Devotionary

When reading the book of Isaiah, one must never lose sight of the fact that it is a prophetic book. While it provides an accurate historical record of the fate of the people of Judah, it also revealed many things that had not yet taken place. It provides a vivid portrait of future events that God had planned for His people. Some of these events took place not long after the book was written, but many of them would remain unfulfilled for centuries. And Isaiah 53:1-12 provides us with a glimpse into God’s revelation concerning His coming servant, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This chapter is a Messianic passage, containing God’s promise concerning the coming servant and much of it deals with Jesus’ gruesome death. While other prophetic passages promise the coming of the Messiah in much more glowing terms, portraying Him as the conquering king, Isaiah 53 portrays Jesus as the Suffering Servant. He would suffer and die, paying the debt owed for the sins of mankind. And His faithful submission to God’s will was to be

We like to think of God as being in control of all things. But the problem is, we don’t really believe that it’s true. As we look at all that is going on in the world, it is so easy to conclude that God is not in control. In fact, things appear to be spiraling out of control. Even within the context of our own personal affairs, we can begin to feel like God has somehow vacated the premises or somehow lost His grip on the reigns of our life. That’s exactly how the people of Judah must have felt as they assessed their situation and attempted to figure out where God was in all that was going on around them. But in Isaiah 52:1-15, God is going to assure His people that He rules and reigns, in spite of all that their circumstances may say to the contrary. He wasn’t asleep. He hadn’t been distracted. And their difficult situation was not a sign that He didn’t care. He was simply sticking to His divine plan and keeping to the timeline He had established before the foundation of the world. God wasn’t in a panic and H

Nobody likes to wait. Impatience seems to be bred into the human DNA and affects each and every individual to one degree or another. And yet, the Bible is full of admonitions from God encouraging His people to wait on Him. And in Isaiah 51:16-23, God encourages the people of Judah, reeling from the news of their pending fall to the Babylonians, to wait on Him. He has plans for them. While the coming days were filled with the threat of God’s punishment, He wanted them to know that there was good news on the horizon. It might not arrive immediately, but it would come in time, according to God’s perfectly orchestrated plan. God even issues a much-needed wake-up call to His people, challenging them to come to grips with the reality of their situation and to acknowledge their culpability for their circumstances. They had sinned against Him, and yet He was going to do great things for them. Not right away. Not even in their lifetime. But they were expected to wait in Him, trusting that He would implement His plan a

If I were able to ask you if you believed God to be powerful, you would likely respond with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” But the truth is, there have been plenty of times in your life when you doubted the power of God. And, more than likely, your assessment was based on your circumstances. When things take a turn for the worst, we tend to doubt God’s power or question His love. But God would have us remember that His love never wavers and His power never diminishes. And that is the message He tried to convey to the people of Judah as recorded in Isaiah 51:1-15. In these verses, God addresses a small remnant of His faithful followers. In all of Judah, there was only a handful of those who pursued righteousness and remained true to God. And God wanted them to know that they could trust Him, in spite of all that was going on around them. He knew that they were beginning to have their doubts. They were looking around and starting to question whether God was going to come through for them. And God wanted them to know t

You’ve probably heard someone refer to history as His story, the story of God and His relationship with mankind. And the Bible is a record of that story, beginning with God’s creation of the first man and woman and spanning across the generations to His call of Abram and His choosing of the people of Israel as His chosen possession. And if you fast-forward to the end of the book, you come to the literal end of the story, where God sends His Son to bring judgment to the nations and restoration to His chosen people. And in Isaiah 50:4-11, God reveals to the people of Judah that He has plans to send His servant, the Messiah, to shine as a light in the darkness brought on by own their sin and rebellion. But there is a sense in which the Jews were going to have to embrace the light that God was sending, refusing to live by the dim glow of their own self-righteousness. The arrival of the servant was centuries away, but they were expected to take God at His word and trust His promises. God had already told them, “Th

