Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

We had a wonderful opportunity this past summer to make a long journey by car to see dear family members we hadn’t seen in years.  Facebook helps us keep in touch but it does not compare with being able to sit with family, share meals, and hear their stories of how life is with them.  Families who love and encourage each other in these settings are the best!  We left Wyoming with good memories of being together.  Our relationships were not only restored but deepened in our love for them.  What a blessing from God! 

When we love God back, realizing His relentless, unconditional love for us, God’s love takes on new meaning in our love for each other.  God’s love in us begins to grow His character traits in us!  Our love for each other becomes more unconditional, less judgmental, sweeter, gentle, patience and more kind.  We begin to think the best, not the worst of others and our circumstances.  We begin to know that there is nothing people we love like God loves us can do in life that would keep us from loving them.  THIS is how God loves us!

When God tells Isaiah to tell the people who is in control, who will love and protect them always, who is faithful to help when we need it most, with who is fighting our battles and restoring the land where we live, THIS is the love of God expressed to those who love Him back with desires to follow His ways.  Those who love, sing and rejoice.  Those who do not will pay the price of their unloving, destructive and abusive ways.  Some call it karma.  God calls it justice.  And only God is the Judge.

In our lives, there will always be “danger ahead” but God arrives before we get there with a Plan to restore peace.  Always. Great is His faithfulness!

Isaiah 24, The Message

The Landscape Will Be a Moonscape

24 ^1-3 Danger ahead! God’s about to ravish the earth
    and leave it in ruins,
Rip everything out by the roots
    and send everyone scurrying:
        priests and laypeople alike,
        owners and workers alike,
        celebrities and nobodies alike,
        buyers and sellers alike,
        bankers and beggars alike,
        the haves and have-nots alike.
The landscape will be a moonscape,
    totally wasted.
And why? Because God says so.
    He’s issued the orders.

⁴ The earth turns gaunt and gray,
    the world silent and sad,
    sky and land lifeless, colorless.

Earth Polluted by Its Very Own People

^5-13 Earth is polluted by its very own people,
    who have broken its laws,
Disrupted its order,
    violated the sacred and eternal covenant.
Therefore a curse, like a cancer,
    ravages the earth.
Its people pay the price of their sacrilege.
    They dwindle away, dying out one by one.
No more wine, no more vineyards,
    no more songs or singers.
The laughter of castanets is gone,
    the shouts of celebrants, gone,
    the laughter of fiddles, gone.
No more parties with toasts of champagne.
    Serious drinkers gag on their drinks.
The chaotic cities are unlivable. Anarchy reigns.
    Every house is boarded up, condemned.
People riot in the streets for wine,
    but the good times are gone forever—
    no more joy for this old world.
The city is dead and deserted,
    bulldozed into piles of rubble.
That’s the way it will be on this earth.
    This is the fate of all nations:
An olive tree shaken clean of its olives,
    a grapevine picked clean of its grapes.

^14-16 But there are some who will break into glad song.
    Out of the west they’ll shout of God’s majesty.
Yes, from the east God’s glory will ascend.
    Every island of the sea
Will broadcast God’s fame,
    the fame of the God of Israel.
From the four winds and the seven seas we hear the singing:
    “All praise to the Righteous One!”

^16-20 But I said, “That’s all well and good for somebody,
    but all I can see is doom, doom, and more doom.”
All of them at one another’s throats,
    yes, all of them at one another’s throats.
Terror and pits and booby traps
    are everywhere, whoever you are.
If you run from the terror,
    you’ll fall into the pit.
If you climb out of the pit,
    you’ll get caught in the trap.
Chaos pours out of the skies.
    The foundations of earth are crumbling.
Earth is smashed to pieces,
    earth is ripped to shreds,
    earth is wobbling out of control,
Earth staggers like a drunk,
    sways like a shack in a high wind.
Its piled-up sins are too much for it.
    It collapses and won’t get up again.

^21-23 That’s when God will call on the carpet
    rebel powers in the skies and
Rebel kings on earth.
    They’ll be rounded up like prisoners in a jail,
Corralled and locked up in a jail,
    and then sentenced and put to hard labor.
Shamefaced moon will cower, humiliated,
    red-faced sun will skulk, disgraced,
Because God-of-the-Angel-Armies will take over,
    ruling from Mount Zion and Jerusalem,
Splendid and glorious
    before all his leaders.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Chapters 24-27 describe a global judgment that will end with the destruction of God’s enemies and the restoration of God’s people Israel in their land. Nobody on earth will escape, for “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Position, power, and wealth are no protection against the wrath of God. The Lord merely speaks the word and people who are proud of their wealth and position will find themselves poor and without power. These judgments will also be part of the spiritual battle that has been waging for centuries between the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and the armies of the devil.  This passage parallels Revelation 20:1-3.

We are stewards of what God has given to us to manage!  Why does God punish the inhabitants of the world? Because they have defiled the world by their sins. When Adam sinned, God cursed the ground as a part of the punishment), and God warned the people of Israel that their sins polluted the Promised Land. Today we see human greed polluting land, water, and atmosphere, as well as exploiting the earth of its God-given treasures. Sin has consequences in nature as well as in human character and conscience.

Love God.  Love Each Other.  May the restoration of our souls to God lead to restored relationships with each other.

FUN FACT: The only singing during this harvest will be done by the believing remnant who trust God and are delivered. The doctrine of “the remnant” is an important part of Isaiah’s message; Isaiah’s eldest son was named “a remnant will return.”

May a new respect, reverence and awe for what God has given to us to manage be developed well within us so that when all is said and done on earth, we hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Lord,

We learn from Isaiah that our world is given to us to manage well, to bring honor and glory to you.  We learn that you will take care of our enemies of the faith. We love how you love and care for us in all kinds of ways.  Help me to love like you love us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

If we were to name the number one sin that brings us to our knees it would be pride.  Our pride driven by self-fulfillment, wanting to be what we want and do things our way, is our “Achilles heel”—our true weakness in our faith when it comes to loving and serving God with ALL our hearts, minds and souls.  Our pride gets in our way of God’s way which is best.  Our pride keeps us in a box of our own limitations while God is outside the box waiting to take us to new heights that are beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations.

