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Isaiah daily bible notes

Daily Bible thoughts 742: Thursday 6th November 2014:

 Isaiah 47

We are constantly talking to ourselves. This is happening whether we are aware of it or not. We had better take care regarding our beliefs. We are quite capable of lying to ourselves. In this forty seventh chapter of Isaiah we get to hear three things the Babylonians were saying to themselves. They believed what they were saying and they were deluded.

  1. They believed they were secure (7, 8a): They had a sense of invincibility. History shows how wrong they were. God knew they were trusting in a mirage all along. People today can have this same intoxicating belief in their indestructibility. You see it, for example, in young people who drive their cars with reckless abandon, not seeming to realise that they have a dangerous weapon at their fingertips. Many have ended up killing themselves and/or others. But such a misleading euphoric feeling is not limited to the young. The Babylonians trusted in astrology, sorcery and magic, but it could not save them (9b, 12-15)

 

  1. They believed they were superior (8b, 10a): Pride goes before a fall, and here is an important lesson for us. In the church we are capable of feeling that our ministry, our work for God is somehow better than what others are doing. The big danger is that this vain imagining may not happen at a conscious level, but we can have such a superiority complex. The Bible shows that God is opposed to pride, and we should take steps to rid ourselves of it, with His help.

 

  1. They believed they were secluded (10a): They thought no one important was watching and that they would not be brought to book. There was no one who would hold them accountable. How many furtive acts of sin take place, with the mistaken belief that no-one sees? God does see everything and will judge sin (3) if we do not trust in Him to be our Redeemer (4). It is also true to say that although no one may see what we want to hide, ‘truth will out.’ Ultimately there will be ‘no hiding place.’

 

There is no evading the serious note of judgment in this chapter. God used the Babylonians to judge His people (6; see James 2:13), but they over-stepped the mark in their cruelty, so He would deal with them. The pride of the Babylonians led to their downfall. It has brought down the mightiest empires, and it still brings individuals low. God’s judgment can arrive ‘’suddenly’’ (11b) and rapidly (9). Everything can change in the blink of any eyelid.

Look at James 4:6-10, and pray that God will help you to do what it says. (See similarly 1 Peter 5:5, 6).

Prayer: Help me Lord to heed the warnings of this passage so that I do not fall into the same pit. May I remember your law of gravity which says that ‘what goes down must come up’ (Philippians 2:1-11).

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Daily Bible thoughts 738: Friday 31st October 2014:

 Isaiah 46:5-13

Here are some common themes from the later chapters of Isaiah. We are becoming familiar with them as they are hammered into our hearts by repetition:

  1. The folly of idolatry (5-7): If you are alive you can move; if you are living you can answer when someone talks to you; if you have the breath of life in you can help those who ask for it. The pagan gods could do none of these things. They were dependent on people to create them and (effectively) control them. How stupidly blind can you be to worship such a hand-crafted deity? The Message captures a sense of the absurdity of it all. It is just ludicrous to bow down to idols: ‘’People with a lot of money hire craftsmen to make them gods. The artisan delivers the god, and they kneel and worship it! They carry it around in holy parades, then take it home and put it on a shelf. And there it sits, day in and day out, a dependable god, always right where you put it. Say anything you want to it, it never talks back. Of course, it never does anything either!’’
  2. God’s knowledge of the future as a point of contrast with idolatry (8-10): An idol cannot speak about the future (or anything else!), but the Lord has an impeccable track record in terms of forecasting tomorrow: ‘’I am GOD, the only God you’ve had or ever will have –incomparable, irreplaceable – From the very beginning telling you what the ending will be, All along letting you in on what is going to happen, Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul, I’ll do exactly what I set out to do.’….’’ The Message.
  3. Cyrus as an example of God’s foreknowledge (11): ‘’…Calling that eagle, Cyrus, out of the east, from a far country the man I chose to help me. I’ve said it, and I’ll most certainly do it. I’ve planned it, so it’s as good as done.’’ The Message. ‘’The theme of prediction, a constant ingredient in these passages (cf.e.g. 41:23), receives its classic statement in v 10a; and the twin realities of the conqueror’s career-as both predatory and predestined-are set side by side in v 11a (cf.41:2, 25; 44:28; 45:1-7).’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.660