There is no situation so bad or circumstance so hopeless that God is not able to step in and bring help and rescue. His power is never limited or His strength insufficient to handle whatever it is we are facing. And yet, how easy it is to look at our circumstances and draw the conclusion that God is either too weak or too busy to deal with our problem. But sometimes our suffering is due to our own sin. Our poor choices end up bringing the discipline of God and then we try to make Him responsible for our situation. And in the first three verses of Isaiah 50, that is exactly what we see the people of Judah doing. Unhappy with their lot in life, they try to blame God for their less-than-satisfactory situation. They attempt to hold Him responsible for the sorry state in which they find themselves, but God will not allow them to pass the buck. While He would be the one responsible for sending the Babylonians, it would be because of the sins of the people of Judah. Their circumstances were not to be seen as proof o

There are times in the life of every child of God when they feel abandoned by Him. The circumstances surrounding their life seem to indicate that God has turned His back on them. The darkness feels overwhelming and the light of God’s presence seems distant and dim. And it at those moments, we are tempted to say, “My Lord has forgotten me.” That is exactly what we see happening in Isaiah 49:8-26, as the hopelessness and helplessness of the people of Judah are made painfully apparent. But God, speaking in prophetic terms, assures His people that their feelings are unreliable and their conclusions about Him are inaccurate. He has not forgotten or forsaken them. He has not abandoned them. Yes, their immediate circumstances were bleak and the outlook for the foreseeable future wasn’t any better. But God has long-term plans in place of which they were unaware. And He wanted them to know that He could be trusted because He is faithful, just, and committed to His covenant promises. While their immediate comfort and h

One of the joys that comes from reading the Old Testament books of prophecy is that you discover some of the things that remain still unfulfilled. The messages given by God through His prophets and concerning future events, have not all taken place yet. There are aspects of God’s prophetic word that remain on the horizon of world history. But God is faithful and He always keeps His word. What He says will happen will happen. What He promises to do, He will do. And in Isaiah 49:1-7, we are given a glimpse into a future day when God sends His special servant to accomplish some amazing things on behalf of the people of Judah and Israel. This Old Testament passage reveals the future work of Jesus, the Messiah, when He returns at His second coming. On that day, He will complete the decrees outlined by God in these verses, doing for the people of Israel and Judah all that God has promised. Jesus, who came the first time as the Suffering Servant, will come again, but this time He will come as the all-victorious Savi

It’s easy to slam the wicked. Finding fault with the faithless comes naturally to most of us. But, as Christians, we sometimes fail to understand that even our sin has ramifications. Just because we are followers of Christ doesn’t make us immune to the consequences of sinful choices. When we sin, there are ramifications. Yes, we enjoy forgiveness, but that doesn’t mean we can sin with impunity and without any fear of consequences. In Isaiah 48:12-22 God is going to let the people of Judah know that He had plans for them. Some of those plans had to do with their destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. But it didn’t have to be that way. God had repeatedly offered them the chance to repent and return to Him, but they had refused. They could have enjoyed a restored relationship with God, if they would have heeded His warnings and humbly returned to Him with penitent hearts. Now, they would suffer similar fates as the wicked pagans from Babylon. And they would learn the painful lesson that there is no peace f

No one in their right mind would want to have God as their enemy. But as we have seen throughout the book of Isaiah, the people of Judah seem to have gone out of their way to get on God’s bad side. They had regularly and repeatedly disobeyed Him, even being so bold as to replace Him with false gods. And in Isaiah 48:1-11, God is going to spell out His disfavor with His chosen people. They were little more than hypocrites, claiming that they still honored and worshiped Him as their God, but proving otherwise by their actions. As we will see, they were quick to confess Yahweh as their God, but not in an honest and just manner. In essence, they were lying, saying one thing and doing another. They claimed allegiance but demonstrated their true colors by their actions. They were disobedient and unfaithful. And yet, God promises to redeem and restore them, not because they deserved it, but because of His own reputation. They had dishonored God, dragging His reputation through the mud by virtue of their infidelity.

