When the Kingdom of God Expands

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 26:1-27:1.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 26:1-15 (NIV)
1  In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.
2  Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.
3  You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
4  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

On verses 1-15:  Isaiah 26 continues Isaiah’s message about the end times.  Isaiah 26 shares the same tone and cadence as some of the most beautiful Psalms.  Yet Isaiah 26 is also like many of the chapters in the book of Proverbs in that every line is packed with powerful truth and could be a sermon on its own.  Isaiah 26 continues some of the most beautiful phrases in all of Isaiah.  My personal favourites include verses 3, 4, 8 and 12.

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The City of Man vs. The Mountain of God

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 25:1-12.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 25:1-5 (NIV)
1  O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
2  You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
3  Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4  You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
5  and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
 
On verses 1-5:  Isaiah 25 begins with this beautiful exclamation of praise to God.  But then in verse 2 you may be wondering why Isaiah is praising God for turning “a city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more” (v2), never to be rebuilt.  What city is Isaiah referring to?  This city, which is also mentioned in Isaiah 24:10, represents those all over the world who pridefully live for themselves and their own glory rather than trusting in and living for the Lord.  You could call this city, as the early church father Augustine did, the “city of man”.  Even to this day, many people around the world still live in the “city of man”, building kingdoms that are for their own glory and fame.  This city is ruled by “foreigners” (v2, 5), that is, people who are foreign to the kingdom of God. 

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When God Starts Over

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 24:1-23.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 24:1-23 (NIV)
1  See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants–
2  it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
3  The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
4  The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.
5  The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.

On verses 1-23:  Just prior to this, in Isaiah’s book of burdens (Isaiah 13-23), Isaiah gave warnings to specific nations.  Now we see in Isaiah 24 a message for the entire world about what will happen in the end times.  Isaiah 24-27 are often seen as one group sometimes called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse” in that these chapters all deal with the end times on a global scale.

Verses 1-4 describe the devastation of the entire planet. Verses 5-6 explain the reason: it is because of people’s sins that the earth is now defiled, under a curse and must be destroyed.  Verses 7-13 describe the effect that this destruction will have on human civilization: revelry stops (v7-9), a city lies desolate [What city?

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Use Your Talents for God’s Glory

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 23:1-18.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 23:1-18 (NIV)
1  An oracle concerning Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
2  Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
3  On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4  Be ashamed, O Sidon, and you, O fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5  When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.

On verses 1-18:  The final oracle in Isaiah’s book of burdens (Isaiah 13-23) is about the wealthy nation of Tyre.  Isaiah calls Tyre “the marketplace of the nations” (v3), as Tyre was a centre for commercial activity, located on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  In this oracle Isaiah also addresses Sidon (v2, 4, 12), another city along the eastern Mediterranean coast and a neighbour of Tyre.

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When Facing a Crisis

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 22:1-25.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 22:1-4 (NIV)
1  An oracle concerning the Valley of Vision: What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs,
2  O town full of commotion, O city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle.
3  All your leaders have fled together; they have been captured without using the bow. All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4  Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.”
 
On verses 1-4:  This next oracle is concerning Jerusalem, which is identified by its nickname the City of David and other landmarks in verses 9-10.  Some scholars believe that Isaiah gave this message when Jerusalem was under siege by Assyria in 701 B.C.  
 
Here in verses 1-4 Isaiah laments how the leaders of his people Judah have fled and been taken prisoner (v3), how (as we will see in verses 12-13) the people of Jerusalem responded to the siege with revelry instead of looking to God for help (v2) and how Jerusalem is on the verge of being destroyed (v4). 

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What Waiting on the Lord Looks Like

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 21:1-17.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 21:1-10 (NIV)
1  An oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
2  A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3  At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
4  My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
5  They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!