The chapter concludes with a further appeal to turn to this unique, one and only God (12, 13; see 45:22ff) and take hold of a salvation ‘’near’’ at hand. But God is speaking through Isaiah to ‘’rebels’’ (8); addressing ‘’stubborn-hearted’’ people ‘’who are far from righteousness’’ (12). Will they respond? Even more pertinently, will we?

What idols do we cling to? If our trust is in anything other than the Lord God Himself, we cannot expect any help from that quarter (7b). We are looking for life among the dead.

‘’So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable? Can you picture me without reducing me?’’ (5) The Message. This remains a challenge for us.

Prayer: How grateful I am Lord, that when I call you answer, so long as I do not cherish sin in my heart.

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Daily Bible thoughts 737: Thursday 30th October 2014:

Isaiah 46: 1-4

As we saw yesterday, God said that one day every knee will ‘’bow’’ before Him (45:23). In the opening words of this chapter, Isaiah sees the two main gods of Babylon bowing before the God of Israel as they are being carried away on animals while Babylon falls. ‘’Bel’’ is an alternate name for ‘Marduk’, the chief god of the Babylonians; ‘’Nebo’’ was Marduk’s son. These gods could not save Babylon; they couldn’t even save themselves. They too ended up in captivity. They were incapable of bearing the burdens of those who worshipped them. Instead they would be a burden to the beasts carrying them! ‘’The no-god hunks of wood are loaded on mules And have to be hauled off, wearing out the poor mules – Dead weight, burdens who can’t bear burdens, hauled off to captivity.’’ The Message.

‘’Both gods were commonly transported in processions, but in this scene they are monstrous refugees, weighing down their struggling pack-animals. The contrast between these burdens, with their demands on money and muscles (6-7), and the lifelong burden-bearer, Yahweh (3-4), brings the series of attacks on idolatry in these chapters to a telling climax.’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.660.

In contrast to the gods of Babylon, the God of Israel does not have to be carried. Rather He carries His people (3, 4). Although many of us may hope to live a long time, the prospect of aging and what it may bring with it can be a fearful thing. It is encouraging to know that for as long as you live in this world God will carry you, and then you will see His face in eternity. As your days so will your strength be. Here and now, those ‘everlasting arms’ are invisible, but no less real and strong. He made you. He will carry you and sustain you. When required, He will rescue you. You are in the best Hands possible. Old age can be a lonely time, where people feel isolated, neglected, forgotten, invisible, and anonymous. We live in a culture in love with the young and beautiful. But even the beautiful young things will get old (God-willing), and a lot more quickly than they imagine. Then they will no longer be the centre of attention and obsession. It is good to know that the Lord is no less interested in us when we are old. He doesn’t forget or abandon us. He doesn’t merely visit, but He is always with us as our Wonderful, supernatural ‘Home Help’, and so much more!

Prayer: ‘O God, Thou hast made us, and not we ourselves; we are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture; still bear with our wanderings and sins, we entreat Thee, till thou hast made us what we would be, and made us meet for thy use.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.286.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 736: Wednesday 29th October 2014:

Isaiah 45:14-25

‘’Foreseeing the great influx of the Gentiles, these verses leap far beyond the liberation. Chs.60-62 will take up the theme more fully. Here it is expressed first in an address to Israel (14-19) and then in an appeal to mankind to acknowledge its Lord, as one day it must, and thereby find salvation in company with the nation it once despised (20-25).’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.659

The words in (14) are similar to Paul’s in 1 Corinthians 14:24, 25. In fact, Paul may have had Isaiah in mind when he wrote that letter. God was speaking through the prophet about a more distant day when Israel’s former enemies will be gathered into the Messianic kingdom (see Isaiah 14:2). These people will submit to the rule of Israel’s God. They will come ‘’in chains’’; but they will come willingly. Because they know that ‘’there is no other god.’’ We are seeing this worked out now in the global extension of the kingdom of God. When people come into Christian gatherings and they fall down in worship, and say, ‘’God is really among you!’’ this prophetic word is still coming to pass. (See also 20 and 23-25 for this global vision).

