18th September 2014.

Daily Bible thoughts 707: Thursday 18th September 2014: Galatians 2:1-10

‘’…those men added nothing to my message.’’ (6)

Paul continues to make the important point that the leaders of the Jerusalem church did not give him a message to preach. Rather, they endorsed the message he had been preaching for some time. Jesus revealed it to him; the church, we might say, rubber-stamped it (1, 2). The gospel Paul preached was not faith plus circumcision (3-5). It was not believe and anything at all. It was a message of grace through faith. Paul states clearly that the leaders of the Jerusalem church recognised his ministry as it stood. They did not demand that he should change his message in any way.  They did not tinker with it; not even in small details. They did not say that he ought to preach circumcision.  They were happy to shake his hand and welcome him as a genuine member of the same church (9), carrying a God-given commission. The insistence on circumcision, as essential to salvation, came from ‘’false brothers’’ who had ‘’inflitrated’’ the ‘’ranks’’ of the church (4). Paul saw this as an attack on ‘’the truth of the gospel’’ and withstood it (5). In asking Paul to ‘’remember the poor’’ (10), the leaders of the Jerusalem were not adding to Paul’s gospel. They were simply underlining the importance of a good work that accompanies the gospel. This is something that saved people do; but it does not save them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

The leaders of the church in Jerusalem recognised that Paul had a specific calling to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter was sent to the Jews. They saw that God was ‘’at work’’ in his ministry (7, 8; see also 1 Corinthians 3:5ff.). In the Christian church, under the gospel umbrella, there are many different preachers with a variety of callings and styles and spheres of operation. It is vital that we can affirm other genuine ministries, even though they may be vastly different from our own.  May God give us eyes that can always see where He is at work and who He is working through. Sadly, it seems to me that in our day there are good Christian men and women who are dismissed because the way they operate is so different to the norm. So long as there is orthodoxy of belief there should be room for flexibility of approach. Let’s be careful that in criticising others we are not wounding God and grieving His Holy Spirit.

Prayer: How amazing Lord that you should work through any of us! I am astounded, and grateful, that you use me!!

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Daily Bible Thoughts 706: Wednesday 17th September 2014.

Daily Bible thoughts 706: Wednesday 17th September 2014: Isaiah 37:21-38

If you doubt that ‘prayer changes things’, read verses 21 and 22 (see also 38), and reconsider. What if he had not prayed? Or what if he had prayed to a false God? ‘’Because you have prayed to me…’’ The blessing comes to those who pray to the Lord.

Often, when we pray, the Lord answers with a word (22-35). As we saw yesterday, the insults of Sennacherib were ultimately against Almighty God (23, 24; see also 4, 17, 28, 29.) This reminds me of the words, ‘’Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’’ (Acts 9:4). Not only was Sennacherib a blasphemer, he was also boastful (24, 25). It was all ‘’I…I…I…’’ What he needed to understand was that he had nothing to boast about. God simply chose to use him as an instrument in His Sovereign purposes. ‘’Haven’t you gotten the news that I’ve been behind this all along? This is a longstanding plan of mine and I’m just now making it happen, using you to devastate strong cities, turning them into piles of rubble…’’ The Message. God did not approve of the bad things he did, and He did not make him do them. In fact, the king of Assyria would pay for his wickedness (28, 29). He received a message that the Lord knew his address and a big bill was winging its way through the post. He needed to be taught who was boss. He was going to get a visit. (Do we similarly boast of what we have achieved in Christian work, whilst forgetting that ‘’…God…makes things grow.’’ ? 1 Corinthians 3:7)

Hezekiah was given a confirmatory sign to endorse God’s word: ‘’This year’s crops will be slim pickings, and next year it won’t be much better. But in three years, farming will be back to normal, with regular sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting. What’s left of the people of Judah will put down roots and make a new start.’’  (30, 31) The Message.  The king of Judah was also told that God would defend the city of Jerusalem (33-35). That’s something the real God can do which a dead god can’t! No wonder Sennacherib had got so much success in other places, because there were lifeless deities on sentry duty (11-13). ‘’Don’t worry, he won’t enter this city, won’t let loose a single arrow…’’ The Message.

‘’Because you have prayed to me…’’ Who knows what God will do when we pray to Him? Who could have predicted the outcome described in (36, 37)? It is thought that this may have been a case of bubonic plague running rampantly through the Assyrian camp. Whatever it was, it got Sennacherib back home to Nineveh where two of his sons murdered him ‘’while he was worshipping’’ his own tin-pot, useless god (38; see 7). Who could have conceived of that? But the Sovereign Lord rules all things for His glory and the good of His people.