There’s no place for cockiness or arrogance in the life of a Christ-follower. And for anyone who believes in the sovereignty of God, it makes no sense for them to think of themselves as being self-made. Yet, how easy it is to become infatuated with our own significance and over-confident in our own abilities. And this tendency to place far too much weight on our own worth is nothing new. The people of Judah struggled with this same tendency. And, as we’ll see in Isaiah 47:1-15, they were not alone. God is going to reveal that the Babylonians were going to struggle with inflated self-worth and a false sense of security. Operating under the sovereign will of God, they were going to enjoy unprecedented military success, defeating virtually every nation who dared to oppose them. Even the nation of Judah would fall before the forces of Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, they had no reason to gloat. Their boasting was uncalled for and premature, because God had other plans in store for Babylon. No matter how much success they en

Judah’s very existence as a nation was due to the will of God. If God had not called Abram out of Ur and led him to Canaan, there never would have been a people known as Israel. And the kingdom ruled by Solomon would never have split in two, resulting in the creation of the southern kingdom of Judah. So, as Isaiah continues to deliver his message of repentance to the rebellious citizens of Judah, he attempts to remind them of their total reliance upon God. He was their maker. Without Him, they would not exist. And in Isaiah 46:1-13, God will personally confront the people of Judah, reminding them of His unequalled status as the God of the universe. There are no other gods besides Him. He has no equal. In fact, God has already addressed the unparalleled nature of His existence. Back in chapter 40, Isaiah records God’s rhetorical question: “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” And here in chapter 46, God reiterates His incomparable nature, reminding the people of Judah that He has made them, and that

Sometimes we think of the gospel as being relegated to the pages of the New Testament. But the good news of God’s redemptive plan for mankind is found throughout the Bible, from the pages of Genesis to the closing chapters of the book of Revelation. God’s plan for the world and its inhabitants is redemptive in nature. God created all things for His glory, including man, and He will not be satisfied until all creation worships Him for who He is: The One True God. And in Isaiah 45:14-25, God reveals that a day is coming when all men will acknowledge Him as God. In the meantime, the world continues to reject His Lordship and substitute Him with a wide array of false gods and unreliable saviors. The people of Judah had turned their backs on God and were suffering His judgment as a result. But God wanted them to know that He would remain faithful to them in spite of their unfaithfulness to Him. He was going to redeem them and restore them to a right relationship with Himself. And He wanted them to know that the da

Everybody has opinions and most of us have no problem sharing them ­– even with God. Let’s be honest, there are times when we find ourselves at odds with what appears to be God’s will for our lives. And when things happen that we don’t particularly like, we are quick to let God know. We even give Him unsolicited advice on how to the remedy the situation. But in Isaiah 45:1-13, God is going to let the people of Judah know that His will for their lives is not up for debate and He doesn’t require their permission or approval. God is all-knowing and so, He is never at a loss as to what to do. He never finds Himself stymied by a problem and in need of advice. He is never surprised or caught off guard by the events surrounding our lives. He is in control of all things, at all times – even those things that we see as unwelcome and of no apparent value. In the case of Judah, God was even going to use an unlikely source to accomplish His will regarding His people: The pagan king of a foreign nation. He will even refer

No one likes to be forgotten. Whether it’s remembering our birthday or noticing when our presence is missing, we all want to be remembered. But there are those times when we can feel neglected or simply taken for granted – as if we don’t really matter. But in Isaiah 44:21-28, God wanted the people of Judah to know that He had not forgotten or forsaken them, in spite of all that was happening to them. It was only natural for them to assume that the presence of the Assyrian army in their backyard was a sign that God had abandoned them. It appeared as if He had turned His back on them. But He wanted them to know that He was there and that He cared. Yes, He was punishing them for their sin and rebellion, but He was not giving up on them. And in these verses, we have a series of powerful statements from God, designed to remind His people of His persistent presence in their lives throughout the centuries. The same God who created the heavens and the earth had formed them into a nation. And while defeat and exile wa