Pride begins as soon as we are born.  I remember as a toddler telling my mom or dad, “I can do this myself!”  It didn’t matter what the task was before me, I wanted to do it all by myself no matter the mess I would make.  Anger welled up if I was not allowed to do things on my own.  As I matured from thinking like a child, I had to “unlearn” the childish notions from the world telling us that we need no help in rising to the top of success, such as,  “Pull yourselves up from your own bootstraps”, (which is physically impossible).

It took a while, but I had to learn from God, that I needed Him most of all.  God would then send other prideless people on my path that would mentor me in humility versus pride. I wanted to grow in the ways of God.  So, I learned I really cannot do anything by myself except for one thing—I must decide to lay down my pride and walk humbly with God.  I also discovered that apart from God, His Son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit, I can do nothing.  I am nothing of significance without Him! 

Yes, nothing to see here friends, but humility before God asking Him what HE wants for my life.  He is my rock, my salvation, and my best way of living life well.  In a world of people who seek “balance” in life, peace of mind, and ways to work smarter not harder, pride must be laid to rest for God’s best work to be done in us.  God will give humbled people all that we need to live a life with peace no matter what is happening around us in our world.  “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” –Jesus (Matthew 6:33) I highly recommend reading ALL of Matthew 6 as Jesus teaches the characteristics opposite of pride.

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”  Proverbs 16:18 was written from experience.  God’s people, (all of us) are pride-filled until we fall down before God and realize that God is God and we are not.

Isaiah foretells what happens to a pride-filled people who have turned away from God.  Nothing to see here but destruction. 

Isaiah posed almost a rhetorical question, “Who has brought this disaster on Tyre?” The Lord Almighty! Just as He purposed to destroy Egypt and Babylon, so He purposed to judge Tyre. Just as Assyria had destroyed the city of Babylon in 689 B.C., so Tyre and Sidon would be destroyed by a revived Babylon in 585–572 B.C.

The pride of Tyre was a sin that God could not ignore.

Isaiah 23, The Message

It Was All Numbers, Dead Numbers, Profit and Loss

23 ^1-4 Wail, ships of Tarshish,
    your strong seaports all in ruins!
When the ships returned from Cyprus,
    they saw the destruction.
Hold your tongue, you who live on the seacoast,
    merchants of Sidon.
Your people sailed the deep seas,
    buying and selling,
Making money on wheat from Shihor,
    grown along the Nile—
    multinational broker in grains!
Hang your head in shame, Sidon. The Sea speaks up,
    the powerhouse of the ocean says,
“I’ve never had labor pains, never had a baby,
    never reared children to adulthood,
Never gave life, never worked with life.
    It was all numbers, dead numbers, profit and loss.”

⁵ When Egypt gets the report on Tyre,
    what wailing! what wringing of hands!

Nothing Left Here to Be Proud Of

^6-12 Visit Tarshish, you who live on the seacoast.
    Take a good, long look and wail—yes, cry buckets of tears!
Is this the city you remember as energetic and alive,
    bustling with activity, this historic old city,
Expanding throughout the globe,
    buying and selling all over the world?
And who is behind the collapse of Tyre,
    the Tyre that controlled the world markets?
Tyre’s merchants were the business tycoons.
    Tyre’s traders called all the shots.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies ordered the crash
    to show the sordid backside of pride
    and puncture the inflated reputations.
Sail for home, O ships of Tarshish.
    There are no docks left in this harbor.
God reached out to the sea and sea traders,
    threw the sea kingdoms into turmoil.
God ordered the destruction
    of the seacoast cities, the centers of commerce.
God said, “There’s nothing left here to be proud of,
    bankrupt and bereft Sidon.
Do you want to make a new start in Cyprus?
    Don’t count on it. Nothing there will work out for you either.”

¹³ Look at what happened to Babylon: There’s nothing left of it. Assyria turned it into a desert, into a refuge for wild dogs and stray cats. They brought in their big siege engines, tore down the buildings, and left nothing behind but rubble.

¹⁴ Wail, ships of Tarshish,
    your strong seaports all in ruins!

* * *

^15-16 For the next seventy years, a king’s lifetime, Tyre will be forgotten. At the end of the seventy years, Tyre will stage a comeback, but it will be the comeback of a worn-out whore, as in the song:

“Take a harp, circle the city,
    unremembered whore.
Sing your old songs, your many old songs.
    Maybe someone will remember.”

^17-18 At the end of the seventy years, God will look in on Tyre. She’ll go back to her old whoring trade, selling herself to the highest bidder, doing anything with anyone—promiscuous with all the kingdoms of earth—for a fee. But everything she gets, all the money she takes in, will be turned over to God. It will not be put in banks. Her profits will be put to the use of God-Aware, God-Serving-People, providing plenty of food and the best of clothing.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Even before their eventual destruction, Tyre and Sidon would not be involved in business for seventy years. History reveals that the Assyrians restricted Phoenician trade from 700–630 B.C.; but when Assyria began to weaken in power, Tyre and Sidon revived their businesses. The prophet compared the revived city to an old prostitute who had to sing lovely songs in order to get attention.  Once again proving that Isaiah is truly a prophet from God!

On our journey through Isaiah, we have learned three very important truths about God:

1. God is in control.  There is nothing on earth that escapes the notice of God.
2. God hates the sin of pride.
3. God judges the way nations treat each other. 

When nations turn from the living God to trust their wealth and their armaments, God must show them that He is the only sure refuge.

Dear Friends, let us stay focused on God!  No matter how frightening the national or international situation may become, God’s children can have peace, because they know Almighty God is on His throne. The nations may rage and plot against God, but it is comforting to know God knows. When the Lord of heaven and earth is your Father, and you gladly see the yoke of Jesus, you have nothing to fear.  Nothing to see here but God at work in us!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

Lord,

I believe.  I accept your yoke and not my own yoke of pride.  Help me to walk humbly with you today, seeking you first, in all I am, think, say or do.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Have you experienced putting something of importance and meaningful significance away in a “special place” so it was protected and saved from harm, only to forget where that special place was when you needed it—And you never saw it again?

We become so foolish to think we have it all together, don’t we?  As soon as we think everything is in order, everything is in place, we forget where I put it.  Or we think “nailed it” when we think we have nailed down all that gets in our way—until it does and our lives suddenly fall apart.  The excuses are, “well, if I haven’t used it or needed it in the past, I don’t need it now” or “I will find another way to get around this”. These excuses do not work in our spiritual walk with God.  God proved our daily need for Him  over and over again throughout the history of His creation.  (See the story of His daily provision of manna in the desert in Exodus 16!) When we think we can do life without him, and we try, we need to think again.  Our efforts to do life on our own are in vain, lead to nothing in the end with only a few dying, cut flowers heaped on a grave. 