The opening of (15) reads like this in The Message: ‘’Clearly, you are a God who works behind the scenes…’’ Someone said that God moves behind the scenes and He moves all the scenes He is behind. Verses 15-17 contrast the destinies of those who make (and, by inference, trust) in idols, and those people of Israel who will trust in God.

There is a paradox in this chapter. In one sense, God ‘’hides’’ Himself. As we saw yesterday, His ways can be mysterious, and He doesn’t owe us any explanations. But He is also the God who reveals Himself (19). He shows us what He wants us to know. There are secret things that are only known to Him, but there are also many revealed truths that we can enter into by the Holy Spirit’s illumination. One of those is that God’s people will never seek Him in vain (19b). This truth has helped and sustained me through many years. I know there are mysteries to God’s ways; nevertheless I also know He answers prayer. He is ‘’the Lord’’ (18): the Creator of all things. We are not ‘’praying for help to a dead stick’’ The Message (20b).

In (20, 21) God tells the world’s unbelieving nations that because He has predicted future events accurately (such as the role played by Cyrus in freeing the Jews) He has established His claim to be the one and only God and Saviour (see Isaiah 43:8-13; 44:6-8). Because of who He is; His uniqueness, God issues this heartfelt appeal to all people everywhere, to ‘’turn’’ to Him ‘’and be saved’’ (22-25). The words in (23b) are picked up in the New Testament by the apostle Paul and applied to the Lord Jesus (Phil.2:10, 11; Romans 14:9, 11). Take time to reflect on this and allow its significance to sink in.

‘’The concluding verses are remarkable for their picture of world-wide and heart-felt conversions, and secondly for the bold use the NT was to make of vs 23-24, applying them directly to Christ in Phil.2:10-11 (and indirectly in Rom.14:9, 11).

Prayer: Lord Jesus you are truly wonderful – the only God and Saviour, and Lord of all. Help me to know you more, and love you more, and serve you more.

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Daily Bible thoughts 735: Tuesday 28th October 2014:

Isaiah 45:8-13

There is a picture of ‘showers’ of ‘’righteousness’’ falling down from the sky in (8). How we want such holy rain to fall on the nations of our world! This verse speaks of heaven affecting earth. God pours out something good that causes ‘’salvation’’ to ‘’spring up’’ and ‘’righteousness’’ grows with it; for God saves people to glorify Him by right living. That way this sin-cursed earth gets ‘flooded’ with righteousness. Salvation, of course, is God’s idea. It is His invention. It’s all of Him. People can’t be saved and live righteously without a sovereign work of God’s grace in their hearts. (By the way, salvation and righteousness are closely linked in Isaiah: 46:13, 51:5, 56:1; and, indeed, throughout the Bible.) ‘’Open up, heavens, and rain. Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness! Loosen up, earth, and bloom salvation; sprout right living. I, GOD, generate all this.’’ The Message. I really would like it to rain heavily today if we can have this sort of cloudburst!

