365 Reflections

When the message from Rabshekeh reaches Hezekiah about Sennecarib's insulting taunt, we find the king's response incredibly specific. He seeks God. But he teaches us how leaders should do so.  Isaiah 37:1–4 (ESV) As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” He sends a message to Isaiah the

The most helpful thing about reading the Bible is to learn about the many times God's people were almost done for and it turned out fine or even better than expected in the end. Isaiah 36 introduces us to a moment in Judah's history where it seems that their history is almost over.  Isaiah 36:1 (ESV) In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Have you ever sensed the enemy standing at your door? And I'm not talking about your front door. I'm talking about your bedroom door. He's taken ground, he's encroached upon your life and you feel overwhelmed by a sense of seeming inevitable end. You will be there. It happens to some of God's best. In this case, it happens to Hezekiah. For the first time since the first verse of Isaiah's writing, Hezekiah's name shows up in the text. It is quite interesting that it happens to show up at the dark moment of Sennacherib'

The judgment of God can strike fear and loathing in the hearts of many. But here's what we don't think about enough. What happens AFTER God's judgment? Isaiah 34 is a dark chapter describing God's anger and judgment on the entire creation. But Isaiah 35 sounds very different.  Isaiah 35:1–2 (ESV) The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. In the previous chapter God's judgment leaves a wilderness behind full of thorns, thistles, and wild animals roaming through it. Now after the judgment, God's work produces a future hope. Isaiah describes gladness and blossoms. After God's judgment comes a beautiful work of God. Isaiah reminds the people to be strong in the midst of these trying times.  Isaiah 35:3–4

We come to one of the darkest chapters in Isaiah.  Isaiah 34:1–2 (ESV) Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. 2 For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. By Isaiah 34 the language is total cataclysmic judgment. All the nations, all their host all devoted to destruction. In chapter 24 the language was total destruction. But here it's not just the judgment, it's the anger of God.  I think we fail to think about that properly. God gets angry. The language of this chapter is solemn. Isaiah 34:5–6 (ESV) For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. 6 The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kid

Isaiah 33:1 (ESV) Ah, you destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you traitor, whom none has betrayed! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you. God announces to Assyria that the very things she is doing will be done to her. Destruction and betrayal are in her future for the way she has acted. Why is she considered a traitor? Because Assyria took ransom money from Hezekiah and yet continued to harass the nation of Judah.  You have to see this in the time it was written. Assyria was dominant and in control, even of Judah's future. So it seemed. But that is how the world always looks to us at the moment. It seems the evildoers are getting away with it. It seems the wicked are ruling without consequence. It seems that way. It is NOT that way.  Assyria will be cast down soon after these years of trouble for Judah. The peopled needed that reassurance in the midst of their frustration. Whatever it is that

Isaiah 32:1–2 (ESV) Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Isaiah 32 is talking about Hezekiah but it's also pointing to Jesus, the true Son of David who reigns in righteousness. Who are His princes? Those who rule with Him in life because of the righteousness He gives them. Notice their role. And dear Christian, this is your role in Christ Jesus. They will be hiding places from the wind and shelter from the storm. They will be streams in the dry place and shade in a scorching land.  Too many Christians have a low opinion of themselves. They think they are nothing or nobody. But they are so much more than they realize. The problem is they look to themselves for who they are when they need to look to Christ.  Notice the impact the body of Christ has in the next verses. Isaiah 32:3–4 (

Isaiah is teaching Israel that only in the Lord is there hope and strength. He is the one who made them and formed them, who loves them and can rebuild them and protect them. To abandon Him is unwise because it leads to self-destruction.  Isaiah 31:1 (ESV) Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD! A woe is proclaimed over those who would seek the power of Egypt against Assyria. The political maneuvering of Israel's leaders offered false hope. Yes, it made sense in the flesh, but it offered no true protection in the spiritual realm - the realm that determines what ultimately happens in the flesh.  The next verse begins to unpack what God brings to our lives.  Isaiah 31:2 (ESV) And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against t

Where did we leave off in Isaiah 30? The people were turning to political alliances with Egypt to win the battle with Assyria. God was warning their efforts would prove futile. He determined great distress for their rebellion.  But just when you thought it was over. Hope:  Isaiah 30:18 (ESV) Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Notice the phrase "He exalts Himself to show mercy to you." God's glory is for the sake of God's glory. Even our stupid choices can be opportunities for the world to see how good God is. This is not to encourage stupidity but to remind us of His beauty. There is none like Him.  Isaiah 30:19 (ESV) For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. The Lord invites us to pray even while we

Isaiah 30:1–2 (ESV) “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2 who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Isaiah takes time here to describe the spiritual state of Israel which seems an awful lot like much of Christianity in modern America. Notice what they do and have. They have a plan of their own, not God's. They have an alliance with something other than the Spirit and they make room for sin. They look to political answers without God's direction and they think powerful people can save them.  Later in the chapter Isaiah provides more description of the spiritual whims of the people. Isaiah 30:9–11 (ESV) For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; 10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,” an

What does useless religion look like? Jesus made clear in His time that the religious structure of Israel had become empty and purposeless. He quotes from Isaiah 29 (which you will see) to level His accusations. The truth is that Israel often regressed into hollow forms of faith and were repeatedly called out on it by God's prophets and eventually God's Son. In the second half of this chapter we see what empty religion looks like.  First: There is no vision from the Lord as to what the people are to do.  Isaiah 29:11–12 (ESV) And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” I know when we think of "vision" we are thinking of plans for our future. But "vision" in the prophets refers to God's revelation of His purpose and p