When God steps in with words of warning about where we are headed, we ignore, run from Him or we party.  Satisfying our desires for a good time, without concern for others, seems to be our only earthly goal.  Granted, we have thoughts of religion but we have put it in a special place for later.  Most of the world has forgotten where that special place is.  Many have forgotten God, along with forgetting His love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy and grace.  We have forgotten that He longs for a relationship with us.  However, when we do remember, great is His faithfulness to us!  When we repent of going our own way with a humbled desire to honor Him with wanting His best way for us, life is altered, changed, transformed forever.

God’s enemy, working through gullible, selfish, proud people nailed Jesus, God Son, to a cross of shame, humility, and excoriating pain—for us.  The legalistic religioius thought they had finally defeated the One and Only who would change their world.  They really thought they had “nailed it,” putting things back in order, having it their way, without distraction from One who told them of their lack of relationship with God.  But in three days, only the nail pierced scars remained and life forever began—for all who would believe.  We must remember that it wasn’t the nails that held Jesus there, it was His love for us.  “Forgive them for they know not what they do” were His exact words.  Forgiveness of sin made complete—once and for all.  God has and always will have the final say. God nails it every time.  God knows us and provided a Way to Truth that leads to eternal Life by believing His Son sent to save us.

Isaiah 22, The Message

A Country of Cowards

22 ^1-3 A Message concerning the Valley of Vision:

What’s going on here anyway?
    All this partying and noisemaking,
Shouting and cheering in the streets,
    the city noisy with celebrations!
You have no brave soldiers to honor,
    no combat heroes to be proud of.
Your leaders were all cowards,
    captured without even lifting a sword,
A country of cowards
    captured escaping the battle.

You Looked, but You Never Looked to Him

^4-8 In the midst of the shouting, I said, “Let me alone.
    Let me grieve by myself.
Don’t tell me it’s going to be all right.
    These people are doomed. It’s not all right.”
For the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    is bringing a day noisy with mobs of people,
Jostling and stampeding in the Valley of Vision,
    knocking down walls
    and hollering to the mountains, “Attack! Attack!”
Old enemies Elam and Kir arrive armed to the teeth—
    weapons and chariots and cavalry.
Your fine valleys are noisy with war,
    chariots and cavalry charging this way and that.
    God has left Judah exposed and defenseless.

^8-11 You assessed your defenses that Day, inspected your arsenal of weapons in the Forest Armory. You found the weak places in the city walls that needed repair. You secured the water supply at the Lower Pool. You took an inventory of the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some to get bricks to fortify the city wall. You built a large cistern to ensure plenty of water.

You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city.

^12-13 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    called out on that Day,
Called for a day of repentant tears,
    called you to dress in somber clothes of mourning.
But what do you do? You throw a party!
    Eating and drinking and dancing in the streets!
You barbecue bulls and sheep, and throw a huge feast—
    slabs of meat, kegs of beer.
“Seize the day! Eat and drink!
    Tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴ God-of-the-Angel-Armies whispered to me his verdict on this frivolity: “You’ll pay for this outrage until the day you die.” The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says so.

The Key of the Davidic Heritage

^15-19 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, spoke: “Come. Go to this steward, Shebna, who is in charge of all the king’s affairs, and tell him: What’s going on here? You’re an outsider here and yet you act like you own the place, make a big, fancy tomb for yourself where everyone can see it, making sure everyone will think you’re important. God is about to sack you, to throw you to the dogs. He’ll grab you by the hair, swing you round and round dizzyingly, and then let you go, sailing through the air like a ball, until you’re out of sight. Where you’ll land, nobody knows. And there you’ll die, and all the stuff you’ve collected heaped on your grave. You’ve disgraced your master’s house! You’re fired—and good riddance!

^20-24 “On that Day I’ll replace Shebna. I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I’ll dress him in your robe. I’ll put your belt on him. I’ll give him your authority. He’ll be a father-leader to Jerusalem and the government of Judah. I’ll give him the key of the Davidic heritage. He’ll have the run of the place—open any door and keep it open, lock any door and keep it locked. I’ll pound him like a nail into a solid wall. He’ll secure the Davidic tradition. Everything will hang on him—not only the fate of Davidic descendants but also the detailed daily operations of the house, including cups and cutlery.

²⁵ “And then the Day will come,” says God-of-the-Angel-Armies, “when that nail will come loose and fall out, break loose from that solid wall—and everything hanging on it will go with it.” That’s what will happen. God says so.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The people of Judah were behaving like their pagan neighbors, so it was only right that Isaiah should include them in the list of nations God would judge. Yes, in His mercy, the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army, but He would not deliver them from Babylon.

The unbelief of the people is described. In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem was a joyous city as people would engage in all kinds of celebrations. The popular philosophy was, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die”. But the prophet did not participate in the parties, for he saw a day coming when death and destruction would reign in the city of David. The people went up to the housetops, but the prophet went down into one of the three valleys around Jerusalem; there God gave him a vision.

The people did everything but trust the Lord.  God had sent the nation many prophets to warn them, but the people would not listen. Now it was too late; their sins could not be forgiven because their hearts were hard. Judah would go into captivity, and God’s word to Isaiah would be fulfilled (Is. 6:9–13).

The leaders were unfaithful. Had the leaders been faithful to the Lord and called the people to repentance, there might have been hope. But too many of the leaders were like Shebna, thinking only of themselves. As treasurer (steward), Shebna was second to King Hezekiah in authority but he used his authority (and possibly the king’s money) to build himself a monumental tomb and to acquire chariots. Shebna was not a spiritual man, and he probably sided with the pro-Egypt party in Judah.  Politics over religion.  Religion over relationship with God.  Lost with no hope.

God chose a new man, Eliakim (“God will raise up”), and called him “My servant.” Instead of exploiting the people, he would be a father to them and use his “key” (authority, v. 22) for the good of the nation. He would be like a dependable peg, hammered into the wall, on which one could hang many burdens. But even a godly leader like Eliakim could not prevent the ultimate fall of Judah, for one day the whole nation would fall.