The salvation spoken of in Isaiah 45 mainly concerned the captives being saved from exile in Babylon. (But when we take the Bible’s big picture we know that there is a greater dimension to the doctrine of salvation, finally and fully revealed in Jesus.) Maybe it would seem strange to God’s people that He would use the fearful pagan emperor, Cyrus, to deliver them (9-13; see Isaiah 29:16 and Jeremiah 18:1-10). Perhaps they would want to question God on this matter. Maybe there would be a sense of God fumbling His work. So the exalted, sovereign Lord of history, the Creator of the universe, reminds them that He is God and they are not! He knows what He is doing, even when others may not understand. The object lesson from the starry universe has been similarly, if more gently, used in 40:26-31. ‘’Does clay talk back to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!’…Are you telling me what I can or cannot do? I made earth, and I created man and woman to live on it. I handcrafted the skies and direct all the constellations in their turnings. And now I’ve got Cyrus on the move. I’ve rolled out the red carpet before him. He will build my city. He will bring home my exiles. I didn’t hire him to do this. I told him. I, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.’’ The Message. God was going to raise up Cyrus in His ‘’righteousness’’ (13). It was not wrong for the Lord to use him; He would employ him to bring about right. All the time this powerful man would be under God’s control and not realise it!

There may come times for us when we do not understand what God is doing, and we are tempted to question Him. How appropriate, then, are these words for us: ‘’We must will and dare to believe that God is doing his very best for us, and doing it in the very best way.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible, p.286.

Prayer: Let your showers of righteousness pour down on this needy world today Sovereign Lord.

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Daily Bible thoughts 734: Monday 27th October 2014:

Isaiah 45:1-7

It is remarkable that these words were spoken at least a century before their fulfilment. It is also jaw-dropping to think that they were addressed to a pagan ruler. This man’s great success was in fact the Lord’s success. We often think today of God opening doors of opportunity for service/witness to Christian people(Colossians 4:3; Revelation 3:7), but this thought was first used in relation to the job of a man who was an outsider to true faith (1b).God has the right to use people we would not choose. He does not need our permission to add people to His workforce we don’t approve. He doesn’t come to us for references. He will even employ unbelievers to get His work done (4, 5). But all that He did through Cyrus He did a.) for the sake of His people ‘’Israel’’ (4a), and b.) above all, for the glorifying of His own Name (3b, 5a, 6). This wasn’t fundamentally about Cyrus, but about the Lord Himself. Remember, it’s never about us; it’s always about God.

The reference to ‘’treasures of darkness’’ (3) is to those which were most carefully hidden, being the most precious. In conquering Croesus and Babylon Cyrus acquired inestimable wealth. As far as God was concerned, the high point of his career was the release of Israel (4, 13) but it is unlikely that he saw it like that (55:8). We find it hard to ‘get on the same page’ as God.

‘’Over and over in these remaining chapters of the book of Isaiah, God teaches us about Himself, about His greatness, His uniqueness, His sovereignty over all the earth. We need to let these chapters enlarge our vision of God and increase our love and reverence for Him. Isaiah isn’t simply piling up poetic phrases here; he is teaching us about the most important subject in the universe and in our lives: the subject of God.’’ Tom Hale: The Applied Old Testament Commentary, pp.1044. 1045. (By the way, the intriguing comment in verse 7 is a Hebrew way of saying that The Lord is Sovereign over all that is. He is in absolute control.)

God had two purposes in using Cyrus. The first had to do with the near future (1-4). It concerned the restoration of Israel, as we have seen. His second, and more long-term plan had to do with making Himself known. In the first place this revelation would be to Cyrus (3), and then to the whole earth (6). This second purpose is still being worked out today through the church.

It’s been observed that if God would do all this for unbelieving Cyrus, how much more He will do it for Christ, His true Anointed One, and for His followers. As we go out on Jesus’s mission, the Lord Himself goes before us and removes obstacles from our path. Look at church history. Consider what God did for a handful of despised and persecuted Christ-followers in the years following Jesus’ death! In country after country God has been opening doors for the gospel, and He will continue to do so until Jesus returns. The calling is ours, but any success is always His!

Prayer: Enlarge my heart’s vision of you Lord; clear the mist from the windscreen of my soul, that I may see you more clearly.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 733: Friday 24th October 2014:

 Isaiah 44:24-28

These words provide an introduction to the next chapter.

The Bible teaches that there is one creator God and He ‘’alone’’ (24) made the Universe. He didn’t sub-contract it out. He didn’t require any help. Although there is no specific mention of Genesis in this passage, we know from the first book in the Bible that God spoke and things came to be. It is interesting that we see that same pattern in the final verses of Isaiah 44. God’s Word is a creative Word.

