Isaiah 9:8-10:4 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 9:8-10:4.
As usual, I highly recommend that you read the whole passage on your own a few times first. Then take a look at my sharing below. Let’s go!
Isaiah 9:8-21 (NIV)
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it– Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria– who say with pride and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the LORD has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the LORD Almighty.
14 So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the LORD Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother.
20 On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
Isaiah 10:1-4 (NIV)
1 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
On verses 9:8 to 10:4: In response to Israel’s sin and their unwillingness to repent, God will:
– allow Israel’s enemies to attack and defeat Israel (v11-12)
– cut off Israel’s elders and prophets (v14-15)
– remove God’s protecting grace from Israel and instead release God’s wrath, giving rise to chaos and unrest in Israel (v19-20)
But notice the phrase that keeps getting repeated in this passage: “Yet for all this, his anger [that is, God’s anger] is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.” (9:12, 17, 21; 10:4) Why is that? It’s because God’s standard for holiness is uncompromising and unrelenting and Israel has persisted in their sinful ways, refusing to turn to God (v13).
What can we learn from this?
– God does not turn a blind eye to wickedness and injustice.
– God is holy and His wrath toward sin is not easily extinguished. Because God is holy and perfectly just, there is virtually no end to the sin that He sees in us when we don’t have Jesus’ blood covering our sins. It took the highest price possible – the death of the one and only blameless human being, Jesus Christ – to extinguish God’s wrath against us. Were it not for Jesus’ perfect life being sacrificed on the cross for us, there would be no end to God’s wrath toward us.
– God’s holiness does not play favourites. When we do wrong, we tend to want mercy. When others do wrong, we tend to want justice. But God’s holiness does not show favoritism.
– When God disciplines us, we have a choice: we can either see His discipline as an opportunity to grow and turn to God, or we can stubbornly continue in our ways. It is up to us to choose how we will respond to God’s discipline.
God, You alone are holy and perfectly just. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to divert Your wrath against our sins so that we can be forgiven. I praise You for being the God who shows no favoritism, and yet who show us Your favour. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