Eliakim is a picture of Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:7), the greatest Servant of all.  Jesus the One on whom all sin was placed and erased forever. 

Lord,

We are learning so much for our lives now through your prophet Isaiah who warned your chosen long ago.  Thank you for the warning for us today.  I repent of “storing” my relationship with you at times.  I repent of leaning toward the politics of religion versus nailing my relationship with you through prayer filled adoration while seeking you first before doing anything of significance.  Thank you for your forgiveness, help, provisions, and protection.  Most of all thank you for loving me the way you do.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Our title says it all.  The consequences of one’s actions will have to be dealt with eventually.  God is sovereign and God is just.  He allows us to choose our thinking and behaviors but He chooses the consequences of our behavior that hurts, robs, kills, betrays, mocks the innocent.  Babylon desecrated the temple, took over the land God gave to His People and robbed them of their dignity and pride.  The leaders of Babylon marched them from their homeland, stripped bare of all possessions, and exiled them to live as prisoners of war, serving them as slaves.

Since our war is not with “flesh and blood” ultimately, as Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, we must realize that even in this time and place, the cruel Babylonians were driven by the inner force of God’s enemy, Satan, which is evident by all the horrific behaviors dealt to God’s chosen.  God wanted to get the attention of His People but Babylon went too far.  Remember God is still in control.  “What goes around, come around”—the Babylonians will pay for their overachievements in evil. 

All that was meant for pure evil from the Babylonians was used by God for showing all people who is still Sovereign—over all and in all.  God’s original purpose was to turn His People back to Him and to all that is good, right and the best for them.  His People had all but forgotten God, going about their lives without Him and His protective guidance.  God chooses the consequences of that kind of living without Him.

The consequences of this lack of God in our lives leads us to believe we can do without God as we step out from under his “wings of protection.” (Psalm 91:4) When we step away from God, we risk all that God provides with protection. We become vulnerable to the evil one who wants to swoop in and destroy.

Realizing the consequences of Babylon’s fall, Isaiah experienced pain like a “woman in labor” and felt crushed like grain in a mill.  Evil causes pain.  Babylon will fall to the Assyrian army’s advances who are even more powerful.  The betrayer is betrayed.

Isaiah 21, The Message

The Betrayer Betrayed

^1-4 A Message concerning the desert at the sea:

As tempests drive through the Negev Desert,
    coming out of the desert, that terror-filled place,
A hard vision is given me:
    The betrayer betrayed, the plunderer plundered.
Attack, Elam!
    Lay siege, Media!
Persians, attack!
    Attack, Babylon!
I’ll put an end to
    all the moaning and groaning.
Because of this news I’m doubled up in pain,
    writhing in pain like a woman having a baby,
Baffled by what I hear,
    undone by what I see.
Absolutely stunned,
    horror-stricken,
I had hoped for a relaxed evening,
    but it has turned into a nightmare.

⁵ The banquet is spread,
    the guests reclining in luxurious ease,
Eating and drinking, having a good time,
    and then, “To arms, princes! The fight is on!”

^6-9 The Master told me, “Go, post a lookout.
    Have him report whatever he spots.
When he sees horses and wagons in battle formation,
    lines of donkeys and columns of camels,
Tell him to keep his ear to the ground,
    note every whisper, every rumor.”
Just then, the lookout shouted,
    “I’m at my post, Master,
Sticking to my post day after day
    and all through the night!
I watched them come,
    the horses and wagons in battle formation.
I heard them call out the war news in headlines:
    ‘Babylon fallen! Fallen!
And all its precious god-idols
    smashed to pieces on the ground.’”

¹⁰ Dear Israel, you’ve been through a lot,
    you’ve been put through the mill.
The good news I get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    the God of Israel, I now pass on to you.

* * *

^11-12 A Message concerning Edom:

A voice calls to me
    from the Seir mountains in Edom,
“Night watchman! How long till daybreak?
    How long will this night last?”
The night watchman calls back,
    “Morning’s coming,
But for now it’s still night.
    If you ask me again, I’ll give the same answer.”

* * *

^13-15 A Message concerning Arabia:

You’ll have to camp out in the desert badlands,
    you caravans of Dedanites.
Haul water to the thirsty,
    greet fugitives with bread.
Show your desert hospitality,
    you who live in Tema.
The desert’s swarming with refugees
    escaping the horrors of war.

^16-17 The Master told me, “Hang on. Within one year—I’ll sign a contract on it!—the arrogant brutality of Kedar, those hooligans of the desert, will be over, nothing much left of the Kedar toughs.” The God of Israel says so.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Psalm 91

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
    and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
    nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
    though ten thousand are dying around you,
    these evils will not touch you.
Just open your eyes,
    and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the Lord your refuge,
    if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
    no plague will come near your home.
For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
You will trample upon lions and cobras;
    you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”

Believe.  Really believe that what God says is real.  Believe Him when He says what He will do for us.  Believe that God is God, the One and Only—and realize we are not God. 

Believe that He is Truth in a world of people who spread the lies of the “father of lies”.  This father of lies, master of manipulation, and temporary ruler of this world, and everything opposite of God battles God for our souls.  Jesus described Satan as the one who fell from heaven, kicked out actually, for wanting to be God.  It is this evil being that is at war with God for our souls.  This betrayer of God will be betrayed and does not win in the end.  Jesus is the Victor over all evil.  To believe with all our hearts, minds and souls in our Victor, makes us victors! 

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.”  2 Corinthians 2;14

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:31-39

Lord,

You are God.  Jesus You are the One and Only sent to save us. There is no one like You.  There is no love greater than your love.  Why believe anyone else but you?  I don’t.  I believe in You.  I believe You live in me.  I believe you provide all that I need and more.  I believe you saved me and made me your own.  And I am grateful, so eternally grateful.

In Jesus Name, Amen

After reading this passage, my first thought was to put myself in the place of Isaiah.  I shudder at the thought of being physically exposed, walking around naked while people mock me and treat me as though I was a crazed and confused wounded animal.  This would be the ultimate in humiliation, right?  But because God told Isaiah to do it, he did it—for three years!  For three years, the prophet dressed like a prisoner of war, wearing only a loincloth, to demonstrate his message. It was a sign of things to come. 

