365 Reflections

You can have a kid without intention. But you cannot be a child without God's direction. He has a purpose for you from before you are even born.  Jeremiah 1:4–5 (ESV) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah was a priest, but something more significant defined him. He was known by God and THEN formed by God. Notice the order. God knew him, THEN formed him, THEN consecrated him, and THEN after all that, he was born. It's almost as if birth was a foregone conclusion with God. To us, birth is such a huge deal, to God it's the last on the list of why you came to be. Consider that the next time you feel worthless. God has no accidents.  It's also good to see that even this great man Jeremiah struggled with this idea. Because he offers God an excuse as soon as he learns of God's coordination of his birth. Jeremiah 1:6 (ESV) Th...

Jeremiah 1:1–3 (ESV) The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. The prophet Jeremiah is from a priestly family in the territory of Benjamin from a town called, "Anathoth." The name of the town means, "answers to prayer." Jeremiah's own name is a Hebrew derivative of "whom Jehovah has appointed." All of this is ironic since Jeremiah's ministry will be mostly to weep and announce judgment for the sins of the nation. Through his ministry, they will be rightly prepared for a 70-year exile clothed in the hope he gives them through his multi-decade prophet...

Isaiah 66:7–8 (ESV) “Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. Amazingly, Isaiah ends on a euphoric note of hope. God will bring a miraculous resurrection to Israel and one day she will be born. Now I happen to believe the fulfillment of that text happened on May 14, 1948, when Israel declared itself a state, and the U.S. President recognized her sovereignty moments later against the wishes of his cabinet. Biblical History was made and the world changed forever.  Isaiah does what a lot of prophets in the Bible do. They spoke of things to happen in their generation and the ultimate things to happen much later. The fact is, God was so gracious to His people, that He fulfilled their comeback prophecy twice, separated by 2400 years of hist...

Isaiah 66:1–2 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. I love this text.  God is the one who has the heavens as His throne. The stars and Sun cannot contain Him. They are a seat for His glory. The Earth is a footstool, a resting place. Whatever temple Israel built, it did not do Him service.  The verse doesn't end there. The end is wonderful. God will look to the one who humbles himself, repents of sin, and trembles at His Word. What is this opening about? Simple. Israel had grown over-confident that it's religious practice was somehow making God happy. It wasn't.  It is evident from Isaiah's next verse that worship in the sacrificial system had grown empty....

Isaiah 65:17–18 (ESV) “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. As Isaiah comes to a close we are invited to eternal hope. For all the warnings this prophet has laid out to God's people. For the back and forth that continues in almost every chapter - judgment, God's mercy, hope, back to judgment. We know that all is pointing to a final destination in glory. A new heavens and a new Earth. A wonderful joy so overwhelming that our sorrow and struggle will not come to mind! We have in Isaiah 65 a clear picture of the next age of the universe.  Isaiah 65:19–20 (ESV) I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man w...

There's the idea many people have in their minds about how we relate to God. Then there's the truth as revealed in scripture.  In our minds, we think we are pretty good toward God. We haven't killed anyone. We are "good people" in our opinion. Then we consider that we deserve better in life for our performance. Why haven't we been given what others have? Why doesn't God show up more often?  But scripture shows a far worse reality. We are wholly rebellious in spite of God's consistent search to bring us home. Isaiah 65:1–5 (ESV) I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; 3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; 4 who sit in t...

Isaiah 63-64 is a beautiful prayer for mercy from the prophet on behalf of the people. Sometimes we think a prophet's job is only to speak for God. But Isaiah and many other prophets oftentimes speak to God on behalf of men.  Isaiah 63:15 (ESV) Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. Isaiah's prayer for mercy is based not on their righteousness at all. He bases his pleas on God's compassion within. I think of the ministry of Jesus in Matthew 9 as He looked upon the people who came to Him.  Matthew 9:36 (ESV) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Isaiah 63:16 (ESV) For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. Isaiah will acknowledge...

God is God because He will act alone when necessary. And because humanity is filled with imperfections and failures God stands out. Because He will do what we don't do. He will act in full righteousness and holiness and sometimes when He does we don't see it or understand it.  Isaiah 63 gives us that image of God being God and acting alone.  Isaiah 63:1–2 (ESV) Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” 2 Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? The question is simple. The Lord is crimson stained and the prophet asks on behalf of the people, why?  Isaiah 63:3 (ESV) “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.  God did...