They say, “Ignorance is bliss.” They also say, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” But both of aphorisms, while containing a degree of truth, are actually quite deceiving. Ignorance can actually be quite painful. Not knowing that touching a hot stove can result in a nasty burn can leave a toddler vulnerable to harm. And ignorance of a topic doesn’t provide you with some magical protection from pain. I may not know that others are spreading lies about me, but when the news finally reaches my ears, it will be just as painful as if I had heard it first-hand. In Isaiah 44:9-20, God is going to confront the people of Judah about their ignorance concerning idols. They were seemingly blind to just how ridiculous their love affair with false gods really was. So, God goes out of His way to expose the absurd nature of their infatuation with false gods. Yet, they couldn’t see it. They were ignorant of it. So, they just kept doing it. Sin has a way of deluding us and destroying our ability to see reality. They could ta

Anyone who has spent much time in and around the church, recognizes the significance of the term, “Redeemer.” It’s a common term, most often used in reference to Jesus Christ. He is the one who died on the cross, offering His Himself as a substitute for sinful mankind. In so doing, He provided a means of redemption for sinful men and women, offering them the opportunity to be freed from their captivity to sin and death. But redemption, while a familiar concept to most Christians, is not always fully appreciated or understood. And in Isaiah 44:1-8, God is going to reveal Himself as the Redeemer of the people of God. Despite their deception, lies, and dependence upon their own human effort, God would one day redeem them. The redemption of sinful man by a holy God is not something we should take lightly or treat flippantly. God doesn’t have to redeem. He is not obligated to rescue sinful men. But He chooses to do so because He is a faithful, loving God who wants to manifest His glory and magnify His name among t

There’s something about newness that appeals to all of us. Who doesn’t love that new-car smell or enjoy seeing a newly released movie you’ve been dying to see? And while some of us don’t mind the status quo or business as usual, most of us would prefer the new-and-improved over the tried-and-true every time. And in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, verses 14-28, God is going to tell the people of Judah about something new He is going to do. They were mired in their same old habits of sin and rebellion. As a result, they were suffering the righteous judgment of God. In other words, they were going through the same old thing their ancestors had experienced. It was a case of déjà vu. But God was letting them know that He had plans in store for them that they would never have guessed. He was going to do something new. This merry-go-round of sin, rebellion, judgment, and restoration was going to one day come to an end. Their treadmill-like existence, running fast but never getting anywhere, was about to be replaced with

Sadly, in our modern-day context, saviors are like opinions – we all have one. And in some cases, we have saviors for virtually every circumstance and day of the week. But in Isaiah 43:1-17, God is going to remind His chosen people that they were to have no other saviors but Him. He was the one who had called them and set them apart as His own. He had showered them with His grace and mercy, redeeming them from slavery in Egypt and providing them with a land they could call their own – a land flowing with milk and honey. In other words, overflowing with natural resources and filled with the presence of God. But over the years, the people of Judah had decided to seek out their own saviors – in the form of false gods, military alliances with pagan nations, and an assortment of not-so-godly kings and leaders. But when all was said and done, God wanted them to understand that He was their only Savior. And He had promised to one day send His Son as the Servant/Savior who would rescue and redeem them once again. Thi

I sometimes refer to myself as being in God’s remedial school for slow learners. It just seems that God keeps holding me back, not allowing me to move on to the next grade level because I haven’t quite picked up the lessons He wanted me to learn. Sometimes, this is just a case of stubbornness on my part, not stupidity. And the nations of Israel and Judah suffered from the same tendency. As we read the Old Testament history of God’s interactions with His chosen people, we can’t help but notice that they seemed to go through the same painful lessons over and over again. But they never seemed to learn. And the book of Judges provides one of the greatest illustrations of the cyclical tendency of the people of Israel. They would sin and then suffer the consequences. That prompted them to cry out to God, who would send them a rescuer in the form of a judge. God would redeem and restore them. But, in a matter of time, the people would rebel again and the cycle would repeat itself. Ad nauseum. And in Isaiah 42:18-25,