God has a way of allowing us to encounter challenging situations to deal with before we deliver His message of truth to others. I have often asked God why must I live it before I speak it.  His answer is clear.  A message from God to tell others is better received from someone who has felt, seen, heard and walked the message themselves.  “Been there, done that” with lessons learned, brings out our humility, compassion, love, empathy and true sympathy for others who are currently living in the confusion and chaos of challenging circumstances. God wants us to “feel” the message He asks us to deliver with a humbled heart.   

Our real hope—all that we stake our lives upon, trust with all that is in us in faith, is exposed when troubles push us against the wall with what seems to be no place to go and nowhere to turn.

God is asking Isaiah to rid himself of all that protects him except from God alone.  Isaiah will experience what it will feel like to be exposed as an exile with everything taken away—including his dignity and pride. 

Isaiah 20, The Message

Exposed to Mockery and Jeers

20 ^1-2 In the year the field commander, sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought and took it, God told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Go, take off your clothes and sandals,” and Isaiah did it, going about naked and barefooted.

^3-6 Then God said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked around town naked and barefooted for three years as a warning sign to Egypt and Ethiopia, so the king of Assyria is going to come and take the Egyptians as captives and the Ethiopians as exiles. He’ll take young and old alike and march them out of there naked and barefooted, exposed to mockery and jeers—the bared buttocks of Egypt on parade! Everyone who has put hope in Ethiopia and expected help from Egypt will be thrown into confusion. Everyone who lives along this coast will say, ‘Look at them! Naked and barefooted, shuffling off to exile! And we thought they were our best hope, that they’d rescue us from the king of Assyria. Now what’s going to happen to us? How are we going to get out of this?’”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW WILL WE RESPOND?

Isaiah, as all other prophets of God, reveal our real, everlasting, relentless, assured and “best hope” in Jesus throughout their messages.  Jesus who is our only Hope, the One and Only who saved us lived the message God told him to preach, too.  Jesus was stripped of his clothes, beaten beyond physical recognition, then marched through the streets with a cross on his shoulders.  He was mocked, jeered, gossiped about, and spit upon.  He came to earth in humbled form.  He lived the message of humility that Micah, the prophet, spoke who clearly said what God expects of us.  “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Jesus did nothing of significance on earth without directions from His Father.  After getting instructions from God in daily prayer conversations, Jesus then said what God told Him to say and did what God told him to do.  “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…”John 5;19-20

So, if Jesus, Son of God, does nothing without going to God, who are we to think we can do life with going to God first?  Just a thought, but a heart stopping thought…

For even greater emphasis and bears repeating, Jesus tells his followers, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”  John 5:30 It is in this same chapter, Jesus tells us he doesn’t seek the glory of man but of God alone.  His goal is to please the One who sent Him, the One and Only God, our Father, who loved the world (yes, all of us) so much He sent His own Son to save us from our sins.  Jesus, Our Hope.  Our only Hope.

I pray that our troubles expose where our real Hope lies—in Jesus Christ, Savior and our Lord.  When we are laid bare in humiliating circumstances beyond our control, may all we are, think, do or say be prompted by God, in the Name of Jesus, His Son, for His glory.  Yes!  And Amen!

“And I will be with you always…” –Jesus

Once we realize that nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes the notice of God, peace comes—right in the middle of our current chaos, our challenges of each day and our wonderings about how it will all turn out.  God is in control, even when it doesn’t feel like it or look like it.  God knows.  God has always known.  God is sovereign—He has supreme power and has the final say in all that He has created.  Be still (let go) and know God.  We are not alone.

So, our question for today is this: 

Do we really believe God? 

Do we really believe that what God says and does is really real?  Our thoughtful response will be reflected in our behaviors.  Our knowledge of God will be reflected in our demeanor.  Our spontaneous, without thinking, response will also show in our actions.

What if our first thought, our very first thought, as we rise from bed was God? 

What if we thanked God first then asked God what He wanted for each new day?

What if our first reaction to a challenging word or action from another was our love for them?

Let your first thought—your very first thought—be our love for God, then for each other, the kind of love that Jesus showed us while He was on earth. 

WARNING:  This is revolutionary thinking.  It might change the world!

Isaiah, spokesperson for God, Himself, tells listening people who God is and how God works in power and majesty to bring His People unto Himself.  Why?  Because of His great love for all nations, all people who will listen and love Him back.  In this remarkable prophecy, Isaiah declares that the three enemies—Egypt, Israel, and Assyria (modern Iraq)—will one day be united in worshiping the Lord and sharing His blessing!  Wow.  Just wow.

Isaiah 19, The Message

Anarchy and Chaos and Killing!

A Message concerning Egypt:

Watch this! God riding on a fast-moving cloud,
    moving in on Egypt!
The god-idols of Egypt shudder and shake,
    Egyptians paralyzed by panic.

^2-4 God says, “I’ll make Egyptian fight Egyptian,
    brother fight brother, neighbor fight neighbor,
City fight city, kingdom fight kingdom—
    anarchy and chaos and killing!
I’ll knock the wind out of the Egyptians.
    They won’t know coming from going.
They’ll go to their god-idols for answers;
    they’ll conjure ghosts and hold séances, desperate for answers.
But I’ll turn the Egyptians
    over to a tyrant most cruel.
I’ll put them under the rule of a mean, merciless king.”
    Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

^5-10 The River Nile will dry up,
    the riverbed baked dry in the sun.
The canals will become stagnant and stink,
    every stream touching the Nile dry up.
River vegetation will rot away
    the banks of the Nile-baked clay,
The riverbed hard and smooth,
    river grasses dried up and gone with the wind.
Fishermen will complain
    that the fishing’s been ruined.
Textile workers will be out of work, all weavers
    and workers in linen and cotton and wool
Dispirited, depressed in their forced idleness—
    everyone who works for a living, jobless.

^11-15 The princes of Zoan are fools,
    the advisors of Pharaoh stupid.
How could any of you dare tell Pharaoh,
    “Trust me: I’m wise. I know what’s going on.
    Why, I’m descended from the old wisdom of Egypt”?
There’s not a wise man or woman left in the country.
    If there were, one of them would tell you
    what God-of-the-Angel-Armies has in mind for Egypt.
As it is, the princes of Zoan are all fools
    and the princes of Memphis, idiots.
The honored pillars of your society
    have led Egypt into detours and dead ends.
God has scrambled their brains,
    Egypt’s become a falling-down-in-his-own-vomit drunk.
Egypt’s hopeless, past helping,
    a senile, doddering old fool.