  • He gives His Words to His ‘’servants’’/ ‘’messengers’’ and then ‘’fulfils’’ them (26a). It’s not that they can say any old thing that comes into their heads and God will do it for them. True prophets (as opposed to false ones: verse 25) hear from God, and He then does what He has said through their mouths. At the same time, He will thwart the work of those who are false. When God says that He ‘’overthrows the learning of the wise’’ (25) He is referring to worldly wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:19-21 and 3:18-20). He will expose it for the empty thing it is.
  • God promised again and again to restore and repopulate Jerusalem (26b). That is what He said would happen, and it did. May God speak a word of ‘population explosion’ over His church this day! If He speaks it happens. Surveying the church landscape in the western world, we know that there are churches that need inhabiting; there are new churches to be ‘’built’’; there are ‘’ruins’’ to be ‘restored’. God only has to command it and it will be!
  • What God had done before by His Word He would do again (27). At the Exodus He had commanded the Red Sea to part, and it happened. There was going to be a new ‘exodus’ in which He would bring His people home to Judah and Jerusalem. Every barrier and obstacle in the way was going to be overcome. He would ‘’dry up’’ any figurative waters in the way of His people.
  • All of this would happen: the captives would return across the desert to their homeland; and that home would be restored, rebuilt and re-populated, because God was going to raise up a Persian Emperor named Cyrus to get the job facilitated (28). The Lord was going to employ him for His own purposes. (See 45:4 and 41:25). God foretold this , and, of course, it happened!

One final thought: verse 28 pictures Cyrus saying essentially what God says in (26b; see Ezra 1:1-4), and what God wants happens. What God decreed, Cyrus did. When God’s Word incubates in our hearts, and faith grows; when we declare it, lining up our words with God’s Word, then powerful and creative things take place. I’m not suggesting that we can speak anything we like into existence. But when our words line up with God’s Word mighty things happen. Who of us has truly begun to understand the power in our Bibles?!! May that power be unleashed through lives and lips that are in line with Scripture.

Prayer: Help me Lord to be so immersed in your Word that I live and speak in agreement with its truth

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Daily Bible thoughts 729: Monday 20th October 2014:

 Isaiah 44:6-23

Dagon will always fall before the Ark of God! Perhaps the best way to expose error is to set it alongside the truth, and it will be shown up for the poor and pitiful thing it is by comparison. So, a classic Bible passage on the folly of idolatry opens with another exalted picture of the living God (6-8). When the light of truth shines on heresy, the erroneous doctrine is seen for the dark and shadowy thing that it is. Again, there is an emphasis on God being able to foretell the future – something no idol can do. God’s people were witnesses to His ability in this area.

A religion can only be as good as its gods (9-11). If you make a god to worship, it will obviously be worthless. How can something you have complete power over in the process of construction have any power to help you? It’s a ridiculous notion. Idols are only pieces of metal or blocks of wood. However, behind idols there are spiritual forces of evil. When someone worships an idol, he or she is serving a demon (1 Corinthians 8:4; 10:19, 20). This is how people get into idolatry. Satan uses these lifeless idols to entice people to put their trust in them rather than in the living God. They are spiritually blinded (18) and ‘’deluded’’ (20), believing in a ‘’lie’’. ‘’All those who make no-god idols don’t amount to a thing, and what they work so hard at making is nothing. Their little puppet-gods see nothing and know nothing – they’re total embarrassments!

