365 Reflections

God promises in Isaiah 49 that the exiles in Babylon will return. The language is similar to that of the original exodus from Egypt. God is once again bringing His people to the land but this time to establish a new covenant fulfilled through the Servant that is His Son.  Isaiah 49:13 (ESV) Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But not all are glad at the promise made here. Israel is certain God has forsaken her.  Isaiah 49:14 (ESV) But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” What Israel embodies here is the natural human tendency to believe there really is no hope. I don't know if you're like me but many times in my life I'm sure the proverbial "other shoe" is going to drop or the bottom is going to fall out. But God never fails in His promise. Even though Israel felt abandoned they would soon be restored. And t

Isaiah 49:1–3 (ESV) Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Isaiah 49 brings us to the second servant song in Isaiah. It's clear from the start, the servant has been sent to those who are far off for that is who he calls to listen. He was also appointed from before his birth to speak words that would cut. He was hidden for a time and now revealed in Jesus Christ.  Peter had this in mind when he wrote: 1 Peter 1:20 (ESV) He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you Peter is a Jewish fisherman that learned the Lord had come for those of other nations. He came in the flesh to reach those in the fles

In Isaiah 48, the Lord turns His attention back onto His people Israel. They are obstinate and stubborn. They have turned aside and worshipped idols. They have trusted the nations around them for protection and peace. But none of this caught God off-guard. And that is the first part of this great chapter.  Isaiah 48:1 (ESV) Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. God calls them out right away. They confess the Lord but they do not walk in His ways.  Isaiah 48:4–5 (ESV) Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, 5 I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’ God reminds them that He knew they would rebel. If you go back to the days of Moses, the Lor

Isaiah 47 is a declaration of war against Babylon. The very agent God used to humble His people through exile in order to discipline them is now also the nation God will judge for their abominations. The Lord God is the judge of the judgment.  Isaiah 47:1 (ESV) Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. God calls on Babylon to sit in the dust, off the throne it once resided. Though Babylon looked formidable, it was ultimately under the authority of the Lord. How does God judge this once proud nation? By exposing them to the world. Isaiah 47:2–3 (ESV) Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. 3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. Then Isaiah declares who is God.  Isaiah 47:4 (ESV) Our Redeemer—

If you were an ancient Israelite, you may have had problems with God using a pagan king named Cyrus as his instrument for restoring Israel back to her land and temple. After all, can't God use someone we approve of who follows His law? Shouldn't God do that?  This is Isaiah's response on behalf of God to those questions: Isaiah 45:11 (ESV) Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? Can we really expect to tell God how to use what He has created? Even those of unbelieving traditions? God is God and not subject to our specifics in technique and operation.  Isaiah 45:12–13 (ESV) I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. 13 I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says t

Isaiah 45:1–3 (ESV)  Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped , to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. Isaiah 45 speaks of Cyrus, the ancient king of Persia. Even that king was under the authority of Almighty God. God will make his way level. He will break doors that are closed. he will lead him forward where God wants him to go.  Imagine the prophet for your nation considering the king of another pagan nation God's instrument whom God will lead! But this is the Holy Scripture that invites us to see the God of the Universe and not the "god" of our own imagination. He d

Isaiah 44:1–2 (ESV) “But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. The Lord is both creator and helper. We must remember that. Everything we experience in Him is for our help. Even the Holy Spirit is described as our "Helper" in Jesus' discourse with the disciples in John 14 and 16.  Isaiah goes further to describe the help God intends on providing: Isaiah 44:3–5 (ESV) For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. 5 This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” All of these wonderful promises will be beneficial to the

How do we live faithfully in a foreign land? That is the question Israel was faced with. The impending exile is hanging over the faithful's head as the nation refuses to repent and Babylon gains momentum on the world's stage. Isaiah offers comforting words for exiles who know the next few generations may be very difficult.  Isaiah 43:1 (ESV) But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 42 pronounced the following judgment and reminder that the judgment was from God: Isaiah 42:24 (ESV) Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey? Isaiah now offers the consolation that even though judgment may come, God's nearness would be with those who trust Him through it. This is our only hope in difficulty - God draws closer. W

We have to learn to sing into the difficulty, not just after the victory.  Isaiah 42:10 (ESV) Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Isaiah 42 is a call to worship as Israel considers the hand of God's judgment. They will be disciplined but they will return. The Lord will come for them and do a "new thing" as was mentioned already in this incredible chapter.  The call to worship in this chapter seems out of place. How do we sing when we know destruction is coming? Because we know it is only temporary, that God is using it and we will recover from it into a better kind of life. For Israel, it will be the kingdom of heaven inaugurated by Jesus Himself, the Lord's servant.  How often do we fail to worship God when we need to do so most? In the dark times, in the confusing times, in the times of waiting and hoping - worship God. Do not wait for worship to b