On verses 1-10:  Scholars are quite certain that this oracle concerns Babylon (v9), which Isaiah calls the “Desert by the Sea” (v1).  However, it is less certain what exact time in history Isaiah is talking about here.  John B. Polhill in the New American Commentary on Isaiah gives a well reasoned argument for why this oracle is probably describing the defeat of Babylon’s King Merodach-baladan at the hands of Assyria in 689 B.C., at a time when the Medes (v2), the Elamites (v2) and even King Hezekiah of Judah (Isaiah 39) were all allied to Babylon.  However, other scholars think this oracle is predicting the final fall of Babylon at the hands of the Persians and Medes in 586 B.C.  Others still think this oracle is talking about Assyria defeating King Marduk-apal-iddina  of Babylon in 702 B.C.   There are even those who think that Isaiah is not referring to any one defeat of Babylon but is “telescoping” and putting together in one all the defeats that Babylon would experience.   Whichever one of Babylon’s defeats Isaiah is talking about, Isaiah is shaken by this vision of Babylon’s fall which he has seen (v4).

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Baring All For Him

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 19:1-20:6.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 19:1-17 (NIV)
1  An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
2  “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian– brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3  The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
4  I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
5  The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.

On verses 1-17:  Isaiah’s oracle about Egypt is not only a warning to Egypt; even more it is a warning to Isaiah’s own people of Judah not to rely on an alliance with Egypt as their hope against a larger power like Assyria.  Isaiah speaks of how Egypt will suffer from internal division (v2), fear and hopelessness (v8-10), a lack of wise leadership (v11-13) and confusion (v14).  Isaiah’s oracle is reminiscent of images in the book of Exodus many centuries before (v5-7) when the Nile stank and was no longer the water source that the Egyptians could depend on.  Rather than Judah being impressed by Egypt, Egypt will be afraid of Judah, Isaiah says in verse 17, all because of what God has in store for Egypt.

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When God Prunes You?

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 17:12-18:7.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 17:12-14 (NIV)
12  Oh, the raging of many nations– they rage like the raging sea! Oh, the uproar of the peoples– they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13  Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale.
14  In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us.
 
On verses 12-14:  Isaiah has just written an oracle against Aram and Israel (v1-11).  He follows up with these verses, the message being that no matter how fierce, how powerful, how loud a nation or a group of nations may seem, there are nothing compared to the LORD.  The one we are to fear is not an alliance of nations or people but the LORD.

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Are You a Crisis-Driven Believer?

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 17:1-11.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 17:1-11 (NIV)
1  An oracle concerning Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.
2  The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.
3  The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the LORD Almighty.
4  “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.

On verses 1-11:  Isaiah’s next oracle is for the nation of Aram (represented by its capital city Damascus).  But as we can see starting from verse 3, really this is a message not only for Aram but also for Israel (aka “Ephraim” (v3), “Jacob” (v4)).  That is because Aram and Israel were working together as an alliance against Assyria and were putting pressure on Judah to join their alliance.  Isaiah’s message is that the glory and power of Israel and Aram will be taken away (v3-4), just like when grain is harvested (v5).  Playing still with the image of a harvest, Isaiah says that all the hard work that Aram and Israel put into planning their strategy and defense will come to nothing, just like a farmer who works so hard to plant and grow crops but is not able to harvest them (v9-11).  That is because Israel and Aram had forgotten about God and stopped trusting in Him (v9).

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The Good King

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 16:1-14.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 16:1-5 (NIV)
1  Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of the Daughter of Zion.
2  Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3  “Give us counsel, render a decision. Make your shadow like night– at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees.
4  Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5  In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it– one from the house of David– one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

On verses 1-5:  Isaiah 16 continues Isaiah’s oracle concerning Moab.  In Isaiah 15, the Moabites were pictured fleeing from their own country because of an attack, possibly by Assyria.  Now in Isaiah 16, the Moabites are pictured as refugees fleeing to their neighbours in Judah for safety.  To show that they come in peace and in exchange for protection from Judah, the Moabites are urged to “send lambs as tribute…to the daughter of Zion [i.e. Judah]” (v1), much like the king of Moab did in 2 Kings 3:4.  In verses 2-3, the Moabite women are pictured looking to Judah for protection.

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