* * *

^16-17 On that Day, Egyptians will be like hysterical schoolgirls, screaming at the first hint of action from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Little Judah will strike terror in Egyptians! Say “Judah” to an Egyptian and see panic. The word triggers fear of the God-of-the-Angel-Armies’ plan against Egypt.

¹⁸ On that Day, more than one city in Egypt will learn to speak the language of faith and promise to follow God-of-the-Angel-Armies. One of these cities will be honored with the title “City of the Sun.”

^19-22 On that Day, there will be a place of worship to God in the center of Egypt and a monument to God at its border. It will show how the God-of-the-Angel-Armies has helped the Egyptians. When they cry out in prayer to God because of oppressors, he’ll send them help, a savior who will keep them safe and take care of them. God will openly show himself to the Egyptians and they’ll get to know him on that Day. They’ll worship him seriously with sacrifices and burnt offerings. They’ll make vows and keep them. God will wound Egypt, first hit and then heal. Egypt will come back to God, and God will listen to their prayers and heal them, heal them from head to toe.

²³ On that Day, there will be a highway all the way from Egypt to Assyria: Assyrians will have free range in Egypt and Egyptians in Assyria. No longer rivals, they’ll worship together, Egyptians and Assyrians!

^24-25 On that Day, Israel will take its place alongside Egypt and Assyria, sharing the blessing from the center. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who blessed Israel, will generously bless them all: “Blessed be Egypt, my people! . . . Blessed be Assyria, work of my hands! . . . Blessed be Israel, my heritage!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Don’t mess with God of all who is in all and is our supreme sovereign!  Do what He says!  Life is lived in sweet assurance when we trust God!  We obey because of His love for us first!  We live for Him because He lives in us.  What kind of love is this?  It is a love that is beyond our wildest dreams.  God will do anything to preserve His love for us!

God knows what you are going through and He will be right beside you AS you walk, run or crawl through it.  God will teach us while we are in the middle of it all.  God leads us to grateful hearts because of all He has done in our lives, all He is doing right now and all we now know He will do! So, why worry when we have God, sovereign over all?  That is the question we must answer.

“In our day of instant communication and of rapid transportation, when in a matter of minutes nations can come to the brink of war, we forget that God is still sovereign and can do whatever He pleases in human affairs. God destroyed everything that the Egyptians trusted—their political unity, their economy, religion, wisdom—and made them an easy target for the Assyrians. When the international news is frightening and you wonder where God is, read Psalm 2 and Acts 4:23–32, and take hope.”  Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible.

God wins in the end.  He always has and always will.  Really believe and be saved—saved from fear, worry, anxieties, wonderings.  May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts today!

Lord,

Thank you for Isaiah’s tenacity to tell of how you will act, how you love, along with Who you are!  Thank you, dear Jesus, for saving my soul and making me whole by your consistent teaching of Your Holy Spirit in me.  Thank you for the ability to tell others of your great, unending, unconditional, relentless love!  Show me your ways and I will walk in them by the power of your Spirit working in me and through me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

*What a wonderful day it will be when peace comes to the Middle East because the nations have bowed before the King of kings! We must continue praying, “Amen! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

I listen to the trumpet of Jesus
While the world hears a different sound
I march to the drumbeat of God Almighty
While the others just wander around
I’m a member of the Holy Ghost traveling band
We’re moving on up to a better land
I hear the voice of the Supernatural singing
Like only those who know Him can

*Composer, Russ Taft

In a world full of noise, voices clamoring for our attention, we must find a place where we meet God in silence so we can hear only His voice.  This is God’s Place for us.  The world we live in gets noisier every day.  So, it is even more imperative that we, like Jesus, come away to a quiet place to have a conversation with God.  By the way, a conversation is where one talks then listens for what the other one has to say.  So, we talk, assured that God listens.  Then we listen to His voice speak to our hearts and minds with words that go deep into our souls.  We end the conversation with grateful praise for the One most high who bent down to listen and speak with us.  This is Amazing Love. This is a great conversation!

The more we listen the louder HIS voice becomes in our lives.

One sweet sound makes
A whole world of difference
When the world seems indifferent to you
His melody of love calls you to be great
When marking time was all you thought you could do
So if you’ve been playing all your days by ear
Never knowing what your song was to be
Then pull up a chair, let down your hair
And take a few lessons from me…

Isaiah 18, The Message

People Mighty and Merciless

^1-2 Doom to the land of flies and mosquitoes
    beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
Shipping emissaries all over the world,
    down rivers and across seas.

Go, swift messengers,
    go to this people tall and handsome,
This people held in respect everywhere,
    this people mighty and merciless,
    from the land crisscrossed with rivers.

³ Everybody everywhere,
    all earth-dwellers:
When you see a flag flying on the mountain, look!
    When you hear the trumpet blown, listen!

^4-6 For here’s what God told me:

“I’m not going to say anything,
    but simply look on from where I live,
Quiet as warmth that comes from the sun,
    silent as dew during harvest.”
And then, just before harvest, after the blossom
    has turned into a maturing grape,
He’ll step in and prune back the new shoots,    ruthlessly hack off all the growing branches.
He’ll leave them piled on the ground
    for birds and animals to feed on—
Fodder for the summering birds,
    fodder for the wintering animals.

⁷ Then tribute will be brought to God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    brought from this people tall and handsome,
This people once held in respect everywhere,
    this people once mighty and merciless,
From the land crisscrossed with rivers,
    to Mount Zion, God’s place.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The original text has “Cush,” a land that covers the area now occupied by Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Somalia. Isaiah called it a “land with buzzing wings” (flies and mosquitoes) not only because of the insects that infested the land but also because of the frantic diplomatic activity going on as the nation sought alliances to protect them from Assyria. He pictures the ambassadors in their light, swift boats, going to the African nations for help. But God tells them to go back home because He would deal with Assyria himself, apart from the help of any army.  God will do what HE thinks is best.

In contrast to the frantic human activity on earth is the calm patience of God in heaven as He awaits the right time to reap the harvest of judgment. Assyria is pictured as a ripening vine that will never survive, for God will cut it down.  Believers who follow God’s voice and obey will be the remnant He will use to bring justice through His love, mercy and grace in the Person of Jesus Christ.