The absurdity of idolatry could not be spelled out more clearly than in (12-20). ‘’Part he uses as firewood for keeping warm and baking bread; from the other part he makes a god that he worships – carves it into a god shape and prays before it. With half he makes a fire to warm himself and barbecue his supper. He eats his fill and sits back satisfied with his stomach full and his feet warmed by the fire: ‘’Ah, this is the life.’’ And he still has half left for a god, made to his personal design – a handy, convenient no-god to worship whenever so inclined. Whenever the need strikes him he prays to it, ‘’Save me. You’re my god.’’ Pretty stupid wouldn’t you say? Don’t they have eyes in their heads? Are their brains working at all?’’ The Message. We must have something to worship. But we’d prefer it to be something we’re in charge of and control, as ridiculous as that is. ‘’All worship of things given by God (9; cf. v 14) and shaped by man contains the same absurdity and blasphemy (cf.Rom.1:25). Man’s eventual inability to see this (which is as modern as it is ancient) comes of a prior refusal to face it (18-20; cf. Rom.1:21).’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.659.

We need the God who made us (21), and He wants to forgive us all our sins (including our foolish idolatry). He will do so if we ‘’Return’’ to Him. This message went out to His people centuries ago, and was certainly heeded by some. Still this message is being proclaimed today. God wants to remove all our sins (22). Will we hear, and repent?

Prayer: ‘’The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be; help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only thee.’’

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 728: Friday 17th October 2014:

Isaiah 44:1-5

Here is something for you to do: ‘’…now listen…’’ (1). Don’t switch off the phone! Always stay alert to hear (and act on) God’s voice. Position yourself to be in a place where you will be most able to receive God’s communications. Remember that ‘’if you want to meet God everywhere you must meet Him somewhere; and if you want to find Him all the time you must find Him some time.’’ If you know someone, and their phone is always off, or on silent, it can be frustrating. You want to get a message through to them, but they are not in a position to hear from you. Don’t be like that where God is concerned.

Here are some things for you to know:

  • You are God’s ‘’servant’’ (1, 2, 5). So if you hear His instructions you will want to convert them into actions. ‘’Do whatever he tells you.’’ (John 2:3). You are His possession; not just His employee. ‘’That one will write on his hand ‘GOD’s property’… The Message (5).
  • You are part of His elect. He has ‘’chosen’’ you (1, 2, 5): ‘’Israel, my personal choice.’’ The Message. (1).
  • You are His creation (2). Your life has great significance. You are made in His image. You matter to God. You have a purpose in the world. You are not a ‘waste of space’.You are the product of choice, not chance.
  • God doesn’t want you to be afraid (2). He doesn’t want your life to be ruled by a spirit of fear. Why would it be when you have such a good Master?
  • The Lord will help you (2). If your help is going to come from the Maker of heaven and earth you have to say: ‘What help! What a Helper!!’
  • The Lord will enable you to become what He calls you to be: ‘’Jeshurun’’ (2) means ‘upright’. God’s purpose is to make us holy and He will help each of us to get there.

Here is something for you to believe (3-5. For similar passages of promise see also 32:14-18, 35:1-4; 41:17-20).I would summarise it like this: it is that God wants to pour out His Spirit in reviving, renewing, refreshing blessing. Further, He wants to bless your children and all your descendants. If there is a condition to the promise, it is probably that God looks for ‘thirsty’ hearts (3a). Compare this to what we saw yesterday in 43:22 about the importance of earnest spiritual desire. By and large, I think it’s true to say that you tend to get what you go for in the Christian life. Of course, Isaiah was writing about the blessings to be poured out on the returning exiles, but He was also looking forward to the era of the Messiah (the time in which we now live) in which many people from all over the world will become believers. Verse 5 seems to suggest that many who are not Israelites will say, ‘’I belong to the LORD’’ and will call themselves by His ‘’Name’’ (see Isaiah 43:7, Psalm 87:4-6). This very day, as we live in a dry and thirsty land (spiritually speaking) let’s cry out to God for the outpouring of His Spirit and ask for many new Christians to ‘’spring up like grass in a meadow’’ (4). There is a plentiful supply of God’s Spirit available to the desperate soul. May we see an abundant crop of growth in the church!

‘’The book of Acts traces part of this current of life through the thirsty land’’. Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.658.

Prayer: ‘’Come Lord Jesus, pour out your Spirit we pray.’’

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