Prayer: Lord God, I am so glad that you answer prayer. I am encouraged to pray on.

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Daily Bible Thoughts 705: Tuesday 16th September 2014

Daily Bible thoughts 705: Tuesday 16th September 2014: Isaiah 37: 14-20

‘’Take it to the Lord in prayer.’’

It is wonderful to read about Hezekiah spreading out the letter, with all its malicious content, before the Lord. This action was a form of prayer in itself (14)

‘’Probably he literally handed in the letter to God, opening it and laying it down in the Holy Place, as though the responsibility of dealing with its contents no longer devolved upon himself…Let us more habitually hand over our anxieties and cares to God. God calls us to enter into his rest, i.e., to place Himself and his care between us and all that would hurt or annoy.’’ F.B.Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.283.

Hezekiah knew he prayed to a BIG God (16). His God was far bigger than Sennacherib and his Assyrian kingdom. It was David and Goliath all over again, but this ‘David’ saw his ‘Goliath’ in the light of God, and not as compared to himself. Assyria was one kingdom in the world, but the Lord is over them ‘’all’’ (16).Hezekiah recognised that Sennacherib had abused the Lord with his words (17). It wasn’t just the king of Judah and the people who were insulted. There was something deeper and more serious going on.

Faith faces facts (18). It is realistic. It does not bury its head in the sand. Faith is not denial. Hezekiah acknowledged what was correct in what Sennacherib said. But he went on to point out that the reason the gods of these devastated nations couldn’t save them was because they weren’t gods at all. They were dead things with no rescuing power (19). ‘’As in the Psalms, the situation clarified as he prayed (19), and his motive was raised to the highest level (20).’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p. 654. ‘’It’s quite true, O GOD, that the kings of Assyria have devastated all the nations and their lands. They’ve thrown their gods into the trash and burned them – no great achievement since they were no-gods anyway, gods made in workshops, carved from wood and chiselled from rock. An end to the no-gods!’’ The Message. There is a huge difference between the Maker of heaven and earth (16) and man-made gods (19).

Hezekiah’s prayer closed with ‘’Hallowed be your name’’ (20). The highest motive in prayer is to see God glorified. True believers can’t stand it when God’s Name is blasphemed (17, 4). May our heart be in all our prayers, and may our heart always be for the honour of the Lord!

Prayer: Thank you Lord that you, the living God, are our shield. We do not look for help from gods our hands have made.

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Daily Bible thoughts 704: Monday 15th September 2014:

 Isaiah 37: 1-13

There is a right time to grieve, lament and repent (1-4). This is true even for ‘charismatic’ Christians. It can’t be all about ‘chandelier swinging’. There is a legitimate time to wear our equivalent of ‘’sackcloth’’ (1, 2). There is a time for serious, grown up praying that faces terrible realities with faith. Sometimes we are too trite and trivial; too silly and superficial, in our approach to Almighty God.

Notice that Hezekiah ‘’went into the temple of the LORD’’ (2), and ‘’…sent…to the prophet Isaiah…’’ (2). Let your troubles move you in the direction of God. Don’t be too proud to bend your knees in prayer, or to ask for the prayers of others (4b). When you recognise your ‘’no strength’’ (3), you are in a place to draw on the fullness of God’s strength. Always remember that the Lord knows about all the details of your difficulties (4). Nothing is hidden from Him.

‘’Ch.37…is a model of response to intimidation. Hezekiah’s steadfastness owed nothing to blind optimism; his sackcloth (1) was proof of that. His call for Isaiah’s prayer (4) showed where his confidence lay…’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.654.

The first thing God regularly says to His troubled people is ‘Don’t be afraid!’ It is so easy to operate out of fear instead of trust. Yes we need to be wise and careful, not silly and stupid. We ought to keep our discernment ‘radar’ always switched on. But let’s not allow fear to make us live closed in and folded up little lives. We can go out into each day holding the Hand of God and trusting in His power to keep us. In God and with God we can remain open and expansive in heart; generous in spirit.

You never know how God is going to turn around the difficult problems you pray about. But He has a plan even when you don’t. He often acts in the most surprising ways (5-7). What God said would happen, did happen. The enemy had lots of words of threat and bluster (10-13), but what God says stands above all the words of man. You don’t need many words from the Lord to drive the fear out of your heart, if you will just trust what He says. One Word from Him changes everything!

Prayer: Help me to hear and trust your voice above all the blaring voices of this world.

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