We must remember that this passage is a prophecy of things to come.  Instead of rushing here and there with diplomatic plans, the Ethiopians will go to Jerusalem with gifts for the Lord and for the king of Judah. When the messianic kingdom is established, the Gentile nations will go to Mount Zion to worship the Lord and bring Him gifts (Is. 60:1–7).

Listen to God.  Listen to the trumpet voice of Jesus as He calls us to come to God with a pure heart.

A spiritual fanfare has a sound all its own
At the birth of a lasting song
It’s been two thousand years since Jesus was born
And still the celebration goes on
If you feel the need to get your life in tune
‘Cause you’re tired of the dirge every day
Then turn yourself around
Put your feet on the ground
And just hear what I have to say…

I listen to the trumpet of Jesus
While the world hears a different sound
I march to the drumbeat of God Almighty
While the others just wander around
I’m a member of the Holy Ghost traveling band
We’re moving on up to a better land
I hear the voice of the Supernatural singing
Like only those who know Him can!

Can you hear the trumpet of Jesus?  Listen.  Believe.  Repent.  Live!

In Jesus Name, For His Glory, Yes and Amen!

When God is forgotten, all that is opposite God happens.  When the government becomes self-serving, self-seeking, and self-motivated to take down and destroy everyone in its way the opposite of what God wants and who God is happens.  Why does God allow it?  God created the world to recreate itself so life would be orderly and sustainable.  God created humans to manage what He created.  God also created humans with the ability called “free will” to choose Him, to love Him back, to obey Him in all of life—or not.  When God is forgotten, peace turns to chaos and confusion.  Hate takes away Love.  Foolish, perverted behaviors replace wisdom, the skills for living life well.

What happens in our own lives when we forget God?

What happens when we set him aside, only to be brought out on Sundays or special occasions?

What happens when our prayers become only cries for help instead of daily conversations that grow our intimate, personal, holy relationship with Him, God of all, in Jesus Name?

We become religious without relationship.  That’s what happens and God is not pleased.

Isaiah 17, The Message

Damascus: A Pile of Dust and Rubble

^1-3 A Message concerning Damascus:

“Watch this: Damascus undone as a city,
    a pile of dust and rubble!
Her towns emptied of people.
    The sheep and goats will move in
And take over the towns
    as if they owned them—which they will!
Not a sign of a fort is left in Ephraim,
    not a trace of government left in Damascus.
What’s left of Aram?
    The same as what’s left of Israel—not much.”
        Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

The Day Is Coming

^4-6 “The Day is coming when Jacob’s robust splendor goes pale
    and his well-fed body turns skinny.
The country will be left empty, picked clean
    as a field harvested by field hands.
She’ll be like a few stalks of barley left standing
    in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest,
Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked
    in the top of the olive tree,
Or the four or five apples
    that the pickers couldn’t reach in the orchard.”
        Decree of the God of Israel.

^7-8 Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They’ll lose interest in all the stuff they’ve made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is.

⁹ And yes, the Day is coming when their fortress cities will be abandoned—the very same cities that the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when Israel invaded! And the country will be empty, desolate.

You Have Forgotten God

^10-11 And why? Because you have forgotten God-Your-Salvation,
    not remembered your Rock-of-Refuge.
And so, even though you are very religious,
    planting all sorts of bushes and herbs and trees
    to honor and influence your fertility gods,
And even though you make them grow so well,
    bursting with buds and sprouts and blossoms,
Nothing will come of them. Instead of a harvest
    you’ll get nothing but grief and pain, pain, pain.

^12-13 Oh my! Thunder! A thundering herd of people!
    Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves!
Nations roaring, roaring,
    like the roar of a massive waterfall,
Roaring like a deafening Niagara!
    But God will silence them with a word,
And then he’ll blow them away like dead leaves off a tree,
    like down from a thistle.

¹⁴ At bedtime, terror fills the air.
    By morning it’s gone—not a sign of it anywhere!
This is what happens to those who would ruin us,
    this is the fate of those out to get us.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Friends, I don’t know about you but I do not desire a life void of God and end up with my soul becoming desolate, “a pile of dust and rubble”, as the city of Damascus became!

When we forget God and all that He is and all that He wants to do for us and in us, we become an island of self with no options of significance and no relationship.  We become like an annoying “resounding gong or clanging symbol” of religion without a relationship based on God’s love as Paul wrote so eloquently in 1 Corinthians 13:

(Read, Relate, Repeat)

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

“Apart from me, you can do nothing.” –Jesus

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  Jesus, John 15:5, NIV

Lord,

I cannot forget You! Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole.  Thank you for being with us always.  Thank you for loving us first so we could love you back in a holy relationship. Thank you for your word that teaches us.  Thank you for Your Holy Spirit that challenges, comforts, instructs, and encourages us in our relationship with You.  I love you with all that is in me.  Help me to love others like you love me. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

When a country is at peace, prosperity thrives.  Peace brings an attitude of confidence.  Peace brings a “new normal” after war with those who cause suffering, torment, shame and death. Peace comes to us as the Son of Man and Son of God—Jesus.  When He comes back again, He will establish a new government that will be good for all people of all nations.  Jesus will make all things right.  Jesus sets us right with God. 

Jesus is the Prince of Peace!

Isaiah 16, The Message

A New Government in the David Tradition

16 ^1-4 “Dispatch a gift of lambs,” says Moab,
    “to the leaders in Jerusalem—
Lambs from Sela sent across the desert
    to buy the goodwill of Jerusalem.
The towns and people of Moab
    are at a loss,
New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,
    fluttering helplessly
At the banks of the Arnon River,
    unable to cross:
‘Tell us what to do,
    help us out!
Protect us,
    hide us!
Give the refugees from Moab
    sanctuary with you.
Be a safe place for those on the run
    from the killing fields.’”

^4-5 “When this is all over,” Judah answers,
    “the tyrant toppled,
The killing at an end,
    all signs of these cruelties long gone,
A new government of love will be established
    in the venerable David tradition.
A Ruler you can depend upon
    will head this government,
A Ruler passionate for justice,
    a Ruler quick to set things right.”

