{"id":25160,"date":"2023-02-10T22:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T05:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-9_1-7-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-01-31T23:59:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T06:59:17","slug":"isaiah-9_8-10_4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-9_8-10_4\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiness Doesn\u2019t Play Favourites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 9:8-10:4 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 9:8-10:4.<\/p>\n

As usual, I highly recommend that you read the whole passage on your own a few times first.\u00a0 Then take a look at my sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 9:8-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All the people will know it– Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria– who say with pride and arrogance of heart,
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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.”
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Arameans 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.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day;
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore 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.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Surely 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.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0By the wrath of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On 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:
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Manasseh 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Isaiah 10:1-4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What 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?
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Nothing 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9:8 to 10:4:\u00a0 In response to Israel\u2019s sin and their unwillingness to repent, God will:
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0allow Israel\u2019s enemies to attack and defeat Israel (v11-12)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0cut off Israel\u2019s elders and prophets (v14-15)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0remove God\u2019s protecting grace from Israel and instead release God\u2019s wrath, giving rise to chaos and unrest in Israel (v19-20)<\/p>\n

But notice the phrase that keeps getting repeated in this passage: \u201cYet for all this, his anger [that is, God\u2019s anger] is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.\u201d (9:12, 17, 21; 10:4) \u00a0Why is that?\u00a0 It\u2019s because God\u2019s standard for holiness is uncompromising and unrelenting and Israel has persisted in their sinful ways, refusing to turn to God (v13).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God does not turn a blind eye to wickedness and injustice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is holy and His wrath toward sin is not easily extinguished.<\/strong>\u00a0 Because God is holy and perfectly just, there is virtually no end to the sin that He sees in us when we don\u2019t have Jesus\u2019 blood covering our sins.\u00a0\u00a0It took the highest price possible \u2013 the death of the one and only blameless human being, Jesus Christ \u2013 to extinguish God\u2019s wrath against us.<\/strong>\u00a0 Were it not for Jesus\u2019 perfect life being sacrificed on the cross for us, there would be no end to God\u2019s wrath toward us.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s holiness does not play favourites.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0When we do wrong, we tend to want mercy.\u00a0 When others do wrong, we tend to want justice.\u00a0 But God\u2019s holiness does not show favoritism.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When God disciplines us, we have a choice<\/strong>: we can either see His discipline as an opportunity to grow and turn to God, or we can stubbornly continue in our ways.\u00a0 It is up to us to choose how we will respond to God\u2019s discipline.<\/p>\n

God, You alone are holy and perfectly just.\u00a0 Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to divert Your wrath against our sins so that we can be forgiven.\u00a0 I praise You for being the God who shows no favoritism, and yet who show us Your favour.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 9:8-10:4.<\/p>\n

As usual, I highly recommend that you read the whole passage on your own a few times first.\u00a0 Then take a look at my sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 9:8-21 (NIV)
\n8\u00a0\u00a0The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel.
\n9\u00a0\u00a0All the people will know it– Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria– who say with pride and arrogance of heart,
\n10\u00a0\u00a0“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.”
\n11\u00a0\u00a0But the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on.<\/p>\n

On verses 9:8 to 10:4:\u00a0 In response to Israel\u2019s sin and their unwillingness to repent, God will:
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0allow Israel\u2019s enemies to attack and defeat Israel (v11-12)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0cut off Israel\u2019s elders and prophets (v14-15)
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0remove God\u2019s protecting grace from Israel and instead release God\u2019s wrath, giving rise to chaos and unrest in Israel (v19-20)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25160"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25163,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25160\/revisions\/25163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}