* * *

^6-12 We’ve heard—everyone’s heard!—of Moab’s pride,
    world-famous for pride—
Arrogant, self-important, insufferable,
    full of hot air.
So now let Moab lament for a change,
    with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors!
What a shame! How terrible!
    No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies!
All those lush Heshbon fields dried up,
    the rich Sibmah vineyards withered!
Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out
    the famous grapevines
That once reached all the way to Jazer,
    right to the edge of the desert,
Ripped out the crops in every direction
    as far as the eye can see.

I’ll join the weeping. I’ll weep right along with Jazer,
    weep for the Sibmah vineyards.
And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh,
    I’ll mingle my tears with your tears!
The joyful shouting at harvest is gone.
    Instead of song and celebration, dead silence.
No more boisterous laughter in the orchards,
    no more hearty work songs in the vineyards.
Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields,
    silence—deathly and deadening silence.
My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab,
    my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres.
When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray,
    he wastes both time and energy.
Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief
    is useless. Nothing ever happens.

^13-14 This is God’s earlier Message on Moab. God’s updated Message is, “In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab’s impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums panhandling handouts.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Background by Warren Wiersbe,

“The one place the Assyrians could not conquer was Jerusalem. Though the Assyrian army entered the kingdom of Judah and did a great deal of damage to the land, it could not capture Jerusalem. Instead of fleeing to Mount Zion, however, the Moabite fugitives fled south to the fords of the Arnon River and the rock city of Sela in Edom.”

Isaiah warned the people that they would need more than a request: They would need to submit to the king of Judah, which meant acknowledging the God of Judah. In that day, sending animals (the lambs) to a ruler was a form of paying tribute.

Isaiah was not impressed and neither was God with the appeals of the Moabites. He knew of their pride, arrogance, and rage, and he announced that the nation was destined to be destroyed. Why? Because they wanted Judah’s help, but they did not want Judah’s God.

Friends, we sometimes do that by our lack of gratefulness.  How many times, in the heat of troubling circumstances do we turn to others for help, only to go on about normal life when the trouble is over?  People help us who are prodded by God in them to be His hands and feet on earth.  Do we recognize that all that is good comes from God?  Do we give and live in gratitude to God for all He has done and is doing?  We need to lay down all arrogance and pride when things are going well.  May we humble ourselves before God with sincere hearts who seek His wisdom.  Only then will we grow Christ-like character from all the challenges of this world.

Verse 5 is definitely a messianic promise, pointing to the day when Messiah will reign in righteousness and mercy on David’s throne. But Moab would not submit; they wanted deliverance on their own terms.

Moab’s pride kept them from submitting to Judah, and this led to their defeat. Their boasting would turn into wailing and their songs into funeral dirges. Moab would become like a vineyard trampled down and a fruitful field left unharvested.  So sad.

What is our pride and arrogance keeping us from right now? 

How is our pride hurting us? 

How does arrogance hurt our relationship with God and others? 

Lord,

There is no room in our relationship for my arrogance and pride.  I come to you with a more humbled heart this morning, thanking you for all You have done, are doing and will do in my life here on earth.  You made all things right by your sacrifice.  You give peace in the middle of storms, unending joy with love, mercy and grace no matter what our circumstances are at the moment.  No one but You can do that for us.  Thank you for your “new government” of all that is right, good and pleasing to You.  Help us to love like you love without conditions, without expecting anything in return for ourselves but to simply love.

In Jesus Name, Amen

God created the world and all its inhabitants.  God cleanses the world of evil that is destroying his created.  This is not called karma, it’s called justice.  God cleans what He has created when it gets dirty by the influence of sin.

As God judges Moab, their god is unable to save them, despite their mourning, and their armies are useless. God has compassion for Moab, nevertheless, and will allow some people to escape as fugitives to Zoar. The green grass will wither, wailing will be throughout the borders, and those who escape to Dimon will be mauled and taken by lions, as will any remnant remaining in their ravaged land.

Isaiah 15, The Message

Poignant Cries Reverberate Through Moab

15 ^1-4 A Message concerning Moab:

Village Ar of Moab is in ruins,
    destroyed in a night raid.
Village Kir of Moab is in ruins,
    destroyed in a night raid.
Village Dibon climbs to its chapel in the hills,
    goes up to lament.
Moab weeps and wails
    over Nebo and Medba.
Every head is shaved bald,
    every beard shaved clean.
They pour into the streets wearing black,
    go up on the roofs, take to the town square,
Everyone in tears,
    everyone in grief.
Towns Heshbon and Elealeh cry long and loud.
    The sound carries as far as Jahaz.
Moab sobs, shaking in grief.
    The soul of Moab trembles.

^5-9 Oh, how I grieve for Moab!
    Refugees stream to Zoar
    and then on to Eglath-shelishiyah.
Up the slopes of Luhith they weep;
    on the road to Horonaim they cry their loss.
The springs of Nimrim are dried up—
    grass brown, buds stunted, nothing grows.
They leave, carrying all their possessions
    on their backs, everything they own,
Making their way as best they can
    across Willow Creek to safety.
Poignant cries reverberate
    all through Moab,
Gut-wrenching sobs as far as Eglaim,
    heart-racking sobs all the way to Beer-elim.
The banks of the Dibon crest with blood,
    but God has worse in store for Dibon:
A lion—a lion to finish off the fugitives,
    to clean up whoever’s left in the land.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

What we know in our time is that Jesus IS indeed coming back to take all who believe back with Him.  He is preparing all the rooms for our eternal stay right now.  To those who refuses to believe or obey, there will be a cleansing.  God is sovereign.  God is compassionate, not wanting anyone to perish, but when that Day comes, we must be ready.

My dad used to say, we might be surprised by who will be in heaven.  Man’s judgement is self-motivated in all kinds of ways. God’s judgement is merciful and compassionate but complete.  God knows our hearts.  God sees what is in our minds at any moment.  God also sees what motivates and drives our behavior each day we live on earth.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing that is hidden from God.  So, only God’s Son, who is God, can be the judge and bring peace at last.   

Are we ready?

Lord,

Thank you for this sobering passage of lament over sins of self, following gods who are not you, worshiping anything and anyone but you.  Thank you for abiding with your power in those who believe so we know the difference in world thinking and your thinking.  Your thoughts are higher, so help us to think more like you so we will behave more like you taught us while on earth.  Thank you, dear Jesus, for saving my soul and making me whole.

Help me to love like you love me.

In Jesus Name, Amen